#BigSkyFB 2019 Season Wrap-Up
FARMINGTON, Utah (February 7, 2020) – What a year for Big Sky football in 2019. Take a look at some of the highlights from this past season.
For the
second straight season, three Big Sky teams finished with 10 or more wins.
Weber State crossed the 10-win plateau for the third consecutive season with a school-record 11 victories. Montana State also posted a school-best overall win mark with 11 victories. Montana collected 10 victories for the first time since 2013.
In 2018, the Big Sky had an FCS-best three teams earn seeds in the
Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. The league came back strong in 2019 with four seeded teams to showcase why the talent across the Big Sky is at the top of the FCS. Weber State (3), Sacramento State (4), Montana State (5), and Montana (6) all received first-round byes after stellar regular season performances.
The Big Sky had four teams compete in the second round, three in the quarterfinals, and two in the semifinals of the
FCS Playoffs. Montana State won a pair of games before losing to FCS Champion North Dakota State in the semifinals. Weber State advanced to the semifinals for the first time in school history. The Wildcats won two playoff games at home before they fell on the road to FCS runner-up James Madison. Montana bested Southeastern Louisiana at home racking up a Big Sky playoff record 73 points in the second-round victory. Sacramento State made its first appearance in the playoffs, falling to Austin Peay in a heartbreaker.
Weber State and Sacramento State were crowned the
2019 Big Sky Co-Champions after the pair both finished 7-1 in conference play. It was the seventh championship trophy for the Wildcats and the first-ever for the Hornets.
The Big Sky football student-athletes were successful on the field and in the classroom. A record 209 football players were named to the
2019 Big Sky Fall All-Academic Team. 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. Fourteen student-athletes earned
CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, while five were named
CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
The Big Sky landed double the amount of players on
the Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star Team then it did a year ago with six players earning honors. Eastern Washington defensive back Dehonta Hayes and center Spencer Blackburn, Montana linebacker Dante Olson and tight end Colin Bingham, Idaho State offensive lineman Dakota Wilson, and UC Davis tight end Wes Preece were all recognized.
Seven players earned
National Player of the Week honors by STATS FCS in 2019.
The Big Sky Conference had four teams ranked in the
final STATS FCS and AFCA FCS Coaches’ Polls. The conference had a stellar season, as it continually had four teams in the polls all season long, in addition to having two of the final four teams in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. Weber State finished the 2019 season ranked third in the both the STATS FCS and AFCA polls. The Wildcats posted an 11-4 overall record – their third straight season with 10 or more victories. Weber State went undefeated at home (8-0) this past season, including a pair of postseason wins en route to the first semifinal playoff appearance in school history. Montana State’s ranking of No. 4 gives the Big Sky a pair of teams in the Top 5 of the polls. The Bobcats advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs winning a pair of games and ending the season 11-4. Montana State had a balanced attack all season long, as it crossed the 10-win plateau to record its most successful campaign since the 1984 National Championship season. Led by the 2019 Buck Buchanan Award Winner Dante Olson, Montana was voted No. 6 in both the STATS and AFCA polls after a quarterfinal appearance in the playoffs. The Griz finished the season with a 10-4 mark, the first 10-win season for Montana since 2013. Sacramento State’s record-breaking season saw the Hornets slotted No. 9 in the final polls after the 2019 season. Under the leadership of the 2019 Eddie Robinson Award Winner – Head Coach Troy Taylor – Sacramento State finished the season with a 9-4 overall mark. Sacramento State tied for a share of the Big Sky title and advanced to the playoffs for the first time in school history. Eastern Washington (7-5) received 21 votes in the STATS FCS Poll and four votes in the AFCA poll. The Eagles tied for third place in the conference standings with a 6-2 league record.
The Athlon Sports Final Top 25 Power Poll had four Big Sky teams amongst the listed names. Weber State (3), Montana State (4), Sacramento State (8), and Montana (9).
