Big Sky Football Week 2 Recap + Week 3 Preview: Montana State Stuns Nevada, Idaho Falls to 0-3

Big Sky Conference football week two is in the books, and Montana State's win over Nevada might be the headline of the season so far. On this episode of Big Sky Now, host Luke Schmit is joined by Daily Inter Lake sports editor Fritz Neighbor, Daily Inter Lake sports reporter Jon Allen, Coeur d'Alene Press sports editor Mark Nelke, and Columbia Basin Herald sports reporter Mike Maynard to break down every result from week two and preview the full week three slate.

Montana State knocked off Nevada 20-7 behind Justin Lampson, who leads all FCS quarterbacks in QBR, pushing the Bobcats' win streak to 17 games. Idaho fell to 0-3 after a 23-17 loss to Lamar. Montana beat Utah Tech 35-14 but lost two key defensive pieces in the process. Catch Jon’s full recap of the UM game, along with photos from the action!

Eastern Washington dropped a 41-23 decision to South Dakota, Northern Arizona forced six turnovers in a 38-28 win over Incarnate Word, and Idaho State improved to 3-0 for the first time since 1995 with a 59-17 win over San Diego. The panel also runs through a full scoreboard of Big Sky results against FBS competition, including Wyoming over Northern Colorado, San Jose State over Cal Poly, and blowout losses for UC Davis, Weber State, Southern Utah, and Portland State.

Then the crew looks ahead to the final week of non-conference play: Montana travels to Oregon State for its first road test of the season, Idaho hosts a must-win game against Abilene Christian before its bye week, Eastern Washington heads to Seattle to face Washington, and No. 20 Northern Arizona looks to build on its statement win against Utah Tech. The show wraps with the weekly picks segment, where Jon Allen's early-season hot streak continues.

Play along with us and make your weekly picks in our season-long Pick 'Em. Someone needs to beat Jon! No registration required, and it's free to play: https://qr1.be/D321P8

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
01:08 Montana State 20, Nevada 7 Recap
05:12 Lamar 23, Idaho 17: Vandals Fall to 0-3
08:40 Montana 35, Utah Tech 14 Recap
12:47 South Dakota 41, Eastern Washington 23 Recap
16:07 Northern Arizona 38, Incarnate Word 28 Recap
17:41 Idaho State 59, San Diego 17: Bengals Start 3-0
19:59 Northern Colorado & Cal Poly Recaps
21:17 More Week 2 Scores
21:41 Week 3 Preview: Montana at Oregon State
24:49 Week 3 Preview: Abilene Christian at Idaho
27:05 Week 3 Preview: Eastern Washington at Washington
28:50 Week 3 Preview: Northern Arizona at Utah Tech
30:23 Week 3 Quick Hits Around the Big Sky
32:36 Week 3 Pick 'Em Segment: presented by Mountain Pass Safes & Coins

Big thanks to Mountain Pass Safes & Coins for sponsoring our Pick 'Em segment!  They are a family-owned business proudly serving the Flathead Valley with a wide selection of high-quality safes ready for immediate delivery - no long wait times. Whether you’re protecting firearms, valuables, or important documents, their safes offer advanced fire protection, reinforced construction, and customizable storage options backed by strong warranties. They also buy and sell gold and silver with a reputation for fair, transparent pricing. Stop by their showroom at 2593 US Highway 2 E Suite 4 in Kalispell or visit https://mountainpasssafes.com/ to learn more.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_03 0:21

On this episode of Big Sky Now, we discussed the week two results that saw Montana State takedown Nevada and an FTS versus FBS showdown. Then we jumped to week three where we might have the same situation happening this Saturday. And then we finish the show out with our weekly pick segment. Before we get started, I'd like to thank MNC Tire for sponsoring this podcast. Let's not waste any time and get right to it. Welcome back everyone to David Findel Podcast. We have the sports editor Fritz Neighbor, sports reporter John Allen. Next Alex Quarterlane Fred, we have Mark Melkie. And finally from the Columbia Base Merrill, excuse me, we have Mike Maynard. Thank you guys again for joining me. Super excited to talk another week of Big Sky football with you. We have some more non-conference games to talk about, but this is going to be the last week of us previewing uh non-conferences late. Next week we will be getting into the first week of Big Sky Games. Uh without further ado, we're gonna jump right into it as uh we're gonna talk about the most important game, in my opinion, this last week. Uh Montana State 20, Nevada 7. Montana State improves to 3-0, um, pushed its program record to 17 games. Uh Fritz, I wanted to ask you about this first. You know, as you've seen the big sky over the years, the Bobcats take down another FBS opponent. You know, what does this say in this win? Uh what does this win have to say about Montana State and even the Big Sky conference at the top?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Well, I mean, I I just don't think there's much separation between the top of the FCS, which is when you talk about the top of the FCS, that's the Big Sky and the uh the MVC of the Missouri Valley Conference. And and then you get to uh beyond the P4 conferences. Um there's just not a lot of difference between the bottom tiers of those conferences, those lesser so-called lesser uh FPS programs and what uh the FCS has to offer, you know. There's more scholarships on hand at that level. Nevada has more scholarships to fill, but uh apparently didn't get fine enough players yet to uh hang with the Bobcats. You know, I I just thought you know, the Bobcats had their issues, especially in the second half moving the ball, but their defense played great the entire game. Um special teams counseling each other out, and then they had those three really long sustained drives in the first half, and that was basically it. I mean, they just had the momentum, and when Nevada had a chance to seize it back, um Coulter Petrie popped the ball loose, and that was that.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Yeah, the Bobcats forced four turnovers, uh three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Overall, impressive win really held Nevada in check, as Fritz said about their defense. John, did you have anything to add on to this game? I thought uh the real late night slate was fun to watch on Saturday.

