Tag: Big Sky

Review: Big Sky Conference – Week 4

The first week of in-conference games started to shape the race to the Big Sky Conference title and eventual playoff hopes. Dog fights, statement wins, and lucky stars all aligned on this week as conference opponents took a step ahead of others while Sacramento State absolutely embarrassed FBS Colorado State. All of the conference leaders […]

Week Two Around The Big Sky

Weber State absolutely dominated FBS Utah State and picked up the Wildcats first FBS win since 1993.

Montana State’s Extraordinary Year Ends Up Putting The Bobcats In Frisco. How Did They Do It?

After hiring head coach Brent Vigen in January – and opting out the the spring season – they find themselves with a 12-2 record and this time facing North Dakota State in Frisco to possibly win their first National Championship in in 37 years. How did they do it?

Montana State Head Coach Brent Vigen Knows A Thing Or Two About Bison, Frisco

Montana State has spent nearly half a century panning for another national title in football and it’s taken a graduate of North Dakota State to lead the Bobcats to the threshold of achieving that goal.

2021 Division I FCS Playoff Quarterfinal Preview: #8 Montana State Bobcats at #1 Sam Houston Bearkats

GAME PREVIEW: # 8 Montana State vs. #1 Sam HoustonWhen: Saturday, December 11 at 7:30PM CSTWhere: Bowers Stadium; Huntsville, TexasTV/Streaming: ESPN+ Sam Houston’s defense came up with a clutch stop on fourth and goal to hold off a late rally in a 49-42 victory over Incarnate Word in the second round of the FCS playoffs […]

2021 Division I FCS Playoff Quarterfinal Preview: #6 Montana Grizzlies at #3 James Madison Dukes

Fans of James Madison, who will be competing in the Sun Belt next season, feel like this is the “rubber match” between the two programs and would be a fitting sendoff for the Dukes to avenge that semifinal loss. Montana fans, however, would like a different type of sendoff.

FCS Playoffs ‘Til I Die: CSJ Picks The FCS Playoff Field, 11/11/2021

With two weeks to go, no autobid has been determined for the upcoming FCS Playoffs, and without the FCS Playoff Committee releasing their working list of seeds, FCS fans have been left to the sift through the chaos as to what the heck the FCS Playoff bracket might look like.

FCS Playoffs ‘Til I Die: CSJ Picks The FCS Playoff Field, 10/28/2021

Check out highlights of last week’s big games, and check out out CSJ composite playoff bracket, bubble team of the week, and playoff implication game of the week as well.

2021 FCS Season Preview: Montana State Bobcats

Montana State opted out of the Spring Season and chose to only do an inter-squad spring game. Despite being out of competition for a year the Bobcats are loading up and have a host of hungry seniors ready to have a last hurrah. Between Isiah Ifanse, Lewis Kidd, Troy Andersen, and North Carolina State transfer […]

2021 FCS Season Preview: Montana Grizzlies

Montana may have opted out of the spring season, but their two-game schedule of Central Washington and Portland State had tremendous results of 56 points and 41 points margins of victory. The powerhouse from Missoula is trying desperately to reclaim relevance and a conference title under Coach Hauck. Despite their best efforts, Weber State has […]

2021 FCS Season Preview: Idaho State Bengals

Tyler Vander-Waal is the first quarterback worthwhile watching since Tanner Gueller was at the helm with his brother Mitch. The Bengals new dynamic duo of Vander-Waal and Tanner Conner is one of the more electric combos in the Big Sky Conference. Vander-Waal averages 323.5 yards through the air per game and Conner accounts for 114.2 […]

Big Sky Conference FCS Playoff Preview (Eastern Washington/North Dakota State, Southern Illinois/Weber State)

The Big Sky Conference earned two bids for the Football Championship Subdivision Playoff bracket. Eastern Washington will travel to Fargo, North Dakota to face the Bison and Weber State will play host to the Southern Illinois Salukis. Both Big Sky teams drew stiff Missouri Valley Conference competition that will provide sufficient challenges for being able […]

Big Sky Conference Football: Review April 10th, 2021

The Big Sky Conference saw another competitive week of action as each contest was decided by one possession. Idaho State took Weber State to the brink of losing the outright conference title.

Big Sky Football Review and Preview: Week of April 3rd, 2021

This week was full of surprises and highlights in the Big Sky, including a Sports Center Top Play of Weber State winning by a 50-yard Hail Mary throw to Justin Malone. In a week that should have been “blowout week” all but one contest was way closer than it should have been. In fact, those […]

CSJ Spring 2021 Week 1 Roundtable: Can A Spring Season Be Pulled Off?

The CSJ writing staff answer the questions many of us have about the beginning of this unprecedented FCS season.

Historic Spring College Football Season Set to Begin

The National Football Foundation (NFF) highlighted today the more than 310 schools and 35 conferences playing college football this spring at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, Division III and NAIA levels. FBS independent New Mexico State will also play games this spring.

