MISSOULA — Montana State and Montana held steady in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25, which was released Monday.
The Bobcats remain third — behind No. 1 South Dakota State and No. 2 North Dakota State — after opening Big Sky Conference play with a 37-17 win at Idaho State, while the Grizzlies are ranked eighth for the second consecutive week after defeating Eastern Washington in a 52-49 thriller.
The Cats and Griz lead four Big Sky teams in the top 10 and six in the top 25. UC Davis, which was ranked 14th last week, jumped up to No. 9 after getting a 28-26 win over then-No. 4 Idaho. The Vandals, meanwhile, slipped to 10th.
Sacramento State is ranked 17th this week. The Hornets were 10th last week but suffered a 34-16 loss to Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks, who were previously unranked, are now 25th.
Weber State, ranked 25th last week, fell out of the poll. The Wildcats still received votes after last week's 28-26 loss to McNeese.
Following SDSU, NDSU and MSU in the rankings are South Dakota at No. 4 and Central Arkansas at No. 5. Villanova sits at No. 6, and North Dakota is seventh. View the complete poll.
Big Sky plays continues this week with five games: No. 3 Montana State hosts Northern Colorado, No. 8 Montana hosts Weber State, No. 9 UC Davis plays at Portland State, No. 10 Idaho hosts No. 25 Northern Arizona, and Cal Poly hosts Idaho State.
Around the FCS, North Dakota and North Dakota State will meet in a top-10 matchup this week. The Bison are coming off a 42-10 win at No. 18 Illinois State, while the Fighting Hawks defeated Murray State 72-35 last week.
Other top-25 matchups include No. 5 Central Arkansas at No. 16 Abilene Christian and No. 18 Illinois State at No. 19 Southern Illinois.
