No. 18/17 No. Arizona at No. 1/1 Montana St.

When: Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; TV — ESPN2. Web — Varsity App; Radio — Bobcat Radio Network. Where: Bobcat Stadium (20,767, FieldTurf). Records: NAU is 3-1, 1-0 in Big Sky games; MSU is 4-0, 1-0. 

When the Lumberjacks have the ball: Ty Pennington, who followed coach Brian Wright from Pittsburg (Kan.) State, has thrown for 808 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions. Three receivers have at least 12 catches: Myseth Curreie, Joey Stout and Jeter Purdy. Purdy has 2 TDs. Quran Gossett rushed for 380 yards last year as a backup, and has 297 yards through four games this season, at 4.6 yards a carry.  

When the Bobcats have the ball: Adam Jones got going late in last week’s 35-30 win over Central Connecticut State, rushing for 147 yards and two scores. Quarterback Justin Lamson had a very strong second half despite throwing an interception; he is completing 74.5 percent of his passes, for 923 yards and 7 TDs. Taco Dowler has just one receiving TD while Dane Steel has four. Steel is averaging 19.2 yards on 17 catches. 

Notable: Brent Vigen is five wins away from the Bobcats’ record for coaching wins, held by Rob Ash (70). ... The Cats are 36-16 in Homecoming games at Sales/Bobcat Stadium. ... Adam Jones’ 35 career rushing TDs are 12 away from Cody Kirk’s school record. ... NAU leads the series 28-26, but MSU has won the last four matchups. ... NAU coach Brian Wright was MSU’s offensive coordinator from 2010-11; NAU defensive coordinator Trenton Green coached MSU’s cornerbacks in 2025. ... Wright is 18-11 in his third season with the Jacks. ... NAU leads the FCS in turnovers gained, with 12. ... Bobcat kicker Myles Sansted is 5-for-5 on field goals. 

Pick: Bobcats, 38-35.  

No. 5/T4 Montana at 10/9 UC Davis

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.; TV — The Spot/KPAX. Web — ESPN+; Radio — Grizzly Radio Network. Where: UC Davis Health Stadium (10,743, FieldTurf). Records: UM is 3-1, 1-0 in the Big Sky; UCD is 3-1, 1-0. 

When the Grizzlies have the ball: UM career rushing leader Eli Gillman, has 409 rushing yards and seven scores. Backup RB Dylan Paine is averaging 7.6 yards a carry. Keali’i Ah Yat has thrown for 1,008 yards and seven TDs and been sacked just three times in four games. Brooks Davis is by far the top receiver, with 35 catches for 446 yards. He and Lekeldrick Bridges, who is second on the team with 14 catches, have two touchdowns each. 

When the Aggies have the ball: QB Trenor Cleeland has picked up where Caden Pinnick (now at Washington State) left off, with 995 yards and nine TDs passing. Samuel Gbatu, Jr., is the real deal at receiver with 32 catches for 468 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jordan Fisher has rushed for 213 yards and four scores while his backup, Matteo Perez, is averaging 8.9 yards a carry. Fisher is also a top target out of the backfield with 13 receptions. 

Notable: UC Davis won 30-14 at UM in 2024, and the Grizzlies won 31-23 at UC Davis in 2023. ... Montana leads the series 9-2. ... The listed capacity at UC Davis Health Stadium is 10,849 but announced attendance was 15,270 for the Aggies’ 48-7 win over Stetson last week. ... Davis LB Porter Connors had the sixth 10-tackle game of his career last week. ... Solomon Tuliaupupu, who stepped away from football two weeks ago, continues to be listed as a starter at LB for the Griz. ... Gillman is the FCS active leader in career rushing yards (4,086) and rushing touchdowns (56).

Pick: Griz, 30-17.