2019 CSJ FCS Playoff Semifinal Picks And Celebration Bowl

It’s the next-to-last weekend of FCS football action, and it’s going to be a jam-packed Saturday with three games to showcase the best of FCS football. The unofficial HBCU National Championship is on the line, while the FCS Playoff Final Four see who advances to Frisco.

CSJ Semifinal Roundtable: Weber State at James Madison, Ben vs. Jamie

The College Sports Journal staff thought it would be a good idea to get some perspective on the Weber St/James Madison game from the guys who covered them all year. In this roundtable, CSJ staffers Ben Schleiger and Jamie Williams give you a deeper look at the two teams. Jamie -What is the status of […]

2019 FCS Playoffs Semi-Finals Matchup: Weber State at James Madison (The James Madison Edition)

The Dukes were not happy with their offensive production. Between penalties, turnovers and missed field goals, Coach Curt Cignetti felt the team left a lot of points on the board. A normally efficient red zone offense struggle to add to the early lead. It didn’t cost them this week, but the coaches know they need to tighten that up the rest of the way.

FCS Quarterfinal Round Playoffs: Through Cold, Rain and Snow, Weber State Outlast Bitter Big Sky Rivals Montana 17-10

On a wet, snowy evening at Stewart Stadium, Weber State’s defense and special teams were the main reason the Wildcats defeated their bitter rivals Montana 17-10 and advanced to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs for the first time in school history.

2019 FCS Playoffs: CSJ Playoff Picks, National Quarterfinals

We’re down to the final eight teams in the FCS Playoffs, as an unprecedented six of those teams face off on Friday evening in an intriguing tripleheader that includes three Big Sky teams. All three games played after sundown could be deeply affected by the weather.

2019 FCS Playoffs Quarterfinal Matchup: Austin Peay at Montana State, How To Watch and Fearless Predictions

After winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship for just the second time in school history and the first since 1977, the Governors won their second straight playoff game with a resounding win over Sacramento State last weekend. APSU has a chance to knock off another Big Sky Conference foe when the Govs travel to Bozeman, Montana, to take on Montana State in a Friday night clash.

2019 FCS Playoffs, Round 2 Review: CSJ Staff Gives Their Opinions

With the second round of the FCS Playoffs now complete, we give you links to all our recaps and our writers’ impression of the games.

FCS Second Round Playoffs: Austin Peay Writes Another Winning Chapter In 42-28 Win over Sacramento State

Another chapter was written in Austin Peay’s history-making season as the Governors rolled early and often on their way to a 42-28 win over Sacramento State on Saturday in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs at Hornet Field.

FCS Second Round Playoffs: Record-Setting Performance for Montana As They Smother Southeastern Louisiana 73-28

Hosting their first FCS Playoff games since 2015, the Grizzlies put on a show for their home fans, setting program and national records as they defeated Southeastern Louisiana 73-28 in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.

FCS Second Round Playoffs: Montana State Scores 47 Consecutive Points And Overwhelms Albany 47-21

Montana State used a balanced offense and solid defense to easily defeat Albany 47-21 in their second round matchup in the FCS playoffs. Even though Albany did get the scoring starting on an excellent 58 yard pitch and catch from Jeff Undercuffler to Juwan Green, From there, it was all Bobcats.

2019 FCS Playoffs: CSJ Playoff Picks, Round 2

This weekend eight seeded teams join the FCS Playoff party, including North Dakota State, who has made December dome football a North Dakota tradition, and four teams from the Big Sky, who saw an unprecedented four teams seeded in the playoffs. As a result, seven of the eight games are being played west of the Mississippi River.

2019 FCS Second Round Playoff Matchup: Albany at Montana State, How To Watch and Fearless Predictions

Albany proved its eight win regular season was no fluke as they cruised to a 42-14 win over Central Connecticut State behind a huge second half where they score three times in the opening seven and a half minutes of the third quarter.

2019 FCS Second Round Playoff Matchup: Austin Peay at Sacramento State, How To Watch and Fearless Predictions

Austin Peay and Sacramento State are both in a position that few pundits imagined at the start of the season: in the second round of the FCS national playoffs. The stakes only get higher for the winner of Saturday’s game.

2019 FCS Playoff Bracket Announced: How To Watch, CSJ Staff Impressions

Two-time defending national champion North Dakota State (12-0) tops the bracket as the number one seed after winning the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison are making their 10th consecutive and 15th overall appearance in the championship.

College Sports Journal Sagarin FCS Playoff Predictions–FINAL 2019

Using the Sagarin ratings from this week alone to project the FCS playoffs, along with the automatic bid for the conferences that receive a bid, the following would be the playoff teams. These teams are seeded 1 through 24 for the 24 teams that make the FCS playoffs. The seven Division I win criteria was […]