SPEAKER_04 3:19

Yeah, uh, one thing that I just thought was kind of interesting is how no one was talking about this beforehand, but Nevada's starting quarterback missed that game with a shoulder injury. So um, you know, Carter Jones did not play. I don't know if that had too much of an impact on the game, but you know, it definitely can kind of change what maybe Montana State was preparing for. So maybe even a little uh a little more uh you know of a plus for Montana State and just how they came out and reacted with a change in the backfield like that that can ultimately maybe change how a team plays.

SPEAKER_03 3:54

And I I've just got to give the credit to Justin Lampston. We haven't brought him up a lot the first couple of weeks because it kind of goes without being said, but his QB, uh or not his QBR, but his his rating this season I've I've seen uh training on social media even today. Uh he's leading all FCS quarterbacks so far. And this was the second win for Montana State over uh Mountain West's uh opponent in three seasons. So I thought that was pretty cool for the Cats. And I was trying to find a blemish somewhere in this game. Maybe we could talk about uh for the Bob Cats to clean up. They did have 13 penalties for 125 yards, uh 10 for 90 in the first half. Other than that, it was a pretty clean game. Uh Fritz, if you wanted uh finish out this game with any of your closing thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Well, I just thought, you know, speaking of blemishes, I just don't think their O line is quite there yet. I'm a little surprised that they're not playing a little a little bit better, finding a little bit more room for Adam Jones, who is a talent, but hasn't really had the explosive game that we're uh we've been expecting. Uh a lot of season left, obviously. Um I think they I still think they need kind of a two-headed monster back there. They haven't really uh they just haven't really gotten that to that point where they get Adam Jones out in the uh out in the lanes and uh find a guy behind them, uh whether it's Colson Kuhn or somebody else, that uh to get the big yardage. You know, we just haven't seen that 200-300 yard rushing game yet. And part of it's just the O-line isn't quite there yet. I imagine it will get there, but it's not there yet.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

And like you said, part of the fact could be of uh Julius Davis not on the team anymore, so we go to Adam Jones taking that carry over of a roll. So that'd be interesting to watch, Fritz. I'm glad you pointed that out. I'm gonna move along here and go over to Mark because we have another game to talk about. Lamar defeats Idaho 23 to 17. Idaho falls to 0-3. Uh, not sure if any other big sky uh fans saw that coming, but Lamar scored 20 unanswered points in the second quarter to make this game a 20 to 3 game at halftime. Uh, Mark, you know, we can't really blame Utah this week. Uh what you know, what's your opinion on what's going wrong with Idaho under the 0-3 start?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Yeah, I mean, I figured it would be a close game, but you also thought, you know, Idaho playing its first home game after a couple tough losses, you know, they'd be all fired up and the Kippy Dome fans would be all behind them, get them all going and stuff like that. And then they come out and score three points in the first half. You know, they turn the ball over on a fake punt, and I think they turn the ball to run downs later in the half. They give up a killer touchdown drive at the end of the first half, which was basically a long pass down the middle to a wide open guy, followed by another pass to the same guy. So they're down 20 to 3 at the half. Um, they come back and get it to one score and have kind of have a chance at the end, and they're good, and they're really excited about that. And I'm thinking, well, you know, but Lamar is also kind of playing to protect the lead, too. So you're gonna play a lot differently when you're ahead. And they they did they they played just well enough, you know, to hold them off. That that's all they needed to do to get the win. So I don't we'll we'll see this week. Um, I think you know, it's a close game, but disappointed the Vandals played so poorly early. The one thing they've had a hard time doing is running the ball, and that that's that that's kind of surprising because their offensive line was touted as being really good. Um, if you noted, if you watch the game at all, you noted a quarterback named Aiden McCown for Lamar. And yes, he is the son of Josh. He had a touchdown run and a touchdown pass.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

John, when we get to the pick segment, I'll give you some more credit for the game. But you know, you saw this coming, and maybe Lamar wasn't as much as an underdog, or really they weren't an underdog in this game. What were your thoughts uh before and after?

