2018 #BigSkyFB Wrap-Up

2018 #BigSkyFB Wrap-Up

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Two thousand and eighteen was a pretty exciting year for Big Sky Football. Heading into the season, Eastern Washington was picked to win it all by both the head coaches and the media, Idaho rejoined the league for the first time since 1995, and three teams were ranked in the preseason top 25 polls.  

By the end of the season, the Big Sky was playing football in January, the league had the most teams in the FCS with a seeded ranking in the playoffs and the Big Sky’s presence at the STATS FCS Banquet saw a pair of individuals earn top honors.

Take a look at some of the highlights from the 2018 campaign.

Three teams finished with 10 or more wins for first time in league history. UC Davis’ 10 wins were a program Division I high, while Weber State’s 100 wins gave the Wildcats their second straight season reaching the double-digit win mark. Eastern Washington reached 12 wins on the season.
The Big Sky Conference had four teams advance to the 2018 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. After a highly competitive season – Eastern Washington (3), Weber State (4) and UC Davis (6) all received first-round byes and were seeded. Montana State was the league’s fourth team in. The Bobcats made it to the second round after a 35-14 defeat over Incarnate Word in the opening round, before falling to eventual champion and top-seeded North Dakota State, 52-10. Weber State beat Southeast Missouri 41-23 in the second round before falling to No. 7 seeded Maine at home, 23-18. UC Davis knocked off Northern Iowa, 23-16, and Eastern Washington beat Nicholls, 42-21, to set up a quarterfinal match-up between the two programs. The thriller between the Eagles and Aggies saw Eastern Washington prevail, 34-29, in the final seconds. The Eagles used that momentum to crush Maine, 50-19, and advance to the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The Eagles’ appearance in the championship game was the first for them and any Big Sky school since 2010. Eastern Washington went toe-to-toe with North Dakota State, but came up short falling 38-24.

Two Big sky schools captured wins over FBS teams. UC Davis kicked off the #FearTheFCS victories with a 44-38 win at San Jose. Two days later, Northern Arizona thumped UTEP, 30-10 on the road.

The 2018 Big Sky Championship trophy was handed out to a trio of programs – Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Weber State – all of whom finished with a 7-1 conference record. It was the 10th crown for the Eagles, the first for the Aggies and the sixth for the Wildcats.

With the announcement of the 2018 Big Sky Fall All-Academic teams last week, football saw a record 205 student-athletes honored. To be selected to the team all student-athletes must meet the criteria of a 3.2 cumulative grade point average and have played in 50 percent of its teams’ games. Twelve student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, while three were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.

The Big Sky landed three players on the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) 21st Annual Academic All-Star Team. Idaho senior linebacker Ed Hall, UC Davis junior tight end Wes Preece and Montana junior linebacker Dante Olson were all recognized.
Ten players earned a total of 12 National Player of the Week honors by STATS FCS and the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) in 2018. Idaho State’s Tanner Gueller and Weber State’s Josh Davis earned multiple honors.

By the time the last All-America honors were released, the Big Sky had 22 different players earn over 64 honors. Eastern Washington’s Roldan Alcobendas, Montana’s Dante Olson, Weber State’s Iosua Opeta, and Cal Poly’s Joe Protheroe all earned seven All-America honors apiece.
To top it off, 10 players were selected to play in various senior all-star games to cap off their collegiate careers. The Reese’s Senior Bowl participants were UC Davis senior Keelan Doss and Northern Colorado wide receiver Alex Wesley. UNC long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer competed at the East-West Shrine Game, while Idaho State defensive back Andrew Whittier competed in the FCS National Bowl.

The Big Sky’s largest competitor list was for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Idaho State offensive tackle Brian Fineanganofo, Northern Arizona wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, Eastern Washington cornerback Josh Lewis, Weber State offensive guard Iosua Opeta, Eastern Washington defensive tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli, and Southern Utah offensive guard Marquez Tucker were all selected.

Four Big Sky teams finished the 2018 campaign ranked in the FCS Top 25 polls, announced by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and STATS FCS. In the Athlon Sports Power poll, the league earned four spots. The Eastern Washington Eagles (12-3) ended their season at the NCAA Division I Championship game as runners-up. The Eagles were ranked No. 2 in both polls, as they won 12 games for the fifth time in school history. Weber State (10-3) finished the 2018 campaign ranked No. 6 in both polls. The Wildcats advanced all the way to the FCS Playoff quarterfinals after earning a first-round bye for the first time ever. UC Davis (10-3) was voted No. 8 in the FCS STATS poll and No. 8 in the AFCA poll after posting its best record in school history as an FCS competitor. The Aggies earned a share of the conference crown, advanced to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in school history and earned an at-large bid and a first-round bye. Montana State was slotted No. 17 in both FCS polls. The Bobcats capped the season with an appearance in the FCS Playoff second round and an 8-5 overall mark. Montana State reached eight wins for the first time since 2014. Montana (6-5) received votes in the STATS FCS poll, while Idaho State (6-5) earned votes in the AFCA poll. Both teams entered the final week of the regular season with a chance at an at-large bid to the playoffs. The Eagles (2nd), Weber State (6th), UC Davis (7th), and Montana State (16th) all were slated in the final Athlon Sports Power Poll.

