MISSOULA — After Saturday night's dominant dismantling of then-No. 10 UC Davis, Montana jumped back up to No. 3 in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday.
The Grizzlies had slid to fifth in the rankings last week but made a national statement with a 62-22 win over the Aggies in the FCS game of the week. Davis fell from 10th to 16th in the poll.
Grizzly Replay: No. 5 Montana at No. 10 UC Davis
Montana State, meanwhile, kept its No. 1 ranking and regained some of the first-place votes it lost last week. The Bobcats, playing without stars Justin Lamson, Taco Dowler, Caden Dowler and mostly Adam Jones, beat then-No. 18 Northern Arizona 28-14 in a nationally televised game Saturday. In Monday's poll, MSU received 49 of 57 first-place votes, while NAU fell one place to No. 19 after the loss.
Related: Though depleted, No. 1 Montana State fought through adversity to fend off No. 18 NAU
South Dakota State received the other eight first-place votes to remain second in the rankings. The Jackrabbits defeated Eastern Illinois 42-7 last week and play at No. 10 Illinois State on Saturday.
Tarleton State maintained its No. 4 ranking, and North Dakota moved up to No. 5. Lehigh, Stephen F. Austin, Youngstown State, Tennessee Tech and Illinois State are the Nos. 6-10 teams.
Idaho State, the only other undefeated team in the Big Sky Conference besides Montana State, is up to 12th in the poll. The Bengals beat Southern Utah 28-24 last week and host No. 19 Northern Arizona on Saturday.
MSU, UM, ISU, UCD and NAU are the only Big Sky teams to receive votes in the poll.
Big Sky Conference football schedule
(All times Mountain)
Friday, Oct. 2
No. 1 Montana State (5-0 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) at Idaho (0-4, 0-1), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 3
Northern Colorado (2-3, 1-1) at No. 3 Montana (4-1, 2-0), 2 p.m. (Scripps Sports, airs on The Spot)
Weber State (2-3, 1-1) at Cal Poly (3-2, 2-0), 6 p.m.
Southern Utah (1-4, 0-2) at Utah Tech (0-5, 0-2), 6 p.m.
No. 19 Northern Arizona (3-2, 1-1) at No. 12 Idaho State (4-0, 1-0), 6 p.m.
Eastern Washington (1-4, 0-2) at No. 16 UC Davis (3-2, 1-1), 8:30 p.m.
Portland State idle
