Welcome back to our most recent episode where we talk about the 14th most difficult conference heading into 2024 and the 3rd most challenged FCS conference. The 12-team Big Sky not only has the team with the 2nd most difficult FCS schedule, but also one with a bottom ten showing; and yes, that team was in the championship game last year. Look for another large win total for Montana.
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Overall, the Big Sky takes on 5 Core 4 (used to be the Power 5) teams, both Pac-2 (used to be Power 5 but now, based on their schedules and the fact that there are just 2 of them, are relegated to Group of 5) along with 6 other G5 opponents vs only 3 games against non-D1 teams. For the record, Montana is the only team with zero FBS opponents (they also play a rare-for-the-FCS 7 games at home).
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In the table below, (D) indicates a game against a non-Division I opponent, (F) indicates a non-conference FCS foe, (G) indicates a Group of 5 team, and (4) indicates a Core 4 challenge. There are no scheduled neutral site games. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the 2024 Big Sky Conference:
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away/Neutral Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Idaho Vandals (1) | 9-4 (149) | 4.41 (136) | (29-30/.492) Albany (F), N Arizona, Cal Poly, E Washington, Weber St | (49-34/.590) Oregon (4), Wyoming (G), Abilene Christian (F), UC Davis, Montana St, Portland St, Idaho St | 78-64 (.549) |
| Portland St Vikings (2) | 5-6 (191) | 3.98 (138) | (34-26/.567) South Dakota (F), UC Davis, Montana St, Idaho, N Colorado | (50-39/.562) Washington St (G), Boise St (G), Chattanooga (F), Weber St, Idaho St, Sacramento St, Montana | 84-65 (.564) |
| Weber St Wildcats (3) | 6-5 (190) | 3.74 (143) | (11-43/.204) McNeese (F), N Colorado, Idaho St, Cal Poly, Portland St | (55-29/.655) Washington (4), Lamar (F), Northwestern St (F), Montana, Sacramento St, N Arizona, Idaho | 66-72 (.478) |
| N Arizona Lumberjacks (4) | 5-6 (199) | 3.28 (156) | (21-35/.375) Lincoln CA (D), Sacramento St, Idaho St, Weber St, E Washington | (45-39/.536) Arizona (4), Utah Tech (F), Incarnate Word (F), Idaho, Montana, Cal Poly, N Colorado | 66-74 (.471) |
| Sacramento St Hornets (5) | 8-5 (164) | 3.26 (157) | (28-27/.509) Nicholls (F), E Washington, Weber St, Portland St, UC Davis | (36-45/.444) San Jose St (G), Fresno St (G), Commerce (F), N Arizona, Idaho St, Montana St, Cal Poly | 64-72 (.471) |
| Idaho St Bengals (6) | 3-8 (238) | 3.02 (172) | (39-35/.542) W Oregon (D), S Utah (F), Montana St, Portland St, Sacramento St, Idaho | (33-35/.485) Oregon St (G), North Dakota (F), Cal Poly, N Arizona, Weber St, E Washington | 72-68 (.514) |
| N Colorado Bears (7) | 0-11 (212) | 2.88 (183) | (26-32/.448) Abilene Christian (F), Cal Poly, Montana, E Washington, N Arizona | (42-36/.538) Colorado St (G), Incarnate Word (F), Steph F Austin (F), Montana St, Weber St, UC Davis, Portland St | 68-68 (.500) |
| UC Davis Aggies (8) | 7-4 (163) | 2.87 (188) | (23-45/.338) Commerce (F), Utah Tech (F), Idaho, Cal Poly, N Colorado, Montana St | (42-32/.568) California (4), S Utah (F), Portland St, E Washington, Montana, Sacramento St | 65-77 (.458) |
| Cal Poly Mustangs (9) | 3-8 (241) | 2.45 (206) | (32-29/.525) W Oregon (D), Idaho St, Montana, N Arizona, Sacramento St | (29-40/.420) Stanford (4), San Diego (F), N Colorado, UC Davis, Idaho, Weber St | 61-69 (.469) |
| E Washington Eagles (10) | 4-7 (224) | 2.43 (209) | (43-29/.597) Monmouth (F), Drake (F), Montana, UC Davis, Montana St, Idaho St | (27-44/.380) Nevada (G), Southeastern (F), Sacramento St, Idaho, N Colorado, N Arizona | 70-73 (.490) |
| Montana St Bobcats (11) | 8-4 (153) | 2.25 (227) | (34-40/.459) Maine (F), Mercyhurst (F), N Colorado, Idaho, Sacramento St, Montana | (25-42/.373) New Mexico (G), Utah Tech (F), Idaho St, Portland St, E Washington, UC Davis | 69-82 (.457) |
| Montana Grizzlies (12) | 13-2 (133) | 1.95 (254) | (38-40/.487) Missouri St (F), Morehead St (F), W Carolina (F), Weber St, N Arizona, UC Davis, Portland St | (22-35/.386) North Dakota (F), E Washington, N Colorado, Cal Poly, Montana St | 60-75 (.444) |
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That’s it for this episode. Next time we’ll explore the penultimate FCS conference and 13th overall. Until then, thank you for reading and, especially, sharing with others. Check out past episodes at http://bit.ly/2019GCR
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