Review: Big Sky Conference Football – 10/1/22

The Big Sky Conference saw its second week of conference competition and teams continue to separate themselves as the Homecoming and spirit based games start arriving on the schedule. A few straggler out of conference games remain, but the most exciting of them happened this past Sunday in Gainesville, Florida. Thankfully, the two teams were still able to compete with only a one day delay caused by Hurricane Ian. Montana, Sacramento State and Weber State remain undefeated in both conference and overall. Idaho and Montana State are also undefeated in conference play with only FBS losses on their overall schedules.

Date	Away	Home	Result	Location	Links
Saturday 10/1/2022	Northern Arizona 27	Portland State 35	Final	Portland, Ore. (Conf.)	Box Score Recap
Saturday 10/1/2022	Montana 28	Idaho State 20	Final	Pocatello, Idaho (Conf.)	Box Score Recap
Saturday 10/1/2022	Sacramento State 49	Cal Poly 21	Final	San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Conf.)	Box Score Recap
Saturday 10/1/2022	Northern Colorado 35	Idaho 55	Final	Moscow, Idaho (Conf.)	Box Score Recap
Saturday 10/1/2022	UC Davis 24	Montana State 41	Final	Bozeman, Mont. (Conf.)	Box Score Recap

Date	Away	Home	Result	Location	Links
Sunday 10/2/2022	Eastern Washington 17	University of Florida 52	Final	Gainesville, Fla.	Box Score Recap

Portland State Escapes the Poor Decisions of Coach Ball

Dante Chachere has been a lightning rod of excitement into this Portland State offense as he racked up 274 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air with 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The Vikings took a commanding 28-7 lead at halftime as the Lumberjacks struggled to generate production. The third quarter was dormant of scoring, although NAU was able to produce 20 points in the fourth quarter. The Lumberjacks comeback could have been closer, but two failed two-point conversions and going zero of eleven on third-down conversions held back the comeback. Portland State had more control over the game than the final score reflects and will need to keep the foot on the gas pedal in future games.

Offensive Star: Dante Chachere, Portland State Quarterback, 22/28 274 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and 12 rushes for 128 yards, 2 touchdowns

Defensive Star: Morgan Vest, NAU Cornerback, 11 tackles, 1.5 TFL

The Grizzlies Almost Let the Scrappy Bengals Battle Back

Montana had a decent score at halftime with a 21-6 lead over the Bengals. The Grizzlies chose a systematic approach rather than an explosive offense. Mitch Roberts extended the Montana lead to 28-6, but the Bengals were far from done. Two big drives from Sagan Gronauer brought Idaho State within eight points of causing overtime. The Sophomore quarterback made a great comeback effort, but the game clock would ultimately cut the Bengal comeback short. The top ranked Grizzlies showed great resolve according to Head Coach Bobby Hauck stating, “I told our team that we didn’t play our best game today, certainly, but a sign of a great football team is that they can not play their best and still win”.

Offensive Star: Marcus Knight, Montana Running Back, 14 rushes for 109 yards and a touchdown

Defensive Star: Patrick O’Connell, Montana Linebacker, 10 tackles, .5 TFL, .5 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble

Sacramento State Stings the Mustangs in SLO

Sacramento State traded three-and-outs until the Hornets found the scoreboard and never looked back. Cal Poly had two opportunities for field goal chances, but boldly went for it on fourth down just outside of the Hornet end zone. The Mustangs would face a 28-0 deficit before finally getting on the board with a Shakobe Harper four yard rushing touchdown to slow the rout. While Cal Poly was able to score 21 points in the second half they still lost the game by a margin of 28 points. The Hornets margin of victory was impressive, but 12 penalties for 105 yards lost will need to be a point of emphasis going forward.

Offensive Star: Cameron Skattebo, Sacramento State Running Back, 11 rushes for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns

Defensive Star: Armon Bailey, Sacramento State Linebacker, 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup

Idaho Celebrates Homecoming with a Big Second Half

A competitive first half took an Idaho turn as the Vandals secured a 20 point happy homecoming win. This was Northern Colorado’s first trip to the famous Kibbie Dome and one they will try to forget after reviewing film. The Bears kept it close in the first half, but costly turnovers and poor tackling helped the Vandals secure a high scoring win. The two teams were comparable in many areas except Idaho had 139 more rushing yards, created two turnovers, and were 25 percent more effective on third-down conversions. Jason Eck now has the Vandals well poised with a 2-0 record in conference as their next three games will be a tough stretch as they play at Montana October 15th and at Sacramento State October 29th.

Offensive Star: Hayden Hatten, Idaho Receiver, 8 catches for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns

Defensive Star: Murvin Kenion III, Idaho Defensive Back, 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 pass breakup

Sean Chambers Runs Wild Over UC Davis

Sean Chambers put the Bobcats on his back as he accounted for 430 of the total 552 offensive yards. Montana State has a crowded trainers room with a pile of offensive injuries, but Sean Chambers took the lead as the leading rusher for the season and a proficient fill-in quarterback. The Aggies kept the game close through the third quarter as Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. became UC Davis’s all time leading rusher and moved up in the record books with 41 total touchdowns. The heavy rain before the game may have dampened the Aggies plan of a balanced game plan forcing the favor to Montana State’s style of play. If Miles Hastings was able to get that interception back and force a score on any of the last four drives that ended in punts/downs the Aggies would have a different result to talk about.

Offensive Star: Sean Chambers, Montana State Quarterback, 13/21 for 227 yards, 2 touchdowns and 18 rushes for 203 yards, 3 touchdowns

Defensive Star: Danny Uluilakepa, Montana State Linebacker, 10 tackles 2 TFL

Eastern Washington Sees National TV in SEC Loss

Eastern Washington cashed a nice six-digit check to help support the athletic program and get their players some national spotlight by playing the SEC Florida Gators. As expected, the game was quite lopsided in the box score, but several offensive players got a chance to shine on national TV with some big plays. Marlon Jones Jr. was able to intercept Anthony Richardson, Gunner Talkington threw a touchdown to Jakobie James, and Kekoa Visperas ran in a touchdown. Despite the talent gap, Eastern Washington was able to make some good plays and give their players a decent showing on SEC Network/ ESPN+ that even had the commentators giving praise.

BSC Offensive Star: Gunner Talkington, EWU Quarterback, 24/37 for 250 yards, 1 touchdown

BSC Defensive Star: Marion Jones Jr., EWU Defensive Back, 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 pass breakup