NAU football ranked 5th by Big Sky coaches, 6th by media
OGDEN, Utah -- The Northern Arizona football team was picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky Conference preseason coaches poll and sixth in the media poll.
Montana State edged Eastern Washington for first place in the coaches poll, but the order was reversed in media balloting.
The coaches had Montana third, Cal Poly fourth, NAU fifth and Idaho State sixth, while the media had Montana and Idaho State tied for third, Cal Poly fifth and NAU sixth.
NAU finished fifth in the Big Sky last season with a 5-3 conference record. The Lumberjacks return seven starters on offense and six on defense.
Big Sky football preseason polls
| Coaches | Media |
| 1. Montana State (6) 134 | 1. Eastern Washington (17) 553 |
| 2. Eastern Washington (6) 133 | 2. Montana State (17) 541 |
| 3. Montana (1) 121 | 3. Montana (5) 446 |
| 4. Cal Poly 111 | (tie) Idaho State (5) 446 |
| 5. Northern Arizona 95 | 5. Cal Poly (1) 433 |
| 6. Idaho State 90 | 6. Northern Arizona (1) 399 |
| 7. Sacramento State 66 | 7. Sacramento State 278 |
| 8. Southern Utah 64 | 8. Southern Utah 255 |
| 9. Portland State 51 | 9. North Dakota 226 |
| (tie) North Dakota 51 | 10. Weber State 160 |
| 11. Weber State 43 | 11. UC Davis 145 |
| 12. UC Davis 33 | 12. Portland State 133 |
| 13. Northern Colorado 22 | 13. Northern Colorado 127 |