#3 Big Sky

As I wind this list down, we come to the conference with the most members in the Big Sky. And the Big Sky (such a dope conference name) is going thru a bit of an identity crisis, well maybe more of an evolution depending on who you talk to.  The trio of Montana, Montana St, and Eastern Washington have started showing that their grasp at the top is loosening. And while EWU has stayed somewhat near the top, Montana and MSU have slipped towards the middle. All the while schools like Southern Utah, Weber St have been seen at the top with more regularity. Now the questions is will the trend continue or does the old guard reclaim its place.

Placement Reasoning

So at the end of the day when you think about it, this is a conference of the "haves" and "have nots"
And it is with this separation of top and bottom that third on this list is the right spot. The teams at the top are good enough to beat anyone but the bottom miles apart from the top. For the bulk of its conference history Montana, Montana St, Eastern Washington, and most recently Weber St, Southern Utah, and Northern Arizona have been at the top of the pile. And that massive gap between the good and bad, its why the Big Sky only comes in at third. The good is really good, but the bad is not so great

2017 Recap

It was a bit of an oddball year for the conference. New cream rose to the top as Southern Utah won the conference title and earned a Top 8 seed in the playoffs. They were knocked out by at-large school, Weber St, and the Wildcats had one hell of a run as they beat two Top 10 teams in the FCS polls (Western Illinois, SUU) and almost knocked off James Madison in one of the games of the year. The third and final team to make the playoffs was Northern Arizona, a selection that was a bit baffling. And then proceeded to get blown out at home to San Diego in one of the most surprising scores of the season. Eastern Washington thought they did enough to earn a playoff birth but twin two-game losing streaks kept the Eagles on the outside.

Elsewhere, both Sacramento St and Montana finished with seven wins but were left at home. Montana's end of the season loss to Montana St spelled doom. It also cost HC Bob Stitt his job. Montana St and UC Davis limped to 5-6 seasons while Idaho St clocked in at four wins. Rounding out the conference Northern Colorado and North Dakota finished with three wins, Cal Poly had an injury-plagued one win season, and the fall of the feel-good story from a couple years ago hit rock bottom as Portland St went winless.

Playoff/National Championship Contenders

Its no secret that the Big Sky always produces at least one national championship contender and this season is no different as the first three on this list are all solid national championship contenders. And even the other entries on this list could be considered a dark horse candidate

The Favorite

Eastern Washington

Just like how I talked about Colgate during my write up on the Patriot League, the Eagles are going to be on a mission. Last season was a huge down year for the standards set by the program since the turn on the century. And this team is going to be experienced and loaded with 17 returning starters and nearly 30 seniors. Add on top arguably the best player in FCS in QB Gage Gubrud and watch out for EWU.

The Contenders

Montana

The Grizz are another team that will be on a mission in 2018. That loss to in-state rival MSU was the reason the why the Grizz missed the playoffs and the reason why Bobby Hauck was brought back. Hauck will have a lot of talent coming back on both sides of the ball. A tricky non-conference schedule that includes both UNI and Western Illinois will test the Grizz but a favorable conference schedule awaits them afterward and no Eastern Washington

Weber St

After the best season in school history, expectations are high for a repeat and there is a possibility of that happening. If the Wildcats can replace the losses at key positions (QB, DL, and CB), the pieces elsewhere are strong enough where another run is in the cards. The schedule does have them avoiding Montana but E. Washington is on the schedule 

The Sleepers

Sacramento State

The Hornets are one of those teams where you ask yourself "are they on the come up or a one year flash in the pan?" It will be interesting to find out the answer as they have 16 starters returning and high impact playmakers on both sides of the ball. The schedule is tough, however, four of the first six games are on the road and they have to go to both Montana and Weber St

Southern Utah

The defending conference champions got killed with senior losses and it will be hard to replace so many pieces. The schedule won't be doing them any favors either, in addition to two FBS, the Thunderbirds have both Eastern Washington, Weber St and Montana on the schedule. The defense will not be easy

Northern Arizona

Be hard pressed not to included the Lumberjacks on this list especially when you have one of the best QBs in the FCS in junior Case Cookus. While he does lose wide receiver Elijah Marks, Emmanuel Butler comes back to the fold after a medical redshirt. Add on top, nine returning starters on defense and the pieces are in place for a run. But the Lumberjacks will have to beat the teams they are supposed to if they want to earn a conference title

Teams to add/subtract

This one is pretty easy. The Big Sky is the largest conference in the FCS at 14 (13 if you don't count North Dakota) schools and because of the lack of west coast Division 1 programs that sponsor football the likelihood of adding a 14th member is slim to none. Now I will say this, an option that would make a ton of sense would be San Diego joining the conference. Travel would be a lot less hectic since there would be no need to make a couple of east coast trips and one down south every year. The furthest they would travel is Northern Colorado (shortest trip now would be to Cambell in NC) and would have overall shorter trips. Now the downside is them having to improve and upgrade almost every aspect of the football program but some of those upgrades are not as drastic as others. Needless to say, change is definitely not needed

Best/Worst

Stadium

Best - Washington–Grizzly Stadium (Montana)

While Roos field is beautiful in its own right for the turf, and other stadiums have beautiful mountain views, Griz Stadium might be one of the best in all of college football period. It is absolutely perfect in every way visually. And if we bring the crowd aspect into the conversation has one of the loudest, right on top of you crowds in all of FCS. I really wish I would have been able to travel to that game for the playoffs my freshman year

Worst - Dome Stadiums (Idaho, Idaho St, N. Arizona)

It's not that I don't like dome stadiums its just that for most colleges that use a dome, it just doesn't work. It feels cavernous and because it is usually a multi-purpose arena. Not saying tha, it is a bad idea, just saying that it doesn't always work. In these three cases, it fails pretty badly. In N. Arizona's case, its a bit worse since the arena shows a beautiful view of Flagstaff

Logo and Nickname

Best - Eastern Washington Eagles

Classic case of a great logo with an average nickname. The Eagles are an uninspiring choice for the nickname, but man what they do with is impressive. No, it's not like the EWU is hidden, but it wasn't supposed to be it shows how the program is ready to strike down on all unsuspecting foes and it's just really cool to see. Love the thought process in this one

Worst - Sacramento State Hornets

Its just confusing...so damn confusing. I'm not sure what they are trying to get at but whatever it is, I can't see how it would hit the mark. If you figure this one out let me know

Uniforms

Best - Montana Grizz

For me when I think of FCS football this is one of the first teams I think about and one of the first uniforms that pops in my head. Now granted, in recent history the allure has faded due to the rise of James Madison and North Dakota St, but this is one of the godfathers of this conference and the uniform is just perfect

Worst - Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

In a time where boldness is the norms in uniform styling, every so often an attempt at such a combination falls flat. I think the way the school colors are used does them in, plus the shoulder blocks on the bring less to the party as expected. Something along the side or more of an ode to the nickname would have helped this. But when everyone else is pretty plain jane, when a standout attempt doesn't work it get noticed a bit more

2018 Outlook

For the Big Sky, things are straightforward...Does the old guard come back to reclaim its place at the top or will the trend continue of outsiders winning the conference and getting into the playoffs? What say will Idaho have now that they are back in the fold? Haven't said much about them but the talent is there and the schedule isn't difficult, maybe a surprise run is in store. Overall, the road is easier for some but expect a few teams out of this conference to have a huge say in trying to break up the James Madison/NDSU stranglehold on the rest of the FCS. This is one of the best conferences for a reason and its ripe to make some noise...it came really close last year