Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information
DILLON, Mont. - In a preseason poll of Frontier Conference football coaches, the Montana Western football team was picked to finish second for the 2024 season.
The Bulldogs finished up the 2023 season going 9-2 on the season and a perfect 7-0 in the back end of the Frontier gauntlet, earning the outright conference title for the first time since 1995 and their first championship since 2021.
The Bulldogs will play ten games this season, with a balanced slate of five home and five away games. The defending Frontier Conference champions will kick off the historic season in the newly built Bulldog Stadium.
They will begin the season with a pair of home games, opening with a non-conference matchup against Eastern Oregon. They will follow up with their home conference opener against the College of Idaho. COI enters the season coming off of a deep playoff run that saw the Yotes top the Bulldogs in the second round of the playoffs, but then ultimately fall in the semifinal to Keiser University who was the national title runner-up.
UMW will follow up the first two home games with a pair of road games in Oregon, but will return on October 12 for a rivalry matchup with the Montana Tech Orediggers at home. Down the line on Nov. 9, the Bulldogs will host the Carroll College Saints for the first time since the 2021 season. The Bulldogs have won four straight over the Saints at home, dating back to 2016.
"To have two historic rivalry games at home this year versus Montana Tech and Carroll College, two well-coached and talented teams, gives our supporters and fans an awesome opportunity to see some of the best small college football played right here in Dillon Montana," continued Nourse.
The College of Idaho is the preseason favorite to win the 2024 Frontier Conference football championship for the second year in a row.
Southern Oregon follows in third place followed by Montana Tech, Carroll College, Rocky Mountain, Eastern Oregon, Arizona Christian, and MSU-Northern.
2024 Frontier Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll | ||
Rank | School (First-Place Votes) | Points |
1st | College of Idaho (7) | 63 |
2nd | Montana Western (1) | 57 |
3rd | Southern Oregon (1) | 43 |
4th | Montana Tech | 42 |
5th | Carroll College | 37 |
6th | Rocky Mountain College | 36 |
7th | Eastern Oregon | 23 |
8th | Arizona Christian | 15 |
9th | MSU-Northern | 8 |
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