Big Sky notebook: Conference outlook will clarify when top teams meet
The five teams holding the top spots in the Big Sky football standings got there by dominating the conference’s other seven.
Starting this week, they will work to separate themselves from one other.
The action starts at noon Saturday, when Montana State (6-1, 4-0 Big Sky) hosts Weber State (6-0, 3-0). Then, at 8 p.m. in a nationally televised broadcast on ESPN2, Sacramento State (6-0, 3-0) hosts Montana (5-1, 2-1). All four teams are in the top 10 in national FCS rankings.
The Grizzlies are coming off a 30-23 home loss to the 17th-ranked Idaho Vandals (4-2, 3-0), who jumped into the FCS rankings for the first time this season and have positioned themselves for a run at the FCS playoffs. The Vandals host Portland State (2-4, 1-2) at noon Saturday in Moscow.
Aside from those five teams, no other Big Sky squads have a winning record overall or in conference play. In fact, none of those seven – including Eastern Washington – is better than two games under .500.
So in a sense, the conference would be served well if its current top five teams beat up on each other somewhat equally, should it hope to get five teams back in the 24-team playoff field as it did a season ago. Montana State, Sacramento State, Montana, Eastern Washington and UC Davis made the postseason in 2021.
Bobcats, Wildcats square off in Bozeman
Montana State was the national runner-up last year and has perhaps the easiest schedule remaining. After this weekend’s game against Weber State, the Bobcats play at Northern Arizona, at Cal Poly and then at home against Montana.
But the Wildcats present a significant challenge.
“Offense, defense – they’re just good across the board,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said Monday of a Weber State team that beat the EWU 45-21 earlier this month. “And special teams, they’ve found a way to gain an edge.”
Vigen pointed to sophomore quarterback Bronson Barron as a difference maker for the Wildcats, who are looking to win at least a share of the Big Sky title for the fifth time in six years.
“He’s making good decisions. He’s getting the ball out. They’re throwing the ball better and I think differently than they did last year,” Vigen said. “(On offense) they’ve got really good skill. They’re not so dependent on any one particular guy.”
The Wildcats and Bobcats are among the best rushing teams in the FCS.
After this matchup, Weber State hosts Montana and Sacramento State in successive weeks.
Griz look to get back on track
After losing to the Vandals for the first time since 1999, the Grizzlies find themselves fifth in the Big Sky standings with a difficult schedule ahead of them.
That starts with Sacramento State, a program that just beat Eastern Washington by 24 points and is on a 14-game Big Sky winning streak. The No. 2 Hornets have never before been ranked as highly as they are .
“They have good backs – plural – and they do have the ability to throw it, and they have a pretty significant quarterback run component as well,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said during his Monday news conference. “So you have to defend the whole thing. It’s akin to triple-option football, everything from the splits to everything else. Good (for) them. They’re really rolling up the rushing yards. It’s a huge challenge.”
One week after playing at Sacramento State, the Grizzlies will play at Weber State before returning home for back-to-back games against Cal Poly (Nov. 5) and Eastern Washington (Nov. 12). They will then go back on the road to play MSU.