The Big Sky will have three teams in the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals, with the Montana State-Idaho rematch highlighting the weekend on Friday night before UC Davis travels to South Dakota on Saturday. Below are news and notes for the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.
QUARTER-FINALS SCHEDULE
Friday, December 13, 2024
Idaho Vandals vs Montana State Bobcats
Saturday, December 14, 2024
UC Davis Aggies vs South Dakota Coyotes
NEWS & NOTES
Montana State-Idaho Rematch Featured on ESPN
No. 1 Montana State hosts No. 8 Idaho this Friday night on ESPN, as the two teams meet for the second time this season and the first time ever in postseason play. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. MT on Friday night in Bozeman.
Montana State won the regular-season meeting two months ago on ESPN2 in Bozeman, with the Bobcats winning decisively, 38-7.
Montana State is 1-0 against Big Sky teams in the playoffs, while Idaho is 2-2. The last meeting against a conference foe for Montana State was against Weber State in 2022, with the last for Idaho coming against Montana in 1988.
Neither team has faced a Big Sky foe this late in the FCS Playoffs.
Montana State vs. Big Sky Teams in FCS Playoffs
Year: Round – Opponent (Result)
2022: 2nd – Weber State (W/33-25)
Idaho vs. Big Sky Teams in FCS Playoffs
Year: Round – Opponent (Result)
1988: 1st – Montana (W/38-19)
1987: 1st – Weber State (L/59-30)
1986: 1st – Nevada (L/27-7)
1982: 1st – Montana (W/21-7)
UC Davis Travels to No. 4 South Dakota
UC Davis makes its first appearance in the FCS Quarterfinals since 2018, as the fifth-seeded Aggies travel to fourth-seeded South Dakota on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. MT on Saturday in Vermillion.
UC Davis is 2-4 all-time against South Dakota in its program history, with the only postseason meeting coming in the NCAA D-II Quarterfinals in 1986. The Aggies lost that playoff matchup 26-23.
South Dakota is 1-0 in its lone FCS Playoff game against a Big Sky foe, winning 34-24 over Sacramento State last season in the second round.
Big Sky History in the Quarterfinals
Since the FCS expanded its playoff bracket in 1982 to have a quarterfinal round, the Big Sky is 31-21 overall in the round.
In the 37 years the Big Sky has had a quarterfinal team, only four times have two Big Sky teams faced off. The last time prior to this Friday’s Montana State-Idaho matchup was in 2019 when Weber State advanced to the semifinals over Montana.
Big Sky QBs Have Efficient Day Passing
The three winning quarterbacks for the Big Sky had near perfect days in the second round of the FCS Playoffs, with the Tommy Mellott and Jack Layne’s ratings of 241.60 and 239.14 being the highest so far for the playoffs this season. Miles Hastings also put up impressive numbers, totaling a 208.34 in the win over Illinois State.
