Big Sky Power Rankings 9-29

[JALMOND]

So the waters may be becoming a bit clearer, but yet its only been one conference week. Still a lot of football left to be played. And just when you might think things are clear, they could possibly become muddled again. Here are this week's Bog Sky power rankings (last week's rank in parenthesis). Here you go...

1. Eastern Washington (1)---The Eagles may have had a bit of a scare from UC-Davis last week but they did wake up in time to get the win. This week they return to the red turf and bring in Idaho State.

2. Montana State (2)---So the Bobcats did get the win last weekend against North Dakota but it may not have been all that impressive. But a win is still a win. This may be true this weekend as they head out to Sacramento State.

3. Montana (3)---The Grizzlies had little trouble at home last weekend with Northern Colorado in getting an easy win. They hit the road this weekend with a trip out to North Dakota.

4. Northern Arizona (5)---The Lumberjacks held off upstart Cal Poly last weekend at home, getting a hard fought win. Things should get easier this weekend as they hit the road against Northern Colorado. Or will they get easier.

5. Southern Utah (6)---The Thunderbirds took care of their instate cohorts last weekend, Weber State, at their home. Now they hit the road for a much tougher test at Cal Poly.

6. Cal Poly (7)---The Mustangs gave Northern Arizona all they could handle on the road last weekend before falling in a close contest. They return home this weekend, bringing in another tough test, Southern Utah.

7. Idaho State (11)---The Bengals looked like world beaters in their conference opener, destroying Sacramento State in their barn. Their reward is now heading out on the road to Eastern Washington.

8. Sacramento State (4)---The Hornets had a dream season hit a major pothole last weekend at Idaho State, where they could not get anything going. Things don't get any easier this weekend as they bring in Montana State.

9. UC-Davis (9)---The Aggies took on the enormous task of playing Eastern Washington and went toe to toe with them, in the first half anyway. Then reality set in and they took their loss. This weekend they hit the road again at Portland State.

10. Weber State (8)---The Wildcats put up a good fight, yet still could not get their first win of the season at Southern Utah. Eager to break through, they will have to put those plans on hold as they take this weekend off.

11. North Dakota (10)---The No-Names headed on the road at Montana State where no one gave them much of a shot. But they did hang in there, making the score look respectable. It did give them confidence which they will need this weekend as Montana comes calling.

12. Portland State (12)---The Vikings were the only Big Sky team that didn't play last weekend and the hope is that they were able to refocus and prepare for the conference. It starts this weekend at home against UC-Davis.

13. Northern Colorado (13)---The Bears could not break through last weekend at Montana, a fairly tough place to play. They move back home and welcome Northern Arizona to their home turf. Still a tough matchup.

RECAP: 1-3 together, 4-13 still together.

[SuperHornet]

1,

3, 2,





6, 7, 8,


4, 5, 10,



9, 12, 11,






















13.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Interesting stats…

We all know about Montana's O-Line issues and we've seen some of them in games, but the Griz are presently the best team in the league in both yards-per-carry (5.6) and sacks allowed (2).

[uofmman1122]

The Griz are absolutely devastated by injuries. More so than any year I can remember.

[Grizalltheway]

Interesting stats…

We all know about Montana's O-Line issues and we've seen some of them in games, but the Griz are presently the best team in the league in both yards-per-carry (5.6) and sacks allowed (2).

And yet, no one seems to care that the supposed #2 team is giving up 424 yds/game on defense and a whopping 5.6 yds/play.

[AZGrizFan]

Interesting stats…

We all know about Montana's O-Line issues and we've seen some of them in games, but the Griz are presently the best team in the league in both yards-per-carry (5.6) and sacks allowed (2).

Amazing. Of course, we can't count any of the big plays. We can only count the ones that go for 3 yards or less. Big plays are just an anomaly.

[Grizalltheway]

Interesting stats…

We all know about Montana's O-Line issues and we've seen some of them in games, but the Griz are presently the best team in the league in both yards-per-carry (5.6) and sacks allowed (2).

Amazing. Of course, we can't count any of the big plays. We can only count the ones that go for 3 yards or less. Big plays are just an anomaly.

Weird, I see one happen every time I post.

[kalm]

Interesting stats…

We all know about Montana's O-Line issues and we've seen some of them in games, but the Griz are presently the best team in the league in both yards-per-carry (5.6) and sacks allowed (2).

And yet, no one seems to care that the supposed #2 team is giving up 424 yds/game on defense and a whopping 5.6 yds/play.

I care.

But let's see if those stats even out a bit as the season progresses.

[Robsnotes4u]

Interesting stats…

We all know about Montana's O-Line issues and we've seen some of them in games, but the Griz are presently the best team in the league in both yards-per-carry (5.6) and sacks allowed (2).

