The Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series is in its third season in 2019. The two power FCS conferences started this series in 2017, and the MVFC has won the challenge 5-3 in both seasons. The MVFC holds the all-time series lead with a 62-41 record, which includes 34 playoff meetings.
There are 10 games in 2019, and we're about to rank them from "worst" to best, although there really are no bad matchups when teams from these two leagues decide to play each other. What are the factors in this ranking? Things such as national rankings, playoff implications and how entertaining of a game it looks to be on paper.
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10. Southern Utah at South Dakota State
Sept. 21
SUU is coming off a 1-10 season, although the odd-numbered years have treated the Thunderbirds well recently. But the Jackrabbits will be heavily favored in this one.
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9. Southern Utah at Northern Iowa
Sept. 7
This game should be a bit more interesting than the SUU-SDSU game. UNI has some question marks, especially at quarterback. With this being early in the season, SUU could be a sneaky game for the Panthers, who look to make another playoff appearance.
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8. Missouri State @ Northern Arizona
Aug. 29
Mo State defeated NAU, who was ranked No. 20 entering the Sept. 15 matchup, 40-8 last season in one of the more surprising results of that week. The Lumberjacks were without a number of their star players, though. Quarterback Case Cookus was one of them and is back. NAU hopes to be a playoff team this season and can't afford a home loss to the Bears, who have been toward the bottom of the MVFC stands.
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7. South Dakota at Northern Colorado
Sept. 21
USD won this matchup 43-28 last year at home. Winning on the road will be a tougher task, and Northern Colorado looks to be a stronger team this season. But if the Coyotes want to make the playoffs, this is the type of nonconference game they need to win. Fans will get to see two fantastic quarterbacks going at it: USD's Austin Simmons and UNC's Jacob Knipp. The two combined for 793 yards passing and seven touchdowns in last year's game.
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6. Idaho State at Northern Iowa
Sept. 21
Both of these teams have playoff hopes but have question marks at quarterback. Idaho State was on the postseason fringe last year while the Panthers advanced to the second round. The Bengals can earn a huge resume-booster with a win. Meanwhile, UNI needs to rack up the wins before hitting a tough MVFC slate of games.
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5. Northern Arizona at Illinois State
Sept. 21
Illinois State faces a lot of preseason expectations despite not living up to the preseason hype in recent seasons. NAU is coming off a disappointing season as well — although injuries didn't help — and want to be a playoff team once again. There's some offensive firepower in this game.
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4. Montana State at Western Illinois
Sept. 14
MSU narrowly beat WIU 26-23 to open the 2018 season. Now this game is played in Macomb, Illinois. The Bobcats have a good chunk of their team back. It's the opposite for WIU. But the Leathernecks are always a tough opponent, and playing in Macomb has a different kind of home-field advantage. Expectations are high for the Bobcats in 2019 after reaching the second round last year. But they can't overlook this game.
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3. Montana @ South Dakota
Aug. 31
The playoff implications in this game are huge despite it being the season-opener. Montana and USD look like 7-to-8 win teams this year. And in a 12-game season, the bubble is going to be packed with seven and eight-win teams. A game like this gets put under a microscope by the playoff committee. You can't quite label this a must-win, considering plenty of games remain. But seeing that USD has Oklahoma the next week and the Grizzlies face Oregon on Sept. 14, starting the season 0-2 or 1-2 is not ideal with the conference schedules looming.
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2. Northern Iowa at Weber State
Sept. 28
This is the third Big Sky opponent for UNI, who never shies away from a challenging nonconference schedule. These are two consistent playoff teams that are facing some preseason doubts. Weber State's tremendous defense needs to replace six First Team All-Big Sky players. And the Panthers need to find a new quarterback and have some holes on defense as well. If you love high-scoring, shootout games … well, this one isn't for you. But if you're an old-school fan, this is going to be one of the most physical matchups of the season. And it'll have a big impact on the playoff bracket.
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1. UC Davis @ North Dakota State
Sept. 21
Not only does this game top the list, but it is the best nonconference game of the FCS season. The No. 2 and No. 3 teams in our preseason poll square off. UC Davis feels like it missed out on an opportunity of playing in Frisco, Texas last year and returns 17 offensive and defensive players who started five games or more along with all four specialists. The Bison return just seven starters on offense and defense. But it's NDSU, and that program has guys ready to step up and not miss a beat. Nonetheless, NDSU will be an inexperienced team with limited game reps while the Aggies have a veteran group. The country will have its eyes on this one and don't be surprised to see a contest that resembles the 2016 Eastern Washington at NDSU game (a Bison 50-44 win in OT).
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