The Montana Grizzlies wil open the season ranked No. 2 in the FCS Coaches' Poll.
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OGDEN, UTAH (Aug. 23, 2010) - Five Big Sky Conference teams will begin the 2010 season ranked in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ poll.
The University of Montana, winners of 12 straight Big Sky championships, is picked No. 2, behind defending national champion Villanova of the Colonial Athletic Association. Villanova beat the Grizzlies 23-21 in the 2009 Division I National Championship Game.
Montana earned two first-place votes and 632 points. The Grizzlies, under first-year coach Robin Pflugrad, are also ranked second in The Sports Network/Fathead.com preseason top 25.
Rounding out the top five are Appalachian State, William & Mary and Southern Illinois.
Eastern Washington (14), Weber State (18), Northern Arizona (23) and Montana State (24) were also ranked in the poll, which features two voting coaches from each of the 14 FCS conferences.
Eastern Washington earned 327 total points. Beau Baldwin’s Eagles finished 8-4 in 2009, losing to Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the playoffs. Weber State, a playoff participant each of the last two seasons, earned 186 total points. Northern Arizona closed the 2009 season 5-6, but earned 87 total points to crack the top 25. Montana State, 7-5 a year ago under Rob Ash, garnered 86 points.
Eastern Washington, Weber State and Montana State were also ranked in The Sports Network/Fathead.com preseason poll.
The Big Sky’s five teams ranked only second to the Colonial, which had six teams in the top 19. Three Missouri Valley teams cracked the top 25. The Southland, Southern, Ohio Valley and Patriot League are all represented by two teams.
Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington both begin the 2010 season on Thursday, Sept. 2. Montana, Weber State, Montana State and the other four Big Sky squads open on Saturday, Sept. 4.
The 2010 FCS playoff field expands to 20 teams, with eight teams playing first-round games on Saturday, Nov. 27. The Division I national championship game will be played on Jan. 7, 2011, in Frisco, Texas.
| Rnk. |
School (1st Place Votes) |
2009 Record |
Points |
| 1. |
Villanova (22) |
14-1 |
667 |
| 2. |
Montana (2) |
14-1 |
632 |
| 3. |
Appalachian State (4) |
11-3 |
622 |
| 4. |
William & Mary |
11-3 |
587 |
| 5. |
Southern Illinois |
11-2 |
551 |
| 6. |
Richmond |
11-2 |
484 |
| 7. |
Elon |
9-3 |
474 |
| 8. |
Stephen F. Austin |
10-3 |
413 |
| 9. |
New Hampshire |
10-3 |
409 |
| 10. |
South Dakota State |
8-4 |
403 |
| 11. |
McNeese State |
9-3 |
376 |
| 12. |
South Carolina State |
10-2 |
341 |
| 13. |
Northern Iowa |
7-4 |
333 |
| 14. |
Eastern Washington |
8-4 |
327 |
| 15. |
James Madison |
6-5 |
290 |
| 16. |
Eastern Illinois |
8-4 |
236 |
| 17. |
Jacksonville State |
8-3 |
208 |
| 18. |
Weber State |
7-5 |
186 |
| 19. |
Delaware |
6-5 |
185 |
| 20. |
Liberty |
8-3 |
171 |
| 21. |
Prairie View A&M |
9-1 |
135 |
| 22. |
Colgate |
9-2 |
98 |
| 23. |
Northern Arizona |
5-6 |
87 |
| 24. |
Montana State |
7-4 |
85 |
| T25. |
Cal Poly |
5-7 |
66 |
| T25. |
Holy Cross |
9-3 |
66 |
Other receiving votes (points in parentheses): Penn (60), Illinois State (54), Texas State (53), Florida A&M (44), Furman (36), Eastern Kentucky (35), Wofford (35), UC Davis (32), Massachusetts (24), Georgia Southern (23), Alabama A&M (22), Jackson State (19), Maine (19), Alcorn State (17), Southeastern Louisiana (16), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (16), Southern (15), Central Arkansas (14), Morgan State (14), Hampton (12), Bethune-Cookman (11), Harvard (10), Missouri State (10), Nicholls State (10), Sam Houston State (9), Grambling (8), Alabama State (6), Lehigh (8), Youngstown State (6), Texas Southern (5), Albany (4), Lafayette (4), Butler (3), Mississippi Valley State (3), Southern Utah (3), Central Connecticut State (2), Stony Brook (2), Chattanooga (1), Gardner-Webb (1)