Northern Colorado football picked to finish No. 11 in the Big Sky

The University of Northern Colorado landed at No. 10 in the Big Sky Football preseason poll by the coaches and voting media.

UNC comes into the season with first-year head coach Ed Lamb. He replaces Ed McCaffrey, who went 3-8 overall and 2-6 in conference play in 2021 and 2022.

Montana State was picked to finish No. 1 in both polls, the obvious favorite. It received 10 first-place votes in the coaches poll and 26 out of 39 in the media poll. The Cats are coming off of a 12-2 (8-0 Big Sky) season. They tied with Sacramento State for the regular-season title.

The Hornets were picked No. 3 in the coaches poll and No. 4 in the media poll, respectively.

UNC, despite being picked No. 11 in last year’s media poll and tied for last in the coaches poll, finished tied for 9th. The Bears hope to finish much higher than either of those rankings this year.

Lamb has brought in a new staff, many of whom have experience in the Big Sky, as well.

Lamb has ties to the Big Sky, leading Southern Utah in the mid-2000s. When he took over in 2008, the Thunderbirds were still in the now-dissolved Great West conference. He led the team to a 4-7 record after going 0-11 the year before.

When the team joined the Big Sky in 2012, SUU went 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the league. He then led the program to multiple FCS Playoff appearances.

The Bears have a tough schedule — it features Sac State, Weber State and Idaho — but a 4-4 or even a 3-5 record would put them far above expectations. Last year, either of those records would have put UNC in the top 8.

UNC starts the season on Aug. 31 at Abilene Christian. Its first Big Sky matchup is set for Sept. 23 at Idaho State.

2023 Big Sky preseason polls

Coaches poll

  1. Montana State (10) – 120
  2. UC Davis (1) – 96
  3. Sacramento State (1) – 94
  4. Weber State – 91
  5. Idaho – 89
  6. Montana – 84
  7. Eastern Washington – 52
  8. Portland State – 45
  9. Northern Arizona – 44
  10. Northern Colorado – 37
  11. Cal Poly – 25
  12. Idaho State – 15

Media poll

  1. Montana State (26) – 447
  2. Idaho (8) – 410
  3. Montana (2) – 359
  4. Sacramento State (3) – 334
  5. UC Davis – 330
  6. Weber State – 320
  7. Eastern Washington – 216
  8. Northern Arizona – 178
  9. Portland State – 167
  10. Northern Colorado – 109
  11. Cal Poly – 103
  12. Idaho State – 69

First place votes are noted in parentheses.

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