The 120th meeting between the Montana and Montana State football teams will be a Top 10 match-up.
After handily beating Northern Arizona 30-3 on Saturday, Montana rose from No. 9 to No. 7 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and FCS Coaches Polls.
Meanwhile, Montana State escaped with 20-13 win over Idaho on Saturday behind Tommy Mellot's three-touchdown performance. The Cats stayed put at No. 3 in both polls.
Montana State (9-1, 7-0) has won nine straight games after losing Week 1 to Wyoming, and looks to win a least a share of the Big Sky Conference championship with a win over the Grizzlies on Saturday.
No. 11/No.18 Sacramento State (8-2, 7-0) could also win a share of the league title with a win over No. 10/No.11 UC Davis (8-2, 5-2) on Saturday.
The complete polls can be found below.
Stats Perform FCS Top 25
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Sam Houston (50) | 9-0 | 1,250 | 1 |
| 2 | James Madison | 9-1 | 1,182 | 2 |
| 3 | Montana State | 9-1 | 1,163 | 3 |
| 4 | North Dakota State | 9-1 | 1,096 | 5 |
| 5 | Eastern Washington | 8-2 | 1,013 | 7 |
| 6 | Villanova | 8-2 | 938 | 8 |
| 7 | Montana | 8-2 | 889 | 9 |
| 8 | ETSU | 9-1 | 811 | 11 |
| 9 | Kennesaw State | 9-1 | 802 | 10 |
| 10 | UC Davis | 8-2 | 749 | 6 |
| 11 | Sacramento State | 8-2 | 721 | 12 |
| 12 | South Dakota State | 7-3 | 701 | 4 |
| 13 | UT Martin | 9-1 | 686 | 13 |
| 14 | Missouri State | 7-3 | 600 | 16 |
| 15 | Southeastern Louisiana | 8-2 | 577 | 14 |
| 16 | South Dakota | 7-3 | 552 | 19 |
| 17 | Southern Illinois | 7-3 | 546 | 15 |
| 18 | UIW | 8-2 | 479 | 17 |
| 19 | Jackson State | 9-1 | 373 | 18 |
| 20 | Dartmouth | 8-1 | 252 | T-22 |
| 21 | Mercer | 7-2 | 228 | NR |
| 22 | Stephen F. Austin | 7-3 | 105 | NR |
| 23 | Florida A&M | 8-2 | 96 | NR |
| 24 | Princeton | 8-1 | 93 | NR |
| 25 | Rhode Island | 7-3 | 76 | NR |
Dropped Out: Northern Iowa (20), VMI (21), Chattanooga (22 tie), Prairie View A&M (24), William & Mary (25)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Northern Iowa 64, Monmouth 61, Holy Cross 37, VMI 25, Chattanooga 21, William & Mary 17, Prairie View A&M 14, North Dakota 11, Eastern Kentucky 7, Sacred Heart 7, Harvard 4
FCS Coaches Poll
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
| 1 | Sam Houston (27) | 9-0 | 698 | 1 |
| 2 | James Madison | 9-1 | 665 | 2 |
| 3 | Montana St. (1) | 9-1 | 644 | 3 |
| 4 | North Dakota St. | 9-1 | 575 | 6 |
| 5 | Kennesaw St. | 9-1 | 563 | 5 |
| 6 | Eastern Washington | 8-2 | 559 | 8 |
| 7 | Montana | 8-2 | 510 | 9 |
| 8 | UT Martin | 9-1 | 486 | 10 |
| 9 | Villanova | 8-2 | 465 | 11 |
| 10 | East Tennessee St. | 9-1 | 444 | 12 |
| 11 | UC Davis | 8-2 | 413 | 4 |
| 12 | Southeastern Louisiana | 8-2 | 381 | 13 |
| 13 | South Dakota St. | 7-3 | 352 | 7 |
| 14 | Missouri St. | 7-3 | 326 | 14 |
| 15 | Southern Illinois | 7-3 | 294 | 16 |
| 16 | South Dakota | 7-3 | 278 | 17 |
| 17 | Jackson St. | 9-1 | 277 | 15 |
| 18 | Sacramento St. | 8-2 | 246 | 18 |
| 19 | UIW | 8-2 | 187 | 21 |
| 20 | Princeton | 8-1 | 147 | 22 |
| 21 | Dartmouth | 8-1 | 136 | 23 |
| 22 | Stephen F. Austin | 7-3 | 99 | NR |
| 23 | Mercer | 7-2 | 88 | NR |
| 24 | Monmouth (N.J.) | 7-3 | 86 | NR |
| 25 | Florida A&M | 8-2 | 53 | NR |
Dropped Out: Chattanooga (19), VMI (20), Northern Iowa (24), Eastern Kentucky (25)
Others Receiving Votes: Holy Cross, 35; Rhode Island, 33; Chattanooga, 18; Eastern Kentucky, 17; Northern Iowa, 5; VMI, 4; Weber St., 4; Central Arkansas, 3; William & Mary, 3; Jacksonville St., 2; Maine, 2; Harvard, 1; Sacred Heart, 1.
