FARMINGTON, Utah (Dec. 17, 2025) – No. 2 seed Montana State faces No. 3 seed Montana in Bozeman this Saturday, as ticket demand soars and national attention mounts with a trip to Nashville and the FCS National Championship Game on the line for the two Big Sky rivals. Below are news and notes for the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs.
Big Sky Football Weekly Notebook (Semifinals of FCS Playoffs)
Big Sky Playoff Preview
#2 Montana State vs. #3 Montana // Saturday, Dec. 20 at 2:00 p.m. MT (ABC)
For the first time ever, Montana and Montana State will face off in the FCS Playoffs, marking the 125th meeting for the two programs which first met in 1897. Both teams punched their tickets to the semifinals with blowout wins last week, as Montana State topped Stephen F. Austin 44-28, and Montana downing South Dakota 52-22.
Saturday’s semifinal game will also mark the first time in over a century the two teams have faced off twice in the same season, with the rivals playing twice in the 1913, 1912, 1910, 1909, 1908, 1899, and 1898 seasons.
The Griz and Bobcats met less than a month ago in Missoula, with Montana State upending previously undefeated Montana 31-28 on the road to win the Brawl of the Wild and the Big Sky title. The road win was the first for either team in the series since 2018. This Saturday’s matchup will move to Bozeman as the two fight for a trip to Nashville and a berth to the FCS National Championship Game.
Montana leads the all-time series 74-44-5, but Montana State holds a 7-2 record in the last nine meetings, including a two-game win streak over the rival Grizzlies.
With a win on Saturday, Montana State would secure its third trip to a national title game since 2021 and the fourth appearance overall for the program, while Montana would earn its first trip since the 2023 season and ninth overall.
With the FCS National Championship Game moving to Nashville this season, the title game returns to the Volunteer State for the first time since 2009. The championship was held in Chattanooga from 1997-2009, with Montana earning five trips to the final as they were the only Big Sky team to reach the title game during that 13-game stretch in Chattanooga.
Big Sky History in FCS Semifinals
With Montana State and Montana earning a trip to the FCS Semifinals, the Big Sky has now had five-straight seasons with a team in the playoff round. The 2025 season marks the first time since 2019 the league has had half of the playoff field in the FCS Semifinals, but just the second time ever that Big Sky teams have had to play one another in the round. The first and last time that occurred was the 1990 season, with Nevada winning a 59-52 contest in triple overtime against Boise State to secure a spot in the national title game.
Two Big Sky Teams Making FCS Semifinals
Year Big Sky Team (# National Seed)
2025 #2 Montana State, #3 Montana
2019 #3 Weber State, #5 Montana State
1994 #3 Boise State*, Montana
1990 #4 Nevada*, Boise State
1981 #2 Idaho State*^, #4 Boise State
* - Played in National Title Game // ^ - Won National Title
National Title Game Moves to Nashville for 2026, 2027
For the first time since 2010, the FCS National Title Game will have a new location, as the city of Nashville will host the game for 2026 and 2027. The games, which will be co-hosted by the Ohio Valley Conference and the Nashville Sports Council, will be played at FirstBank Stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt.
Nashville becomes the 11th city to host the Football Championship Subdivision championship game since 1978. It will be the first time the game has been played in Tennessee since Chattanooga hosted from 1997 to 2009.
Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, the host of the game since 2010, originally had been slated to host through 2027.
Due to a recently announced multiyear renovation project to begin after this year's contest, it became necessary to look at other sites. The location of the game beyond 2027 will be determined in a future bid cycle.
Three New Head Coaches Hired for 2026 Big Sky Teams
Three new head coaches will join the league and coach their Big Sky teams in 2026, as Cal Poly, Portland State and Weber State all named leadership changes in the past month.
Cal Poly hired Tim Skipper in early December, who was a former Fresno State player with extensive collegiate experience, including most recently as the interim head coach for UCLA.
Portland State named Chris Fisk as its new head coach late last week, who had a very successful tenure at Central Washington over the last seven seasons before taking the job with the Vikings.
Weber State hired Eric Kjar as its head coach earlier this week, who was most recently the head coach at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, where he posted a 112-10 record with six state championships over the last nine seasons.
Montana’s Botner Wins Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award
Montana’s Dillon Botner was recognized for his hard work on the field, in the classroom and the community, as the Grizzly offensive lineman was named the 2025 Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award recipient by Stats Perform FCS on this past week.
The Doris Robinson Award, first presented in 2015 and in its 11th season, honors FCS student-athletes who exemplify excellence on the field, in the classroom and across the community. The values embody the leadership and integrity championed by Doris Robinson, a former schoolteacher and the wife of legendary Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson.
Botner is the second winner to come from the Big Sky Conference, joining Montana State’s Tommy Mellott who won the honor in 2023.
Botner was selected from 13 Doris Robinson Award finalists – one from each conference involved in the Division I subdivision. He’s the fifth finalist from Montana, joining Derek Crittenden (2015), Reggie Tillman (2018), Dante Olson (2019), and Robby Hauck (2022) and will be honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Treasure State Headlines Postseason Honors
The Big Sky announced its annual football individual awards and all-conference teams last week, highlighted by a pair of Treasure State standouts in Offensive Player of the Year Eli Gillman of Montana and Defensive Player of the Year Caden Dowler of Montana State.
In addition to Dowler's Defensive MVP honor, Montana State took home three of the five individual honors on Wednesday, with Brent Vigen being voted the Coach of the Year and Justin Lamson winning the title of Newcomer of the Year. Rounding out the individual award winners for the 2025 season, Caden Pinnick of UC Davis was a unanimous selection for Freshman of the Year.
For the full release, click here.
2025 Big Sky Football Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Eli Gillman, RB, Montana
Defensive Player of the Year: Caden Dowler, DB, Montana State
Newcomer of the Year: Justin Lamson, QB, Montana State
Freshman of the Year: Caden Pinnick, QB, UC Davis*
Coach of the Year: Brent Vigen, Montana State
Big Sky Conference Announces 2026 Football Schedule
The Big Sky Conference recently announced its 2026 football schedule this past October, which features 58 total games as it welcomes two new members to the 13-team league for the upcoming football season. The full release and team-by-team schedules can be found here.
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Upcoming Big Sky Football Games (Semifinals of FCS Playoffs)
Saturday, Dec. 20
#3 Montana at #2 Montana State // ABC // 2:00 p.m. MT