Football Game Preview: Russell Rustlers vs. Big Sky Eagles + How To Watch

The Russell Rustlers will challenge the Big Sky Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Russell will be strutting in after a win while Big Sky will be coming in after a defeat.

Russell is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Butte 42-6. The result was nothing new for the Rustlers, who have now won four matchups by 24 points or more so far this season.

Caleb Taylor

Passing Yards

08/29/25 vs Capital	296
10/31/25 vs Butte	286
09/12/25 @ Belgrade	266
10/10/25 @ Bozeman	236
10/24/25 @ Great Falls	153
+ 5 more games

Caleb Taylor went supernova, throwing for 286 yards and four TDs while picking up 11.9 yards per attempt. Russell is undefeated when Taylor posts 250 or more passing yards, but 3-4 otherwise. Donavin Scribner helped Taylor out on the ground, rushing for 38 yards and one touchdown, while also picking up 49 receiving yards.

Russell didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Butte to a completion percentage of just 50%. That dominant aerial defense primarily came from four players: Carson Hollern, Damon Montano, Benjamin Halko, and Landon Bahmiller, who each logged one passes deflected. Russell has been improving in that area: they had allowed a completion percentage of 0.57 earlier this season, but they've only allowed one of 0.57 in their last three games.

Meanwhile, Big Sky suffered their biggest loss since October 17, 2024 two weeks ago. They were beaten by Glacier 42-12. The Eagles have struggled against the Wolfpack recently, as the game was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.

Although Big Sky took the loss, they still got scores from Eli Kasberg and Tristan Miller.

Russell is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 10.2 points on average over those games. As for Big Sky, their defeat dropped their record down to 7-2.

Things could have been worse for Russell, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 14-0 loss to Big Sky in their previous meeting back in September of 2024. Can the Rustlers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.