SPEAKER_04 7:38

Yeah, I mean, I just kind of looked at it as like it's a top 15. Yes, they're going on the road. But they're a top 15 team here in the country. And the Southland, the top end of the Southland has some good teams. So I mean, yes, Idaho needs to be playing better at home, especially in a home opener. You know, it's a good chance for them to get momentum back after an 0-2 start. Um, but you it just it seemed like Lamar was going to be a difficult team to beat. And defensively, it seemed like Lamar had been pretty solid in their first two outings. Uh, I mean, they were one and one, but uh they held Abilene Christian, I think it was to just 14 points in that uh first matchup on in week zero. Um, and then you know, defensively, I felt like both teams kind of played played okay in this game. There wasn't a whole lot of yards to go around. Lamar only had 303 yards, and they were three of eleven on third down. So, you know, Idaho did did defensively some things that they needed to do. It just felt like offensively they just couldn't get the the momentum rolling in their direction. And and when it did finally go in their direction, it wasn't sustained.

SPEAKER_03 8:40

Lots to work on for the Vandals before they get ready for the big sky conference season, even though they had that first game versus Cal Pauly. Uh, we're gonna see, you know, Joshua Wood through 205 yards, as we're saying, but uh there's gotta be an improvement and it's gotta come down uh defensively, getting those stops, and and hopefully they are able to do that for those Vandals fans. Um, I do think, you know, an 0-4 start, they do play Montana State here in a couple weeks, or I believe next week. So uh that could end up being a marquee game for them to try and have to steal that win already uh early in the big skies season. John, jumping it right back to you. We're gonna go over to the Montana game. Montana moves to 3-0. You were at this game, John. Talk to me about the atmosphere and how fun it was to cover this one.

SPEAKER_04 9:24

Yeah, um, well, it it it you know it started out like your typical Montana game, crowd into it and everything, but it just kind of felt fairly cut and dry overall. Um, things kind of you know died down there in the second quarter or third quarter, completely scoreless. And just felt like the crowd was just out of it entirely. And it's Utah Tech, so I don't know how much the crowd was gonna be into it too much in general. But you know, um, I think the biggest thing that I really take away from this game is a couple of defensive losses for Montana with Jake Mason going down and hurt and having to be helped off the field with an air cast on his leg. Um, and and that's gonna hurt in an area where they're not the deepest in the D-line and linebacking core. Um, and then um Solomon Tulia Pupu, you know, everyone was he was he was announced as the starter at linebacker, and then you you notice he isn't warming up, and you talk to Coach Kennedy afterwards, and he says that he's decided to leave the program for right now. So that's a huge loss for this this defense. Um, and there wasn't really too much more in detail other than he decided to leave, and the door is always open for him to come back if he wants to, but we just don't really have any any other words on that. So um, you know, it's uh it's gonna be a tough test, of course, this week for Montana. So we'll see how they kind of can step up. But it they're those two defensive losses are gonna be massive, I think, going forward. Um, and and the offense, it just felt like they weren't uh it felt like they were conservative a lot. You know, there wasn't a lot of deep shots for uh for Ayat this week. Um the the one or two that they they did make, they they connected with Brooks Davis there at the end of the first half or 42 yards. Um, but otherwise it just seemed like there was a lot more timing routes, out routes, just trying to kind of maybe settle in some of the receiving core and stuff, and then uh get Gilman going. He didn't break off a big run until that fourth quarter, and and you know, he's still setting his records, and we might see more of them coming up this week. But yeah, it just kind of felt I don't want to say it was a boring game, but it in a way it was kind of a boring game for Montana uh at home. And I think maybe that's a little bit of the opponent, but they just didn't uh convince me too much.

SPEAKER_03 11:33

Yeah, thanks for the input, John. Fritz, uh, what about you? Any thoughts on this Grizz game before we talk? Uh we're gonna go Eastern Washington next.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Well, I I agree, I agree with John. It was kind of a vanilla performance by the offense. And you you talked about the crowd not being in the game. It's like uh I've seen that, I think we've all seen that a few times where they're so conservative on offense playing maybe playing down a little bit to their opponent that they take their own crowd out of it, and uh you know, and then in the fourth quarter, third late third quarter, you know, they pop a couple big ones and uh and then you know the half you know, a third of the crowd's gone. They're out in the tailgate area. And uh, you know, it was an easy win. It's a win we expected. I thought they're I thought they would probably you know put up a 50 burger and they settled for 35. And uh and uh yeah, injuries on the defensive side are a concern. And and uh you solar comes back. I think everybody uh around here loves them, especially after that USA Today article that ran in August. And um I think I saw a number well, they both had over 400 yards of offense. But Utah Tech got uh 200 yards in the fourth quarter, I believe. And my own part of that's probably due to playing some backups and and maybe they're playing the backups because everybody's getting banged up up front. So there's a concern as they go into Oregon State.

SPEAKER_03 12:51

Yeah, the Grizz will now be leaving uh Washington Grizzly here as they have Oregon State and UC Davis. We'll talk about the Oregon State game here soon. Um I'm gonna keep moving on here. We're gonna talk about South Dakota 41, Eastern Washington 23. Uh head over to Mike here. You know, Mike, Eastern doesn't get it done this week. Uh I've been backwards on picking them. Uh I didn't pick them the week before, then I picked them last week. Uh, what are your thoughts about this game? South Dakota's no no tough or no easy matchup.

