Big Sky Power Rankings 11-2

[JALMOND]

Aah, November. This is when the good teams rise to the top and the so-so teams fall. The thing in the Big Sky is we don't have the usual teams at the top. So the question begs to be asked, how good are the frontrunners in the conference? We have EWU who has been a bit shaky lately. But we don't have Montana or Montana State. Instead we have Portland State and Southern Utah. Scary, in its own right. Here are this week's power rankings (last week in parenthesis). All are my opinion only and all open for discussion.

1. Portland State (2)---Last week, beat Montana at home 35-16, this week at Northern Colorado---A long time coming for the Vikings to get back to the top. It is one thing to get there, but it is another to stay and this year has been murderous on the top teams in the conference. But sort of a breather before another tough run.

2. Southern Utah (1)---Last week, beat Cal Poly at home 54-37, this week at Montana State---Another impressive upstart. The Thunderbirds defense may have had their hands full like many defenses containing the triple option, but the defense came through with some big stops and some big scores. They will need to keep it up this weekend.

3. Eastern Washington (3)---Last week, beat Weber State at home 14-13, this week Northern Arizona at home---The Eagles beleaguered defense came up big, holding a Big Sky conference foe on a day when their vaunted offense just couldn't get anything going. Another close win but at this point, a win is counted as a win.

4. Northern Arizona (6)---Last week, beat Northern Colorado at home 63-21, this week at Eastern Washington---The Lumberjacks continued their roll last week and may be peaking at the right time, just in time to make a strong push to the playoffs. There are still some strong opponents out there, especially this week.

5. Weber State (7)---Last week, lost at Eastern Washington 14-13, this week UC-Davis at home---The Wildcats gave all they had in trying to pull of an impressive upset but just fell close. Still, they have a favorable schedule the rest of the way and could be building for a great run next year.

6. Montana (4)---Last week, lost at Portland State 35-16, this week at Idaho State---The Grizzlies hoped to derail Portland State's impressive season last week, but any chance at that were quickly washed away in the rain. Now, to make the playoffs, they will need to win out to receive any consideration from the committee.

7. North Dakota (10)---Last week, beat Montana State at home 44-38, this week bye---An impressive home win has got the Dakotans back to feeling pretty good about this season. They are hoping to end the year on an impressive note, but for now they will take this weekend off to rest and get healthy.

8. Montana State (5)---Last week, lost at North Dakota 44-38, this week Southern Utah at home---Jeckyl and Hyde is what the Bobcats have been. They can beat anyone at home and they can lose to anyone on the road. Their offense can score on anyone, but their defense has shown that anyone can score on them.

9. Cal Poly (8)---Last week, lost at Southern Utah 54-37, this week Sacramento State at home---The Mustangs find themselves in the sad position of playing out the string and being spoilers. After starting the season so well, this is not where they wanted to be. A favorable schedule means they could still have a good year.

10. Northern Colorado (9)---Last week, lost at Northern Arizona 63-21, this week Portland State at home---The Bears feel good season came crashing down last weekend and now they are going to try to play the role of spoiler. They should have had Eastern Washington at home the week before so having Portland State doesn't bother them.

11. Sacramento State (11)---Last week, bye, this week at Cal Poly---The Hornets down season starts back up after a week off. However, they are now healthy and rested and they still could wreck havoc on unsuspecting teams in the conference, especially those with little to play for.

12. Idaho State (12)---Last week, bye, this week Montana at home---The Bengals had great things planned for this season, none of which included a return to the depths of the conference. They want their swagger and their momentum and they could take a big step towards next year, pouncing on the unsuspecting Grizzlies.

13. UC-Davis (13)---Last week, bye, this week at Weber State---Two weeks to rest and repair and be ready to jump back in this weekend for the Aggies. They have a somewhat favorable schedule to end the year to feel good and head into next season ready to do some damage. This season, however, is not good.

