Lights picked high in new computer poll

In an interesting computer poll online, the Montana State University-Northern football team has been ranked among the 30 best NAIA football teams for 2011.

In the 2011 edition of compughterratings.com, the Lights are ranked No. 27 in the NAIA. The site was created by Steve Pugh. He uses an advanced mathematical model used to rate sports teams in various competitive sports. The model uses a "least squares" method to generate initial ratings estimates and then employs a "maximum likelihood" technique to produce the final ratings.

As in most preseason polls, Carroll College is rated No. 1 in the compughterratings poll. Montana Tech is the next highest rated Frontier Conference school at No. 14. Rocky Mountain College is ranked No. 22 and Eastern Oregon University is rated No. 24. UM-Western is ranked No. 43.

Future Frontier Conference members Dickinson State University and Southern Oregon University are also highly regarded. DSU is ranked No. 13 in the poll and SOU is No. 23.

The website also ranks all divisions from FBS to NAIA, and both Montana schools are highly ranked in the FCS poll. Montana State University, which shared the 2010 Big Sky championship with Eastern Washington, is ranked No. 9 in the FCS poll, while the University of Montana, which missed the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1992 last season, is ranked 10th.

The defending national champion Eagles are picked second in the poll behind Appalachian State. Weber State is ranked No. 26 by the poll and Northern Arizona comes in at No. 31. Sacramento State, which is picked by many to be an upstart in the Big Sky this season, is ranked No. 34. Portland State is ranked No. 67 in the poll, while Northern Colorado is No. 76. Idaho State rounds out the Big Sky, coming in AT No. 91.