NEW ORLEANS—Idaho football was picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Poll, the league office announced on Thursday. The poll is compiled by the conference's 12 head coaches.
Appalachian State picked up seven first place votes and 136 total points to claim the No. 1 spot. Troy, selected second, received two first place votes and 127 total points. Arkansas State rounds out the top three in with 122 points and one first place selection.
The Vandals, one of four Sun Belt schools to win a bowl in 2016, received 84 points. The Silver and Gold finished the season with five straight wins, closing out the year at 9-4. Idaho tied for third in the SBC a year ago with a 6-2 record.
"We are excited to get the season going," head coach
Paul Petrino commented. "We are going to build off our success from last year. We know this is a tough conference, but we are working hard to win another bowl game this season."
South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette were picked ahead of Idaho in fourth and fifth, respectively. The Jaguars and Ragin' Cajuns both finished 2016 with a 6-7 record. The rest of the poll featured Georgia Southern (7), Georgia State (8), Louisiana-Monroe (9), New Mexico State (10), Texas State (11) and conference newcomer Coastal Carolina (12).
Aikeem Coleman,
Matt Linehan and coach Petrino, will be in New Orleans this weekend for the annual Sun Belt Media Day. The event will be streamed live through ESPN3, stay in touch with Idaho football across all its platforms for day-by-day coverage of the events.
Fans can stay up-to-date on all things Idaho football by following the team on Twitter, @VandalFootball, on Instagram, @VandalsFB, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals Football.
For more information on Idaho Athletics, visit GoVandals.com. Fans can also find Idaho on Twitter and Instagram, @Idaho_Vandals, or on Facebook by searching Idaho Vandals.
2017 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Football Poll
| No. |
School (1st place votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Appalachian St. (7) |
136 |
| 2 |
Troy (2) |
127 |
| 3 |
Arkansas State (1) |
122 |
| 4 |
South Alabama |
98 |
| 5 |
Louisiana-Lafayette (1) |
95 |
| 6 |
Idaho |
84 |
| 7 |
Georgia Southern |
82 |
| 8 |
Georgia State |
48 |
| 9 |
Louisiana-Monroe |
46 |
| 10 |
New Mexico State (1) |
41 |
| 11 |
Texas State |
31 |
| 12 |
Coastal Carolina |
26 |
