Around the Big Sky

Missouri Valley-Big Sky non-conference crossover will prove crucial in playoff picture

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SPOKANE, Washington — A season ago, several crucial early wins by Missouri Valley Conference teams over opponents from the Big Sky helped fortify the league’s national reputation, in turn keeping the only FCS league in the Mountain and Pacific time zones fighting for national respect.

This season marks the first campaign including the Big Sky Conference-Missouri Valley Football Conference challenge, an eight-game slate that pits teams from two FCS power leagues against one another. Last year, the Missouri Valley put a record five teams in the FCS playoff field based at least partially on beating the Big Sky in four of the league’s six crossover matchups.

Weber State, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona each made the FCS playoffs. Eastern Washington went 7-4 and finished the season ranked in the Top 20 but did not earn a postseason bid. Sac State tied a program record with seven wins but did not make the playoffs. The Montana Grizzlies went 7-4 and did not make the playoffs for a second straight season.

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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved. 

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About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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