SPEAKER_02 13:20

Yeah, absolutely. I think some of the bigger takeaways was there was a lot of missed opportunities, tackling issues. Um, South Dakota was a little more effective in key situations and fundamentally stronger on both sides of the ball. Um, you know, there was some highlights in the first half with the defense was sort of allowing Eastern to kind of keep it close and within reach. Um, you know, by the final stat line, I mean, they forced South Dakota into some difficult third-down situations. Um, I believe nine players got in the backfield for a tackle for loss, um, you know, showing a lot of positive signs, getting defensive stops at points. Um, but, you know, just couldn't really capitalize on those moments. And that's what head coach uh Aaron Best kind of highlighted after the game was just, you know, there was a lot of positives coming from the game. It's just capitalizing on them and finishing those opportunities uh to convert those into points uh is is is becoming an issue, I think, this season in general. Um, you know, they were doing some of the enough of the right things, just failed to finish those drive, convert momentum into points, and string positive plays together. I think the offense took a little while to get going, and it was about second half that they actually did kind of find the end zone a little more consistently. Um so yeah, just kind of coming back to this narrative of, you know, this team is very capable of competing with high-end teams in the FCS, big sky, um, but they do struggle to finish when they find themselves in opportune positions to get ahead or find the win even. Um, so you know, this kind of comes, this observation comes at a tough point when they're coming, they're going to play uh University of Washington this weekend, but uh I'll I'll yap about that in a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 15:02

I think that could be a good thing for them because I've been you know more impressed this season with Eastern's offense. I believe they're throwing uh, let's see, I have this stat here. Yes, so they have this year they're averaging about 260 yards per game compared to last year, about 201. So the passing game is improving, and we all know Nate Bell can run the football. So I'm not worried about Eastern's offense. It's the defense I'm a little worried about. Uh, South Dakota, as we know, is a good offense. And then uh that blown lead uh week zero was was pretty scary for this program to see. So overall, I I really like what I'm seeing from Bell and Runnin, but I just really think the defense uh has got to come together before they get to the big sky conference. Mike, did you have anything else before we move on to Northern Arizona game?

SPEAKER_02 15:46

I did actually, and I think it's fair, it'd be fair to also mention on that offensive side of the ball, Malik Donset actually got going. Uh, you know, 12 carries for 52 yards, averaging four percent and got into the end zone. Uh guy that dealt with a leg injury last year and has kind of been off to a slower start this season. It's kind of nice to see him kind of get it going. And uh I'm interested to see what kind of wrinkles that adds to the threat of the Eagles offense throughout the rest of the year. They got some they got a gauntlet coming up after they uh play the Huskies this weekend.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

They definitely do. We'll talk about that matchup here soon. Uh, we're gonna go over to back to John here. John, uh, if you wanted to hit this quickly, you know, Northern Arizona 38, incarnate Ward uh 28. Northern Arizona improves to two and one. The only reason I want to talk about this is we've seen three different games from Northern Arizona. You know, we have the comeback win against Eastern Washington, we have the bad FBS loss, bad quote unquote, uh to Arizona, and then uh a 10-point win over, you know, a nationally respected team. Uh, John, what were your thoughts on this one?

SPEAKER_04 16:47

Yeah, um, the defense really kept Northern Arizona in this one. I didn't have a chance to fully go back and watch this game, but just kind of looking over the stats and the breakdown of play-by-plays, uh, six turnovers forced by that defense. They were outgained 600 to 330. So uh the defense really kept them in that game. Uh, they got 21 points off of those turnovers, including uh a field uh fumble recovery back for a touchdown. Um, and then that last interception set up the their bleed the clock drive where they took off the final four minutes of the game. So um in a in a day where Ty Pennington only goes for what 170 yards uh through the air to be able to take down an incarnate work team that's really been pretty solid the past few years. Um it's a good sign for this Northern Arizona team as they're trying to take that next step. This, I feel like a game last year that they probably would have ended up losing. So um it's kind of nice to see the Jacks be able to go out there and get a two-in-one start to the season now as we start to head towards conference play.

SPEAKER_03 17:47

Yeah, I was just impressed the Jacks were able to get off to a good start. That's usually one of the things that's tough and for them to do it against a respectable team. Um, looking high again at Pennington and seeing where he can take this team in the big sky conference this year. Uh, we're gonna keep on moving on, though. I've been waiting to talk about this game. Super excited. Idaho State 59, San Diego 17. Mark, the Bengals were 3-0 for the first time since 1995. Talk to me about, you know, we don't have to get into the game details, but anything you want to talk about, even Fritz's Bengals, Fritz wants to get in there too.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yeah, I think 59-17 kind of says it all. Um, they score on their first three possessions, go up 21-0, then they kind of take their foot off the gas, and then they start the second half with a pick six, and then they pull away. Um, San Diego, you might look from the outside, look at them and go, well, they're they're not very good. They're in that that league that doesn't have athletic scholarships. Um, but Cody Hawkins after the game, he said, quote, San Diego's gonna go to the playoffs whether we like it or not. But they're gonna be in the field at 24, and that's where we want to be. So, you know, whether he's just pumping them up or whatever, but that, you know, he he thought they were a better team than probably a lot of us did. And he's right. That's no, obviously, that's where Idaho State wants to be, is in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_03 19:08

