Griz ranked second

by CARL HENNELL The Daily Inter Lake
| July 26, 2007 1:00 AM

Bobcats fall to 23rd

With a little more than a month to go before the University of Montana football team's season opener against Southern Utah on Sept. 1, the 2007 College Sporting News preseason poll was released and the Grizzlies are ranked second.

Two-time defending national champion Appalachian State, out of Boone, N.C., is No. 1 in the CSN Preseason Football Championship Subdivision Top 25. North Dakota State is third, followed by Youngstown State and New Hampshire.

The "Football Championship Subdivision," or FCS, nomenclature is the new name of the division formally know as NCAA Division I-AA. The top college football division is now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS.

Two other Big Sky Conference teams are ranked in the Top 25. Portland State, which is coached by former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville - who hired former PSU head coach Mouse Davis (1975-80), the pioneer of the run-and-shoot offense, as his offensive coordinator, is ranked 13th. Montana State, which won a playoff game last season but has been turned upside down with the firing of coach Mike Kramer, is ranked 23rd.

A couple of week ago, the Big Sky Conference coaches and media unanimously picked the Griz to win the league for the 10th straight time. They have won the league 12 of the last 14 years, have made a record 14 straight playoff appearances and have 21 straight winning seasons dating back to 1986.

This season, the Griz return 18-plus starters and 57 lettermen from a 12-2 team that was a perfect 8-0 in conference.

Some other reasons for continued high expectations are the return of 16 All-Big Sky players and the return of running back Lex Hilliard (a Flathead High School legend).

On July 10, the AnyGivenSunday.com (AGS) preseason poll was released with the same rankings. The website said that is has been the first to release a preason poll since 2004 and showed Appalachian State receiving 97 first-place votes with the Grizzlies getting 16 first-place votes.

NOTE: The 2007 Yearbook was released this week and the cover photo has former Flathead High School stars Brandon Dwyer and Hilliard on both sides of head coach Bobby Hauck. The cover photo includes all 24 seniors.