PARK CITY, Utah, July 17 - Southern Utah was picked to finish eighth by both the coaches and the media in the 2012 Big Sky Conference football polls. The Thunderbirds are entering their first season in the BSC this fall.

SUU received 74 points, including one first-place vote from the coaches, one point behind Northern Arizona and seven behind No. 6 Weber State. The Thunderbirds garnered 258 points from the media to finish 26 behind Weber State, which was voted seventh.

"I think that when these preseason polls come, most coaches look to be somewhere in the middle two-thirds area," SUU Coach Ed Lamb said. "They want to be in striking distance and have enough respect around the league that we can be in striking distance of a realistic shot at a conference championship and it appears that most of the coaches and media place us in that middle two-thirds area.

"I would think puts us in a position there most people think we have a realistic shot at competing and yet we're flying under the radar," Lamb pointed out. "We're not one of the favorites, we're not a red-letter opponent for any of our opponents, they're probably looking forward to other games against other opponents in the conference as being bigger games, at least as far as conference championship implications go. So I think that we're probably in a situation, at least early in the season where you're going to be playing an underdog role. Traditionally SUU and our players respond very well to that role."

Montana State was picked to win the conference and was followed by Eastern Washington, Montana, Portland State and Cal Poly in both the coaches and the media polls.

"That's the way that I see it," Lamb said. "Usually preseason polls are a combination of what teams did the previous year in their league and then who they have coming back, particularly a the quarterback position because I think we all make the assumption that there's some player leadership present when the quarterback is returning. Montana State matches up in both those criteria, they had a nice in-conference record last year, plus they return their quarterback and I think that in every regard they should be considered the preseason number-one."

Sacramento state was picked ninth by the coaches, followed by North Dakota, Idaho State, UC Davis and Northern Colorado. North Dakota was picked sixth in the media poll while Northern Arizona was ninth, followed by Sacramento State, UC Davis, Idaho State and Northern Colorado.

2012 Preseason Football Polls

Media Poll

1. Montana State (30)............................ 502

2. Eastern Washington (3).................. 453

3. Montana (5).......................................... 442

4. Portland State...................................... 334

5. Cal Poly (1)............................................. 323

6. North Dakota ........................................ 295

7. Weber State (1) .................................. 284

8. Southern Utah....................................... 258

9. Northern Arizona................................. 242

10. Sacramento State............................... 191

11. UC Davis.................................................. 135

12. Idaho State............................................. 115

13. Northern Colorado............................... 63

Coaches' Poll

1. Montana State (7)................................ 136

2. Eastern Washington (4).................... 131

3. Montana (1)............................................. 126

4. Portland State ....................................... 90

5. Cal Poly ..................................................... 86

6. Weber State.............................................. 81

7. Northern Arizona.................................... 75

8. Southern Utah (1).................................. 74

9. Sacramento State................................... 71

10. North Dakota ........................................ 68

11. Idaho State................................................ 31

12. UC Davis................................................... 30

13. Northern Colorado .............................. 14

-- SUU --