The Montana State football team is tied for 7th and Montana is 9th in the HERO Sports FCS top 25 preseason poll, the online news outlet announced on Thursday.
The Bobcats hold the No. 7 spot with Big Sky Conference foe Weber State, making the pair the highest-ranked Big Sky teams in the poll. MSU was ranked 8th in the Athlon Sports preseason poll earlier this summer, while Montana came in at No. 11.
Montana State enters the 2021 season not having played a game since December of 2019. The 2020 Big Sky Conference fall season was canceled, and the Bobcats opted not to play any games in the spring. The Bobcats will kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 4 at Wyoming, the first game of the Brent Vigen era. Vigen, who was coincidentally hired from Wyoming, succeeds Jeff Choate as head coach. Choate left MSU for a position on the coaching staff at the University of Texas.
Montana, meanwhile, will enter the 2021 season coming off a 2-0 effort in the spring. The Griz dismantled Central Washington and Portland State by a combined score of 107-10. UM kicks off its 2021 season at Washington on Sept. 4.
Eastern Washington (No. 16) and Sacramento State (T-No. 23) are the other Big Sky Conference teams to make an appearance in the poll.
Sam Houston, which won the spring FCS Championship, was picked by HERO to repeat at the No. 1 spot, while semifinalist James Madison, finalist South Dakota State, North Dakota State, and Southern Illinois round out the top five.
HERO Sports FCS Preseason Top-25
1. Sam Houston
2. James Madison
3. South Dakota State
4. North Dakota State
5. Southern Illinois
6. Delaware
T7. Weber State
T7. Montana State
9. Montana
10. North Dakota
11. Central Arkansas
12. Monmouth
T13. Southeastern Louisiana
T13. VMI
15. Jacksonville State
16. Eastern Washington
17. Villanova
18. Austin Peay
19. North Carolina A&T
20. Chattanooga
21. Alcorn State
22. Murray State
T23. East Tennessee State
T23. Sacramento State
25. Missouri State
Received Votes (alphabetical order)
Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, Kennesaw State, Nicholls, Rhode Island
