Football Just Outside Top 25 in First Sports Network Poll
OGDEN, Utah - Northern Arizona was ranked No. 27 in the Sports Network Preseason poll just outside of the Top 25 released on Monday. The Lumberjacks received 259 votes in the first poll.
The Big Sky Conference has three teams ranked in the Top 25. Two-time defending Big Sky Conference co-champion Montana State is ranked fourth. The Bobcats received three first-place votes and 3,217 points. Montana, which advanced to the 2011 semifinals, is 11th. The Grizzlies earned 2,018 points. Eastern Washington, the 2010 national champion, is 12th after receiving 1,897 points.
Sam Houston State opens the season as the top-ranked squad. The Bearkats finished 14-1, falling to North Dakota State in the national championship game. Sam Houston State of the Southland Conference received 79 first-place votes and 3,708 total points.
Defending national champion North Dakota State is ranked second with 59 first-place votes and 2,625 total points. Georgia Southern of the Southern Conference is ranked third. The Eagles earned six first-place votes and 3,249 total points.
The Big Sky Conference consists of 13 football-playing members with the additions of Southern Utah, North Dakota, Cal Poly and UC Davis.
Six other Sky teams received votes in the poll, but didn't crack the top 25. Northern Arizona earned 259 points, second among teams not in the poll. Portland State (73), North Dakota (68), Southern Utah (54), Idaho State (3) and Sacramento State (3) also received votes.
The 2012 season begins on Thursday, Aug. 30, with eight teams in action. The other five will open on Saturday, Sept. 1.
The first conference games will be played on Saturday, Sept. 22. Twelve Big Sky Conference games will be televised on ROOT SPORTS, starting with Montana's game against Northern Arizona on Sept. 22.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Top 25 each season. A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
During the regular season, the Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend of the regular season, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 18, prior to the selection of the FCS playoff field.
The Sports Network Preseason Top 25 Poll
Team (First-place votes) 2011 Record Points
1. Sam Houston State (79) 14-1 3,708
2. North Dakota State (59) 14-1 2,625
3. Georgia Southern (6) 11-3 3,249
4. Montana State (3) 10-3 3,217
5. James Madison (3) 8-5 2,812
6. Appalachian State (1) 8-4 2,800
7. Towson 9-3 2,674
8. Old Dominion 10-3 2,484
9. Northern Iowa 10-3 2,168
10. Wofford 8-4 2,080
11. Montana 11-3 2,018
12. Eastern Washington 6-5 1,897
13. Youngstown State (1) 6-5 1,860
14. New Hampshire 8-4 1,857
15. Delaware 7-4 1,810
16. Lehigh 11-2 1,514
17. Stony Brook 9-4 1,339
18. Eastern Kentucky 7-5 1,055
19. Illinois State 7-4 1,052
20. Stephen F. Austin 6-5 863
21. Maine 9-4 721
22. Jacksonville State 7-4 625
23. Indiana State 6-5 522
24. Central Arkansas 9-4 508
25. Harvard 9-1 477
Others receiving votes: Murray State 292, Northern Arizona 259, Norfolk State 222, Chattanooga 191, Liberty 150, South Carolina State 137, Bethune-Cookman 134, McNeese State 127, Grambling State 87, Tennessee Tech 77, Portland State 73, North Dakota 68, Alabama State 66, Jackson State 63, Southern Illinois 63, William & Mary 59, Southern Utah 54, Georgia State 49, Furman 43, Albany 39, Richmond 31, Villanova 30, Penn 16, Duquesne 14, South Dakota State 10, San Diego 9, Elon 9, Drake 8, Holy Cross 7, Prairie View A&M 6, South Dakota 6, Alabama A&M 4, Southeast Missouri 4, Georgetown 3, Idaho State 3, Sacramento State 3, Cornell 2, Bryant 1, Eastern Illinois 1, Jacksonville 1, Missouri State 1, Samford 1, UT Martin 1, The Citadel 1, Western Illinois 1.