The presence of Big Sky Conference teams in the national polls continued to shuffle this week as the league prepares for a wild weekend filled with championship and playoff implications.
Portland State is officially the highest ranked team in the Big Sky following last week’s 24-23 victory over Southern Utah. The Vikings almost certainly punched the Big Sky’s first ticket to the FCS playoffs with their eighth win, a resume that includes four wins over ranked FCS teams and a pair of FBS victories. The Vikings came in at No. 11 in both the STATS FCS Top 25 and the FCS Coaches’ Poll. PSU was No. 18 in each poll last week following a 35-32 misstep at Northern Colorado two weeks ago.
Portland State (8-2) plays Eastern Washington this week. A win over the Eagles would likely eliminate EWU From the playoffs while boosting PSU into an even more solid position for the postseason. A PSU win coupled with a Northern Arizona win over Southern Utah would give Portland State the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the playoffs and the first-ever Big Sky title in program history.
Montana earned a huge 57-16 win over Eastern Washington in Missoula last weekend to help the Griz jump from No. 22 to No. 17 in both polls. The loss knocked EWU out of the top 10 for the first time this season. The three-time defending Big Sky champs are now 6-4. EWU is No. 18 in the STATS poll and No. 19 in the Coaches’ poll after coming in at No. 10 in each last week.
The Griz (6-4) could share a part of the league title with a win over rival Montana State coupled with an EWU win over Portland State and a NAU win over SUU. In that scenario, Montana would take the league’s auto bid into the playoffs. EWU could claim its fourth straight league title by beating Portland State and receiving help from other teams.
Southern Utah (7-3) fell from No. 15 in both polls to No. 18 in the Coaches’ poll and No. 20 in the STATs poll. The Thunderbirds tried a two-point conversion with 1:18 to play for a potential go-ahead score but Ammon Olesen’s pass fell incomplete. A win over Portland State would have sewed up SUU’s first Big Sky title, shared or outright. A win against Northern Arizona on Saturday and SUU will still be the outright Big Sky champs.
Northern Arizona broke into the STATS Top 25 after last week’s 49-35 win over Sac State. The Lumberjacks came in at No. 24 in last week’s Coaches’ poll after a 52-30 win at Eastern Washington. NAU (7-3) are No. 20 in this week’s Coaches’ poll and No. 25 in this week’s STATS poll. If NAU defeats Southern Utah on Saturday, the Lumberjacks will likely qualify for the FCS playoffs. If NAU wins and EWU beats PSU, the Lumberjacks will tie for the conference crown.
Jacksonville State comes in at No. 1 in both polls this week. JSU earned 24 of 26 first-place votes in the Coaches’ Poll and 145 of 159 votes in the STATS poll to sit atop the poll for a 10th straight week.
After Jacksonville State, the rest of the STATS Top 10 is North Dakota State (9-1), the four-time defending FCS champion; McNeese State (9-0), which received 10 first-place votes; Coastal Carolina (9-1); South Dakota State (8-2); Illinois State (8-2); William & Mary; Chattanooga (8-2); Charleston Southern (9-1), which received a first-place vote for the first time this season; and Sam Houston State (7-3).
The Coaches’ poll the top 10 is: JSU, McNeese State, NDSU, Coastal Carolina, SDSU, Illinois State, William & Mary, Charleston Southern, Chattanooga and James Madison.
*Schools in BOLD indicate Big Sky Conference teams
STATS FCS Top 25 – Media Poll
| Rank | School | Votes | Prev |
| 1 | Jacksonville State (9-1) | 3886 (145) | 1 |
| 2 | North Dakota State (8-2) | 3655 | 2 |
| 3 | McNeese State (9-0) | 3555 (10) | 3 |
| 4 | Coastal Carolina (9-1) | 3280 | 4 |
| 5 | South Dakota State (8-2) | 3247 | 5 |
| 6 | Illinois State (8-2) | 3133 | 6 |
| 7 | William & Mary (8-2) | 2949 | 7 |
| 8 | Chattanooga (8-2) | 2720 | 8 |
