The Big Sky Conference has five or six teams in the FCS national preseason polls each year, and this season is no exception, with six teams ranked in the top 22.
The quality of the football has cemented the league’s reputation as one of the best in the subdivision, and it ranks comfortably behind the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which includes South Dakota State and North Dakota State – winners of six of the last seven national titles.
However, a change in seeding this season could give Big Sky a better chance of dethroning those two: Instead of seeding just the top eight teams of the 24-team playoff field, this year the top 16 will be seeded and thus guaranteed at least one home game.
“It spreads the energy across the country and that will help us have more home games, win more games and get our teams further into the tournament,” Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in July. “It’s a really big deal.”
As the season begins, Big Sky will once again try to send a team – or maybe even two – to the national championship game.
The favorites: Montana, Montana State, UC Davis
Montana lost 23-3 to SDSU in last year’s championship game after a thrilling run that included three wins in Missoula, including an overtime victory over NDSU in the semifinals. There’s little reason to doubt the Grizzlies, who boast a couple of preseason All-America selections, led by wide receiver and returner Junior Bergen. They begin the year ranked No. 3 in the STATS Perform Top 25.
Fourth-ranked Montana State is hosting the Brawl of the Wild in Bozeman this year, which could give them a leg up on the Big Sky championship against the rival Grizzlies. Two Bobcats players — quarterback Tommy Mellott and offensive lineman Marcus Wehr — are on the waiting list for the preseason Walter Payton Award, and defensive lineman Brady Grebe — also Big Sky’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year — is on the waiting list for the Buck Buchanan Award.
The 18th-ranked UC Davis Aggies don’t lack star power. Lan Larison was named Big Sky Preseason Offensive Player of the Year (he’s also on Payton’s list) and Rex Connors, Davis’ junior defensive back, is on the Buchanan watch list. Every year it seems like the Aggies fall short of the playoffs despite a strong record, but this year they seem poised to stay out of the bubble.
Insider tip: Idaho State
While the Bengals open Big Sky play against Montana State, they don’t have to play UC Davis or Montana this season. And if last year is any indicator, they’ll be able to throw the ball (330 yards per game). Plus, they have Dan Hawkins — the father of head coach Cody Hawkins and a former UC Davis coach — on staff as an assistant, and it doesn’t hurt to have someone on staff who’s been coaching the sport for 40 years.
A step back: Northern Arizona
With a coaching change (Brian Wright is now head coach) and a schedule that includes games against Arizona, Incarnate Word, Sacramento State, Idaho and Montana in its first seven games, NAU could well be off to a rough start that will be hard to recover from. Given that, repeating last season’s Big Sky record of 5-3 while establishing a starting quarterback seems difficult.
Expected order of finish (divided by stages):
1 – State of Montana
2 – Montana
3 – UC Davis
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4 – Eastern Washington
5 – Idaho
6 – Sacramento State
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7 – State of Idaho
8 – Weber State
9 – Portland State
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10 – Northern Arizona
11 – Cal Poly
12 – Northern Colorado
