Updated

Montana State's first-ever No. 1 ranking was lived.

Montana dominated the Bobcats, 36-10, on Saturday to forge a tie for the Big Sky Conference championship between the two rivals. In doing so, the Grizzlies earned the conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

Montana State (9-2, 7-1), which rose to No. 1 in The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 this past Monday, will earn an at-large bid on Sunday, but it might have blown a chance to be one of the five seeds in the 20-team playoffs. The Grizzlies (9-2, 7-1) now hope to grab one of the seeds.

Peter Nguyen rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown and Dan Moore ran for 116 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Jordan Johnson threw two touchdowns to power Montana.

Montana State's loss was the third for a No. 1-ranked team in the last four weeks.

The new national poll will be announced Sunday morning before the playoff announcement.