FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

Big Sky

#13 overall#2 in FCSRR50 +11.0Upper strength +13.813 teamsTop 25 teams 0

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

The Brawl Is the Conference

The Brawl of the Wild between Montana and Montana State drew 25,437 fans to a sold-out Bobcat Stadium in December 2025 — an FCS semifinal crowd that rivals Power Four mid-tier regular-season attendance. Montana State won in Nashville to claim the 2025 national title, making the Big Sky the first conference to produce back-to-back champions since the MVFC's NDSU run ended.

FCS13 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: Montana State

Big Sky · 2026 Season

Three Things to Watch

The ChampionMontana State: Back-to-Back Territory

Montana State won the FCS title in Nashville in 2025, sending 25,000 fans to a sold-out Brawl of the Wild semifinal along the way. Brent Vigen's program has the coaching continuity and the recruiting pipeline to defend. Back-to-back FCS titles is rare — only NDSU has done it in the modern era. The Bobcats enter 2026 as the clearest candidate to join that list.

The RivalMontana Won't Let It Be Easy

Montana went 9-3 in 2025 and reached the FCS quarterfinals before losing to SDSU. They recruit the same Montana talent pool as the Bobcats, they've beaten Montana State in the Brawl three of the last six years, and they believe they have the roster to end the run. The Brawl decides the conference. It usually decides more than that.

The Wild CardEastern Washington's Offensive System

EWU plays one of the most explosive offensive systems in FCS — red turf, fast tempo, QBs who put up Heisman-level FCS numbers. They've reached the FCS semifinals three times in the last decade. If their line holds, they're capable of beating anyone in the bracket on a given Saturday.

Conference Standings · Big Sky · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Montana State1–03–0+17.8
2Montana2–03–0+15.2
3UC Davis1–02–1+15.5
4Northern Arizona1–02–1+11.6
5Cal Poly1–02–1+9.0
6Southern Utah1–11–2+12.0
7Weber State1–11–2+8.7
8Idaho State0–03–0+13.1
9Eastern Washington0–11–2+10.5
10Idaho0–10–3+11.1
11Portland State0–10–3+8.0
12Northern Colorado0–10–3+7.0
13Utah Tech0–20–3+7.9

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected Standings · Big Sky · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

# Team W–L PWR AVG ≥9≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Montana State6–3+6.45.92133563849599✓✓
2UC Davis6–3+4.25.72102956809399✓✓
3Montana6–3+3.85.6182653779298✓✓
Challengers
4Idaho State5–4+1.84.94143662849599✓
5Southern Utah5–4+0.64.83123258819499✓
6Northern Arizona5–4+0.34.5292550759298✓
The Field
7Eastern Washington4–5-0.84.4172246729098✓
8Idaho4–5-0.24.2162043698897✓
9Cal Poly4–5-2.43.9141435618496✓
10Weber State4–5-2.73.813133258829599
Rebuilding
11Portland State4–5-3.43.73102854799499
12Utah Tech3–6-3.43.62102652779399
13Northern Colorado3–6-4.33.4272247749299

Conference Power · FCS

Where We Stand

# Conference Avg Power vs Focal Top Team
1MVFC
+11.6
1–3Illinois State
2Big SkyYou are here
+11.0
—Montana State
3UAC
+10.7
—Tarleton State
4Southland
+10.6
1–1Stephen F. Austin
5SWAC
+10.3
—Prairie View A&M
6MEAC
+10.2
—South Carolina State
7Coastal Athletic
+9.9
—Rhode Island
8Southern
+9.9
1–0Tennessee Tech
9Patriot
+9.7
—Lehigh
10OVC
+9.6
—UT Martin
11NEC
+9.0
—Robert Morris
12Pioneer
+8.9
4–0San Diego
13Ivy
+8.3
—Harvard

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = Big Sky's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The Brawl of the Wild between Montana and Montana State drew 25,437 fans to a sold-out Bobcat Stadium in December 2025 — an FCS semifinal crowd that rivals Power Four mid-tier regular-season attendance. Montana State won in Nashville to claim the 2025 national title, making the Big Sky the first conference to produce back-to-back champions since the MVFC's NDSU run ended.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+11.0
Upper Strength+13.8
Median Power+10.8
Resume Pulse56.6
Avg ATS56.4%
Wins vs Market+0.08
Top-to-Middle Gap6.6
Combined Record18-21

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

Big Sky Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#73 Montana State 3-0 +17.8 92 2-1 +0.33 3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#102 UC Davis 2-1 +15.5 75 1-2 +0.14 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 W1 L2)
#107 Montana 3-0 +15.2 79 0-3 +0.11 3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#137 Idaho State 3-0 +13.1 99 2-1 +0.85 3-0 over the last 3 (W1 W1 W2)
#151 Southern Utah 1-2 +12.0 34 1-2 -0.04 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 W1 L2)
#158 Northern Arizona 2-1 +11.6 69 3-0 +0.68 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 L1 W2)
#163 Idaho 0-3 +11.1 32 0-3 -1.31 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#178 Eastern Washington 1-2 +10.5 41 1-2 -0.15 1-2 over the last 3 (L1 W1 L2)
#222 Cal Poly 2-1 +9.0 47 2-0 +0.63 2-1 over the last 3 (W1 W1 L2)
#226 Weber State 1-2 +8.7 34 3-0 +0.47 1-2 over the last 3 (W1 L1 L2)
#243 Portland State 0-3 +8.0 43 3-0 -0.04 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#244 Utah Tech 0-3 +7.9 45 1-2 -0.01 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)
#251 Northern Colorado 0-3 +7.0 47 2-1 -0.67 0-3 over the last 3 (L1 L1 L2)