Griz move up just one spot to #5 in lastest poll
After a complete trouncing of supposed Big Sky contender Northern Arizona, the Montana Grizzlies moved up one place to fifth in the latest rankings. This small step comes after Appalachian State reamed Wofford, 70-24.
I'm starting to think something's up. I don't know if voters are think about past playoff performances or what. Freakin' Cal Poly got a first-place vote and sits three spots ahead of Montana. Ummm, we beat them. On the road. And with the exception of the Weber game (hey, we all got one FCS loss), Montana has taken a giant step forward each game. Whoever thinks Poly is better than Montana--and it's obviously a lot of people--is dead wrong
Here are the complete rankings, courtesy of The Sports Network:
| Team (First-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. James Madison Dukes (91) | 8-1 | 2,707 | 1 |
| 2. Appalachian State Mountaineers (17) | 7-2 | 2,617 | 2 |
| 3. Cal Poly Mustangs (1) | 6-1 | 2,373 | 4 |
| 4. Northern Iowa Panthers | 7-2 | 2,296 | 5 |
| 5. Montana Grizzlies | 8-1 | 2,233 | 6 |
| 6. Villanova Wildcats | 6-2 | 2,110 | 7 |
| 7. Richmond Spiders | 6-3 | 1,984 | 8 |
| 8. New Hampshire Wildcats | 7-1 | 1,874 | 9 |
| 9. Weber State Wildcats | 8-2 | 1,767 | 13 |
| 10. Wofford Terriers | 6-2 | 1,747 | 3 |
| 11. Elon Phoenix | 7-2 | 1,690 | 10 |
| 12. Southern Illinois Salukis | 6-2 | 1,650 | 14 |
| 13. Massachusetts Minutemen | 6-3 | 1,262 | 15 |
| 14. William & Mary Tribe | 6-2 | 1,202 | 16 |
| 15. Furman Paladins | 7-3 | 1,081 | 18 |
| 16. Central Arkansas Bears | 7-2 | 887 | 11 |
| 17. Western Illinois Leathernecks | 5-3 | 824 | 12 |
| 18. McNeese State Cowboys | 5-3 | 789 | 20 |
| 19. South Carolina State Bulldogs | 7-2 | 750 | 22 |
| 20. Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks | 7-2 | 527 | 24 |
| 21. Harvard Crimson | 6-1 | 463 | 23 |
| 22. Tennessee State Tigers | 7-2 | 425 | 25 |
| 23. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks | 6-3 | 395 | 19 |
| 24. Colgate Raiders | 7-2 | 207 | NR |
| 25. Liberty Flames | 7-2 | 195 | 17 |
Others receiving votes: Maine 181, South Dakota State 136, Northwestern State 114, North Dakota State 97, Jacksonville State 95, Lafayette 89, Georgia Southern 81, Prairie View 78, Eastern Kentucky 63, Grambling 54, Holy Cross 41, Morgan State 34, UC Davis 26, Albany 25, Brown 14, Hampton 13, Sacred Heart 12, Dayton 10, Texas State 9, Florida A&M 7, San Diego 6, Nicholls State 5, Montana State 4, Monmouth 2, Penn 2, Jacksonville 1.
For the first time in years, the Montana Grizzlies football team will go on the road and play a formidable FCS opponent as part of their non-conference schedule. That'd be Cal Poly on September, 6th. So now the fans can stop asking "will a weak schedule come back to haunt us?" (the answer is yes) and start asking more concrete football questions like, you know, "will we win?" The Griz haven't lost a regular season game since the first game of the '06 campaign, that's 21 in a row. Cal Poly looks very worthy of ending that streak.
For the 2007 campaign, the Griz's non-conference slate consisted only of cupcakes. That will not be the case over the next five years. According to UM Athletic Director Jim O'Day, two games down at Cal Poly will bookend three straight years of the Mustangs coming up to play at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The first game is September 6th, down in San Luis Obispo.