WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, OCT. 19 TV TIME (MT)
Cal Poly at #13 Idaho*
ESPN+ 2:00 p.m.
#3 Montana State at Portland State*
ESPN+/Scripps 2:00 p.m.
Idaho State at Northern Arizona*
ESPN+ 2:00 p.m.
#6 UC Davis at Eastern Washington*
ESPN+/SWX 5:00 p.m.
Weber State at #RV Sacramento State*
ESPN+/KMAX31 7:00 p.m.
NEWS & NOTES
200/200 DAY FOR DANTE CHACHERE
Portland State’s Dante Chachere earned Big Sky and national honors this past week, after scoring six touchdowns and racking up 216 yards passing, with another 202 coming on the ground. Chachere became just the third Big Sky QB since 2018 to achieve elusive the 200/200 stat line. Player, School (Pass/Rush) Dante Chachere, PSU (216/202 at ISU – 10/12/24) Sean Chambers, MSU (227/203 vs. UCD – 10/1/22) Dalton Sneed, UM (234/206 vs. SAC – 9/22/18)
INTO THE WIN COLUMN
Portland State and Northern Colorado broke into the win column for the first time this season, with both the Vikings and Bears achieving it with road victories. Portland State downed Idaho State 42- 38, while Northern Colorado upset No. 20 Weber State 21-17. The win for UNC snapped an 18-game losing skid, which was the longest in the FCS. Prior to the win on Saturday, UNC’s last victory came on Nov. 12, 2022 over Northern Arizona. The 18 consecutive losses was also just one shy of the Big Sky record of 19, which was set by Idaho State over the course of the 1978-80 seasons.
BOBCATS ON BEST START SINCE 1978
No. 3 Montana State dominated No. 7 Idaho this past Saturday on ESPN2, as the Bobcats improved to 7-0 on the year. The 7-0 start is the best for MSU since the 1978 season. The Bobcats best start all-time came back in 1956, when Montana State opened that season 9-0, before tying the final game of the season to finish 9-0-1.
UC Davis-EWU Featured Game on “This Week in Big Sky Football”
No. 6 UC Davis travels to Eastern Washington this Saturday, with both teams coming off of wins. The sixth-ranked Aggies will try to do something no other UC Davis team has ever done, which is get a win over Eastern Washington. UC Davis is 0-11 all-time against Eastern Washington, with the series dating back to 2005.
The game between the Aggies and Eagles will be featured on “This Week in Big Sky Football” which airs each Friday on @BigSkyConf’s YouTube.
Big Sky Football Players of the Week (Oct. 14, 2024)
Offensive Player of the Week:
Dante Chachere, Portland State (QB, Sr., Fresno, Calif.)
Dante Chachere led Portland State to its first win of the season, after scoring six touchdowns in the 42-38 win at Idaho State. The senior quarterback had 216 yards passing and 202 yards rushing on the day, becoming just the third Big Sky quarterback since 2018 to achieve the 200/200 stat line. Chachere had touchdown runs of 62, 53 and eight yards, with passing touchdowns of 50, 31 and 21 yards on the day.
Defensive Players of the Week:
Cam Chapa, Northern Colorado (DB, Fr., Aurora, Colo.)
Cam Chapa had seven tackles and the game-sealing interception in Northern Colorado’s 21-17 win at No. 20 Weber State. The interception for Chapa came under 30 seconds remaining, with the lead at 21-17 and the Wildcats driving near midfield. The Bears held the Wildcats to just 17 points on Saturday, a week removed from Weber State scoring 55 points, throwing six touchdowns and amassing 500-plus yards of offense at Montana. The win for UNC snapped an 18-game losing streak, which was the longest in the FCS. The last win for the Bears prior to this past Saturday, came against Northern Arizona on Nov. 12, 2022.
Special Teams Player of the Week:
Ross Bolger, Idaho State (P, Sr. Laois, Ireland)
Ross Bolger had four punts for Idaho State, earning an average of 49.5 on the day. The Ireland native had three punts land inside the 20, with two going over 50 yards on the day.
