The 2025 FCS football season is fast approaching, so we’re going inside each conference race. With defending champion Montana State leading the way, here’s our Big Sky preview.
“Help Wanted” signs were hung by Big Sky Conference offenses this offseason at football’s most important position.
None of the top seven quarterbacks in the conference in total offense last year are returning for the 2025 season. Leading the departures: Montana State’s Tommy Mellott, who became the eighth different QB in Big Sky history. to claim the Walter Payton Award.
Teams gaining stability behind center early will be able to settle into the title race. Montana State is the defending champ, having swept through the conference and starting 15-0 before falling to North Dakota State in the national championship game. Four other Big Sky teams joined the Bobcats in the FCS playoffs, including Montana, which was the 2023 national runner-up.
This is expected to be the final Big Sky season for FBS hopeful Sacramento State, but former member Southern Utah and Utah Tech will join in 2026 to increase the league from 12 to 13 teams.
Following is a preview of the upcoming Big Sky football season:
Predicted Order of Finish
*-FCS Playoff Qualifier; Ranking from Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll
1. *Montana State (15-1, 8-0; Preseason No. 2) – The key for coach Brent Vigen’s squad is replacing Mellott, something that figures to fall on Stanford transfer Justin Lamson (13 rushing touchdowns the last two seasons) or 2024 backup Chance Wilson. The running attack has finished with a No. 2 FCS ranking in three straight seasons, and Adam Jones (1,172 yards, 14 TDs last season) and Julius Davis (6.4-yard career average) will again operate behind All-America tackle Titan Fleischmann and guard JT Reed. The defensive line is stout with ends Kenneth Eiden IV and Zac Crews and tackle Paul Brott. The special teams feature kicker Myles Sansted and electric punt returner Taco Dowler.
(Year-by-year results of the FCS championship game)
Expected win-loss projections for Big Sky football teams in the 2025 regular season, according to Opta Analyst advanced data. (Graphic by Graham Bell)2. *Montana (9-5, 5-3; No. 7) – The Griz have a late opener (Sept. 6), but their schedule is comfortable with eight of the 12 regular-season games at home. Running backs Eli Gillman (2,137 yards, 28 TDs in career) and Malae Fonoti will keep the ball moving, and either Keali’i Ah Yat or USC transfer Jake Jensen will direct the offense from behind center. The defense lost all 11 starters, so coach Bobby Hauck went heavy on transfers, including safety Micah Harper (BYU) and linebackers Elijawah Tolbert (Eastern Illinois) and Peyton Wing (Portland State). But sophomore cornerback Kyon Loud also is primed for a breakout season.
3. *UC Davis (11-3, 7-1; No. 8) – The Aggies’ outlook centers around production in the offensive backfield after they lost FCS passing yardage leader Miles Hastings and scrimmage yardage leader Lan Larison. Grant Harper was last year’s backup QB and will be helped by the return of WR Samuel Gbatu Jr. (44 receptions, 779 yards, seven TDs) and tight end Winston Williams; RB Matteo Perez can work behind a solid offensive line. There may not be a better brother duo in the FCS than Rex (safety) and Porter (linebacker) Connors. The Aggies reached across the country for defensive line help in transfers Jacob Psyk (Harvard) and Derrel Porter (Dartmouth).
4. *Sacramento State (3-9, 1-7; No. 15) – The Hornets look oh-so-different, and they seek oh-so-different results from last year. New coach Brennan Marion assembled the largest transfer class in the FCS for what may be the Hornets’ final season before a move up to the FBS. Headlining the newcomers are QB Jaden Rashada (Georgia, after three 2023 starts at Arizona State) and RB Jamar Curtis (Lafayette, 3,569 career scrimmage yards). Among returnees, O-lineman Aiden Meek played every offensive snap last season and LB Derek Houston is coming off a 62-tackle campaign.
5. *Northern Arizona (8-5, 6-2; No. 19) – The Lumberjacks won their final five regular-season games to rally to make the FCS playoffs in coach Brian Wright’s first season. Of course, he brought the right person along with him from Pittsburg State, QB Ty Pennington, who accounted for 227 yards of total offense per game and 20 touchdowns. Named to the Big Sky preseason team, Pennington may think run first with Seth Cromwell and Darvon Hubbard. Linebacker Brandon Wong headlines the defense, which ranked second in the Big Sky in total defense (316.5 yards per game), scoring defense (18.8 points per game) and turnovers forced (20).
6. Idaho (10-4, 6-2; No. 12) – Well, somebody has to be picked sixth in a stacked conference (consider this a risky prognostication). Coach Jason Eck got the Vandals back on track, and now Thomas Ford Jr. (on Eck’s staff in 2022 and ’23) seeks to continue the success, although the program lost over 20 transfers. Quarterback Jack Wagner led an FBS win over Wyoming as a freshman, but Wyoming transfer Joshua Wood seeks the No. 1 job as well. Two of last year’s three 500-yard rushers are back in Nate Thomas and Elisha Cummings. The defense is retooled behind the lead of LB Isiah King and D-linemen Zach Krotzer and Sam Brown.