And we'll end it here with uh Fritz. Fritz, your Bengals are three and oh. The floor is yours.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Well, I just thought their quarterback really had some serious times that he threw in the first half. And then I just want to point it out that San Diego has the only two playoff wins by the Pioneer by the uh Pioneer League football league. Not to be confused with our baseball league, pioneer football league. Has two all-time career playoff wins in the FCS playoffs, and they both belong to uh to the Torreros.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

Isn't it both over Big Sky schools as well?

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

Well, I'm glad you brought that that insight for us, Fritz, because yeah, when it comes to the playoffs, some some people some big sky fans or FCS fans really still are unsure, especially when I'm reading online. Uh people are still confused about the format. Uh couple funny stats I had to bring in. Last time they were 3-0, Toy Story had not been released yet. The original PlayStation had basically just arrived in America, September 9th, 1995. Windows 95 was brand new, and eBay was just founded in September 1995. So that was the last time Fritz's Bengals were 3-0. Thought that'd be cool to get in there. Uh, I'm gonna cover the rest of the games really quick, and then we're gonna jump to week three. Wyoming 21, Northern Colorado 13. Northern Colorado had it in their hands, and all of a sudden, a lightning delay in the fourth quarter abruptly changes the momentum. They have to punt on the uh their first possession back from the lightning delay. Wyoming goes down and scores. And then unfortunately, they throw uh the Bears throw an interception and Wyoming scores again. But a couple things, you know, I thought they were interesting is that they outgained Wyoming uh 345 to 304. Kenny Luth was 13 of 23. I still think he's one of those, I wouldn't call him a dark horse in the big sky, but he's been a little steady, consistent. I like to keep watching him grow for the Bears this season. And the other game I wanted to hit on, uh San Jose State 30, Cal Poly 20. Uh Cal Poly's first loss, you know, actually made me a little bit more interested in the Mustangs. They went on the road against, you know, their only FBS opponent, tied uh San Jose State at 20 in the fourth quarter. A couple things didn't go their way. A long touchdown drive from San Jose State puts them out of this one. But Anthony Grigsby Jr., 24 completions, 249 passing yards, career high 40 attempts. So it was fun to be able to watch him throw the ball. And even though they didn't get the win, I'm still pretty high on Cal Poly, and I'm excited for the big Sky Slate next week to talk about them. Uh, we have a lot of blowout games. I'll just read the scores out. SMU 56, UC Davis 10, uh Colorado 52, Weber State 21. Did want to add Noah Kerr had 121 receiving yards for Weber State. Uh Colorado State takes care of Southern Utah 58 to 24. And last, we have North Dakota, 47, Portland State, 23. Portland State's schedule to start the season's been very difficult. Uh gonna give them a credit and see how they do big sky next week. But without further ado, let's go over to the week three preview. I'm super excited to hear from John because John's actually going across state lines to watch this game. Montana at Oregon State. John, how excited are you to go to Corvallis and see the Grizz on the road?

SPEAKER_04 22:18

Yeah, I'm I'm excited. I've never uh I've never been to Racer Stadium. Him in Corvallis before. I'm also hitting up Austin for Portland State and Oregon. So I'm going to get a double dose of Big Sky this weekend. So very excited about that. I'm just excited to kind of see how Montana put goes up against this Oregon State team. That's really kind of surprised me in these first two weeks. Braden Atkinson settled in really nicely. He's the Jerry Rice Award winner from last year, the Mercer transfer. So he threw for over 400 yards last week against the ranked Texas Tech team as the Beaves were in their home opener. They nearly knocked Texas Tech off. They were leading in the fourth quarter there. So and then they've got a great freshman in Jesse Legree out wide. He had 240 yards receiving. So I'm going to be interested to see how Montana can slow down that passing offense. Oregon State's rushing offense hasn't been quite as good, but the Beavers are much improved from last year. Last year, I think this would have been a game that Montana goes into Corballas and wins. This year, I'm not so sure about it. So, you know, they're going to have to go out early, make some stops on defense, stay in this game. They can't fall behind too much early. And it's either going to have to be you limit what Atkinson and LeCree can do out wide, um, or you're going possession for possession with them. That's kind of how you you start these upsets. So um be very interested just to see how Montana does in that situation and end in their first game away from Washington Grizzly this season because they've had three straight home games to open up the year.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

Fritz, uh, the floor is yours if you wanted to talk about the game and maybe you know what part of Montana's identity could travel, maybe a part of the identity that might not travel over the Oregon.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Well, I think uh it's gonna be tough going over there in Corvallis. You know, once upon a time in Don Reed's early uh tenure at him here in Missoula, uh they went to Oregon State and won. But I think this Oregon State team is quite a bit better. Uh I know they're on two, but they played some good teams like Texas Tech. And uh they haven't really run the ball very well, but um the quarterback is thrown the ball extremely well. That's Brayden Eckets, and then uh Jesse LeGree, the receiver, has just eye-popping numbers through two games. I know they lost two both games, uh, but they're playing good teams, and these teams had to know about Jesse LeGree, and he still has um 360 receiving yards through two games. That's a ton. So we'll see how they do um the Grizz do in the secondary against that uh that pairing.

