Big Sky Coaches and Media Polls:



https://bigskyconf.com/news/2023/7/23/montana-state-tabbed-preseason-football-favorites.aspx

Maybe I'm just misremembering, but this feels like the first time in awhile that the coaches have ranked us higher than the media.

I will say, the Davis home game lineup is pretty intense. Won't count out Southern Utah, ever, they draw solid athletes in that program, then you've got a rebuilding EWU program, a team the Aggies have never beat, then Montana, who hates our guts, then a tricky Portland State team, then Sac, who also hates our guts, but it's shaping up to be a solid game...again. It's a great looking stretch of football to be played at Davis.

A lot of changes this year in the Big Sky. Among contenders, Weber and Sac both have new head coaches and new QBs, Montana will have a new QB. Weber lost 6 players as transfers to FBS, most going to BYU. Idaho lost 5 players to FBS schools, including two linebackers and a defensive tackle, that has got to hurt. I think the coaches ranked Davis highly because they have an established system, didn't lose many players, and have experienced replacements for the ones they lost.

It's all about Sac and Montana. No other home game will be interesting, imo

On the other hand, with the exception of Weber, all our conference road games are against teams not expected to be contenders. Could result in an impressive record if they avoid upsets.

I agree that these preseason polls are close to worthless, especially the media polls. But both the Aggies and sac are highly rated in both polls and that simply shows what we already know. Both teams will be very good next season. I. Terms of schedule I think sac has drawn the hardest one in the conference with both montanas and the Aggies. The Aggies probably the easiest. I think sac will be a formidable opponent because of their returning defensive players. I also think Fulcher is a very dangerous RB. Question for sac is the new coach and the new QB Camp. As I have posted before I think camp is somewhat over rated but we will see. I think we will all be pleasantly surprised by Larison at RB full time. The guy is a total gamer.

Sac lost 2 QBs and a STUD RB, their tremendous HC, and probably a lot of staff. That's a lot of key turnovers. Will the OC have success?

AGS Pre-season poll (click on the image to enlarge it):



https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?336272-AGS-Poll-Results-2023-Wk0

Massey Pre-season rankings (click on the image to enlarge it):



https://masseyratings.com/ranks?s=cf&sub=fcs

Aggies were tabbed No. 16 in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll. 6th of 6 Big Sky Teams

https://theanalyst.com/na/2023/08/defending-champ-jackrabbits-voted-a-unanimous-no-1-in-the-fcs-preseason-top-25-poll/

Aggies projected as an at large bid.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2023-08-02/way-too-early-2023-fcs-playoff-bracket-preseason-predictions?utm_campaign=trending
Weber misses the cut in this projection.

Not a poll, but projected finishes in the Big Sky. Davis is picked third behind Montana State and Idaho
They made a mistake on Idaho, the linebacker they tout is now at Georgia Tech. They got a linebacker from South Dakota. I think Idaho has some major questions on defense. Both Montana State and Idaho have tougher schedules than Davis, based on last seasons results.

https://theanalyst.com/na/2023/08/fcs-college-football-preview-2023-big-sky-conference/

Idaho is this year’s (at least per-season) media darlings. For them to do better than last year, their defense needs to gat a lot better. Montana State has a rough schedule this year, and as per normal Montana has scheduled pre-season patsies. They will be thinking “return to dominance” until reality hits them. Can’t wait for a Bobby Hauck press conference after a loss.

Idaho is lucky that Nevada and Cal are coming off disappointing years. They have a good chance of winning at Nevada.

Idaho is definitely benefitting from having a competent coach at the helm as well as a rising star QB in McCoy to lead what should be a vicious passing attack with Jackson and Hatten, but to a certain degree I feel like they are currently overrated despite being a playoff team last year. I see them as top 15, not necessarily top 10 or better that some polls have them in. That's not to say that they won't continue to improve and could be very good this year. In fact, if they can keep the coaching staff together then they could push to become a FCS powerhouse with the resources they have. They have a tough schedule with 2 FBS (even if Nevada was very bad last season), both Montanas, Sac and Weber (both have new coaches and player turnover). They could end up in a situation similar to us like last season where we were likely better than a handful of teams that made the playoffs, but the record simply wouldn't get us in.

The FCS Football Coaches Poll has been released (click on the image to enlarge it).



https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll