The Thunderbirds finished the 2016 season 9–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to earn a share of the conference championship with Weber State. They received the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Weber State in the second round.
Preseason
Polls
On July 16, 2018 during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Thunderbirds were predicted to finish in sixth place in both the coaches and media poll.[1]
Coaches poll
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Eastern Washington
134 (6)
2
Weber State
124 (3)
3
Northern Arizona
121 (3)
4
Idaho
101 (1)
5
Sacramento State
94
6
Southern Utah
91
7
Montana
82
8
Montana State
76
9
UC Davis
64
10
Cal Poly
40
11
Northern Colorado
30
12
Idaho State
29
13
Portland State
21
Media poll
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Eastern Washington
651 (27)
2
Weber State
636 (19)
3
Northern Arizona
535 (1)
4
Montana
496 (2)
5
Idaho
483 (3)
6
Southern Utah
449 (1)
7
Sacramento State
415
8
Montana State
391 (1)
9
UC Davis
331 (1)
10
Idaho State
170
11
Cal Poly
169
12
Northern Colorado
166
13
Portland State
103
Preseason All-Conference Team
The Thunderbirds had five players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.[2]