| 9 | Charleston Southern (9-1) | 2589 (1) | 11 |
| 10 | Sam Houston State (7-3) | 2304 | 13 |
| 11 | Portland State (8-2) | 2212 | 15 |
| 12 | James Madison (8-2) | 2197 | 14 |
| 13 | Fordham (9-2) | 1746 | 16 |
| 14 | Richmond (7-3) | 1735 | 9 |
| 15 | UNI (6-4) | 1618 | 17 |
| 16 | North Carolina A&T (9-1) | 1418 | 19 |
| 17 | Montana (6-4) | 1270 | 22 |
| 18 | Eastern Washington (6-4) | 1211 | 10 |
| 19 | Harvard (8-1) | 1127 | 12 |
| 20 | Southern Utah (7-3) | 942 | 18 |
| 21 | Dartmouth (8-1) | 718 | 23 |
| 22 | Grambling State (8-2) | 491 | 25 |
| 23 | Eastern Kentucky (6-4) | 464 | 24 |
| 24 | Northern Arizona (7-3) | 414 | NR |
| 25 | Citadel (7-3) | 398 | 21 |
Others: Youngstown State (377), Central Arkansas (293), Dayton (201), Bethune-Cookman (183), Villanova (83), Eastern Illinois (73), North Dakota (42), Western Illinois (37), Penn (29), UT Martin (29), New Hampshire (24), Duquesne (13), Western Carolina (12), Colgate (10), Alcorn State (7), Towson (6), Montana State (1) , Prairie View A&M (1)
STATS FCS Top 25 – Coaches Poll
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
| 1. | Jacksonville State (24) | 9-1 | 648 | 1 |
| 2. | McNeese State (2) | 9-0 | 616 | 2 |
| 3. | North Dakota State | 8-2 | 592 | 3 |
| 4. | Coastal Carolina | 9-1 | 559 | 4 |
| 5. | South Dakota State | 8-2 | 544 | 5 |
| 6. | Illinois State | 8-2 | 531 | 6 |
| 7. | William & Mary | 8-2 | 486 | 7 |
| 8. | Charleston Southern | 9-1 | 464 | 8 |
| 9. | Chattanooga | 8-2 | 440 | 9 |
| 10. | James Madison | 8-2 | 408 | 11 |
| 11. | Portland State | 8-2 | 368 | 16 |
| 12. | Sam Houston State | 7-3 | 327 | 18 |
| 13. | North Carolina A&T | 9-1 | 312 | 14 |
| 14. | Fordham | 9-2 | 295 | 17 |
| 15. | Northern Iowa | 6-4 | 256 | 19 |
| 16. | Richmond | 7-3 | 229 | 12 |
| 17. | Montana | 6-4 | 188 | 22 |
| 18. | Southern Utah | 7-3 | 185 | 15 |
| 19. | Eastern Washington | 6-4 | 184 | 10 |
| 20. | Northern Arizona | 7-3 | 138 | 25 |
| 21. | Harvard | 8-1 | 114 | 13 |
| 22. | Bethune-Cookman | 8-2 | 111 | 23 |
| 23. | Dartmouth | 8-1 | 93 | 24 |
| 24. | The Citadel | 7-3 | 92 | 20 |
| 25. | Central Arkansas | 7-3 | 70 | NR |
Dropped from rankings: Youngstown State
Others receiving votes: Grambling State 59, Dayton 29, Villanova 20, Youngstown State 19, Eastern Kentucky 16, North Dakota 15, Eastern Illinois 13, Alcorn State 7, Towson 5, New Hampshire 5, Penn 4, UT Martin 2, Western Carolina 2, Western Illinois 2, South Dakota 1, Cal Poly 1
Big Sky Conference Standings
| Conference | Overall | vs | |||||||||
| W-L | PF | PA | Home | Road | W-L | PF | PA | Home | Road | Top 25 | |
| 20 Southern Utah | 6-1 | 263 | 93 | 3-0 | 3-1 | 7-3 | 337 | 167 | 4-0 | 3-3 | 1-2 |
| 11 Portland State | 5-2 | 239 | 184 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 8-2 | 360 | 208 | 4-1 | 4-1 | 4-0 |
| 17 Montana | 5-2 | 219 | 145 | 3-1 | 2-1 | 6-4 | 297 | 231 | 4-2 | 2-2 | 2-2 |
| 24 Northern Arizona | 5-2 | 303 | 224 | 4-0 | 1-2 | 7-3 | 391 | 334 | 5-0 | 2-3 | 3-1 |
| 18 Eastern Washington | 5-2 | 218 | 252 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 6-4 | 350 | 401 | 3-1 | 3-3 | 1-2 |
| Weber State | 4-3 | 159 | 175 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 5-5 | 212 | 256 | 3-1 | 2-4 | 1-2 |
| North Dakota | 4-3 | 210 | 197 | 3-1 | 1-2 | 6-4 | 264 | 262 | 4-1 | 2-3 | 2-2 |
| Montana State | 3-4 | 268 | 247 | 2-1 | 1-3 | 5-5 | 426 | 323 | 4-1 | 1-4 | 1-3 |
| Cal Poly | 3-4 | 290 | 257 | 2-1 | 1-3 | 4-6 | 351 | 345 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 1-5 |
| Northern Colorado | 3-5 | 214 | 298 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 5-5 | 290 | 342 | 3-2 | 2-3 | 1-1 |
| Idaho State | 1-6 | 165 | 283 | 0-4 | 1-2 | 2-8 | 228 | 415 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 1-3 |
| Sacramento State | 1-6 | 140 | 232 | 1-2 | 0-4 | 2-8 | 195 | 333 | 2-2 | 0-6 | 0-3 |
| California-Davis | 1-6 | 149 | 250 | 1-3 | 0-3 | 1-9 | 210 | 355 | 1-4 | 0-5 | 0-1 |