Sacramento State quarterback Kevin Thomson was voted the league’s
Offensive Player of the Year. Weber State defensive end Jonah Williams and Montana linebacker Dante Olson were named co-Big Sky
Defensive Players of the Year. Montana running back Marcus Knight was named the Big Sky
Newcomer of the Year. UC Davis linebacker Nick Eaton was voted the league’s
Freshman of the Year. Southern Utah offensive lineman Zach Larsen was the lone three-time All-First Team honoree on the all-conference list. All 13 teams in the league had at least one player selected to one of the three teams. Weber State’s 14 all-conference selections led the league. Sacramento State’s Troy Taylor was named
Big Sky Coach of the Year.
Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor earned the
Eddie Robinson Award, after leading his Hornets to s share of the Big Sky title in his first season. Sacramento State advanced to the playoffs for the first time in school history and climbed as high as No. 3 in the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll. Taylor’s honor as the top FCS head coach made it two straight honors for the league, as UC Davis’ Dan Hawkins earned the honor in 2018.
Montana linebacker Dante Olson won the 2019
Buck Buchanan Award, after collecting All-American honors from every outlet. The talented senior became the eighth conference player to win the award after he led the FCS in tackles with 151 stops while averaging 12.6 tackles per game to rank second. The Buchanan Award is the first honor for the Big Sky since Montana’s Tyrone Homes earned the accolade in 2015. Olson added another accolade to his resume as he was named the
2019 FCS ADA Defensive Player of the Year.
Both Northern Arizona’s Case Cookus and Sacramento State’s Kevin Thomson were in Frisco for the
Walter Payton Award. Cookus placed second overall and Thomson tied for third in the voting. Cookus led the FCS with 4,114 passing yards. The only quarterback to cross the 4k threshold during the regular season. The senior led the FCS in yards per game at 342.8, ranked third in the FCS in total offense with 344.4 yards per game and tied for seventh in passing touchdowns with 31 at the end of the regular season. He completed 290 of 481 passes to average 24.17 completions per game. Cookus had nine multi-touchdown games and threw four touchdowns in a game three times with a season-best five touchdowns. Thomson completed 25 touchdown passes and rushed for 10 touchdowns during his junior campaign. The dual-threat quarterback completed 244 of 397 passes for 2,910 passing yards. He completed 25 touchdown passes and averaged 264.5 yards per game. The quarterback also rushed for 532 yards – second-most on the team – and the led the Hornets with 10 rushing touchdowns.
Weber State’s Jay Hill was named the
FCS Region 5 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. Hill, who is in his sixth season at the helm of the Wildcat football program, led Weber State to a share of its third-straight Big Sky title. The Wildcats compiled a 7-1 league record and 9-3 overall mark to close out the regular season. With one of the top defenses in the FCS, the Wildcats earned the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs and the No. 3 overall seed.
The Big Sky Conference earned the
Fred Mitchell Award for the second straight year, as Eastern Washington’s Roldan Alcobendas received the award last year. The award, which dates back to 2009, is named for Fred Mitchell, an All-American place-kicker from Wittenberg University and a sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. It is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker in the FCS, Division II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA not only for their performance on the field but for their community service efforts. Led the nation with 22 made field goals and ranked third in the FCS in field goals per game (1.83) and third in field goal percentage (.880).
Aguilar’s field goal percentage was the best in the FCS for anyone with 20 or more attempts. He connected on 22 of 25 FG attempts, was a perfect 12-for-12 on field goals under 39 yards and made 10 field goals over 40 yards and two over 50 yards, including a career-best 57-yarder to lead the FCS and is the second-longest in the nation this season including FBS foes. He was 52 of 52 on PATs, scoring 118 points on the season. He also had 83 kickoffs for 5,210 yards for an average of 62.8 yards per kick with 61 kicks resulted in touchbacks.
Southern Utah senior Zach Larsen was named the
2019 Rimington Award honoree for the FCS level. Larsen became the first Big Sky player since 2014 to take home the Rimington Award. The senior had a standout career for the Thunderbirds. He is a three-time All-Big Sky Conference honoree, earning unanimous first-team honors this season.