Big Sky notes: In a QB-rich league, watch for Idaho’s No. 4

Montana Grizzlies quarterback Lucas Johnson has been reminding Huge Sky Convention followers why he began at San Diego State.

Similar with Sean Chambers, who began at Wyoming earlier than coming to Montana State.

It’s a league full of fantastic QBs, lots of whom began someplace else. One which didn’t, and perhaps will get neglected, is Idaho’s Gevani McCoy.

Recruited as a 160-pounder by former Vandals coach Paul Petrino, McCoy acquired in three video games final season, and threw for 123 yards and a landing (with two interceptions) in a 34-14 loss to the Grizzlies in Moscow, Idaho.

A yr later Idaho is coming to Missoula Saturday and McCoy is lighting it up.

“They’re actually balanced on offense, after which the quarterback is main the nation in completion share,” Griz coach Bobby Hauck stated Monday. “That’s a priority. And never turning it over, by the best way.”

After throwing two interceptions at Washington State — together with one on the Cougars’ 10-yard line with 12 seconds left in a 24-17 loss — McCoy has gone 93 passes with no decide. He’s accomplished 70 of these throws for 861 yards and 9 TDs.

His .728 completion share ranks third within the Soccer Championship Subdivision, however he does lead the Huge Sky in that class and in passing effectivity.

So yeah, look ahead to No. 4 on a Vandals squad that’s 3-2 total and 2-0 within the Huge Sky.

“Idaho is a big recreation,” stated Hauck, whose Griz are 5-0, 2-0 heading into Saturday’s 1 p.m. residence contest. “It’s our second-oldest rivalry. They’ve acquired an excellent staff. So I like the place we’re at, and I’m positive they like the place they’re at, on a three-game profitable streak and coming off an open week as effectively.”

Final time the Griz performed they’d a thumping of Idaho State flip right into a one-possession win, 28-20. In the meantime Idaho was outsourcing Northern Colorado on the street, 55-35.

McCoy performed so effectively he earned Stats Carry out’s freshman participant of the week honors. Freshman, you ask? Sure, as a result of with simply three video games performed final season he was capable of redshirt.

Stan Becton at NCAA.com has been writing weekly FCS quarterback rating articles and notes {that a} pair of Bobcat transfers — Matt McKay did switch to Montana State earlier than he transferred again out to Elon — are shifting on up.

Chambers, who excelled in two begins for the Bobcats rather than Landing Tommy Mellott, sits at No. 12 after finishing 16 of twenty-two passes in opposition to Idaho State. OK, Becton truly teams Mellott and Chambers collectively, however final week was notable in that the Cats didn’t depend on Chambers’ operating means a lot, however nonetheless floor out an enormous win with backs Elijah Elliott and Dane Sumner.

On Monday MSU coach Brent Vigen introduced that Mellott, who suffered a concussion on Sept. 24 in opposition to Japanese Washington, had been cleared to return to apply.

“Our concept might be to start out him (at Northern Colorado),” Vigen added.

Again to McKay: he transferred from North Carolina State to MSU and began each regular-season recreation for the Bobcats a yr in the past, then abruptly hit the switch portal when Mellott was named the beginning QB after the Cat-Griz loss.

Mellott then guided MSU to the FCS title recreation; McKay ended up at Elon the place he’s been having an excellent senior marketing campaign: He threw three extra TD passes final week for the Phoenix, who’re unbeaten 5-1 total and 3-0 within the CAA. McKay ranks within the high 10 within the FCS in a number of classes, together with complete offense (No. 5), passing yards (ninth) and passing effectivity (eighth).

In Becton’s rankings McKay is No. 9, whereas Montana’s Lucas Johnson is No. 7.

When you suppose issues are going easily in Northern Colorado, they don’t seem to be. The Northern Colorado Bears adopted up the Idaho loss with a 55-7 shellacking at Sacramento State.

“I assumed we performed a extremely good soccer staff that was well-coached and ready,” UNC coach Ed McCaffrey advised the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune. “I really feel like we weren’t ready and performed our worst recreation of the yr.

“We didn’t play effectively. They may have taken their staff off the sphere, and I don’t suppose we’d have performed effectively.”

In a 34-7 residence win over Idaho State, Dylan McCaffrey – the coach’s graduate pupil son – was 23 for 28 for 234 yards. He threw for 264 yards and two TDs at Idaho, however then was 16 of 35 for simply 103 yards in opposition to the Hornets, which has nonetheless misplaced only one Huge Sky recreation beneath coach Troy Taylor (17-1).

The Bears’ Elijah Dotson ran 16 occasions for 50 yards and one TD in opposition to his former staff, for which he was all-Huge Sky twice, together with Taylor’s first yr in Sacramento.

Idaho State coach Charlie Ragle had a press convention Monday to clear hypothesis about his health-related absence Saturday, when his Bengals misplaced 37-6 at Montana STate.

“The final 12 months I’ve handled A-Fib (Atrial fibrillation),” he stated. “My A-Fib was superb; I’ve that beneath management with remedy. In the end, right here within the subsequent few weeks I’ve to endure a process. I’m hoping to get by means of the top of the season to do it. It’s very commonplace, is what I ought to say.”

Ragel stated a visit to Santa Barbara Thursday, then a return to Bozeman Friday affected his well being.

“I feel – I don’t suppose, I do know –, I used to be worn down and was dehydrated,” he stated. “I had an adversarial response to some drugs that I take for A-Fib. All of the issues checked out superb however they thought … it could be greatest to take a seat it out.”

QUICK KICKS: UM’s Hauck has 4 wins in opposition to Idaho, which ties him for Don Learn amongst Griz coaches within the Little Brown Stein recreation. … Idaho leads the sequence 55-30-2, and is the one Huge Sky college to personal a sequence lead over the Griz. … Montana is No. 1 amongst FCS colleges within the Sagarin Rankings, which ranks each Division I program no matter subdivision for USA In the present day. Sagarin, which performs a component within the Huge Sky’s tie-breaking course of, has the Griz No. 72 total, forward of Nebraska, Navy and sure, North Dakota State (77). Sac State is No. 2 amongst Huge Sky colleges at No. 82.