SPEAKER_03 24:48

Very excited to watch this game. It'll be a late game Saturday at 9 p.m. Mountain Time, 8 p.m. Pacific. Uh, Montana's first appearance on USA Sports. Thought that was pretty cool. I saw that today. And uh one thing I I forgot to shout out Brooks Davis, 151 yards last week, 12 catches. Uh we'll see if he gives Montana you know a chance to make some damage there in the Beavers secondary. Keep moving on here. We're gonna go right back to Idaho. Uh Abilene Christian at Idaho, Mark. This is uh starting to get to that scary season. It already is scary season for Vandals fans, but you know, is this a must-win, Mark, even though it's non-conference, for for you know, for the player spirits to be up, or or how are you viewing this game?

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Yeah, well, I guess it depends. If you're okay with an 0-5 start, then it's not. But but yeah, they if they if they lose this one, they're staring at an 0-5 start because they got a bye next week, and then that that team from Bozeman that that handled Nevada comes to town. So yeah, it's it's pretty much a must-win. They need to obviously start faster, take advantage of their home crowd. Um, they need to run the ball better. Um, or yeah, Abilene Christian is you know, I mean, they only they lost to Lamar by a touchdown, so they're a comparable foe. Um, only lost 33-10 to Texas Tech, 26-7 to Stephen F. Austin last week. So you'd think this would be a a more winnable game for the Vandals, but we kind of thought we thought that last week against Lamar. And and, you know, as our Sioux sayer, you know, John pointed out, you know, that you know, Lamar's pretty good on the road. So we'll we'll see. We'll see see. I mean, yeah, it is a must-win for the Vandals.

SPEAKER_03 26:32

I'm with you. I think they really need that before the bye week to have that momentum and to be able to play Montana State and at least have it at home, like you said. But uh having that bye week before to prepare for the cast is going to be critical, and having the right spirit uh for Vandals fans and the players will matter. Uh, I thought one thing I found interesting is Abilene Christian beat Lamar last year in the playoffs, and then Lamar comes back this year in this season and beats Abilene Christian. So Idaho, you know, watching these games, you know, the scouts might be able to have a little bit of advantage with all these teams. So uh that might be something that plays an advantage for the Vandals. But yeah, I think as you said, Mark, this is going to be a must-win for went into that bye week. Moving on again, we have Eastern Washington at Washington. I don't expect this one to be as close as we've seen uh with between some FBS, FCS teams, including the big sky teams. Uh, Mike, if you want to hit on this game and we'll keep rolling.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

Yeah, absolutely. Just kind of building off what I was talking about a little bit earlier. Uh Coach Best not really concerned about effort or toughness of his players. Um, obviously they're they are trying to execute the game plan to the best of their ability out there. Um, but you know, it just comes down to the to that execution fundamentals, particularly the a lot of missed tacticals and and and whatnot. So heading into this game, you know, obviously we'd be a little surprised to see an upset here with the amount of diversity that the Eagles are facing at this point in the season. Um, but this is a really great opportunity for this team to clean up some of the issues they have been dealing with and come back ready to face Cal Polly at home, um, you know, a new team. Uh so if they can they can feel confident that they they leave Seattle better than they arrived, I think that's I think the Eagles can hang their hat on that for a little bit there. So it'll be interesting to see how they perform uh against uh a division, you know, FPS opponent, um, especially a Big Ten school like that, like Washington. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:27

Yeah, you know, for Eastern Washington Washington this week, I would hope they stay healthy. That's a thing in the past. It's been a problem for them. And going up playing Washington, uh, that's going to be my main focus. I really hope no one gets hurt over there. But this is also the chance for them to do the damage. You know, they're playing with house money, they're getting paid to come to Washington. So they're gonna go out there. I'm sure the players are gonna have uh a ton of fun just being in that environment. Um and Washington's not coming off the best win either. They narrowly beat Utah State last week, who lost, as we saw earlier this season. So uh that will be a fun one to watch if it's close. I'm gonna pay attention. It might be one of those box square games you jump into mid-Saturdays. Uh, last game we're gonna talk about before we get to our picks here. I'm gonna throw it back to Mike. Mike, I wanted you to talk a little bit about uh Northern Arizona. I keep talking about the Lumberjaxes here. It's just it's exciting to me. I don't know why, but uh they are going to have the first home game for uh Utah Tech, I believe. Uh don't expect this one necessarily to be uh close, but I thought maybe you'd have a different opinion or some other insight I didn't see.

