Griz, Cats picked high in the Big Sky

If there actually is a 2020, or 2021 Big Sky Conference football season, the consensus is, the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are going to be two of the best teams in the conference.

The Big Sky held its first day of its Virtual Big Sky Kickoff on Thursday. The event was pre-recorded and board cast pin Pluto TV due to the annual kickoff in Spokane being canceled by COVID-19.

And on the first day, the league released its Big Sky Preseason Coaches and Media Polls where the Grizzlies were picked second and the Bobcats third in both polls. Weber State was picked to win the Big Sky in both polls.

Eastern Washington, Sacramento State and UC Davs were No. 4-6 in each poll, while Portland State, Idaho, Northern Arizona, Cal Poly, Idaho State, Southern Utah and Northern Colorado rounded out the order of the Media Poll. The Coaches Poll saw NAU, PSU, Idaho, Cal Poly, ISU, Southern Utah and Northern Colorado complete the order.

Also on day one of the kickoff, all 13 Big Sky coaches answered questions about their teams, the upcoming, season, and of course, the coronavirus, which may prevent there from being a season at all.

"I appreciate the regard the other coaches and media have for us, and I think It's probably where I envision us fitting in at this point," head coach UM Bobby Hauck said. "I think we have a really fine football team, and I think we'll be hard to beat.

"It's always easier to say this after the season when you can evaluate how they performed, but the team we've put together has very few weak spots. I think it has a chance to be a really complete football team. I don't know about dominating, but I'm not sure they can't be a dominating team," Hauck added. "I'm very, very excited about it. From the amount of work we've put in since last season, to the talent we've assembled, to the schematic adjustments we've made, my experience would tell me this is absolutely a championship-caliber football team that can beat anybody in the country."

The Griz reached the FCS quarterfinals last season, which was Hauck's second since returning to Montana.

Montana State, which beat the Grizzlies for the fourth straight time last November, went a round further in the FCS playoffs last year, as the Bobcats reached the semifinals before falling to eventual national champion North Dakota State.

The Cats return a wealth of talent and could be just as good this year, but head coach Jeff Choate sees areas to address.

"One of the things that concerns me the most right now - I don't really think that we were the most physically gifted team over the last couple years, but I do think that we had really good chemistry and we had a toughness about us that allowed us to play a lot of tight games and win a lot of tight games," Choate said on media day.

Concerns however, weren't just about rosters and opponents, schemes and players, they, right now, are mostly about coronavirus, and if there will even be a season. To date, five FCS conference have either postponed, suspended, or moved fall sports due to the ongoing pandemic. The Big Sky is scheduled to make a decision its fate for fall before the end of July.

"I think we all know that this is a real virus, it's an airborne deal, it's not going to be contained, people are going to get sick, we've got to do what we can to mitigate it, and we've got to make a decision if we're going to do this or not," Choate said. "And if we do then we've got to go."

"The coronavirus isn't going any place," Hauck said. "Half measures don't work. My opinion is we either go or we don't go. We shut the country down, which I don't think is feasible financially, personally. Then the other side of it is we go or we don't go. If you're uncomfortable, don't play, don't coach, don't go to the games. If you're comfortable, go, let's roll."

If there is a fall season, the Grizzlies won't play until at least Sept. 12. Their home-opener with Central Washington was canceled after CWU's NCAA DII conference, the GNAC. Suspended fall sports. Montana State's home-opener is set against Long Island University, but that school resided in New York, which has a 14-day travel quarantine in place for over 30 states, and Montana is on that list, meaning, if the Blackbirds did travel to Bozeman, they would have to quarantine for 14 days upon their return home.

Also complicating the fall is Sacramento State and Cal Poly being amongst the Cal State University System's likely having campuses closed until after January 1, as well as the state of Washington's re-opening plan not allowing for a high-risk sport such as football to be played until it reached Phase 4 of its re-opening plan, which is nowhere in state as the virus rages across America.

So, both Hauck and Choate are right to have concerns, and only fueling those concerns was the fact the Big Sky moved the virtual kickoff up a week, presumably to make room for an announcement on the fate of the season before Aug. 1.

On the flip side, if there is a season, it will culminate with the annual Brawl of the Wild which is set for November in Missoula and Thursday, both coaches weighed in on the state of the rivalry.

When asked about shifting the balance of power back to Missoula, Hauck replied:

"It's already done. No, we need to win that game, though. They kicked our ass last year, and we aren't real pleased about it."

Choate on the other hand, said that people may get too excited over the rivalry in Montana, but when pressed on the Grizzlies, he also said "We feel we have the right formula to win that game."

Indeed, whether it's November, or possibly in May, because of Choate, Hauck, and how loaded with talent both teams are, the next Cat-Griz game may be the biggest yet.

Big Sky Football Preseason Media Poll

Teams Points 1st Votes

Weber State 546 28

Montana 496 8

Montana State 493 6

Eastern Washington 438 1

Sacramento State 389

UC Davis 325 1

Portland State 274

Idaho 273

Northern Arizona 238

Cal Poly 206

Idaho State 133

Southern Utah 105

Northern Colorado 88

Big Sky Football Preseason Coaches' Poll

Weber State 135 7

Montana 128 3

Montana State 121 1

Eastern Washington 118 1

Sacramento State 99 1

UC Davis 83

Northern Arizona 68

Portland State 67

Idaho 66

Cal Poly 46

Idaho State 37

Southern Utah 33

Northern Colorado 13