It’s unclear what the buy-in was on this particular night. Regardless, it’s certain that the next time the two rivals are in the same building, they’ll be playing for much higher stakes. 

Given the recent track record, it’s almost inevitable that this year’s Brawl of the Wild, set for November 22 in Missoula’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium, will once again determine top-eight playoff seeding and perhaps the Big Sky crown itself.

That’s been the story in the conference of late, with either Montana or Montana State taking at least a share of the Big Sky title in each of the last three seasons. At the Big Sky Kickoff, both Hauck and Vigen were justifiably confident in that trend continuing.

The advantages the two Treasure State schools have over the rest of the conference – in resources, tradition, fan base and scheduling – make it hard to envision a scenario where one or possibly both aren’t playing for the Big Sky title on that all-important Saturday afternoon in November this year and into the near future. 

Montana, after all, made the second round of the playoffs a year ago despite struggling to figure out the quarterback rotation and not putting a single defensive player on the first-team all-conference.

And, although the Griz lost a certified legend in Junior Bergen and plenty of other depth besides, Montana still returns one of the best players in the country in running back Eli Gillman. UM also poached proven all-Big Sky talent in receiver/returner Michael Wortham of Eastern Washington and linebacker Peyton Wing of Portland State on the way to getting voted second in the media poll and third in the coaches.

“You know, we have a good-looking football team that’s worked really hard,” Hauck said. “This is a fun time of year because everybody in this room is optimistic, whether it’s rational optimism or they’re smoking something, right? I am optimistic about our team, I think. We’re always going to win. How many? I don’t know the answer to that, but I know we’re gonna have a highly competitive football team.”

Vigen’s ‘Cats, meanwhile, are coming off a trip to the national championship game and, despite losing a certified legend of their own in Tommy Mellott, were overwhelmingly voted No. 1 in both polls, with running back Adam Jones named the conference’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

“The preseason polls are generally a reflection of how you did last year and we won the league last year, so it’s where we want to be now and at the end of the year. But I know we have a long road ahead of us,” Vigen said. “To be recognized in that regard is a good thing, but it doesn’t mean anything at the same time.”

That expected excellence means – slightly counter-intuitively – that the intriguing narratives of Big Sky Kickoff weekend had nothing to do with Hauck or Vigen, or either of their teams.

Instead, the question that will define this Big Sky season is simple: Who will join the two Treasure State coaches at the figurative high-stakes table?

With five playoff teams from the conference a year ago, the opportunity is there. And with rosters across the league shifting to a degree unprecedented even in this age of college football, the race will be wide open.

Added to that is the fact that all four teams expected to be fighting for playoff spots alongside the two Montana schools have either first- or second-year head coaches.

At UC Davis, former Aggies quarterback Tim Plough burst onto the scene last fall in his first year as head coach, beating the Griz and nearly breaking the Bobcats’ winning streak in back-to-back games before making it to the national quarterfinals.

Davis lost All-American running back Lan Larison to the NFL and multiple-year starting quarterback Miles Hastings to the CFL, but the Aggies were one of the teams in the league least afflicted by the transfer portal. Plough returns All-American defensive back Rex Connors and his linebacker brother Porter, along with preseason all-conference selections at wide receiver (Samuel Gbatu), tight end (Winston Williams) and offensive line (Ernesto Nava and Eli Simonson). Nava and Simonson are two of five returning starters up front on offense. 

The Aggies have to find a quarterback to replace Hastings. Earlier this week, Plough announced that the first crack at the job would go to redshirt freshman Caden Pinnick.

“Caden Pinnick is a redshirt freshman, local kid from Del Oro High School who also plays on the baseball team,” Plough said. “He’s a guy who can really create and a style we haven’t really had in a long time. He reminds me of the Eric Barriere, Vernon Adams, Dakota Prukop type of guy. … I’m not saying he’s anywhere near those guys right now. But he’s that mold, a guy who can run, create off-schedule plays, and I thought he had a good camp.”

At Northern Arizona, Plough’s fellow second-year head man Brian Wright is pretty much the only coach in the conference who doesn’t have to find a quarterback going into the season.

After transferring from Pittsburg State, Ty Pennington threw for 2,288 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Lumberjacks last year – not generally numbers that scream preseason all-conference. In the Big Sky this year, they might as well make him Dan Marino.

Pennington’s yardage total was double any other returning QB’s besides Jack Wagner, who’s not projected to retain his starting job at Idaho – and that gives Wright a massive head start as he tries to take the ‘Jacks to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in school history.

“It certainly helps your sleep at night knowing you have a guy like Ty Pennington returning,” Wright said. “Not just through graduation but the transfer portal this day and age has cost the Big Sky and the FCS so many quarterbacks. When a guy has a good season, that guy gets poached by somebody else who’s willing to give him more money. 

