AZGrizFan wrote:
Uh.....I don’t think he meant ALL of them...just that all of them have a shot...except Suck state. That ain’t happening.
Well, Sac State should make the playoffs—they went 7-4 last year and lost very little. Whether they will or not is anyone's guess. I'm betting yes, but we'll see.
Appaholic wrote:Forgive my ignorance as I've been out of the loop for a while.....but has the Griz fallen that much? I mean, I'm not seeing anyone (or a majority) predict the Griz making playoffs from BSC. This is not meant to be Smack, I honestly don't know and would appreciate some insight from Griz / BSC fans. Did the Griz falter that much or did the BSC improve as a whole that much?
Well it all started with this 50 yard fake punt we gave up where the scheme was "everyone run away" and it was all downhill from there
SDHornet wrote:
Fleming went down mid-season. Losing the starting QB can derail a season.
We have to replace 2 starting OL this season so keeping Thomson healthy is a must to have any hope at the playoffs.
Or a coaching career. Ask Mr. Stitt. He went through 9 QB's in 3 years.
Stitt didn't have his starting QB available for 46% of the games he coached at UM, which is pretty insane when you think about it. I can't think of another Griz coach with anything vaguely close to that number unless you count Jordan Johnson as the starter in 2012.
Appaholic wrote:Forgive my ignorance as I've been out of the loop for a while.....but has the Griz fallen that much? I mean, I'm not seeing anyone (or a majority) predict the Griz making playoffs from BSC. This is not meant to be Smack, I honestly don't know and would appreciate some insight from Griz / BSC fans. Did the Griz falter that much or did the BSC improve as a whole that much?
Montana is on their 4th coach in 8 years, still looking for a winning combo.
The problem with Montana is...there is no problem. The foundations of a great program, even at an FBS level, are all there. Solid sports across men and women's sports. A great fan base. Top athletic facilities. A growing population in the area. And, money.
VandalBasher wrote:The problem with Montana is...there is no problem. The foundations of a great program, even at an FBS level, are all there. Solid sports across men and women's sports. A great fan base. Top athletic facilities. A growing population in the area. And, money.
Most Big Sky schools would love to deal with the "problems" at both Montana schools, including the money issues. Similar to the fat cat who has to deal with not having caviar three times a week while the rest of us are eating off of the McDonalds dollar menu. Those of us sitting in the shadows of two FBS schools in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, have to deal with "problems" that they cannot comprehend.
VandalBasher wrote:The problem with Montana is...there is no problem. The foundations of a great program, even at an FBS level, are all there. Solid sports across men and women's sports. A great fan base. Top athletic facilities. A growing population in the area. And, money.
Most Big Sky schools would love to deal with the "problems" at both Montana schools, including the money issues. Similar to the fat cat who has to deal with not having caviar three times a week while the rest of us are eating off of the McDonalds dollar menu. Those of us sitting in the shadows of two FBS schools in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, have to deal with "problems" that they cannot comprehend.
Don't forget CA...hell it's way more than 2 here when you add in the bottom tier folks and the Nevada schools.
There is no doubt the California schools have work to do against the likes of the PAC12 and MWC. Population is on the side of Sac. St., Cal Poly, UC Davis and USD. More people and cash than in Moscow, ID.
VandalBasher wrote:There is no doubt the California schools have work to do against the likes of the PAC12 and MWC. Population is on the side of Sac. St., Cal Poly, UC Davis and USD. More people and cash than in Moscow, ID.
Agree, but the top talent in this state is going to P4 schools.
Good list Mvem. Normally I would create my own team by team predictions list like I have over the last two seasons but frankly I just haven't had the time.
