MISSOULA — Montana State climbed one spot to No. 2 in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday, while Montana held firm at No. 12.
The Bobcats survived a triple-overtime classic at Idaho State last week and moved to second after previous-No. 2 Stephen F. Austin lost to then-No. 13 Lamar. Tarleton State is still the No. 1-ranked team and received 48 of 57 first-place votes. The Texans defeated then-No. 23 Abilene Christian 40-27 last week to remain undefeated.
Bobcat Replay: No. 3 Montana State at No. 22 Idaho State
Montana State received six first-place votes. No. 3 Youngstown State (two) and No. 4 South Dakota State (one) received the remaining first-place votes. Northern Arizona, which rounds out the top five, is the second-highest-ranked team from the Big Sky Conference and has a top-25 matchup versus Weber State this week.
The Wildcats were idle last week and are still ranked 18th.
Montana is ranked 12th for the second consecutive week. The Grizzlies easily got past Portland State 57-24 on Saturday and have a big matchup looming with Idaho State this weekend. The Bengals moved up to 21st from 22nd after their loss to MSU.
Grizzly Replay: No. 12 Montana vs. Portland State
UC Davis is back in the top 25. The Aggies briefly fell out of the rankings but got back in after a 24-17 win over Utah Tech last week.
And Idaho is now receiving votes. The Vandals are riding a four-game winning streak and have climbed back to .500 on the season after beginning the year with four consecutive losses. Idaho, which owns wins over Montana State and Montana, is now 5-5 after a 62-31 win over Eastern Washington last week.
The current Big Sky standings and this week's schedule are below.
Big Sky Conference standings
Monday, Nov. 9
| Conf. | Overall | |
| Montana State | 6-1 | 9-1 |
| Northern Arizona | 6-1 | 8-2 |
| Montana | 5-2 | 7-3 |
| Weber State | 5-2 | 6-4 |
| Idaho | 5-2 | 5-5 |
| UC Davis | 4-3 | 6-4 |
| Idaho State | 3-4 | 6-4 |
| Southern Utah | 3-4 | 4-6 |
| Cal Poly | 3-5 | 4-7 |
| Northern Colorado | 2-5 | 3-7 |
| Portland State | 2-5 | 2-8 |
| Eastern Washington | 1-6 | 2-8 |
| Utah Tech | 1-6 | 1-9 |
Big Sky Conference schedule
(All times Mountain)
Friday, Nov. 13
Southern Utath at Portland State, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14
No. 2 Montana State at Northern Colorado, 12 p.m.
No. 23 UC Davis at (RV) Idaho, 2 p.m.
No. 18 Weber State at No. 5 Northern Arizona, 2 p.m.
Eastern Washington at Utah Tech, 2 p.m.
No. 21 Idaho State at No. 12 Montana, 8:30 p.m.
Cal Poly idle.