“Ty is an exceptional human being, No. 1, and his loyalty to us and this program speaks volumes to the type of person he is. He has grown tremendously in his leadership qualities. He’s a quiet guy, to himself, but he shows up as the same guy every day. He leads in the weight room and he gets the guys together for extra sessions and he’s at the forefront of all of that.”

Speaking of Wagner and the Vandals, Thomas Ford is a first-year head coach who doesn’t much feel like it. Ford – whose brother Tracy played for the Vandals in the 2000s – was the running backs coach in Moscow just two seasons ago, and the obvious choice to take over the program when Jason Eck decamped to New Mexico.

A half-decade ago at Simon Fraser, he was named GNAC coach of the year for improving a team that hadn’t won a game in the past three seasons to 1-8.

Now, all he has to do is fill the shoes of the most charismatic, boisterous coach in the league. In three short years, Eck took the Vandals from irrelevant also-ran to back-to-back top-eight finishes in the final polls.

Ford’s job might be even a touch harder than that, given Eck took a legion of Idaho’s best talent – running back Deshaun Buchanan, pass rusher Keyshawn James-Newby, cornerback Abraham Williams, linebacker Jaxton Eck (a free hit, to be fair, given the family ties) – with him to Albuquerque.

Ford and the new-look Vandals are betting heavily on an offensive line headlined by standout returners Nate Azzopardi and Layton Vining. They’ll also hope for a quick FCS transition by Fresno State transfer quarterback Joshua Wood, for whom hype around Moscow is building to jet-engine takeoff levels.

“I just remember (coach Ford) coming in and saying, ‘This isn’t a rebuild,’” Azzopardi said. “We are still a very experienced team. We’ve got a lot of great players on the roster, and we’re looking to win a conference championship.”

That leaves – barring something unexpected from Cody Hawkins’ Idaho State or an unlikely return to glory for Weber State or Eastern Washington – the biggest mystery in the conference.

In their final year in the Big Sky, the Sacramento State Hornets are playing with the biggest bankroll and for the highest stakes. An all-in attempt to move up to the FBS left the Hornets bust. Next year, they’ll begin life as an independent – still in the FCS, but no longer in the Big Sky.

Their future is unclear. What’s certain is they’d like to leave the Big Sky with a bang. In Spokane, they tried to bring the Vegas glitz and glamour, with new head coach Brennan Marion – UNLV’s offensive coordinator last year – sporting his signature cowboy hat, dispensing with his media responsibilities early and then dipping out.

The Hornets certainly have the (mostly imported) talent – former all-everything QB recruit Jaden Rashada, ex-Lafayette All-American RB Jamar Curtis (alongside other running back transfers from Washington, Pittsburgh, Nevada and Colorado State), even some returners like offensive lineman Aidan Meek and pass-rushing linebacker Josh Cashiola.

They have Marion, whose novel Go-Go offense – high-tempo, option-based, named after the DC strain of funk that’s one of the unique genres of American music – is one of the truly innovative schemes to hit the gridiron in the last decade.

“He came in and we got straight to work,” defensive lineman Xavier Williams said. “He told us the expectations. We’re here to win. You know, one great year can change your life. That’s our slogan. We’re looking for this year to be the thing that could change our life around and go get us paid somewhere, and so, we came in and just got right to work.”

The only problem is that Marion – and the players – were brought in to headline a flashy move up to the FBS, and it’s unclear whether any of it will translate to a grinding year in the Big Sky Conference against a slate of teams who’d love to bloody the Hornets’ nose on their way out.

After all, Sac State finished just 3-9 a year ago. A turnaround from that mark – which included just one conference win, against Weber State in double overtime – would be nearly unprecedented, and the Hornets have only one year to do it.

But then again, in the preseason, everybody’s got a seat at the table, a stack of chips and the belief that they’ll be the last one standing. And the only way to join Montana and Montana State is to bet big.

Samuel Akem of Skyline Sports’ interview with UC Davis WR Sam Gbatu.

He sat down with Colter Nuanez of Skyline Sports at the Big Sky Kickoff.

Montana was picked second by the media and third in the coaches’ preseason polls.

UM seniors offensive tackle Dillon Botner & defensive end Kellen Detrick joined Colter Nuanez to preview the season.

Slater sat down with Samuel Akem of Skyline Sports to talk about the 2024 season at the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane in July.

This video filmed by Samuel Akem, produced by Colter Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.

He caught up with Colter Nuanez of Skyline Sports at the 2024 Big Sky Kickoff media event in Spokane, Washington on July 22, 2024.

Video filmed by Blake Hempstead, Skyline Sports. All Rights Reserved.