Big Sky Power Rankings 9-24

[JALMOND]

What we didn't know from the non-conference season, we probably know a little bit more now. Eastern Washington seems to be really good, Portland State seems to be really bad, and the rest are floating somewhere in between, except for the wildcard, North Dakota, who seems to have some questions of their own. Here are this week's power rankings (last week in parenthesis). As usual, all are my opinion only. Four teams are taking this weekend off and Northern Colorado gets North Dakota.

1. Eastern Washington (1)---Last week, beat Cal Poly at home 70-17, this week at Montana State---The Eagles seem to be soaring high after dismantling a good Cal Poly team last week. Can anyone touch them? They have a tough road conference game this week.

2. Weber State (2)---Last week, beat Northern Colorado at home 45-28, this week, bye---The Wildcats grounded out a tougher than expected win at home last weekend. They are getting their questions answered on offense and thus are becoming a good team.

3. UC-Davis (4)---Last week, beat Idaho at home 44-21, this week, bye---The Aggies put the hammer down on Idaho last week and then cruised. They have answered many offseason questions in a positive way and are on their way to a good season.

4. Montana State (6)---Last week, won at Portland State 43-23, this week Eastern Washington at home---No looking ahead for the Bobcats last week as they took care of business and got a good road conference win. They now welcome EWU to their house.

5. Montana (5)---Last week, beat Sacramento State at home 41-34, this week at Cal Poly---Don't give up on the Grizzlies or they will come back and take the victory from your hands. They looked strong in getting a good home win, now they go out on the road.

6. Sacramento State (3)---Last week, lost at Montana 41-34, this week, bye---The Hornets were hoping to get their first win ever in Missoula, but still came away empty handed. They will be taking this week off to try to bounce back and prepare for the stretch run.

7. Northern Arizona (8)---Last week, beat Southern Utah at home 31-23, this week at Idaho State---Are things turning around for the Lumberjacks, now that we are in conference play? They're hoping so, but they have a tough road game coming up.

8. Idaho State (12)---Last week, won at North Dakota 25-21, this week Northern Arizona at home---Talk about a confidence builder. The Bengals, probably given up for dead early on, came through in a big way for a good road win. They are brimming with confidence now.

9. Northern Colorado (9)---Last week, lost at Weber State 45-28, this week North Dakota at home---Same story, different verse. The Bears played tough enough to win the game only to see it slip out of their fingers. They really need a confidence boost this weekend.

10. Idaho (7)---Last week, lost at UC-Davis 44-21, this week, Portland State at home---Hard to imagine people saw the Vandals struggling to compete in the Big Sky, but they needed two late scores to make it look respectable last week. They should have an easy game this weekend, but nothing has been easy.

11. Southern Utah (10)---Last week, lost at Northern Arizona 31-23, this week, bye---The Thunderbirds really needed a good road showing last week to get back in the picture. However, they get a loss to head in to their bye week. Time to get some questions answered.

12. Cal Poly (11)---Last week, lost at Eastern Washington 70-17, this week Montana at home---Did the Mustangs even bother to show up last week on the road? EWU is good, but THAT good? No favors coming up for the Mustangs as they get the ferocious Montana team.

13. Portland State (13)---Last week, lost to Montana State at home 43-23, this week at Idaho---Again, same story, different verse, only this one goes back to last year for the Vikings. Many new questions coming up but the obvious one is how long will this last?

RECAP: 1, then 2-6, 7-10 fading, 11-12 off the pace, 13 trying to keep up.

[css75]

Not about to disagree with ranking, but fading does not describe the Bengals at this point.


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[CPAlum]

Looks good I'd put forth that Cal Poly is worse than Portland State...Unfortunately they wont play this year to prove it.

[AZGrizFan]

MSU beats the #13 team in the conference and somehow jumps Montana?

lolololol

[Mvemjsunpx]

Looks good I'd put forth that Cal Poly is worse than Portland State...Unfortunately they wont play this year to prove it.

Cal Poly isn't worse than Portland State. There's no way PSU plays Weber within 7 points.

[JALMOND]

Looks good I'd put forth that Cal Poly is worse than Portland State...Unfortunately they wont play this year to prove it.

Cal Poly isn't worse than Portland State. There's no way PSU plays Weber within 7 points.

There's no way PSU beats Brown.

[JALMOND]

MSU beats the #13 team in the conference and somehow jumps Montana?

lolololol

I got hit on the other site for this as well. I actually had Montana ahead of Montana State, then I took a closer look.

1. Cats only loss to #3 South Dakota State.
2. Griz only loss to Western Illinois, who the Cats have beaten this year.
3. Griz won a conference game at home, something they do about 85% of the time. Cats got a road conference win last week (albeit, against PSU, but still a road win). Winning conference games on the road can be tricky, regardless of record.

Things have a tendency to even out in the end. This week, the Griz play Cal Poly while the Cats have EWU. If all goes the way they should, the Griz should be back ahead of the Cats next week. But if things go awry...

[AZGrizFan]

MSU beats the #13 team in the conference and somehow jumps Montana?

lolololol

I got hit on the other site for this as well. I actually had Montana ahead of Montana State, then I took a closer look.

1. Cats only loss to #3 South Dakota State.
2. Griz only loss to Western Illinois, who the Cats have beaten this year.
3. Griz won a conference game at home, something they do about 85% of the time. Cats got a road conference win last week (albeit, against PSU, but still a road win). Winning conference games on the road can be tricky, regardless of record.

Things have a tendency to even out in the end. This week, the Griz play Cal Poly while the Cats have EWU. If all goes the way they should, the Griz should be back ahead of the Cats next week. But if things go awry...

Cats beat WIU at home. Griz lost to them on the road (and should have won). Griz beat a title contender (supposedly) in Suck State. Cats beat the bottom dweller. To each his own, I suppose.

[Grizalltheway]

I got hit on the other site for this as well. I actually had Montana ahead of Montana State, then I took a closer look.

1. Cats only loss to #3 South Dakota State.
2. Griz only loss to Western Illinois, who the Cats have beaten this year.
3. Griz won a conference game at home, something they do about 85% of the time. Cats got a road conference win last week (albeit, against PSU, but still a road win). Winning conference games on the road can be tricky, regardless of record.

Things have a tendency to even out in the end. This week, the Griz play Cal Poly while the Cats have EWU. If all goes the way they should, the Griz should be back ahead of the Cats next week. But if things go awry...

Cats beat WIU at home. Griz lost to them on the road (and should have won). Griz beat a title contender (supposedly) in Suck State. Cats beat the bottom dweller. To each his own, I suppose.

And Drake is three spots higher than Wagner in the Saragin rankings.

[css75]

ISU has a pretty decent chance of beating NAU for homecoming, if the defense in the 2nd half against UND was not a mirage they could be very good.


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[kalm]

Cats beat WIU at home. Griz lost to them on the road (and should have won). Griz beat a title contender (supposedly) in Suck State. Cats beat the bottom dweller. To each his own, I suppose.

And Drake is three spots higher than Wagner in the Saragin rankings.

The Pioneer is on the rise.

[Silenoz]

And Drake is three spots higher than Wagner in the Saragin rankings.

The Pioneer is on the rise.

Inevitable quote after every Cat or Griz game against a "lesser" opponent that is a close call in any way for any amount of time:

"That team is really good. They'd beat x if they played."

Who knew Wagner and Drake and Valparaiso and Bryant and blah blah blah were such high quality OOC opponents

[SuperHornet]

While it hurts to see my Hornets drop this far, it's unfortunately the correct move.

More disturbing, however, is bumping the Kitties over the Griz on the flimsy basis of a win over the likes of PSU.