SPOKANE, Wash. — Weber State is officially a Big Sky Conference power in football.

The Wildcats were picked by both the media and the coaches to finish second in the 13-team conference.

Eastern Washington was picked to finish first and Northern Arizona was picked third in both polls.

Southern Utah is expected to be in the middle of the pack — sixth — in both polls, despite being co-champions with WSU in 2017. That is tied for the highest the Thunderbirds have been picked since they joined the conference.

Last season, Weber State and SUU tied atop the conference with identical 7-1 records. The T-birds beat the Wildcats 32-16 during the regular season only to fall 30-13 in the FCS second round in Cedar City.

Sacramento State, which is led by former Weber State coach Jody Sears, was SUU's only conference loss in 2017. The Hornets are picked to finish fifth in the coaches poll and seventh in the media poll.