- Utah Tech opened 0-2 after losing 54-0 to reigning FCS champion Montana State and 63-7 at BYU. The ten games against Big Sky opponents that follow are what the conference move was actually about.
- Deacon Hill, Utah Tech Football connect back to Utah Tech University and the wider football picture.
- The story is backed by 9 sources and a visible last-verified date.
September 8, 2026
October 10, 2026
5 min / 1,130 words
9 official links
Utah Tech Football drew the two hardest opponents on its schedule first, and the scoreboard said so. The Trailblazers were 0-2 after losing 54-0 to Montana State and 63-7 at BYU, a combined 117-7 across the opening fortnight of their first Big Sky Conference season.
The schedule then stopped doing that. Utah Tech played at Montana on September 12, a 35-14 loss, and from there every opponent plays Big Sky football.
The two games that opened the era were not typical of it
Montana State came to Greater Zion Stadium on August 29 for the Red Rumble Game, and Utah Tech's own materials had already framed the difficulty: the Bobcats arrived as the reigning NCAA Division I FCS champion and ranked first in the country. The final was 54-0.
A week later the Trailblazers went to Provo and lost 63-7 to BYU, the only opponent from outside the Big Sky between the opener and the finish at Weber State in November. BYU is a Big 12 program that opened the season ranked.
Two results, both lopsided, both against opposition the rest of the schedule does not contain. That does not make them meaningless — a 117-7 aggregate is a real gap — but it does make them a poor guide to what October looks like.
What came next was the actual measuring stick
Utah Tech traveled to Montana on Saturday, September 12 for a 1 p.m. MT kickoff at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula and lost 35-14 to a Grizzlies side its schedule lists as No. 2/3.
The home schedule resumed on September 19 against Northern Arizona in St. George, a 35-23 loss, then came a 37-13 loss at Northern Colorado on September 26 and a 46-33 loss to Southern Utah in the Battle for the Ax at Greater Zion Stadium on October 3, leaving the Trailblazers 0-6 and 0-3 in the Big Sky as of October 10, 2026, per Utah Tech's schedule.
That October 3 game was a Big Sky conference game between two Utah programs that both joined the league for 2026-27, which turned a long-running in-state rivalry into a fixture with standings attached for the first time. Utah Tech's recap said the Trailblazers gained a season-high 572 yards, that running back Ace Chatman's four total touchdowns tied the program's NCAA-era record, and that quarterback Deacon Hill made his first start of the season before leaving injured late in the second quarter.
The rest runs: at Portland State on October 10, at Cal Poly on October 24, Idaho State at home on October 31 for the Halloween Dark Mode game, at UC Davis on November 7, Eastern Washington at home for Homecoming on November 14, and the regular season closing at Weber State on November 21.
Every one of those opponents plays Big Sky football. Utah Tech's broadcasts run on ESPN+ with radio on The Fan Sports Network, 99.5 FM.
The quarterback room and what returns
Utah Tech's preseason materials identified five quarterbacks. Junior Bronson Barben returned after throwing for 1,682 yards on 58.7 percent passing with six touchdowns in 10 games last season. Fifth-year quarterback Deacon Hill returned after missing all of 2025 with injury. The other three were Utah State transfer CJ Tiller, junior-college transfer Max Grizzell and freshman Justus Platts.
The offensive line carries the clearest local identity on the roster. Sophomore right tackle Matthew Snarr of Draper started all 12 games as a true freshman. Cade Draper of Roy started the final nine games, six of them at center, and Herriman's Pesi Fonua started the last five at left guard.
Junior running back Ace Chatman returned after starting 10 of the 11 games he played in 2025, with 536 rushing yards on 121 carries, a team-high five rushing touchdowns and 713 all-purpose yards. Junior tight end Kaden Eggett, from Kaysville, was back after 23 catches for 259 yards across 12 games with nine starts.
On defense, sophomore inside linebacker Daylen Love is the top returning tackler with 60 total tackles, 4.5 for loss and three sacks in 10 games as a freshman. Senior outside linebacker Will Alovao led the 2025 defense with 8.5 tackles for loss. Fifth-year defensive lineman Fasitootai Sagapolu, from St. George, and fifth-year safety Brevin Czosnyka also returned as 2025 starters.
Head coach Lance Anderson is in his third season.
The conference move underneath all of it
Utah Tech joined the Big Sky on July 1, and football is one of 15 Trailblazer programs that moved. Baseball and men's soccer became Mountain West affiliates, and women's swimming stayed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
That is a whole department changing competitive level at once, and football is the most visible version of it. The opening two weeks were the harshest possible introduction. The ten games that follow, all against Big Sky opponents, are the ones the move was actually about.
Key facts:
- Record after two games: 0-2, with both losses coming before the schedule reached comparable opposition
- Opening two: 54-0 to Montana State, the reigning FCS champion, on August 29; 63-7 at BYU on September 5 — a combined 117-7
- Sept. 12 at Montana: lost 35-14 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula
- The in-state conference game: Southern Utah won the Battle for the Ax 46-33 at Greater Zion Stadium on October 3, now a Big Sky fixture; Ace Chatman's four touchdowns tied the program's NCAA-era record, per Utah Tech's recap
- Record as of Oct. 10, 2026: 0-6 overall, 0-3 Big Sky; next at Portland State on October 10
- Season finale: at Weber State, November 21
- Conference move: 15 of Utah Tech's sports joined the Big Sky on July 1, 2026
*Correction, Sept. 26, 2026: An earlier version of this story said every game after BYU was a Big Sky conference game. Utah Tech's recap called the September 12 game at Montana non-conference, and its recaps kept Utah Tech's Big Sky record at 0-1 through the September 19 game against Northern Arizona. It also misspelled quarterback Bronson Barben's surname.*
*Update, Sept. 26, 2026: Utah Tech lost 35-14 at No. 2/3 Montana on September 12 despite gaining more than 400 yards, 35-23 at home to No. 19/20 Northern Arizona on September 19 and 37-13 at Northern Colorado on September 26 (rankings as Utah Tech's schedule lists them). Its schedule page then showed the Trailblazers at 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big Sky.*
*Update, Oct. 10, 2026: Southern Utah won the Battle for the Ax 46-33 at Greater Zion Stadium on October 3. Utah Tech gained a season-high 572 yards, Ace Chatman ran for 101 yards and scored four total touchdowns, tying the program's NCAA-era record, and Mike Williams had 160 receiving yards on three catches, according to Utah Tech's recap. The Trailblazers were 0-6 and 0-3 in the Big Sky as of October 10.*