Tag: Idaho Vandals Football

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 […]

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 […]

Big Sky Football: State of the Conference After Non-Conference Play

The majority of the Big Sky’s non-conference slate has been played and we can now form some pretty potent opinions about what the teams may offer in conference play.

Week Two Around The Big Sky

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

Preview: Big Sky Conference Football – 9/10/22

Week 2 Schedule – September 10th, 2022 Date Away Home Time Location Links Saturday 9/10/2022 Morehead State Montana State 1:30 p.m. MT Bozeman, Mont. TV: ABC Montana/SWX in Billings (503 on cable, 8.2 over air)/ESPN+ streaming Radio: Bobcat Radio Network Saturday 9/10/2022 South Dakota Montana 1:30 p.m. MT Missoula, Mont. TV: ABC/Fox TV Stats Radio: […]

Preview: Big Sky Conference Football – 9/3/22

Week 1 Schedule Thursday, September 1, 2022 The Wildcats kickoff their 2022 campaign with a substitute opponent after James Madison opted to play a full FBS slate right off the bat. Weber State found the trustworthy Division II Western Oregon Wolves to fill in for the Dukes for an inevitable shellacking. There might be looming […]

2022 Big Sky Football Conference Preview

The off-season is finally in a normal format, but college football feels anything but normal. The FBS Power Conferences are in an unprecedented arms-race, Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) deals and rules continue to be controversial, and three household names of the FCS are on the rise to the FBS (Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State, and James Madison […]

CSJ Big Sky Conference Football Preview: Fall 2021

This fall will be a chance to revamp the entire resume of the Big Sky as the craziness of opt-outs and forfeits should be behind us.

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.

College Sports Journal Big Sky Conference Football: Preview April 10th, 2021

The Big Sky conference’s season is coming to a close and some serious questions have yet to be answered before the playoffs.

Big Sky Conference Football: April 3rd Review

Another close week made waves across the Big Sky as Weber State holds on late in the fourth quarter, Eastern Washington improves their resume for an at-large playoff spot, and Idaho crumbles in the Battle of the Domes. How long can we make excuses for Weber State’s close games? EWU took another step towards playoffs, […]

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 […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FCS Top 25–Mar. 28

Below are the Top 25 rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending March 28th. These rankings are amongst the now 91 schools participating in the spring schedule. NOTE: the Ivy League and Mid-Eastern (MEAC) conferences are not participating in the 2021 spring schedule.   The Big Sky Conference was the big winner […]

CSJ Roundtable, Week of 2/27/21: What The Hell Did We Just Witness?

Like many other football fans across the nation of FCS, we watched North Dakota State’s 39 game winning streak come to an end in Carbondale, Illinois, but it wasn’t the only event this weekend that had us shaking our heads.

A Whole New World? Universe? Reality? What the Results of Week 2 Mean for the FCS Spring Season

Oh. My. Goodness.

Big Sky Weekly Update: Controversy Ends Week 1

In a week of chaos and controversy around the FCS we saw the Big Sky feature one of the top headlines. Undoubtedly, the top headline was the end of the North Dakota State winning streak, but a close second was the “missed” field goal during the Eastern Washington/ Idaho game. For those who missed it, […]

CSJ FCS FOOTBALL FRIDAY, 2/26/2021: Our Thoughts And Picks For This Weekend

This week we welcome the SWAC, Big Sky, and Big South to the wonderful world of spring FCS football, to go with the Missouri Valley, SoCon and OVC, who started their spring conference slates last week, and Tarleton State, who spent their time crushing FBS New Mexico State 43-17.

Big Sky Football Preview Week of 2/27/21

The Big Sky Conference starts their six week conference only schedule this weekend. The teams opting not to play include Sacramento State, Montana, Montana State, Portland State, and Northern Colorado. The rest of the conference looks to navigate the six game schedule into an automatic qualifying position or an at-large big for the abbreviated 16 […]

CSJ Big Sky Conference Football Preview: What to Expect in Spring

The Big Sky plans for a six-game conference-only schedule with two open weeks (March 20th & April 17th). In the time leading up to that, there has been a lot of changes in staff and players, with plenty of time for more chaos.

CSJ Classic (2004) – With Division I Transition, Old Dakota Rivalries Are Dying

In the Dakotas, there is one fall Saturday every year when each of the states stands still to watch one football game.

The two rivalries garnering this attention, the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux versus the North Dakota State University Bison, and the University of South Dakota Coyotes versus the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits, are partially gone at least for the 2004 season and could be for the foreseeable future.