SPEAKER_02 29:29

Yeah, I think NAU is starting to quietly build some momentum here. Uh, you know, poised to kind of really capitalize off a really big week. Uh Daleon Freeman's coming off being named Big Sky co-defensive player of the week. Uh he set a career high with 13 tackles, including seven, I think it's eight solo tackles, uh, you know, forced a fumble, got an interception, just kind of took over that game and their win there. So uh it'll be it'll be interesting to see how they they bounce off of that, how maybe that rubs off on the rest of the defense um as they go against a uh Utah tech team that is just not having the best season. I mean, the lowest margin loss that they've had so far was just against Montana, and that was by three scores every you know, the previous two losses by far more than that. So I think they're just having a hard time probably adjusting to the big sky, being in it full time. So this is this is more of an opportunity for NAU to kind of build on the momentum that they have now and and carry that with them into the rest season. They're gonna they're gonna be a problem for a few teams, I think, down the line.

SPEAKER_03 30:33

Yeah, and this is one of those weeks, you know, you can't start looking forward to those games. I know they play the Bobcats here also soon. So uh they got to make sure I want to see Northern Arizona take care of business. We started to see them having these quality wins. Now let's make sure that they're not overlooking teams and uh they're number 20th, and I see them rising if they win again this week. Uh, I'm just gonna cover the last couple games really quickly, and we'll go to our weekly picks. Uh, Central Connecticut State goes to the Bobcats uh in Bozeman this week. That's a classic spot uh where the number one team comes home, you know, after an emotional FBS win. Uh, I would just hope, uh, or I'm guessing that they're hoping to not play sloppy this week. No injuries, you know, they should handle this game. They're on a 17-game win streak. Uh, not much really has to be said about it. But as kind of the same thing for the Eastern Washington game, even though they're not playing someone that's superior or inferior to them, it's making sure that they stay healthy. And eventually when they can get Kane Balor back, uh, that's gonna be a necessity when it comes down to the end of the season. So for now, Montana State's gonna worry about health. Uh Stetson's at number 11, UC Davis. UC Davis finally gets to come home after opening with three straight road games. And they still went two and one in that stretch. So uh I think that's gonna be a fun watch. We have San Diego at Cal Poly. Uh Cal Poly's chance to go to three and one. That's gonna be really fun to watch as well. I think the Mustangs have uh already shown a quality win over Idaho. So as we were talking about with San Diego, I expect them to win that one. Uh Northwestern State is at Weaver State this week. Don't really need to get into that one too much. Um, Weaver State is one and two for those that are wondering. Northwestern State has also already allowed an 80-point game this season. Uh, Northeastern State at Northern Colorado. That's uh different from Northwestern State. Uh Northern Colorado's open three. They really need this win. Uh kickoffs can be at six o'clock. And uh, I think this is the week that we really need to see Northern Colorado show why they belong in uh a good conference like the big sky. Southern Utah, St. Uh Thomas. Uh still am looking out for Southern Utah as we saw with Fritz earlier this season. Dark horse team maybe in the big sky. And Portland State at Oregon. John will be there. Uh, excited to see John have the opportunity to go watch Oregon and uh maybe Portland State can make that interesting. Oregon's uh coming off quite a loss. And Idaho State has a bye this week. So for three and oh, they get to uh celebrate and relax for an extra week. Okay, enough of me spieling all the games out. We're here into our picks segment. Uh, before I read off our PIC sponsor, if you guys wanted to join us with the podcast and make your own picks selections, down low in the description, we have an online picks segment. You can join week to week, track the games with us and see in the end who comes out on top. Um, for our sponsor, though, our sponsor is presented by Mountain Pass Safes and Coins. Mountain Pass Safes and Coins is your local source for safes, precious metals, and personal defense products. From professional safe delivery and relocation to champion safes and baronet launchers, they have the products and expertise to help protect what matters most. Visit Mountain Pass Safes and Coins on Highway 2 East in Calisbell. Okay. Gotta give John his credit again. He went perfect last week. John sits at 29 and 2, 93.5% rate. John, I don't know how you do it, man, but you keep going week in, week out, and I don't listen to you, and you're always right. So I gotta lock in. What do you got this week?

SPEAKER_04 34:00

Alrighty. Well, unless Dante Moore's tell is still a major problem, then Oregon's gonna beat Portland State. I still think even if Dante does have the tell, uh, they're gonna beat Portland State. Uh, just too many athletes. Um, Montana State, I'm gonna take them by a lot over central Connecticut State. They're either gonna wait, put up 60, or this is gonna be like the Mercy Hearst game last year, where they only scored 17 points, but still got a shutout. Um, I'll take Idaho at home. It's a must-win game for both those teams at 0-3, but I think Idaho is finally gonna get in the win column. Um, I'm gonna take Northern Colorado over Northeastern State, which I misread as Northwestern State and got really confused when I was looking over these slate of games. Uh, I'm gonna take Cal Poly over San Diego. I'll take Davis over Stetson. Um, take Weaver over Northwestern State. Uh, I don't know if you guys saw Northwestern State this year became the first team with uh the first scholarship FCS team to lose to an NAIA school. So uh they're on the the downside of that history. Um Washington over Eastern Washington, though UW needs to play a little better than they did against Utah State last week, considering Idaho State beat Utah State by more. Um Northern Arizona will beat Utah Tech, Oregon State gets the better of Montana, and Southern Utah will beat St. Thomas.