And yet, no one seems to care that the supposed #2 team is giving up 424 yds/game on defense and a whopping 5.6 yds/play.

I thought yards didn't matter. I guess now they do.

UNC is the #96 rated offense in the FCS, and the Griz gave up 358 yards of offense. In addition UNC had 23 first downs in the game

To be fair MSU gave up 293 yards to the #97 ranked offense, UND, and only 17 first downs.

65 less yards, and 6 first downs and one place in the ranking.

What does this tell us, the defenses are closer than some will want to admit. First downs are huge. Every First down you surrender as a defense effects the field position game for your offense. Holding teams to field goals maybe a victory if you have an offense that can score against good teams, otherwise they are nothing but a moral victory (NDSU game).

We do know that Montana has not played an offense as powerful as EWU (#2 FCS total offense) so they may skew the stats a little.

With that we can see why I would put MSU over the Griz in a poll, which doesn't matter anyway, because they still need to play the game to see who is better on that day. There is a reason, Hockey, Baseball, and Basketball play series instead of one game.

I think it will be more clear after this weekend, as I look forward to watching the Griz/Sioux game live along with watching the EWU/ISU game

[grizcountry420]

3. Montana (3)---The Grizzlies had little trouble at home last weekend with Northern Colorado in getting an easy win. They hit the road this weekend with a trip out to North Dakota.

So the Griz score 28 points on them in the first quarter and ended up beating them by 4 scores and you think they had trouble putting away UNC?

[Grizzlies1982]

And yet, no one seems to care that the supposed #2 team is giving up 424 yds/game on defense and a whopping 5.6 yds/play.

I thought yards didn't matter. I guess now they do.

UNC is the #96 rated offense in the FCS, and the Griz gave up 358 yards of offense. In addition UNC had 23 first downs in the game

To be fair MSU gave up 293 yards to the #97 ranked offense, UND, and only 17 first downs.

65 less yards, and 6 first downs and one place in the ranking.

What does this tell us, the defenses are closer than some will want to admit. First downs are huge. Every First down you surrender as a defense effects the field position game for your offense. Holding teams to field goals maybe a victory if you have an offense that can score against good teams, otherwise they are nothing but a moral victory (NDSU game).

We do know that Montana has not played an offense as powerful as EWU (#2 FCS total offense) so they may skew the stats a little.

With that we can see why I would put MSU over the Griz in a poll, which doesn't matter anyway, because they still need to play the game to see who is better on that day. There is a reason, Hockey, Baseball, and Basketball play series instead of one game.

I think it will be more clear after this weekend, as I look forward to watching the Griz/Sioux game live along with watching the EWU/ISU game

Rob,
The Grizzlies were carrying a 25 point lead. Do you suppose that might have something to do with allowing No. Colorado to pick up 23 first downs?

[dbackjon]

3. Montana (3)---The Grizzlies had little trouble at home last weekend with Northern Colorado in getting an easy win. They hit the road this weekend with a trip out to North Dakota.

So the Griz score 28 points on them in the first quarter and ended up beating them by 4 scores and you think they had trouble putting away UNC?

I guess reading comprehension is not required in Montana

[grizcountry420]

So the Griz score 28 points on them in the first quarter and ended up beating them by 4 scores and you think they had trouble putting away UNC?

I guess reading comprehension is not required in Montana

My bad.. I'm dyslexic! Sorry about that..

[dbackjon]

I guess reading comprehension is not required in Montana

My bad.. I'm dyslexic! Sorry about that..

Must be the 420

[grizcountry420]

My bad.. I'm dyslexic! Sorry about that..

Must be the 420

Nah.. My THC levels were just a little too low this morning

[Robsnotes4u]

I thought yards didn't matter. I guess now they do.

UNC is the #96 rated offense in the FCS, and the Griz gave up 358 yards of offense. In addition UNC had 23 first downs in the game

To be fair MSU gave up 293 yards to the #97 ranked offense, UND, and only 17 first downs.

65 less yards, and 6 first downs and one place in the ranking.

What does this tell us, the defenses are closer than some will want to admit. First downs are huge. Every First down you surrender as a defense effects the field position game for your offense. Holding teams to field goals maybe a victory if you have an offense that can score against good teams, otherwise they are nothing but a moral victory (NDSU game).

We do know that Montana has not played an offense as powerful as EWU (#2 FCS total offense) so they may skew the stats a little.

With that we can see why I would put MSU over the Griz in a poll, which doesn't matter anyway, because they still need to play the game to see who is better on that day. There is a reason, Hockey, Baseball, and Basketball play series instead of one game.