7. Idaho State (5-7, 3-5) – There were some good wins in coach Cody Hawkins’ first season, but the Bengals gave up 30+ points in each loss and 37.8 on average (ranking 122nd out of 129 FCS teams). The return of their leading tacklers, LB Nathan Reynolds (92) and S Mason Young (77), goes a long way to having improvement. Quarterback Jordan Cooke, the 2023 starter who suffered a season-ending injury in last year’s opener, returns to distribute the ball to RB Dason Brooks and WRs Ian Duarte and Raiden Brown.
8. Eastern Washington (4-8, 3-5) – The Eagles’ three straight losing seasons seem unfathomable after they preceded them with 15 straight winning records. Quarterback Jared Taylor has weapons in RB Malik Dotson and WR Nolan Ulm, but unlike so many past EWU teams, the defense may be stronger with the likes of CB DaJean Wells (32 tackles, 12 pass breakups), S McKel Broussard, DL Isaiah Perez and Tylin Jackson, and LBs Read Sunn and Trevor Thurman. Seven of their 12 games are on the road.
9. Weber State (4-8, 3-5) – To reverse their first losing season since 2014, the Wildcats will flex their muscle, starting with O-lineman Gavin Ortega and fullback Colter May. A potential breakout from WR Jayleen Record would be big for the new quarterback, perhaps transfer Cash McCullum (North Texas) or Jackson Gilkey (UTSA). Linebackers Mayson Hitchens and Raimona Tinirauarii and safety Trevian Tribble are the top returning tacklers.
10. Portland State (3-8, 3-5) – PSU hasn’t had a winning season since 2015. Replacing dual-threat QB Dante Chachere won’t be easy, with Will Haskell, last year’s backup, part of the preseason competition. Running back Deion Thompson (678 yards, seven TDs) proved to be a big-game player as a redshirt freshman, and his returning tackles are big – Jakob Belton (6-foot-7, 320 pounds) and Pedro Timoteo (6-4. 320). Like Thompson, safety Isaiah Green (50 tackles) had a standout redshirt freshman campaign.
11. Cal Poly (3-8, 2-6) – Three Mustangs were voted to the Big Sky preseason team: WR Michael Briscoe (21.5 yards per reception), S Mason Rivera (team-high 82 tackles) and DE Ethan Rodriguez (9.5 TFLs, three sacks). Bo Kelly and Jackson Akin are both capable of running the offense, but the O-line was devastated after last season by graduation and transfers. There’s experience at linebacker, led by Judaea Moon (61 tackles).
12. Northern Colorado (1-11, 1-7) – UNC doesn’t have more than two conference wins in a season since 2016, so second-year coach Ed Lamb is still deep into the rebuilding phase. They’re particularly strong at safety, with Cam Chapa coming off team highs of 83 tackles and four interceptions as a true freshman and Franky Morales following with 73 stops as a redshirt sophomore. But the Bears were dead last in the FCS in points per game (11.3). Kia’I Keone played the most at quarterback but had just one TD pass to seven interceptions. This year’s starter will be helped by the return of No. 1 WR Brayden Munroe.
How the Big Sky Conference Predicted the Race
The 2025 Big Sky football coaches poll and preseason players of the year. pic.twitter.com/nmcenFhfEt
— FCS Football (@OptaAnalystFCS) July 21, 2025Five Players to Watch
Rex Connors, S, UC Davis (Buck Buchanan Award preseason nominee) – One of six returning Stats Perform first-team All-Americans, Connors has averaged nearly 10 tackles per game since 2022 (262 in 27 games) with eight interceptions. Jamar Curtis, RB, Sacramento State (Walter Payton Award preseason nominee) – No returning FCS player has scored more TDs in the last two seasons than the Lafayette transfer (34 in 23 games). Eli Gillman, RB, Montana (Walter Payton Award preseason nominee) – The Griz are 8-0 when the 2023 Jerry Rice Award recipient rushes for 100+ yards and 15-1 when he gains at least 75. Adam Jones, RB, Montana State (Walter Payton Award preseason nominee) – The 2024 Rice Award runner-up had two of the five-longest carries in program history (93 and 88 yards). Ty Pennington, QB, Northern Arizona – The dual threat rushed for 437 yards and seven TDs. He had 147 completions and 208 attempts before throwing the first of only two interceptions across the season.Must-See Matchups
Big Sky: Montana State at Montana (Nov. 22) – The last road winner in the Brawl of the Wild rivalry was Montana State in 2018. Nonconference: South Dakota State at Montana State (Sept. 6) – A national semifinal matchup in 2021 and ’22, this is biggest nonconference game of the 2025 season. FBS – Idaho at San Jose State (Sept. 20) – The Vandals are the only FCS team with an FBS win in each of the past two seasons. Eight different Big Sky schools have defeated an FBS opponent during the 2020s.Big Sky Football Fast Fact
The retooling at quarterback may not prevent the Big Sky from being an offensive conference. Last season, its teams averaged 407.5 yards and 29.8 points per game – both highs among the 13 FCS conferences.
(Here’s an index page to the 2025 FCS Conference Previews)
Graphic by Matt Sisneros.Top photo, from left, from UC Davis, Montana State and Montana Athletics.
For more FCS football coverage, follow on social media at X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
Big Sky Football Predictions: Teams Get to Know Their QB as Montana State Remains a Familiar Favorite Opta Analyst.
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