In a preseason poll, coaches and media picked Portland State’s football team to finish fourth in the 2012–13 Big Sky Conference. Last season the Vikings finished third in the conference with a 7-5 overall record (5-3 in conference).
In a preseason poll, coaches and media picked Portland State’s football team to finish fourth in the 2012–13 Big Sky Conference. Last season the Vikings finished third in the conference with a 7-5 overall record (5-3 in conference).
This is PSU’s highest preseason conference ranking since 2007, when they were picked to finish second. The Vikings were voted the most improved team in the conference last year after bumping their wins by five games. The Vikings did not receive any first place votes in the poll.
The results of the poll were announced last Tuesday at the Summer Kickoff in Park City, Utah. Defending champions Montana State were once again given the top seed in the conference by both the coaches and the media.
In the last two seasons, Montana State had a 7-1 record in the conference and advanced to the playoffs. They received seven of 13 first place votes from the Big Sky coaches.
Montana State coach Rob Ash said in a statement, “It’s a great compliment to our program. It’s a sign of the respect. But at the same time, when games begin it doesn’t mean anything.”
Eastern Washington was selected to finish second in the conference by both the coaches and the media, who picked Montana for the third spot.
“It feels good to be respected by the media and your peers, but preseason rankings are a reflection of things you’ve done in the past,” Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin said in a statement. “We’re proud of our past, and our players have done a good job over the years to get us to this position. But when all is said and done, it all has to do with what we accomplish in the fall.”
The top three teams in this year’s polls—Montana State, Eastern Washington and Montana—were picked to finish top three in four of the last five preseason polls.
“Obviously Montana State and Eastern Washington and ourselves are pretty known identities,” Montana’s new head coach Mick Delaney said in a statement.
Southern Utah was added to the Big Sky Conference this year, along with California Polytechnic State University, which received one first place vote from the media and was ranked fifth overall by the media and the coaches.
In other football news, three members of the PSU football team were named to the 2012 Big Sky Preseason All-Conference team last week. These players include senior kicker Zach Brown, senior linebacker Ian Sluss and senior receiver Nevin Lewis.
A total of 31 players from 13 teams made the preseason all-conference team. Brown led the nation last year with 24 out of 27 field goals. Sluss was a second team All-Big Sky selection in 2011, and Lewis was named to the All-Big Sky first team. Defending champions Montana State have six players in the all-conference team.