RECAP: 1-2 moving forward, 3 trying to keep up, 4 holding steady, 5-8 falling, 9-10 fading, 11-13 out of it.

[SUUTbird]

Looks good to me, I was pretty much conviced we were the 3rd ranked team behind EWU and PSU until the Eagles almost chocked twice in a row against UNC and Weber State. This game in Bozeman is going to be huge, if our defense can keep creating turnovers and our offense continue to play solid I am confident we can go into Bozeman and get a win like we did a few years ago during our last playoff run.

[SuperHornet]

1. PSU
2. EWU
3. UM
4. MSU
5. SUU
6. WSU
7. NAU - Still expecting the swoon.
8. UND
9. CP
10. Sac
11. UNC
12. UCD
13. ISU

1-2 Playoff-ready.

Nobody else will get a sniff....

[dbackjon]

Looks good to me.

[dbackjon]

1. PSU
2. EWU
3. UM
4. MSU
5. SUU
6. WSU
7. NAU - Still expecting the swoon.
8. UND
9. CP
10. Sac
11. UNC
12. UCD
13. ISU

1-2 Playoff-ready.

Nobody else will get a sniff....

SUU is top three, and solidly in the playoff picture. You rank two teams with worse records that NAU beat above the jacks.

We are likely to go 1-2 down the stretch to finish 6-5. But still top 5 in conference.

Sac State never swoons, because that would imply they actually won something in the first place

[SDHornet]

1. PSU
2. EWU
3. UM
4. MSU
5. SUU
6. WSU
7. NAU - Still expecting the swoon.
8. UND
9. CP
10. Sac
11. UNC
12. UCD
13. ISU

1-2 Playoff-ready.

Nobody else will get a sniff....

SUU is top three, and solidly in the playoff picture. You rank two teams with worse records that NAU beat above the jacks.

We are likely to go 1-2 down the stretch to finish 6-5. But still top 5 in conference.

Sac State never swoons, because that would imply they actually won something in the first place

SH is a griz fan.

And anyone thinking SUU is not a playoff caliber team is

[dbackjon]

SUU is top three, and solidly in the playoff picture. You rank two teams with worse records that NAU beat above the jacks.

We are likely to go 1-2 down the stretch to finish 6-5. But still top 5 in conference.

Sac State never swoons, because that would imply they actually won something in the first place

SH is a griz fan.

And anyone thinking SUU is not a playoff caliber team is

NO matter how many times you try to tell yourself that...

[Thundernuts]

1. PSU
2. EWU
3. UM
4. MSU
5. SUU
6. WSU
7. NAU - Still expecting the swoon.
8. UND
9. CP
10. Sac
11. UNC
12. UCD
13. ISU

1-2 Playoff-ready.

Nobody else will get a sniff....

wow, it is truly an honor to make it into SH's top 5. I can die a happy man now. And I realize you have to give props to your team, but Sac is NO WHERE near #10.

[SDHornet]

SH is a griz fan.

And anyone thinking SUU is not a playoff caliber team is

NO matter how many times you try to tell yourself that...

You know I'm right. It's been well documented he is a griz fan to the bone.

[SDHornet]

1. PSU
2. EWU
3. UM
4. MSU
5. SUU
6. WSU
7. NAU - Still expecting the swoon.
8. UND
9. CP
10. Sac
11. UNC
12. UCD
13. ISU

1-2 Playoff-ready.

Nobody else will get a sniff....

wow, it is truly an honor to make it into SH's top 5. I can die a happy man now. And I realize you have to give props to your team, but Sac is NO WHERE near #10.

Ironically that is probably the only thing right in his poll.

[SUUTbird]

He is only making himself look foolish so its fine by me, he hates SUU so much that it blinds him to logic I guess.

[SuperHornet]

NO matter how many times you try to tell yourself that...

You know I'm right. It's been well documented he is a griz fan to the bone.

If that's the case, SD, then why did I pick the Griz to lose to Liberty?