As the playoffs quickly approach, the Big Sky Conference continues to fight for respect in the national polls following another unpredictable weekend in league play.
Eastern Washington suffered its first loss of the conference season, the Eagles’ third defeat overall, at home against Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks forced four EWU turnovers in a 52-30 win, NAU’s second straight over EWU. The loss dropped Eastern from No. 4 to No. 10 in this week’s FCS STATS Top 25 and the FCS Coaches polls. EWU finishes its schedule with a trip to Missoula to play Montana before finishing at home against Portland State.
Portland State traveled to Greeley for a game with upstart Northern Colorado in a game many thought would be a reprieve amongst a challenging final stretch for the Vikings. Instead, UNC jumped out to a 14-0 lead and rallied for a go-ahead score with less than two minutes to play in posting the 35-32 upset. The win was UNC’s first over a top 10 team in program history. PSU’s loss drops the Vikings (7-2) from No. 10 to No 15 in the STATS poll and from No. 9 to No. 16 in the Coaches’ poll. PSU hosts Southern Utah this week before traveling to Cheney for its season finale.
Southern Utah solidified itself alone atop the league standings with a 34-23 win over Montana State. The Thunderbirds moved up from No. 20 to No. 18 in the STATS poll and from No. 18 to No. 15 in the FCS Coaches’ poll. SUU’s program-record seventh straight win puts the Thunderbirds at 6-0 in league play with a trip to Portland and a season-finale against Northern Arizona still on the schedule.
Montana earned a wild win in Pocatello on Saturday. A botched snap by Idaho State on a game-winning field goal attempt in overtime led to a 40-yard return for a touchdown by Eric Johnson to lift UM to a 33-27 victory. Montana held steady at No. 22 in both polls this week. UM hosts Eastern Washington before playing at rival Montana State on Saturday.
Despite the upset win over EWU, NAU was just outside the STATS FCS poll this week. The Lumberjacks cracked the top 25, moving into the Coaches’ poll at No. 25 this week. The Lumberjacks won a must-win game, setting themselves up for two more. If NAU can get past Sacramento State in Flagstaff this weekend, the Lumberjacks will have what amounts to a playoff play-in game in Cedar City, Utah against SUU to finish the season.
Montana State fell from the coaches’ poll this week, meaning the Bobcats are not ranked in either poll for the first time this decade. Montana State will have to win its final two games to finish at .500 in league play and extend its run of winning seasons, a streak that dates back to 2002.
Jacksonville State was the only Top 5 team to win its game this weekend. The Gamecocks earned 149 of 161 first-place votes in the STATS poll and 25 of 26 votes in the Coaches’ poll to take No. 1 in each ranking. The rest of the top five in the STATS poll: North Dakota State, McNeese State, Coastal Carolina, South Dakota State. The rest of the Top 5 in the Coaches’ Poll: McNeese State, NDSU, Coastal Carolina, SDSU.
*Schools in BOLD indicate Big Sky Conference teams
STATS FCS Top 25 – Coaches Poll
| RANK | SCHOOL | VOTES | RECORD | |
| 1 | Jacksonville State | 4012 (149) | 8-1 | |
| 2 | North Dakota State | 3739 | 7-2 | |
| 3 | McNeese State | 3613 (12) | 9-0 | |
| 4 | Costal Carolina | 3344 | 8-1 | |
| 5 | South Dakota State | 3311 | 7-2 | |
| 6 | Illinois State | 3180 | 7-2 | |
| 7 | William & Mary | 2862 | 7-2 | |
| 8 | Chattanooga | 2510 | 7-2 | |
| 9 | Richmond | 2433 | 7-2 | |
| 10 | Eastern Washington | 2349 | 6-3 | |
| 11 | Charleston Southern | 2312 | 8-1 | |
| 12 | Harvard | 2285 | 8-0 | |
| 13 | Sam Houston State | 2111 | 6-3 | |
| 14 | James Madison | 2082 | 7-2 | |
| 15 | Portland State | 1780 | 7-2 | |
| 16 | Fordham | 1602 | 8-2 | |
| 17 | UNI | 1529 | 5-4 | |
| 18 | Southern Utah | 1405 | 7-2 | |
| 19 | North Carolina A&T | 1292 | 8-1 | |
| 20 | Youngstown State | 779 | 5-4 | |
| 21 | Citadel | 690 | 7-2 | |
| 22 | Montana | 621 | 5-4 | |
| 23 | Dartmouth | 518 | 7-1 | |
| 24 | Eastern Kentucky | 352 | 5-4 | |
| 25 | Grambling State | 304 | 7-2 |
Others: Northern Arizona (245), UT Martin (211), Central Arkansas (211), Bethune-Cookman (210), Dayton (104), Indiana State (62), Western Illinois (43), Towson (30), Western Carolina (28), North Dakota (24), Montana State (20), Prairie View A&M (18), Eastern Illinois(17), New Hampshire (17), Villanova (16), Duquesne (13), Alcorn State(11), South Dakota (10), North Carolina Central (9), Penn (7), Colgate (4)
STATS FCS Top 25 – Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | LAST |
| 1 | Jacksonville State (25) | 8-1 | 649 | 1 |
| 2 | McNeese State (1) | 9-0 | 617 | 5 |
| 3 | North Dakota State | 7-2 | 598 | 5 |
| 4 | Coastal Carolina | 8-1 | 556 | 8 |
| 5 | South Dakota State | 7-2 | 543 | 11 |
| 6 | Illinois State | 7-2 | 499 | 2 |
| 7 | William & Mary | 7-2 | 473 | 12 |
| 8 | Charleston Southern | 8-1 | 433 | 13 |
| 9 | Chattanooga | 7-2 | 401 | 3 |
| 10 | Eastern Washington | 6-3 | 373 | 4 |
| 11 | James Madison | 7-2 | 352 | 14 |
| 12 | Richmond | 72 | 339 | 7 |
| 13 | Harvard | 8-0 | 308 | 15 |
| 14 | North Carolina A&T | 8-1 | 282 | 16 |
| 15 | Southern Utah | 7-2 | 281 | 18 |
| 16 | Portland State | 7-2 | 266 | 9 |
| 17 | Fordham | 8-2 | 253 | 17 |
| 18 | Sam Houston State | 6-3 | 250 | 9 |
| 19 | Northern Iowa | 5-4 | 212 | 20 |
| 20 | The Citadel | 7-2 | 168 | 22 |
| 21 | Youngstown State | 5-4 | 138 | 21 |
| 22 | Montana | 5-4 | 83 | 22 |
| 23 | Bethune-Cookman | 8-2 | 80 | 25 |
| 24 | Dartmouth | 7-1 | 49 | NR |
| 25 | Northern Arizona | 6-3 | 44 | NR |
Dropped from rankings: Eastern Kentucky, Montana State
Others receiving votes: Towson 43, Central Arkansas 41, Grambling State 35, UT Martin 33, Eastern Kentucky 18, Dayton, 11, Western Carolina 6, North Dakota 5, South Dakota 4, Montana State 2, Villanova 2, Indiana State 1, Eastern Illinois 1, Bryant 1
