The Ohio Northern football team was selected to finish third in the media poll and fourth in the coaches poll in the Ohio Athletic Conference at the 2017 OAC Football Media Day held at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

ONU received 54 points in the coaches poll to finish fourth and 265 points in the media poll to finish third.

Mount Union was tabbed as the preseason favorite by both the media and coaches, collecting 26 first place media votes and seven first place votes from the coaches.

John Carroll was picked to finish second in both the media poll and the coaches poll with 74 points in the coaches poll and 327 points in the media poll.

"We are pretty excited about where we are this year," said head coach Dean Paul. "We have a good amount of talent coming back this season and some young guys that have some potential. Last year we had a couple of close calls that we felt we could have won and I think we have a good chance at finishing those games this season and competing on a national scale."

The Polar Bears finished 5-5 overall in 2016 and tied for fourth in the OAC with a 5-4 record.

Coaches Poll

Rank    School (First Place Votes)    Points
1.    Mount Union (8)    80
2.    John Carroll (2)    74
3.     Heidelberg    60
4.    Ohio Northern    54
5.    Otterbein    52
6.    Baldwin Wallace    38
7.    Marietta    32
8.    Capital    31
9.    Muskingum    18
10.  Wilmington    11

Media Poll

Rank    School (First Place Votes)    Points
1.    Mount Union (26)    345
2.    John Carroll (9)    327
3.    Ohio Northern    265
4.    Heidelberg (1)    244
5.    Otterbein    212
6.    Baldwin Wallace    180
7.    Capital    143
8.    Muskingum    123
9.    Marietta    101
10.  Wilmington    40