Montana Grizzly Football Ranked High in Another Preseason Poll

To be expected, of course. When one preseason poll comes out, a second one will probably follow suit fairly close with similar predictions.

And while it's only preseason, it's good to try to keep the excitement flowing, as the Montana Grizzlies were once again picked seventh in a Football Championship Subdivision preseason poll today (Tuesday), with Athlon Sports slotting the Griz in the top-10. The poll is the second of the year, and the second in which Montana was picked to finish at No. 7 after HERO Sports published its preseason poll last week.

University of Montana Sports Information Director Eric Taber tells us that the Griz are the third of five ranked teams from the Big Sky Conference to land on the preseason Top-25, with Weber State and Montana State coming in at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively. Athlon also slotted Sacramento State at No. 12 and Eastern Washington at No. 20.

One cool thing about the Athlon Sports polling predictions is the additional commentary they provide to help jazz up their predictions. In Montana's case we get this:

"The 73 points in a playoff win over Southeastern Louisiana underscore the Griz's offensive firepower, led by running back Marcus Knight (25 touchdowns) and wide receivers Samori Toure (87 receptions, 1,495 yards, 13 TDs) and Samuel Akem. Senior quarterback Cam Humphrey hopes to be at the controls of the potent attack. Buck Buchanan Award recipient Dante Olson is gone, but two other players who posted 100-plus tackles return in linebacker Jace Lewis (131) and safety Robbie Hauck (129)," said Athlon Sports of the Griz.

The Grizzlies face three of the other four ranked Big Sky teams in 2020, with Weber State not falling on UM's schedule this season due to conference imbalance.Of those three, only Eastern Washington is a scheduled road game.

The two primary FCS preseason polls – the STATS FCS and the AFCA coaches' poll - will be announced closer to the start of the season.

Athlon Sports Preseason FCS Top 25
1 North Dakota State
2 Northern Iowa
3 Weber State
4 James Madison
5 Montana State
6 South Dakota State
7 Montana
8 Villanova
9 Illinois State
10 Kennesaw State
11 Central Arkansas
12 Sacramento State
13 Austin Peay
14 Nicholls
15 New Hampshire
16 Sam Houston State
17 Southeastern Louisiana
18 Furman
19 Southern Illinois
20 Eastern Washington
21 The Citadel
22 Wofford
23 Albany
24 Jacksonville State
25 Towson