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Park City • Preseason football polls usually are a reprint of the previous year's standings, so it was not surprising that Southern Utah and Weber State were in the bottom half of the Big Sky Conference rankings, released Tuesday.
The biggest intrigue came at the top, where both the coaches and media voters were split about how the transfer of star quarterback Vernon Adams to Oregon will affect defending champion Eastern Washington. In each poll, the Eagles and Montana State each received the same number of first-place votes, with the Bobcats edging EWU for the media's No. 1 spot.
Southern Utah is eighth in each poll; Weber State is 10th (media) and 11th (coaches) in the 13-team league.
"We've done nothing over the last three years that proves that we should be in any different spot," said Jay Hill, entering his second season as WSU's coach. "When we start winning, we'll move up in the polls, and that's how it should be."
SUU was picked sixth last summer, coming off an FCS playoff season. The Thunderbirds tied for eighth with a 3-5 conference record and Weber State tied for 10th at 2-6.
SUU finished 3-9 overall in 2014, but coach Ed Lamb believes that the leadership of 13 senior starters — compared with two last year — will provide more consistency. He's hoping that one of several running backs will emerge in preseason practice and the offensive line becomes cohesive.
The Thunderbirds landed three defensive players on the preseason all-conference team — cornerback LeShaun Sims, safety Miles Killebrew and end James Cowser, voted the league's defensive MVP. SUU opens Sept. 3 at Utah State.
Weber State was not represented. Hill likes his secondary and linebackers and points to more experience on offense. He's hoping to improve a minus-10 turnover ratio from a 2-10 season. "That's one stat, if you fix it, you're five or six games better," he said.
The Wildcats will launch Hill's second season Sept. 4 at Oregon State. Eastern Washington, meanwhile, opens Sept. 5 at Oregon — where Adams is expected to be the Ducks' starting quarterback, having transferred from EWU as a graduate student.
Big Sky Conference preseason football polls
(first-place votes in parentheses)