Big Sky Power Rankings 10-17

[JALMOND]

Believe it or not, we are over half the way through the season and the conference leaders are setting an incredible pace. Idaho came through and got the conference's first big win, a great win at the mighty Montana den. Some jockeying going on earlier, but the conference is setting up with the haves and the have-nots, very similar to how the season started. Here are this week's power rankings (last week in parenthesis). All are my opinion only. Here we go.

1. Weber State (2)---Last week won at Portland State 42-7, this week at Montana State---The Wildcats avenged a tough home loss last season and picked up a big conference road win. They are flying high, but the schedule is about to get more difficult. They have to make a trip this weekend into Big Sky Country. Every game is big now.

2. Sacramento State (3)---Last week won at Eastern Washington 52-28, this week Montana at home---The Hornets show no signs of slowing down as they are keeping the fast pace with the rest of the conference leaders, getting a good conference road win. Things start to get difficult this weekend, however, with an eager team coming to town.

3. Montana State (4)---Last week won at Northern Colorado 37-14, this week Weber State at home---Were the Bobcats looking past their lowly opponent last week? Doesn't matter as they did wake up after the first quarter and stormed to a good road win. They better wake up early, however, as this weekend's game will be a tussle.

4. Idaho (5)---Last week won at Montana 30-23, this week Portland State at home---News flash to everyone, the Vandals are for real. Winning in Missoula is no easy feat when the Grizzlies are average, but nearly impossible when they are good, yet the Vandals got the win. They can't afford a hangover this weekend with a lesser opponent.

5. Montana (1)---Last week lost to Idaho 30-23 at home, this week at Sacramento State---The Grizzlies were just starting their difficult part of the schedule, but their home mystique did not work in their favor. They start an imposing gauntlet in the schedule with almost no room for error now. They need a win to keep up.

6. UC Davis (6)---Last week beat Northern Arizona at home 56-27, this week at Northern Colorado---Its not that the Aggies are playing bad, they are actually playing pretty well, but they need some wins to keep up the ferocious pace. They got that last week, beating a lesser opponent at home. They need another, this time on the road.

7. Eastern Washington (7)---Last week lost to Sacramento State at home 52-28, this week at Cal Poly---The mighty Eagles have fallen by the wayside, unable to keep up the blistering pace set by the frontrunners. Their high powered offense cannot keep up with their porous defense. They should get an easy win this week, but nothing is easy at this point.

8. Portland State (8)---Last week lost to Weber State at home 42-7, this week at Idaho---Two wins had the Vikings thinking they could rise up to the upper echelon of the conference, but then they ran into a stout defense that dashed their hopes. Hoping to play spoiler, they are the ones who play the big upstart this weekend.

9. Northern Arizona (9)---Last week lost at UC Davis 56-27, this week at Idaho State---Feeling good after their big road win at Sam Houston early on, the Lumberjacks have been unable to get any sort of consistency and string together some wins. Last week was rough, but they should get a breather this weekend, but they can't take anyone lightly.

10. Northern Colorado (10)---Last week lost to Montana State at home 37-14, this week UC Davis at home---The Bears actually played well last weekend against one of the conference leaders and had a lead at the end of the first quarter. Then they got steamrolled and took a tough home loss. They have another shot at playing spoiler at home.

11. Idaho State (12)---Last week beat Cal Poly at home 40-31, this week Northern Arizona at home---The Bengals finally broke through and got their first win of the season last week, as they held serve on their home field. After their first taste of winning, they stay home this weekend, hoping to quite possibly get another home win.

12. Cal Poly (11)---Last week lost at Idaho State 40-31, this week Eastern Washington at home---Losing the conference's equivalent of a toilet bowl is not what the Mustangs had in mind. It is one thing to lose to the leaders, but it is totally different losing to the basement teams. They have a downtrodden team coming to town this week.

RECAP: 1-6 haves, 7-12 have-nots.

[SuperHornet]

1. Sac State
2. BBQ
3. MT State
4. Idaho
5. UC Davis (this one hurts....)
6. Montana
7. E. Washington
8. PSU
9. N. Colorado
10. ID State
11. N. Arizona
12. Cow Poly