Big Sky Conference Previews, How To Watch: Week of 10/19/2019

The Big Sky has been a game of boggle lately as each time you shake it something big changes. Montana and Sacramento State will duke it out for the drivers seat this weekend. Another notable match will be to see if NAU can play spoiler or Weber State will continue to establish their top ten […]

Big Sky Conference Previews: Conference Week 2 Quick Picks

The Big Sky is a pendulum of normal games to chaotic endings many would not have suspected. What will we get Saturday? Despite the Northern Colorado betting line being the highest at 12.5 underdog, I think every team this week has a legitimate shot of winning their perspective game.

College Sports Journal Big Sky Conference Reviews: Week of 9/21/2019

The non-conference portion of the schedule is mostly over for the Big Sky with a few exceptions such as UNI vs, Weber this week, Idaho State travels to BYU in November, and a few North Dakota games. So far, the Big Sky is not off to as hot a start as many believed they would […]

The Week That Was: Highlights of the Five Top FCS Games, Week Ending 9/21/2019

Without question the top FCS game of the week was the battle of FCS powerhouses in the Fargodome.Returning home after 47-22 victory the week before against Delaware, the heavily-favored Bison had a very tough battle against visiting UC Davis, ultimately winning 27-16 after scoring a late touchdown to finally put the game in the win column for North Dakota State.

College Sports Journal Big Sky Conference Previews: Week of 9/21/2019

Week 4 is upon us and the last of the intriguing non-conference play will be wrapping up for the majority this week. The Big Sky – Missouri Valley games will see several games this week of varying degrees of competitiveness to be observed. Missouri Valley fans will likely be harassing Big Sky fans after this week as the matchups are lopsided even when seemingly close. Despite the spreads, this week will feature two marquee matchups, even if the Big Sky is favored in neither.

Big Sky Conference Week 3 Games Review – Week of 9/14/2019

Marquee: Jacksonville State def. Eastern Washington 49-45 A tidal wave of shock was sent across the FCS landscape as Jacksonville State pulled off a momentous upset. After the first quarter it seemed as if the fate of the game was going to be easily determined with a 28-7 EWU lead. Things would even out much […]

College Sports Journal Big Sky Conference Previews: Week of 9/14/2019

The non-conference gauntlet continues in Week 3 with PAC 12 and Mountain West FBS matches, long distance FCS games, and one D-II game. Weber State has the best chance to make a “Fear the FCS” moment, but all of the FBS games this week have the potential to be ugly. Looking ahead at the FCS games is a different story, as Big Sky teams have the talent to win big. NAU versus Western New Mexico will be an obvious win barring a strong Lumberjack performance.

Big Sky Conference Week 2 Games Review – Week of 9/07/2019

Marquee: Montana State def. SEMO 38-17 The Redhawks gave their best effort, but the Bobcats prevailed dominant. A close halftime score did not define the game as Montana State went on a 28-7 run to win. Casey Bauman performed adequately, while the running game established itself as a deciding factor. Bauman passed for 136 yards […]

College Sports Journal Big Sky Conference Game Previews: Week of 9/07/2019

The Big Sky schedule in general switches from an uphill FBS heavy schedule to a now D2 and interesting FCS matches week. With the schedule almost evenly in thirds of D2 (or lower), FCS, and FBS games will show variety of strengths and weaknesses of the Big Sky teams. Considering the hodgepodge of games available the game of the week is centered on SEMO vs. Montana State. Both are last year playoff teams and have a strong depth of players. This could be hard hitting and high-intensity game that gets decided in the fourth quarter.

Big Sky Conference Week 1 Games Review, Week of 8/31/2019

A Dalton Sneed-led Montana team went on the offensive and never looked back. It took a Coyote field goal in the second quarter for the Grizzlies to jump back from hibernation. That South Dakota field goal would be the only led Austin Simmons and company would enjoy all game long.

College Sports Journal Big Sky Conference Game Previews: Week of 8/31/2019

The Big Sky Conference is one of the Power 3 conferences in FCS football and will continue that tradition this year too. In our College Sports Journal Top 25 four Big Sky teams placed in the top ten, including Eastern Washington and UC Davis within the top five. A strong year is in store for […]

College Sports Journal 2019 Division I Football Conference Preview: Big Sky Conference

Big Sky Predicted Order of Finish, Big Conference Games To Watch, And Ten Players to watch.

CSJ’s 2018 Week 6 Game Preview: Idaho at Idaho State

When: Saturday, October 6, 3:35 PM MDT Where: Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho TV/Streaming: Pluto TV Channel 243 / Watch Big Sky Idaho Vandals (2-2, 1-1 Big Sky) The Vandals are coming off a 20-7 win over Portland State-their first Big Sky Conference win since moving to the FCS level again. Idaho moved out of the Big Sky Conference in […]