The Montana Grizzlies were slotted in ninth place in the Stats Perform FCS media preseason top 25 poll which was released on Monday.
The Montana State Bobcats weren't far behind, as MSU was ranked at No. 12.
Both Montana schools were two of five total Big Sky Conference schools to be ranked in the top 25. Weber State, which was picked to win the league by the media and coaches, comes in at No. 6 on the list. Eastern Washington is ranked at No. 11 while UC Davis rounds out the Big Sky schools at No. 23.
Sam Houston, James Madison, South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Delaware were voted as the top five teams in the poll.
Montana and Montana State open their seasons on the road on Sept. 4. Montana will play at Washington while MSU will be at Wyoming.
STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON TOP 25
(With fall 2020/spring 2021 record unless noted)
1. Sam Houston (10-0, 6-0 Southland), 1,228 points (39 first-place votes), Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Northern Arizona
2. James Madison (7-1, 3-0 CAA), 1,180 (8), Season Opener: Sept. 4 vs. Morehead State
3. South Dakota State (8-2, 5-1 Missouri Valley), 1,156 (3), Season Opener: Sept. 3 at Colorado State
4. North Dakota State (7-3, 5-2 Missouri Valley), 1,116, Season Opener: Sept. 4 vs. Albany
5. Delaware (7-1, 4-0 CAA), 1,017, Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Maine
6. Weber State (5-1, 5-0 Big Sky), 927, Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Utah
7. Southern Illinois (6-4, 3-3 Missouri Valley), 888, Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Southeast Missouri
8. North Dakota (5-2, 4-1 Missouri Valley), 886, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Idaho State
9. Montana (2-0), 778, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Washington
10. Jacksonville State (10-3, 6-1 Ohio Valley), 744, Season Opener: Sept. 1 vs. UAB
11. Eastern Washington (5-2, 5-1 Big Sky), 659, Season Opener: Sept. 2 at UNLV
12. Montana State (2019: 11-4, 6-2 Big Sky), 654, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Wyoming
13. Monmouth (3-1, 3-0 Big South), 618, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Middle Tennessee
14. Central Arkansas (5-4), 561, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Arkansas State
15. Southeastern Louisiana (4-3, 4-2 Southland), 559, Season Opener: Sept. 4 vs. North Alabama
16. Villanova (2-2 CAA), 440, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Lehigh
17. VMI (6-2, 6-1 Southern), 397, Season Opener: Sept. 4 vs. Davidson
18. Chattanooga (3-2, 3-1 Southern), 295, Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Austin Peay
19. Kennesaw State (4-1, 2-1 Big South), 255, Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Reinhardt
20. Austin Peay (4-5, 4-2 Ohio Valley), 227, Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Chattanooga
21. Northern Iowa (3-4 Missouri Valley), 219, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Iowa State
22. Nicholls (4-3 Southland), 173, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Memphis
23. UC Davis (3-2 Big Sky), 172, Season Opener: Sept. 2 at Tulsa
24. Missouri State (5-5, 5-1 Missouri Valley), 168, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Oklahoma State
25. North Carolina A&T (2019: 9-3, 6-2 MEAC), 159, Season Opener: Sept. 4 at Furman
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Murray State (5-2 Ohio Valley) 157, Richmond (3-1 CAA) 113, ETSU (4-2 Southern) 99, Sacramento State (2019: 9-4, 7-1 Big Sky) 57, Alabama A&M (5-0, 4-0 SWAC) 49, Florida A&M (2019: 9-2, 7-1 MEAC) 47, New Hampshire (0-1 CAA) 42, Alcorn State (2019: 9-4, 6-1 SWAC) 35, Holy Cross (3-1, 3-0 Patriot) 22, Samford (4-3 Southern) 20, UIW (3-3 Southland) 19, Sacred Heart (3-2, 2-1 Northeast) 17, Albany (1-3 CAA) 14, Illinois State (1-3 Missouri Valley) 10, Rhode Island (2-1 CAA) 10, South Carolina State (3-1) 10, Stephen F. Austin (6-4) 10, Duquesne (4-1, 4-0 Northeast) 4, Southeast Missouri (4-4, 4-3 Ohio Valley) 3
