BOZEMAN -- The innovation over the past decade in the Big Sky Conference has been the most fun to witness for Idaho State head football coach Cody Hawkins.
He pointed to the days of former Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin stacking four receivers to one side of the formation (three of whom were All-Americans Cooper Kupp, Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill).
In later years, former Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor iterated on the quarterback run game and Montana State head coach Brent Vigen found versatility out of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends). Former Idaho head coach Jason Eck had similar success with his wide zone schemes, Hawkins said.
That tradition carried into 2024, with the addition of UC Davis' Tim Plough being "absolutely incredible" with his up-tempo, run and shoot offense, Hawkins added, along with Northern Arizona's Brian Wright leading the Lumberjacks back to the FCS playoffs. In 2025, the Big Sky added Sac State's Brennan Marion, who crafted a high-powered offense at UNLV (program-record 36.2 points per game).
"I'm not speaking down on anybody specifically, but you watch some (Group of 5) conference ball on the East Coast and it looks like they're playing with some generic Madden playbook," Hawkins said at the Big Sky Conference Football Kickoff in July. "But in our conference, you're going to see stuff you've never seen before."
There's more to head coaching than drawing up new plays, Vigen said, such as facilitating growth and managing the entire operation. EWU head coach Aaron Best added that there's a good debate about whether an opponent would "lose more sleep" over preparing for a head coach with an offensive or defensive background.
Some of these innovations are also new labels on old material; Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum has seen Air Raid teams reject the moniker while still throwing frequently. He previously used to run a "read zone" offense that was essentially the triple option.
Regardless of what the schemes are called, there has been consistent offensive production throughout the Big Sky. Not counting the spring 2021 season, the conference has finished with at least four of the top 20 scoring offenses in FCS in seven of the last eight seasons (five in 2016, six in 2017, four in 2018, five in 2019, six in 2022, four in 2023 and 2024).
Halfway through 2025, Montana (ninth) and Idaho State (12th) are there, with Davis (24th) and MSU (25th) just outside.
Most conferences say "you can't take a week off," Best said, and that hasn't always been true in the Big Sky. But Best -- now in his 29th year at EWU -- said the recent uptick in offensive production has made the conference "better than it's ever been."
"That's the chess match," Barnum said, adding, "It's fun to see what someone here is going to offer. 'OK, what do we got to stop this week?'"
The 2025 season added a new wrinkle to that challenge. The Big Sky only returned one QB that started 10 or more games in 2024 -- NAU's Ty Pennington, who was named the conference's newcomer of the year last season after transferring from Division II Pittsburg State.
Wright said it was a unique situation for a conference to be in, and the Lumberjacks feel fortunate to return that experience. Through six games, Pennington leads the conference and ranks third in the FCS in passing yards (1,557), along with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
"It's really comforting to know that guy's back and that guy is who he is as a person and a player," Wright said.
Three teams returned QBs with some starting experience.
ISU's Jordan Cooke (third in the Big Sky with 1,387 passing yards) started in 2023, but redshirted in 2024 after losing the starting job to Utah Tech transfer Kobe Tracy. Cal Poly split time between Bo Kelly (eight games) and Jackson Akin (four games). Montana essentially had a two-QB system between Logan Fife (eight starts, 14 appearances) and Keali'i Ah Yat (six starts, 11 appearances).
Eight teams (MSU, Davis, EWU, Idaho, Northern Colorado, Sac State, Weber State, PSU) brought in new starters for 2025.
Every program would love to have continuity at QB, Weber State head coach Mickey Mental said.
"But in today's day and age, with guys either graduating or moving on to other opportunities, having depth and being able to fit your scheme to that guy's talent is more magnified," he added.
It's a challenge that's existed for several years. Best said the Eagles struggled to replace Walter Payton Award winner Eric Barriere after the 2021 season, trying to find the balance between throwing it 40-plus times (like Barriere did) and finding "a little niche in the run game," Best said.
At Portland State, Barnum worked with six different options at QB this offseason -- even having them take hits in practice -- before landing on Hawaii transfer John-Keawe Sagapolutele to replace Dante Chachere.
MSU -- which had to replace Walter Payton Award winner Tommy Mellott -- has passed more in 2025 under first-year offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick. Through six games, Justin Lamson has thrown for 1,218 yards, eight TDs and two interceptions. He also leads the Big Sky and ranks third in the FCS in completion percentage (72.3%).