UC Davis junior quarterback Jake Maier was voted the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. Eastern Washington defensive tackle Jay-Tee Tiuli was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. Montana quarterback Dalton Sneed was named the Newcomer of the Year. Weber State’s Josh Davis was voted the league’s Freshman of the Year. Cal Poly fullback Joe Protheroe is the lone three-time All-First Team honoree on the all-conference list. Weber State led all league schools with 13 First Team All-Big Sky honorees and 19 accolades total. UC Davis’ Dan Hawkins and Eastern Washington’s Aaron Best were named co-Big Sky Coaches of the Year.

Only one person picked UC Davis to finish first in the preseason league polls, yet the Aggies won their season opener against San Jose State of the FBS, earned a share of the Big Sky title and captured a playoff berth and a first-round bye. For that and more, UC Davis’ Dan Hawkins was named the 2018 STATS FCS Eddie Robinson Award winner. The award is given to the top coach in the FCS. In his second season, Hawkins took a team that posted back-to-back 2-9 records and with the same group of players posted a program-record 10-3 overall and 7-1 league record. The Aggies won as many as six straight games, in addition to earning their first-ever national ranking (ranked as high as No. 4). UC Davis’ overall win total against Division I opponents equaled that of the four years preceding Hawkins’ arrival. The Aggies captured their first-ever Big Sky championship and advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history, picking up a victory in the second round. Hawkins becomes the fourth coach in Big Sky history to win the Robinson Award. Nevada’s Chris Ault (1991), Montana’s Joe Glenn (2000) and Portland State’s Bruce Barnum (2015) have all received the honor.

Weber State running back Josh Davis was named the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award winner. The award honors the nation’s top freshman in the FCS. At the conclusion of the regular season, Davis had earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors and was the only rookie to be named to the All-Big Sky First Team on either side of the ball. The all-purpose player ranked third in the FCS in all-purpose yards per game (170.00) and sixth in total all-purpose yards (1,700). He had seven games of 100-plus rushing yards and two games with 200-plus with a season-high of 225. During the playoffs, Davis added 79 rushing yards in the playoffs to finish with 1,362 for his freshman campaign. Overall, Davis concluded his rookie season with 1,779 all-purpose yards at an average of 161.1 yards per game. Fellow Big Sky freshmen Robby Hauck of Montana and Ulonzo Gilliam of UC Davis finished seventh and ninth in voting. Previous Big Sky Jerry Rice Award winners include Eastern Washington’s Cooper Kupp (2014) and Northern Arizona’s Case Cookus (2015).

Montana linebacker Dante Olson finished third in voting for the 2018 STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award. Olson led the Big Sky and FCS with a school-record 151 tackles – 57 solo and 94 assisted at the end of the regular season. He ranked fourth in the league in sacks (6.0) and eighth in tackles for loss (11.0). The junior forced a trio of fumbles, had two interceptions for 51 yards, five quarterback hurries, and three pass breakups. He recorded double-digit tackles in 9 out of 11 games. For six straight weeks Olson led the FBS and FCS in tackles per game. He finished his season first in the FCS in tackles at 13.7 a game. UC Davis linebacker Mason Moe finished 12th in the voting.

The Big Sky had three finalists for the Walter Payton Award. Cal Poly fullback Joe Protheroe finished fourth in voting after leading the nation in rushing yards with 1,810. UC Davis quarterback Jake Maier was sixth in voting, while Aggie wide receiver Keelan Doss finished 13th in voting.

Eastern Washington’s Roldan Alcobendas earned the 2018 Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award, which is presented to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker among more than 750 FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and NJCAA football teams. A First Team All-Big Sky kicker and punter in 2018, Alcobendas broke the single season school record for kick-scoring points with 107 and shattered the career mark.

Best was named HERO Sports Coach of the Year. With a late push of votes from Eagle Nation after he led the Eastern Washington University football team to the NCAA Division I Championship game, EWU head coach Aaron Best was declared by Hero Sports as the FCS Coach of the Year in voting. Best received nearly 40 percent of the total votes cast, with a total of 2,078 to out-distance North Dakota State's Chris Klieman with 1,127.