MISSOULA — Following last week's stunning loss at previously winless Idaho, Montana State fell from first to sixth in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday.
South Dakota State took over the No. 1 ranking and received 52 of 57 first-place votes. Montana rose to second and received three first-place votes. Tarleton State, which received the other two first-place votes, climbed to third.
North Dakota is fourth and Lehigh is fifth.
The Bobcats had been the FCS' top-ranked team since winning the national championship in January, but they had seen their grip on No. 1 loosen over the past few weeks. They lost it entirely with the loss to Idaho, a game in which Montana State led 34-20 in the fourth quarter.
Vandals quarterback Joshua Wood ran in a touchdown with 9:54 to play and then threw a touchdown pass to Ryan Jezioro as a time expired. Wood ran in the ensuing two-point conversion to give Idaho its first win of the season and hand Montana State its first loss.
South Dakota State, meanwhile, earned a 31-14 win over then-No. 10 Illinois State last week, and Montana cruised by Northern Colorado 36-14.
The Grizzlies have put together two dominant performances against Big Sky Conference opponents the past two weeks. They blew out UC Davis 62-22 in the FCS game of the week on Sept. 26 and answered with a thorough win over Northern Colorado last week.
Against the Bears, Griz QB Keali'i Ah Yat matched a career high with five touchdown passes, and receiver Brooks Davis had a career day of 205 receiving yards and three TD receptions.
In addition to Montana and Montana State, Big Sky teams Northern Arizona (No. 13), UC Davis (No. 14) and Idaho State (No. 16) are also ranked. NAU climbed from 19th to 13th this week after securing a 38-31 win at then-No. 12 Idaho State. The Bengals dropped four spots after suffering their first loss of the season.
UC Davis defeated Eastern Washington 49-38 last week.
Northern Arizona this week is playing its third consecutive game against a ranked Big Sky opponent. The Lumberjacks lost at Montana State on Sept. 26, won at Idaho State last week and will host second-ranked Montana on Saturday. NAU and UM are scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. MDT (2 p.m. MST in Arizona), and the game will be broadcast by Scripps Sports on The Spot.
This week's Big Sky schedule and the updated conference standings are below.
Big Sky Conference football schedule
Saturday, Oct. 10
Idaho at Weber State, 1 p.m.
Utah Tech at Portland State, 2 p.m.
Cal Poly at No. 16 Idaho State, 4 p.m.
Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington, 5 p.m.
No. 6 Montana State, No. 14 UC Davis, Southern Utah idle
Big Sky Conference football standings
Monday, Oct. 5
| Conf. | Overall | |
| Montana | 3-0 | 5-1 |
| Montana State | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| Northern Arizona | 2-1 | 4-2 |
| UC Davis | 2-1 | 4-2 |
| Cal Poly | 2-1 | 3-3 |
| Weber State | 2-1 | 3-3 |
| Idaho State | 1-1 | 4-1 |
| Idaho | 1-1 | 1-4 |
| Portland State | 1-1 | 1-4 |
| Northern Colorado | 1-2 | 2-4 |
| Southern Utah | 1-2 | 2-4 |
| Eastern Washington | 0-3 | 1-5 |
| Utah Tech | 0-3 | 0-6 |
