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Don't look now as there is a new sheriff in town, ruling the roost of the Big Sky Conference. We started off the year with the usual suspects (UC Davis, Eastern Washington) but now someone has risen up from the depths and taken over. Here are this week's power rankings (last week in parenthesis). As usual, all are my opinion only. Halfway through the season and there are some surprises.

1. Sacramento State (3)---Last week beat Montana at home 49-22, this week at Cal Poly---The Hornets are for real, meeting and beating the top of the Big Sky so far. A big game coming up but they cannot look past this week, whether it is a Griz hangover or unfamiliar territory.

2. Weber State (2)---Last week beat Northern Arizona at home 51-28, this week at UC Davis---Once again the Wildcats got passed over for the top spot in the rankings. They will have their shot at it, but first a tough battle on the road awaits before a return trip.

3. Montana (1)---Last week lost at Sacramento State 49-22, this week Eastern Washington at home---The Grizzlies were not prepared for their game against the upstart Sacramento State team. They will get things rolling again at home against a desperate Eagle team.

4. Montana State (4)---Last week bye, this week at North Dakota---The Bobcats had two weeks to put aside their home loss to the upstart Sacramento State team. Two weeks to prepare for a sprint to the finish, starting this week at the castoff's place.

5. UC Davis (5)---Last week won at Southern Utah 33-25, this week Weber State at home---The Aggies were pretty much in control of the game until some late scores made the game interesting. Still they were able to muster a road win. They return home for a must win this week.

6. Eastern Washington (6)---Last week bye, this week at Montana---A shaky start for the Eagles have left them with no room for error as they try to regroup. They had an extra week to prepare for this week's big road conference game, in a place that hasn't scared them much.

7. Northern Arizona (7)---Last week lost at Weber State 51-28, this week Portland State at home---The Lumberjacks did stay close last week until the fourth quarter despite giving up a ton of rushing yards. They return home to welcome some sea level lubbers to their dome.

8. Portland State (9)---Last week won at Northern Colorado 38-30, this week at Northern Arizona---The Vikings earned their first conference road win of the year. They have been impressive so far but a tough schedule awaits them to finish. We will soon see what they are.

9. Idaho (11)---Last week beat Idaho State at home 45-21, this week bye---The solution for the Vandals woes this year seems to be just play all the games at home. But they do have some road games left and this week, they get a bye to figure our their road woes.

10. Idaho State (8)---Last week lost at Idaho 45-21, this week at Southern Utah---A bit of Jeckyl and Hyde for the Bengals. They look like world beaters at home and not so great on the road. They head out on the road again, but face on of the conference's bottom feeders.

11. Cal Poly (10)---Last week lost to North Dakota at home 30-26, this week Sacramento State at home---The Mustangs came home hoping for some good home cooking, but what they got was a tough loss. Things aren't getting easier as they welcome the top dog to town.

12. Southern Utah (13)---Last week loss to UC Davis at home 33-25, this week Idaho State at home---The Thunderbirds lost yet another one but they made things look interesting at the end against a top conference foe. They stay home and get a reeling Bengals team.

13. Northern Colorado (13)---Last week lost to Portland State at home 38-30, this week bye---The Bears dug themselves a hole that they could not get out of and emerged on the short end of the stick. They have an extra week to try to salvage the season.

RECAP: 1-2 on top, 3-4 a step behind, 5-8 trying to keep up, 9-11 fading, 12-13 bringing up the rear

I never thought I'd see that day when J puts Sac State atop his power rankings.

It's been an enjoyable ride so far, I'm just hoping Thomson stays healthy and we make the playoffs. Cal Poly has trap game written all over it.

To be fair, Thomson is going to ruin his eyesight with how wide he keeps his eyes.

Vidav wrote:To be fair, Thomson is going to ruin his eyesight with how wide he keeps his eyes.

I'm not so sure I place Sac as a solo #1 quite yet. I know those close losses to Fresneck and Danny White U. are a factor, but BBQ is ALSO super-good this year, and I see us as neck-and-neck...at least until our upcoming head-to-head battle happens....

SDHornet wrote:I never thought I'd see that day when J puts Sac State atop his power rankings.

It's been an enjoyable ride so far, I'm just hoping Thomson stays healthy and we make the playoffs. Cal Poly has trap game written all over it.

Me too, I’m still in shock lol

Congrats. Your team earned it.

SuperHornet wrote:I'm not so sure I place Sac as a solo #1 quite yet. I know those close losses to Fresneck and Danny White U. are a factor, but BBQ is ALSO super-good this year, and I see us as neck-and-neck...at least until our upcoming head-to-head battle happens....

I don't like ties. I think they are both about even. I gave the edge to the Hornets with their close game against the Pac-12, the road win in Bozeman and the shellacking of a conference foe earlier. Weber has looked good but Sac State has looked just a little bit better. That could change after this weekend.

Correct, JAL. I see Cow Poly as a potential trap game given their penchant for the triple option, which is a major hassle for any team playing only ONE option team during the entire season. One of our compatriots on the board also sees Idalol as a trap game for us because they're allegedly tough at home, but I rather see our other trap game as the Causeway Classic, because rivalry games are ALWAYS tough, even when there's a clear separation between the two programs that year....