The Great West Conference’s pre-season poll was announced today and, according to the league’s coaches, the Thunderbird football team should finish third.

In polling conducted among the conference’s head coaches the Thunderbirds tallied 14 points, including one first-place vote, to finish behind defending champion UC Davis and four-time champ Cal Poly.

UC Davis was the clear favorite, with 23 points and three first-place votes, while Cal Poly accumulated 18 points and the final first-place nod. South Dakota tallied 11 points to finish fourth while North Dakota was picked to finish fifth with nine points.

Last season the Thunderbirds finished tied with North Dakota and South Dakota in second place after all three posted 2-2 marks in league play. UC Davis finished atop the standings at 3-1 (with the Aggies’ only loss coming at the hands of SUU, 56-35) and Cal Poly was fifth at 1-3.

“I think the poll came out roughly how it should,” SUU Coach Ed Lamb said. “All of the teams in our league can beat each other on any given week, I think that’s been shown in the last couple of years, but the teams that have been the most consistent have been Cal Poly, and then UC Davis last year. I think it’s probably how it should be with the top two, and as far as the other three programs, in my mind, we’re trying to catch those (top two) teams.”

Southern Utah opens its season Sept. 4, at Wyoming, with the home-opener slated for Sept. 11, when the Thunderbirds host San Diego in Eccles Coliseum.