I think it will be more clear after this weekend, as I look forward to watching the Griz/Sioux game live along with watching the EWU/ISU game

Rob,
The Grizzlies were carrying a 25 point lead. Do you suppose that might have something to do with allowing No. Colorado to pick up 23 first downs?

So you would agree they same could be said about the MSU/Sioux game? They were up by 19 at half against a team that had only 3 TD's going into that game and averages 11.4 pts per game.

Thank you

[Grizalltheway]

Rob,
The Grizzlies were carrying a 25 point lead. Do you suppose that might have something to do with allowing No. Colorado to pick up 23 first downs?

So you would agree they same could be said about the MSU/Sioux game? They were up by 19 at half against a team that had only 3 TD's going into that game and averages 11.4 pts per game.

Thank you

How many 2nd and 3rd stringers did MSU rotate in? And were they playing without the 2nd best receiver in the conference?

[AZGrizFan]

I thought yards didn't matter. I guess now they do.

UNC is the #96 rated offense in the FCS, and the Griz gave up 358 yards of offense. In addition UNC had 23 first downs in the game

To be fair MSU gave up 293 yards to the #97 ranked offense, UND, and only 17 first downs.

65 less yards, and 6 first downs and one place in the ranking.

What does this tell us, the defenses are closer than some will want to admit.

This doesn't tell us squat. Both games were very similar...over by halftime, so stats don't mean much to me at that point. These games are perfect examples of where stat's don't even tell part of the story.

[Robsnotes4u]

I thought yards didn't matter. I guess now they do.

UNC is the #96 rated offense in the FCS, and the Griz gave up 358 yards of offense. In addition UNC had 23 first downs in the game

To be fair MSU gave up 293 yards to the #97 ranked offense, UND, and only 17 first downs.

65 less yards, and 6 first downs and one place in the ranking.

What does this tell us, the defenses are closer than some will want to admit.

This doesn't tell us squat. Both games were very similar...over by halftime, so stats don't mean much to me at that point. These games are perfect examples of where stat's don't even tell part of the story.

Thank you for admitting that.
Serious question. i couldn't get the Griz game. Was JJ in the whole game? If so, why. Just talking to DJ Coulter back and forth on the phone about injuries. The Griz have a ton, why with a 25 point lead would you risk him getting hurt?

[AZGrizFan]

This doesn't tell us squat. Both games were very similar...over by halftime, so stats don't mean much to me at that point. These games are perfect examples of where stat's don't even tell part of the story.

Thank you for admitting that.
Serious question. i couldn't get the Griz game. Was JJ in the whole game? If so, why. Just talking to DJ Coulter back and forth on the phone about injuries. The Griz have a ton, why with a 25 point lead would you risk him getting hurt?

No, he wasn't in the game. I believe SSH played the last 2 series of the game. This offense needs TIME. Time to gel and get on the same page....at some point that need outweighs the chance of an injury happening. Case in point: John Nguyen's injury happened AFTER JJ had been removed from the game (in fact, it was the first play of the first drive after we got the ball back and SSH was QB).

[Robsnotes4u]

Thank you for admitting that.
Serious question. i couldn't get the Griz game. Was JJ in the whole game? If so, why. Just talking to DJ Coulter back and forth on the phone about injuries. The Griz have a ton, why with a 25 point lead would you risk him getting hurt?

No, he wasn't in the game. I believe SSH played the last 2 series of the game. This offense needs TIME. Time to gel and get on the same page....at some point that need outweighs the chance of an injury happening. Case in point: John Nguyen's injury happened AFTER JJ had been removed from the game (in fact, it was the first play of the first drive after we got the ball back and SSH was QB).

Correct. Sounds Like Nugyen's injury isn't as bad as first thought. Which is good.

[SACCAT]

Amazing. Of course, we can't count any of the big plays. We can only count the ones that go for 3 yards or less. Big plays are just an anomaly.

Weird, I see one happen every time I post.

I see AT LEAST 16 block in the backs, and about 12 holdingses on that play in your sig. But what a TD saving Block 98 had at about the 15 yard line...

[Grizalltheway]

Weird, I see one happen every time I post.

I see AT LEAST 16 block in the backs, and about 12 holdingses on that play in your sig. But what a TD saving Block 98 had at about the 15 yard line...

Go home, you're drunk.

[SACCAT]

I see AT LEAST 16 block in the backs, and about 12 holdingses on that play in your sig. But what a TD saving Block 98 had at about the 15 yard line...

Go home, you're drunk.

You donn't gitt to telld me whatts too do. Youuree not my m...mother. Are youu?

[Grizalltheway]

No, but I am your huckleberry.