MISSOULA — Montana State is back up to third in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, while Montana tumbled all the way to 14th in the latest rankings which were released Monday.
For the first time, Tarleton State is the No. 1-ranked team in the FCS, followed by Stephen F. Austin at No. 2, MSU at No. 3 and Youngstown State at No. 4.
The rankings saw significant movement after 10 teams in last week's top 25 suffered losses, including then-No. 1 South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits lost 21-10 to North Dakota and subsequently fell to fifth in the rankings. UND is one spot behind SDSU at No. 6.
Northern Arizona, which rallied for a 38-25 Big Sky Conference win over Portland State, climbed one spot to No. 7. South Dakota, Austin Peay and Illinois State are the Nos. 8, 9 and 10 teams in the poll.
The Bobcats were ranked first until they lost at Idaho on Oct. 2. They then fell to fifth before climbing back up two spots this week after a 56-20 win at Eastern Washington. Montana State has a top-25 matchup this week, as the Bobcats host upstart Weber State, which has won three straight games.
The Wildcats broke into the rankings at No. 22 following last week's 27-20 win over then-No. 22 Idaho State. The Bengals received votes in this week's poll but fell out of the top 25.
Montana had been ranked as high as second this season but has now suffered back-to-back losses, including Saturday's 42-35 home loss to Idaho. The Grizzlies, who were ranked seventh last week and are idle this week, are still the third-highest ranked team from the Big Sky, following Montana State and Northern Arizona.
UC Davis is also ranked for the conference at No. 20.
The updated Big Sky Conference standings and this week's schedule are below.
Big Sky Conference standings
Monday, Oct. 19
| Conf. | Overall | |
| Northern Arizona | 4-1 | 6-2 |
| Weber State | 4-1 | 5-3 |
| Montana State | 3-1 | 6-1 |
| Montana | 3-2 | 5-3 |
| Cal Poly | 3-2 | 4-4 |
| UC Davis | 2-2 | 4-3 |
| Southern Utah | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Idaho | 2-2 | 2-5 |
| Portland State | 2-2 | 2-5 |
| Northern Colorado | 2-3 | 3-5 |
| Idaho State | 1-3 | 4-3 |
| Eastern Washington | 1-4 | 2-6 |
| Utah Tech | 0-4 | 0-7 |
Big Sky Conference schedule
(All times Mountain)
Saturday, Oct. 24
No. 22 Weber State at No. 3 Montana State, 1 p.m.
Utah Tech at Cal Poly, 3 p.m.
Southern Utah at Idaho, 3 p.m.
Portland State at (RV) Idaho State, 4 p.m.
Northern Colorado at No. 20 UC Davis, 5 p.m.
No. 7 Northern Arizona, No. 14 Montana and Eastern Washington idle.
