Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — The Big Sky Conference has been called the FCS division’s premier conference for quite some time, and this season is expected to be no different.
The conference features four teams that are ranked in the Top 25 (Eastern Washington, Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona), and another two teams that received votes in the Coaches’ Poll (Southern Utah and Cal Poly).
Eastern Washington is the conference’s premier team this season, coming off a conference title last season. The Eagles made the national semifinals last season and have made the playoffs four of the last five seasons. Also, coach Beau Baldwin returns for his seventh season with the school, with a record of 56-22 in his time at Eastern Washington.
Baldwin added his 57th victory this past weekend as his Eastern Washington team hosted Sam Houston State of the Southland Conference. The Eagles beat the Bearkats, 56-35, with quarterback Vernon Adams throwing for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Eastern Washington hosts NAIA-Montana Western this week.
#BSC
Several Big Sky teams are taking on FBS teams this Thursday. Weber State travels to take on defending Pac-12 South champion Arizona State, while Idaho State travels to Salt Lake City to face off against Utah. Additionally, North Dakota coach Bubba Schweigert will coach his first-ever game at the school as North Dakota takes on San Jose State. Also, Cal Poly opens at New Mexico State.
All other Big Sky games take place on Saturday. There are other Big Sky teams taking on Pac-12 teams. UC Davis opens at Stanford, and Portland State opens at Oregon State. Last season, Eastern Washington upset Oregon State.
There are also several matchups with Mountain West teams Saturday. Montana opens at Wyoming, where former North Dakota State coach Craig Bohl will coach his first game for the Cowboys. Southern Utah, which has beaten FBS teams UNLV and South Alabama the last two seasons, opens at Nevada, and Northern Arizona opens at San Diego State.
Former Weber State coach Jody Sears’ tenure at Sacramento State begins with a game at Southland member Incarnate Word, while Montana State opens at Sun Belt Conference member Arkansas State.
