THE RFC MYC: Big Sky Conference (FCS)

Big Sky Conference (FCS) 

Overview: The traditional fall 2021 season proved to be yet another competitive campaign for the Big Sky Conference, with six of the league's 13 teams finishing with a .500 or better record, both in the conference and overall play. Of those six squads, four of those teams advanced to postseason play, with Sacramento State finishing unbeaten in Big Sky action at 8-0 en route to a final overall record of 9-3, falling to South Dakota State in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

On the other hand, the other three Big Sky squads that advanced to the FCS playoffs represented their league well during the postseason. One of those teams was second-place Montana State University. The Bobcats knocked out the two teams that played for the FCS title on May 16, 2021, in then-defending national champion Sam Houston State and national runner-up South Dakota State, respectively, to advance to the title game on January 8, 2022. The Bobcats lost to North Dakota State, 38-10, to finish their season at 12-3 overall, as well as 7-1 in Big Sky Conference play.

The other two teams to advance to the FCS playoffs were the Eastern Washington University Eagles and the University of Montana Grizzlies. The Eagles outlasted Northern Iowa, 19-9, in the first round before succumbing to the Grizzlies in the second round by a final score of 57-41. Montana advanced to the quarterfinals the following week, losing to eventual national runner-up James Madison 28-6 on December 3. Both teams finished the 2021 fall season at 10-3 overall.

Fast-forwarding to 2022, the Big Sky Conference will have one less program going into this season, as the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds have left for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), leaving the former league with 12 teams to take the field this fall. Even with the departure of SUU to the WAC, expect another close race for the Big Sky crown this season.

2022 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access to find the schedules)


NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, it means that the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2022 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.

Final (Fall) 2021 Big Sky Conference Football Standings

Cal Poly

Eastern Washington

Idaho

Idaho State

Montana

Montana State

Northern Arizona

Northern Colorado

Portland State

Sacramento State

UC Davis

Weber State