Vandals picked fourth and fifth in Big Sky football preseason media, coaches polls

FARMINGTON, Utah — The Idaho Vandals were tabbed fourth in the media poll with one first-place vote, and fifth in the coaches poll as the Big Sky Conference released its preseason football polls Thursday. 

Eastern Washington was picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams by the media, ninth by the coaches. 

Montana State, which played in the FCS title game last year, was picked to repeat as Big Sky champions in both preseason polls. 

Idaho, coming off of back-to-back FCS playoff quarterfinal appearances, returns five starters on offense, two starters on defense, and 56 letterwinners from last season’s team.  

In addition, the Vandals brought in quarterback Joshua Wood (Fresno State), offensive linemen Kaden Haeckel (Arizona State), Garrison Hickle (Indiana), and Nathan Pritchard (Washington State) and tight end Gabe Hoffmann (Eastern Michigan) as transfers with FBS experience. 

In 2022, Idaho was picked 8/9 in the preseason polls (finished fourth), in 2023 the Vandals were picked 2/5 in the polls (finished second), and last season UI was selected third in the polls and also finished in third place. 

The ‘25 Eagles return four starters — three on defense and one on offense — and 31 letterwinners overall from the ‘24 team which finished sixth in the Big Sky. Coach Aaron Best returns for his ninth season. 

Thursday's news comes in advance of the 2025 Big Sky Kickoff Weekend, sponsored by the Northern Quest Resort & Casino and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, which is slated for today through Monday in Airway Heights, Wash., just outside Spokane. 

The 2025 Big Sky Football Preseason All-Conference Team and Most Valuable Players will be announced on Sunday, prior to Monday's media day.   

COACHES POLL 

First-place votes in parentheses; coaches could not vote for their own team. 

1, Montana State (7) 117 points. 2, UC Davis (1), 100. 3, Montana (2) 96. 4, Northern Arizona (1) 94. 5, Idaho 81. 6, Sacramento State (1) 73. 7, Idaho State 56. 8, Weber State 55. 9, Eastern Washington 48. 10, Portland State 32. 11, Cal Poly 25. 12, Northern Colorado 15. 

MEDIA POLL 

First-place votes in parentheses 

1, Montana State (30) 488 points. 2, Montana (6) 434. 3, UC Davis (4) 399. 4, Idaho (1) 364. 5, Northern Arizona 354. 6, Sacramento State (1) 282. 7, Idaho State 247. 8, Eastern Washington 225. 9, Weber State 192. 10, Portland State 140. 11, Cal Poly 94. 12, Northern Colorado 57.