So I'll just put in my two cents on teams of interest the lazy way. (FYI the order these teams are listed is not necessarily my predicted order of finish, just the order they came to my mind)
1. Weber will win the Conference this year again and get their very first top 8 seed.....
Now for the actual prediction. The Wildcats return their entire offensive line and their slew of running backs that all played last year. Yes they lost a few really good offensive playmakers but they return a lot and was very successful in their recruiting effort. The biggest ? is the QB situation. But I think Weber will unveil a diamond in the rough come the season opener. Defensively the Wildcats return all but 2 defensive starters. Look for the Wildcats to be very good defensively again. Hill is a proven recruiter and it has shown in the recent Success of the Football program.
2. Southern Utah will be good again and should not be overlooked. The loss of Tyler will test this team early on offense but they have loads of talent returning and I think SUU may surprise some people
3. Eastern Washington will be dangerous offensively like always, but they need to play better defense. If they can improve in this aspect they could be National Title contenders. Eastern was 10th in total defense last year in front of only 3-7 UNC, 4-7 Idaho State and 0-11 PSU. Eastern also needs to be able to move the ball against good defensive teams. Eastern's 4 losses last year came to teams with good defenses and an FBS team. In those losses Eastern averaged 17.7 points while giving up an average of 42.5. That's a telling stat (Yes I realize one of their losses was to Texas Tech but even if you remove them it's still ugly for EWU with an average of 20.3 points scored while giving up 38.
4. Idaho scheduled themselves out of the playoffs, they need to go no worse than 6-2 in conference just to get to 7-4. It's do-able but it wont be easy for them. Idaho will be a solid FCS program again, it just might take a year or two.
5. UC Davis is kinda in the same boat as EWU. They have the offensive pieces in place but their defense needs to start showing up. The Big Sky hasn't really been known for their defense but a few teams are starting to focus on that a little more and it is paying off for them. If Davis wants to be successful they need to play better defense.
6. Montana is going to be an interesting one for me. Hauck, a proven winner at Montana is back at the helm. I don't think it will take long for the Griz to return to their old ways, maybe a season but don't sleep on the Griz. One thing I think is interesting is that Hauck said in an interview that the Big Sky hasn't really changed since he left. I disagree. I think several teams: Weber, SUU, SAC, and yes even NAU and possibly ISU, have all improved since he left, and with the return of Idaho the Big Sky is MUCH different than it was before and Bobby might find it harder to win games now.
7. Montana State lost Murray for the year due to academic reasons....for some reason I think this might actually be better for the Bobcats. Despite how talented the kid is I never really felt like he was the kinda QB that worked with the offensive schemes that MSU runs. I could be wrong though, only time will tell.
8. Northern Arizona has been given a gift by the BSC, when your hardest Conference opponents are Weber State and SUU at home the league set you up for success. Anything less than a Co-Big Sky championship with the talent and schedule they have is a let down at this point.
9. Sacramento State, the Wildcard team this year. Sacramento State looks to have the pieces in place for a playoff run, however they need to do more than beat the lower level teams of the conference if they want to make this a reality. Sac went 1-3 against the top 4 teams last year (granted the game vs WSU was OOC but it still makes my point) and their win over SUU was when SUU was without their starting QB. A tough schedule with road games @ Montana, SUU, Weber State, NAU and UC Davis will really test this team.
Cal Poly is likely to be awful ....Yes Protheroe is back and if stays healthy he will give us a fighting chance to win a few but they're likely looking at another sub .500 year. God willing the team will stay healthy and their record will be respectable this time.
Alternatively, if they have another awful season perhaps our AD will remove his head from his ass and fire our pathetic coach.
CPAlum wrote:Cal Poly is likely to be awful ....Yes Protheroe is back and if stays healthy he will give us a fighting chance to win a few but they're likely looking at another sub .500 year. God willing the team will stay healthy and their record will be respectable this time.
Alternatively, if they have another awful season perhaps our AD will remove his head from his ass and fire our pathetic coach.
Didn't he just re-up with a new length contract? I don't see a HC change anytime in the near future for CP...I also don't think CP will be nearly as bad as last year...but that is mostly because there is no where to go but up for CP.
