BOZEMAN — For the first time since 2017, the Big Sky Conference sent fewer than four teams to the FCS playoffs.

No. 2-seeded Montana State (10-2) was the Big Sky’s automatic qualifier after beating rival Montana on Saturday for the outright conference title. UM (11-1) received the No. 3 seed , and eighth-seeded UC Davis (8-3) was the league’s final team to get a spot in the 24-team playoff bracket . All three teams got first-round byes and will begin their postseason runs on Dec. 6.

MSU’s seed was no surprise. The FCS playoff committee ranked the Bobcats No. 2 in its top 10 earlier this month , before they earned wins over UM and UC Davis. Their lone FCS loss came in Week 2 to then-No. 2 South Dakota State in double overtime. SDSU beat North Dakota on Saturday to get the No. 14 se

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