Days like Saturday make the what has seemed like a lengthy FCS season all worth it.

    Nov. 17 marks the final weekend of this level of college football’s regular season and in the Big Sky, still absolutely nothing has been decided.

    Four teams retain hope of clinching at least a share of the Big Sky regular season title heading into Saturday. Montana State, ranked second in the nation in the FCS, travels to Montana for the 112th “Brawl of the Wild.” The Bobcats can clinch a share of the title with a win.

    Eastern Washington, ranked fifth in the nation, travels to Portland State. The Eagles can clinch a share of the league title with a win. No. 17 Cal Poly and No. 15 Northern Arizona square off in Flagstaff with the winner clinching at least a share of the league title, and would win the title outright if both Eastern Washington and Montana State lose.

    I hesitate to claim that there is a definite “game of the week” only because Montana and Montana State are playing. That contest in itself is worth the price of admission. But I would venture to say that the Cal Poly/Northern Arizona matchup is the contest to keep an eye on.

    Idaho State fans have fresh memories of the Mustangs dropping a 70-burger on the Bengals, one weekend after the Lumberjacks scored 50.

    Cal Poly was very much looking for style points against ISU in an attempt to impress voters and work its way into the FCS postseason. That said, it really all comes down to what happens Saturday in Flagstaff.

    The winner will most likely get into the NCAA tournament while the loser probably has to stay home.

    So the Big Sky will likely end in a three-way tie. I doubt both Montana State and Eastern Washington will lose, so an outright champion probably won’t happen.

    On Oct. 25 the Big Sky Conference sent an email to the media, coaches and SIDs, clarifying its football tiebreaker.

    “First and foremost, the tiebreaker is in place solely to determine which team will receive the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championship,” the email said. “If teams tie for the Conference title, they will be co-champions.”

    It then goes on to explain the logistics of the tiebreaker.

    — Head-to-head. “This includes matchups of conference teams playing each other in non-conference games.”

    — Record against common scheduled conference opponents in descending order.

    — Record vs. common Conference opponents played as non-conference games in descending order.

    — Record against common non-conference opponents.

    — Sagarin Rating.

    — Coin flip.

    Let’s hope it never comes down to a coin flip. That’s a lame way to decide a champion. It would be like using penalty kicks in a soccer game to crown the winner...

    Anyway, here are Saturday’s possible scenarios, courtesy of the Big Sky itself:

    If MSU, EWU and Cal Poly tie at 7-1, the automatic bid would go to Eastern Washington. All three teams would have played Sacramento State in league games. Cal Poly would be eliminated because of a loss to the Hornets. MSU and EWU both beat Sac State, so the tiebreaker would revert to the head-to-head meeting between MSU and EWU, which the Eagles won.

    If MSU, EWU and NAU tie at 7-1, the automatic bid would go to Montana State. All three teams would have played Southern Utah, and Montana State is the only one of the three to have a win over the Thunderbirds.

    If EWU and Cal Poly tie at 7-1, EWU would get the automatic bid because of a head-to-head win over the Mustangs.

    If MSU and Cal Poly tie at 7-1, MSU would get automatic win because of its win over Sacramento State. Cal Poly lost to Sacramento State.

    If MSU and NAU tie at 7-1, MSU would get the automatic bid because of the Bobcats’ win over

Southern Utah. Northern Arizona lost to Southern Utah.

    If EWU and NAU tie at 7-1, the highest team in the Sagarin Rating would determine the automatic bid.

    There is a lot to play for this weekend in the Big Sky. Even at the bottom, when Idaho State and Weber State face off in Holt Arena, there is something at stake. Neither team wants to stay as the low man on the totem pole. The winner avoids that.

    The Big Sky has to be pleased that things worked out this way. It keeps interest in their teams high and could put anywhere from three to five teams in the FCS playoffs.