Wildcat Ryan wrote:
9. Sacramento State, the Wildcard team this year. Sacramento State looks to have the pieces in place for a playoff run, however they need to do more than beat the lower level teams of the conference if they want to make this a reality. Sac went 1-3 against the top 4 teams last year (granted the game vs WSU was OOC but it still makes my point) and their win over SUU was when SUU was without their starting QB. A tough schedule with road games @ Montana, SUU, Weber State, NAU and UC Davis will really test this team.
Good run down on the conference. We'll know if the Hornets are contenders by the end of September. The week 1 NAIA game kills us and then we hit 3 road games (SDSU-L, UNC-W, UM-?) that will determine if playoffs are even in the conversation. I think that game in Missoula will be the indicator for us.
We'll see how it goes. If Thomson stays healthy then I like our chances.
1.Eastern Washington__8-0_____9-2_____ Good thing the NAU game doesn't count 2.Sacramento State ____7-1_____9-2 _____ They're the best team on paper. Can they avoid choking? 3.Northern Arizona ____7-1____10-1_____ The 'Jacks aren't really this good, but their schedule is like hitting the lottery 4.Weber State__________6-2_____8-3_____ A tough league start, but after that things are pretty favorable 5.Idaho State __________5-3_____6-5_____ Can the Bengals actually get a winning record? With that schedule, they should 6.Montana _____________4-4_____5-6_____ An unnecessary rebuild begins… 7.UC Davis ____________4-4_____6-5_____ Their passing game is deadly, but everything else is mediocre 8.Montana State_______4-4_____5-6_____ Here comes Jeff Choate's 10-year contract extension 9.Idaho_________________4-4_____5-6_____ The Vandals just lost too much on offense to be good 10.Southern Utah _______2-6_____3-8_____ The T-Birds are only good in odd-numbered years 11.Northern Colorado___2-6_____2-9_____ The Bears aren't really this bad, but their schedule is like repeated kicks in the nuts 12.North Dakota ________2-6_____3-8_____ I don't think their lack of auto-bid eligibility is really going to matter this year 13.Cal Poly _____________1-7_____2-9_____ Good thing Tim Walsh just got a new contract extension 14.Portland State________0-8_____1-10____ The days of Barney-Gumble-Ball are coming to an end
1.Weber State__________7-1_____9-2_____ +1/+1 vs. my predictions 2.Eastern Washington__7-1_____9-2_____ -1/0 vs. my predictions 3.UC Davis ____________7-1_____9-2_____ +3/+3 vs. my predictions 4.Idaho State __________5-3_____6-5_____ Nailed It! 5.Montana State________5-3_____7-4_____ +1/+2 vs. my predictions 6.Montana _____________4-4_____6-5_____ 0/+1 vs. my predictions 7.Cal Poly ______________4-4_____5-6_____ +3/+3 vs. my predictions --North Dakota ________4-4_____6-5_____ +2/+3 vs. my predictions 8.Northern Arizona ____3-4_____4-6_____ -3.5/-5.5 vs. my predictions 9.Idaho_________________3-5_____4-7_____ -1/-1 vs. my predictions 10.Portland State________3-5_____4-7_____ +3/+3 vs. my predictions 11.Northern Colorado___2-6_____2-9_____ Nailed It! 12.Southern Utah _______1-7_____1-10____ -1/-2 vs. my predictions 13.Sacramento State ____0-7_____2-8 _____ -6.5/-6.5 vs. my predictions
I did much better than last year: nailed 2 teams perfectly, nailed the conference record for Montana, and nailed the overall record for EWU.
Injuries are mostly to blame for the 2 teams I was way off on (Sac & NAU).
Somehow Bruce Barnum did enough to not get fired.
I was more bearish on Idaho than most and they managed to disappoint even my expectations.
Most people figured Suutah would be down, but I don't think anyone believed they would be this bad.
Last edited by Mvemjsunpx on Tue Nov 20, 2018 3:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
I said at the start of the season, I wanted ISU to finish over .500 and beat Idaho. Those goals were met, but given a few breaks much more could have been accomplished.
