Aug. 24—Up until this summer, Tom Wistrcill, in his annual state of the conference addresses, would declare the Big Sky Conference to be the best in the FCS, even though during his first seven years as commissioner the league didn't win a national title.
But in July, Wistrcill had a new, shiny piece of evidence to back up his claim: Montana State's national title at the end of the 2025 season — the league's first since Eastern Washington won it in 2010.
"We can talk about being the best conference," Wistrcill said, "but at some point you have to win the big game. And we've been the deepest conference. We've had the most teams in the playoffs before. But it's been a while since we've won a national championship."
Montana State already tops every prominent national FCS preseason poll and even more clearly stands above the rest of the league.
The favorite
Montana State: Considering that the Bobcats return quarterback Justin Lamson, defensive back Caden Dowler and wide receiver Taco Dowler, and that they have 14 players on the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference team, they are the clear favorite to win the Big Sky for the fourth time in five years.
Playoff favorites
UC Davis, Montana: The Aggies reached last year's playoff quarterfinals, the Grizzlies lost in the semifinals to the Bobcats, and there is little reason to doubt the pedigree of either team this year. Montana returns Preseason Offensive MVP Eli Gillman, who rushed for 1,540 yards over 15 games last season, as well as starting senior quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat.
The Aggies had to replace their 2025 starting quarterback, Caden Pinnick, who transferred to Washington State. But head coach Tim Plough has led the Aggies to the playoffs in each of his two seasons, and last year he did so despite losing defensive back Rex Connors to injury early on. Connors, too, is back this season.
Competitive core
Northern Arizona, Idaho State, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Southern Utah: The quality of this tier is what makes the Big Sky the deepest in the FCS. Idaho dealt with injuries last year (4-8 overall, 2-6 Big Sky) and is looking to bounce back. Idaho State (6-6, 5-3) returns starting quarterback Jordan Cooke. Northern Arizona (7-5, 4-4) returns Ty Pennington, its starting quarterback, and Southern Utah finished 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the United Athletic Conference last year.
Eastern Washington belongs in this tier because of its returning talent on defense, its continuity on offense, and because of just how close it was to winning two more games than it did last year, when it finished 4-4 in league play and 5-7 overall.
Dark horse
Northern Colorado: Head coach Ed Lamb led the Bears to a 4-8 record last season. Eleven years ago at Southern Utah, he led the Thunderbirds to a Big Sky title. He knows what it takes to win, and he's had four years now to build a program in Greeley.
Still building
Weber State, Cal Poly, Portland State, Utah Tech: The Wildcats, Mustangs and Vikings all have new head coaches and significant turnover on their rosters. Newcomer Utah Tech (2-10, 1-7 UAC) hasn't yet shown it will compete in the Big Sky.
