PDF of Release
THIS WEEK’S SKY HIGHLIGHTS
Week two of the 2010 season features the first conference contest. Northern Colorado travels to Weber State in a game that will be televised live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment...All nine teams are once again in action. Three Sky teams will battle FBS schools. Montana State takes on Washington State and former EWU coach Paul Wulff...Idaho State takes the short trip to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State...Northern Arizona travels to Tempe to face Arizona State....Two Sky teams will take on teams from the Great West Conference. Montana travels to Cal Poly to face Tim Walsh and the Mustangs...Portland State hits the road for the second straight weekend to face UC Davis...Sacramento State will play host to Western Oregon...Eastern Washington takes on Central Washington at Qwest Field in Seattle. EWU is playing at Qwest for the second straight season. The Eagles beat Portland State in Seattle in 2009.
THIS WEEK’S SKY SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 11 Time
No. 24 Montana State (1-0) at Washington State (0-1) 4:05
Series: WSU leads 8-0. Last Meeting: WSU won 45-28 in 2002.
Series Streak: WSU has won eight.
Idaho State (1-0) at Utah State (0-1) 6:05
Series:USU leads 11-2. Last Meeting: USU won 38-33 in 2002.
Series Streak:Utah State has won two.
No. 1 Montana (1-0) at Cal Poly (1-0) 6:05
Series: UM leads 13-1. Last Meeting: UM won 35-23 in 2009.
Series Streak: UM has won three. TV: CW-Montana. Internet: Big Sky TV.
*Northern Colorado (1-0) at No. 20 Weber State (0-1) 6:05
Series:WSU leads 4-0. Last Meeting: WSU won 28-20 in 2009.
Series Streak: WSU has won four. TV: Altitude. Internet: Big Sky TV.
Portland State (0-1) at UC Davis (0-1) 6:05
Series: PSU leads 6-4. Last Meeting: UC Davis won 33-31 in 2009.
Series Streak: UCD has won three.
Western Oregon (1-0) at Sacramento State (0-1) 6:05
Series:First Meeting. Internet: Big Sky TV.
Central Washington (1-1) vs. No. 17 E. Washington (0-1) (At Seattle) 6:05
Series: EWU leads 33-30-5. Last Meeting: CWU won 21-14 in 2006.
Series Streak: CWU has won one. Internet: Big Sky TV.
Northern Arizona (1-0) at Arizona State (1-0) 7:05
Series: ASU lead( 20-14-4. Last Meeting: ASU won 30-13 in 2008.
Series Streak: ASU has won seven. TV: Fox Sports Arizona
*Big Sky Conference Game. Times Local to Site/Subject to Change
AROUND THE BIG SKY
DÉJÀ VU FOR JONES: In 2009, Taiwan Jones took his first play from scrimmage 80 yards for a touchdown on a run. In 2010, Jones’ first touch on a play from scrimmage was an 82-yard touchdown catch. Jones, the electrifying running back, amassed a career-high 322 all-purpose yards in Eastern Washington’s 49-24 loss at Nevada, the 18th-most all-purpose yards in history by a Big Sky player. Jones carried the ball 12 times for 145 yards, including a 74-yard non-scoring run. He had two catches for 92 yards and returned four kicks for 85 yards. That’s an average of 17.9 yards every time he touched the ball. Jones, whose previous career high in all-purpose yards was 279, has seven plays of at least 71 yards in his career and 12 of at least 50.
PICK SIX PARTY: Before the end of Montana’s 73-2 win over Division II Western State, the Grizzlies set a Big Sky record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a game. By the time the game ended, UM had tied an NCAA record. The Grizzlies returned four interceptions for scores - three in the first quarter. It marked just the fifth time in NCAA history that a team has returned four interceptions for scores. No Big Sky team had ever returned more than two in a game. In 1987, Houston returned four vs. Texas. In 2007, Nicholls State accomplished the feat against Northwestern State. Northwestern State did it in 2003 against Southeastern Louisiana. At the Division III level, Millikin had four pix sixes against Illinois Wesleyan in 1999. Montana’s first on Saturday came with 13:14 left in the first quarter when Jordan Tripp returned a pick 22 yards to give UM a 14-0 lead. On Western State’s next offensive play, Eric Stoll returned a pick 34 yards for a touchdown. With 3:01 left in the first, Trumaine Johnson went 18 yards for a score on an interception. The fourth came with 8:31 to play by Sean Murray, capping UM’s scoring. A whole 5 minutes and 30 seconds of the second quarter wasn’t played, as a lightning delay brought with it an early start to halftime. The single-season Big Sky record for interception returns for touchdowns is six by Northern Arizona in 1985.
BEATING UP THE RMAC: The Big Sky picked up four of its five wins during the first week over opponents from the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Big Sky won those games by a combined score 233-12. Northern Colorado earned its first shutout since the 2002 season with a 54-0 win over Adams State. Montana State rolled up 30 first downs in a 59-10 win over Fort Lewis. Northern Arizona opened on Thursday with a 48-0 victory over Western New Mexico. Robin Pflugrad earned a 73-2 win over Western State in his Montana coaching debut. The 73 points were the most scored by a Big Sky teams since Weber State scored 73 against Portland State in 2007. Montana’s last 70-point game occurred in a 73-23 win over Idaho State in 1999. The Big Sky’s other win over the weekend came over NAIA UM-Western, a 32-3 win by Idaho State.
MONTANA NO. 1: The University of Montana has taken over the No. 1 spot in both major Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 Polls. Montana, which beat Western State 73-2 on Saturday, moved up one spot in both The Sports Network/Fathead.com top 25 and the coaches’ poll. Montana earned 57 votes in the Sports Network poll and 3,052 points. Villanova, the previous No. 1, dropped to second with 46 first-place votes and 2,886 total points. In the coaches’ poll, Montana garnered 16 first-place votes and 662 total points. Southern Illinois moved up three spots to No. 2. Villanova dropped to fourth, behind Appalachian State. The Grizzlies were last ranked No. 1 in the coaches’ poll last season, taking over on Nov. 9. Montana finished the regular-season ranked No. 1, and finished the season No. 2 after losing to Villanova in the Division I National Championship. This is Montana’s first appearance at the top of The Sports Network Poll since Oct. 8, 2007. Montana spent three weeks ranked No. 1 during the 2007 season. Four Big Sky teams are ranked in this week’s Sports Network poll. Eastern Washington dropped four spots to 17th. Weber State dropped one spot to 20th. Montana State remained 24th. Five Sky teams are ranked in this week’s coaches’ poll. Eastern Washington dropped one spot to 15, while Weber State dropped one spot to 19th. Montana State moved up one spot to 23, while Northern Arizona dropped one spot to 24.
EXTRA POINTS: WSU QB Cameron Higgins needs four passing yards to reach10,000 for his career and 266 to move into 10th on the Big Sky’s all-time passing list...Sacramento State had 76 punt return yards the entire 2009 season. Junior Kyle Monson returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in the Hornets’ loss to Stanford last week...NAU freshman Zach Bauman was named the National Freshman of the Week by The Sports Network...Saturday’s Northern Colorado-Weber State game is on Altitude Sports & Entertainment...Sac State’s Chris Diniz tied his career long with a 52-yard field goal vs. Stanford The distance matched his performance at Montana State last season and is tied for the second longest in school history.