SPEAKER_03 35:23

And over to Mark. Mark right right behind John. You're close, Mark. 27 and 4, 87% rate so far. The floor is yours, Mark.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

Alrighty. Um I'm gonna take Portland. No, I'm not gonna take Portland State to win. I'm gonna take Oregon. Um, to see if anybody's still awake there. Oregon will beat Portland State, uh, Montana State over Central Connecticut State. Um, I I think I'm gonna take Idaho again, even though I I'm not sure. I mean, they gotta win this one. If they don't, they're in they're in deep doo-doo. I mean, they're already in sort of deep doo-doo already, but they they need this win. I think they come out and and and win this game. Northern Colorado over that northeastern state team, Cal Poly over San Diego, UC Davis over Stetson, Weber over Northwestern State, Eastern, no, I'm not taking Eastern either, taking the Huskies over Eastern, although I remember a Cooper Cup game over there where the Eastern scared the heck out of them before they lost, but um I don't think this is gonna be that way. I'm gonna take the the Lumberjacks winning at Utah Tech. And I thought about this Montana, Oregon State game, thinking it could be another Montana State Reno game, but I just think Oregon State is a little bit better, and hopefully, hopefully they don't let up against Montana after playing two ranked teams. But I'm gonna take Oregon State and then I will take Southern Utah to win their game also.

SPEAKER_03 36:58

We're gonna go over to Mike here. Mike's at 26 and 5, 83% so far.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Yeah, all right. So uh I'm gonna go with Oregon over Portland State, uh, southern Utah over St. Thomas, uh, Montana State over Central Connecticut State, Idaho gets their first win. Uh Washington gets the win over Eastern. Uh Cal Poly gets the win over San Diego. Uh Northern Colorado, I say, gets a win over Northeastern State, Weaver State over Northwestern State, uh, Northern Arizona over Utah Tech, uh, UC Davis over Stetson, and Oregon State over Montana as well.

SPEAKER_03 37:34

Thank you, Mike. And over to Fritz. Fritz, you're a 25 out of 31. Uh, not last place like me, so you're still doing good.

SPEAKER_00 37:41

Well, um, yeah, I used to be a lot better at this, but um, you know, everybody so far has picked all the winners, so I'm wondering if I should just try to make up some room somewhere, but there's not a very good candidate. Um, I will take Oregon over Portland State, AmishU over CCSU, Idaho over Abilene Christian. Christian just fell out of the top 25. I'll take northern Colorado, I'll take Cal Poly to avenge that one playoff, one of those two playoff losses in 2016. They'll beat San Diego, Davis Easley over Stetson, uh Weaver over Northwestern State, UW over Eastern. I'm gonna pull the upset. I'm gonna I'm waiting for NAU to fall flat like they do every year. So I'll take Utah Tech over NEU, I'll take Southern Utah over over the Tommies, and uh I think I gotta stick with Oregon State over Montana.

SPEAKER_03 38:36

Thank you, Fritz. Got them all written down. There we go. Uh my picks here. I'm gonna go Oregon over Portland State comfortably, Montana State over CCSU as well, comfortably. Abilene Christian over Idaho. I haven't seen anything from Idaho yet that is makes me confident to pick them, but as we just said, Abilene Creshton fell out of the top 25. So I kind of took it as a coin flip. Uh Northern Colorado over Northeastern State. I have Cal Poly over San Diego. Mustangs will get to three and one. UC Davis over Stetson. I have Weber State over Northwestern State. Uh Washington defeating the Eagles, although I want that game to be close, it'd be a lot of fun. Uh Northern Arizona over Utah Tech. And then I do have Southern Utah winning. And last but not least, I really wanted to pick Montana, of course, but gotta get up in the standings. I'm in last place right now. Um 23 and 8. Uh gotta make sure I'm taking smart picks. So I'm gonna go with Oregon State on this one. Um that should be it. Yep, that's it for our pick segment here. Uh, for anyone still listening, just want to really appreciate you guys out there. If you wanted to drop any comments, your own pick selection is in the description of this video. You can even put it in the comment section. Uh, if you had any questions you want us to answer on the podcast, feel free to drop them below. You can even ask them to specific people if you want to talk about Fritz Bangles, you want to ask me a question, John, Mike, and so on. So that'll do it on this week's episode of Big Sky Now. I want to give a huge thank you to my panel for being on time again today and giving all the insight they have uh overall. If you guys wanted to uh share, like, subscribe to our channel, that'll make me more and more more happy. I know our channel would love it too. But we will catch you guys next week on the next episode of Big Sky Now.