Big Sky notebook: Pivotal games ahead for top teams in conference

In its final weekend of regular-season play, two of the Big Sky’s richest football rivalries carry more significance than usual, not just within the conference but also on the national stage.

Montana (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky), ranked No. 7 in this week’s Stats Perform FCS top 25, hosts No. 3 Montana State (9-1, 7-0) in the 120th Brawl of the Wild on Saturday. In California, No. 10 UC Davis (8-2, 5-2) hosts No. 11 Sacramento State (8-2, 7-0).

Eastern Washington (8-2, 5-2), ranked No. 5, visits unranked Portland State (5-5, 4-3) in the third matchup between what are the top six teams in the conference standings.

Montana State and Sacramento State are vying to win at least a share of the Big Sky championship. They are the only two unbeaten teams left, and every other team in the conference has at least two losses.

“There’s no looking ahead. There’s no looking back,” Montana State’s first-year coach Brent Vigen said Monday at his media availability. “We’re in this week with a lot to play for.”

Montana/MSU: What’s at stake

This will be Vigen’s first experience with the Brawl of the Wild, but the significance of it is certainly not lost on him.

There are great rivalries on all levels, he said, and those rivalries played in states where college football is the highest level are particularly rich. Vigen’s coaching resume includes stops at North Dakota State and Wyoming – both of which play in states that fit that description.

“There are so many Montana kids on both sides. It just brings that level of intensity to a place that a lot of rivalries don’t see,” Vigen said. “I know going around to a lot of our communities this spring, it’s the first thing they want to mention, and I know that, and I get it.”

While Montana leads the series 72-41-5, MSU has won the past four matchups. Montana last won in 2015.

During Bobby Hauck’s first stint at Montana from 2003 to 2009, the Grizzlies won five of the seven matchups with MSU. Hauck coached the Grizzlies in their most recent two matchups, in 2018 and 2019.

Players for both teams this week expressed an appreciation for the rivalry, especially those who grew up in Montana like Grizzlies’ offensive tackle Dylan Cook, from Butte.

“There’s a lot (of these games) that I’ve watched over the years. I can’t pick out one specific memory,” he said, “but I know the two that stick in my mind the most, and they’re the most recent ones, and we’re just trying to right that ship.”

Montana State will bring what is statistically the Big Sky’s best rushing game (230.8 yards per game) against the conference’s strongest rushing defense (73.0).

If Montana State wins, it is likely to secure a top-three seed in the Football Championship Subdivision playoff bracket. Montana would also likely secure at least a bye – with a top-eight seed – if it wins. Both are widely considered to be playoff locks already, regardless of the outcome.

UC Davis/SSU: What’s at stake

The Causeway Classic is not as storied as the Brawl of the Wild, but there is just as much at stake this year. Like the Montana schools, Davis and Sacramento State are considered locks to make the 24-team field. Similar to that game, the winner between the Aggies and Hornets puts itself in position to earn a first-round bye.

Sacramento State is looking for its second Big Sky title since it joined the conference in 1996. Davis is trying to get one win closer to a 10-win campaign, a feat it has only achieved once since a string of 10-win seasons from 1998 to 2001.

The Aggies lead the series 46-21, though the Hornets won the last meeting (27-17) in 2019.

Earlier this week, Aggies senior defensive back Isaiah Thomas downplayed the particular significance of this week’s game, though, and focused more on the one-game-at-a-time nature of the season.

“I mean, yeah, it’s Sac State, it’s a rivalry and whatnot, but at the end of the day, it’s a game,” Thomas said during the team’s media availability. “We’re trying to win the game. That’s our goal. And we’re trying to go to the playoffs.”

The Hornets’ offense is second to Eastern Washington among Big Sky teams in total yardage and fourth in overall defense. The Aggies, who lost to the Eagles 38-20 last week, rank fourth in the Big Sky in total offense and eighth in total defense.