The race for the Big Sky Conference championship is wide open.With four of eight teams ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Division I-AA top-25 poll and two others coming off winning seasons, football fans can expect high quality competition and high drama.

Reigning Big Sky champion Montana State University comes into this weekend 1-2 record and ranked 20th in the nation despite coming off a 24-21 loss last week to Cal Poly, the No. 15 team in the nation.

The Bobcats return three first team all-Big Sky players from last season including linebacker Roger Cooper and safety Kane Loane, who had three and four interceptions respectively.

The University of Montana comes into this week ranked 9th in the nation and is trying to build on a 2002 season where the Grizzlies reached the Div. I-AA playoff quarterfinals.

Quarterback John Edwards and safety Trey Young, last year’s offensive and defensive Big Sky players of the year, graduated and leave huge holes to fill on a team that is 2-1. Montana returns the other ten starters on offense including preseason first team All-American tackle Dylan McFarland.

Their defense will also stay strong with eight returning starters including cornerback Vernon Smith who had six interceptions and 48 tackles last season.Idaho State University enters this weekend with a 2-1 record and is No. 12 in Div. I-AA.

The Bengals led the conference in scoring defense a year ago giving up an average of 17.1 points per game and they will return eight starters on that side of the ball.

The offense is led by quarterback Roman Ybarra who threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns in his last outing, a 41-33 win over Northern Colorado. Running back Isaac Mitchell needs five rushing touchdowns to break ESPN football analyst Merill Hoge’s school record of 31.

Northern Arizona University rounds out the top 25 poll coming into this week 2-1 overall.

The Lumberjacks are the first team to get a win in the Big Sky shutting out conference opponent Portland State University 23-0.Linebacker Bruce Branch will be thrust into the starting role after four of last year’s linebacking crew graduated.

On offense 2002 all-Big Sky wide receiver Clarence Moore will look to burn opposing cornerbacks while catching balls from senior quarterback Clint Womack.

Portland State falls out of the top 25 this week after being drummed by Northern Arizona.

Just a week prior the Vikings beat the then 20th ranked Nicholls State Colonels to go 2-0.

Only nine starters total return to the team this year but one is Walton Payton Award candidate running back Ryan Fuqua.Fuqua had 1,283 rushing yards last season to lead the Big Sky and compliment his 10 touchdowns.

Eastern Washington University was only 3-4 in conference last year but looks to improve against Weber State University this weekend.The Eagles are 3-1 and in their last two games have averaged 48.5 points and 481 yards of offense.

Running back Eric Kimble, a second team all-Big Sky selection in 2002, and wide receiver Kyler Randall will lead the Eagle offense.

Erik Meyer faces the daunting task of filling the shoes of last season’s quarterback Josh Blankenship who passed for 3,243 yards and 30 touchdowns.The only two teams in the conference that didn’t have overall winning records last season were Sacramento State and Weber State.

The Hornets hope new head coach Steve Mooshagian and his staff can breath new life into a squad that went 5-7 last season.

A record of 1-2 does not show the talent of returning players like quarterback Ryan Leadingham, wide receiver Fred Amey and new starting powerhouse back Tyronne Gross.

Weber State is 3-1 this season — the same amount of wins the Wildcats had all last year.

The Wildcats finished last in the Big Sky in 2002 coming up with only one win against Portland State.

Running Back Nick Chournos was named Big Sky player off the week Sept. 8 and leads a resurgent offense has scored 38, 13 and 49 points in their three wins.