Lamson’s continued growth has been encouraging, Vigen said Monday, whether it’s making the simple throws or executing on explosive plays down the field.
"The real positive thing is Justin and our staff feel like there’s a bunch of growth out front," Vigen added. "It’s not that he needs to do a crazy amount more, but just continue to get better with all the things we’re asking to do and continue to lead this offense."
There’s an awareness between coaches of which Big Sky programs will consistently reload. But Hawkins said it’s best to stay "true to yourself" and adhere to internal expectations. At ISU, Hawkins would rather develop a "diamond in the rough" for multiple seasons than settle for FBS drop-downs.
"Comparisons can get the best of you sometimes," Best said, adding,"If it consumes me at all what Bobby (Hauck) is doing at Montana or (Barnum) is doing at Portland State,I don’t think I’m giving the correct energy to us."
At the same time, coaches are aware of the conference measuring stick. Since arriving in 2024, Plough has looked at the success of MSU and UM and developed ways for Davis to consistently compete at that level. Plough has also admired the longevity of Hauck at Montana (14 years across two stints as head coach) and hopes to replicate that at Davis.
Having prior knowledge of the conference -- Plough,a former Davis QB,previously coached at Davis and NAU before becoming the Aggies' head coach--helped Plough have early success.Davis finished second in the conference (11-3,7-1 Big Sky)and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals in 2024.
"I knew some of the things it was going to take to win,and I felt like that gave me an advantage in year one,"Plough said,adding,"But man,some of the games I think about that we had last year with all these programs—that’s what makes the Big Sky so much fun."
That included a 28-26 win over then-No. 5 Idaho, a 30-14 win at then-No. 7 UM and a 30-28 loss to then-No. 2 MSU. Figuring out how to move the ball against top Big Sky competition is "the most intoxicating drug," Plough said.
The challenge also appeals to Mental, who wanted to close the gap after losing six games by eight points or fewer in 2024 (the Wildcats are 2-3 so far in 2025). Hawkins has built confidence in his players by "creating clues" to attack defenses, he said,such aslooking for even or odd fronts or evaluating the shell set by defensive backs.
"That’s what keeps us going," Hauck said. "That’s the addictive piece—game planning and competing on Saturdays."
In 2025, MSU is set to face five of the top six scoring offenses, five of the top seven total offenses and the top six passing offenses in the Big Sky. They also faced South Dakota State in Week 2, which is tied for 16th in the FCS in points per game (34.6).
Through six games, MSU is the No. 1 scoring defense (18.2 points allowed per game), No. 1 total defense (296.3 ypg), No. 1 rush defense (110.5 ypg) and No. 3 pass defense in the Big Sky (185.8 ypg). Across the FCS, the Bobcats are No. 10 in total defense, No. 11 in scoring defense,tied for No.13 in rush defense and No.30 in pass defense.
Entering last week, NAU was the No.2 scoring offense (34.2 ppg), No.3 passing offense (277 ypg) and No.3 total offense (429.4 ypg) in the Big Sky.MSU won 34-10,having held the Lumberjacks to 296 yards (210 passing,86 rushing).
The Bobcats will also face top-three offenses in UM (42.4 ppg/502.4 ypg), ISU (38.5 ppg/476.4 ypg) and Davis (31.8 ppg/414.4 ypg). The Bengals -- who play the Bobcats this weekend -- lead the Big Sky and rank third in the FCS in pass offense (318.2 ypg).
MSU entered this season with "a fair amount of questions," Vigen said in July,such asa new starting QB and an unproven secondary.After starting the season 0-2,the Bobcats have won four straight and are starting to find consistent answers.
"That’s why you coach:for the challenge,for the unknown,the development aspect of making your team everything it can be,"Vigen said,adding:"The changing nature and uncertainty of this profession aren't always comfortable things,but they're pretty dang exciting at the same time."
The level of every team has risen in recent years,Best said,a result of tough road environments becoming more difficult as programs find legs up in recruiting and new ways to win.Plough added that waking up every Sunday—regardless of his team winning or losing—always provides an exciting opportunity to face "completely new schematics."
"It's cool to have a front seat to some of (the innovation)," Hawkins said,"but I'd rather see it on tape than when I'm on the sidelines having to play against it.But it's really cool and it speaks to the quality of the conference."
Braden Shaw can be reached at bshaw@dailychronicle.com or 406-582-2690.Follow him on Twitter @ByBradenShaw