Great West Impressions

[AggieFinn]

While it lasts...state your thoughts...maybe you played one of the GW teams in 2006...how'd you do, how'd the Great West do?

North Dakota State - very well coached, a lot of talent, a lot of size and thunder, unbelievable 2006.
UC Davis - the "little" program that could, potent passing attack, stingy run defense and a lot of heart and pride.
South Dakota State - an up and comer, well known for playing FOUR solid quarters of football.
Cal Poly - athletes, the DEFENSE, the Buck Buchanan award winners, the program that battles Montana game per game.
Southern Utah - the so called cellar dwellars who have taken on the biggest FCS challenge of 2007.

How do you see the Great West ending up after NDSU and SDSU join the Gateway, only to make room for their rivals?

I personally feel that UC Davis will fight to maintain the Great West, and an eventual Auto-BID conference...if that isn't possible in the next 3 years, look for the FCS Notre Dame to emerge, ALL-INDEPENDENT, it's a Davis tradition!

[WYOBISONMAN]

NDSU,SDSU, UC-Davis and Poly all can beat up on each other. It will be dog eat dog in the Great West this year. Key for NDSU will be who picks up the slack with the loss of Kyle Steffes. If NDSU can replace Steffes, look out. If NDSU has trouble filling that spot the Bison could be vulnerable. It will be great to have 2 teams (the Cali schools) eligible for the post season.

As for when the xDSUs leave for the Gateway......the UxDs will be right behind them to take thier places in the GWFC.

[MrTitleist]

I would love to see the Big Sky pick up the UDakota schools. Add some credibility to the conference and get some competition in there.

[tcbison]

NDSU,SDSU, UC-Davis and Poly all can beat up on each other. It will be dog eat dog in the Great West this year. Key for NDSU will be who picks up the slack with the loss of Kyle Steffes. If NDSU can replace Steffes, look out. If NDSU has trouble filling that spot the Bison could be vulnerable. It will be great to have 2 teams (the Cali schools) eligible for the post season.

As for when the xDSUs leave for the Gateway......the UxDs will be right behind them to take thier places in the GWFC.

I think NDSU will be just fine without Kyle Steffes because Steve Walker is still there. If NDSU has to throw more that won't be a problem. Plus, Coach Bohl believes this will be his best offensive line he has had so far. I am curious to see if UC Davis can replace the Grant to Kays combo that was so deadly last year. Cal Poly could really be the team to watch especially if their QB play increases. In the Great West, I think that QB play is the most important because all the teams have very good run defenses. SDSU could be the sleeper team as they have a favorable home schedule next year.

[AggieFinn]

While the Grant to Kays combo was great, mainly because Tony was usually open an embarassing amount of times in any given game, I think Grant still looked to TK too much in 2006. It was almost like calling your shot sometimes, the passing game for UC Davis suffered a bit because of it. When the ball is getting moved around to Carter, Miller, Turner, and Rice along with the "star" then we move the chains much more quickly. I think Carter will emerge as a go-to guy this year, Rice could finally breakout, Chris Miller and Kale Turner will continue to be possession receivers, and they are unsung heroes for the UC Davis offense. The TE situation is also very good, we've got three solid TE's in Bispo, Doris and McDonough. Senior Tim Plough will get the starting nod in my opinion at QB, while fellow senior Matt Engle is a very mobile, capable backup. If Plough starts getting sacked a lot, look for Engle to come in and work on his feet. The O-Line's ability to make some passing time will be key in the first few games.

[tcbison]

AggieFinn,
Thanks for the update and info. I look forward to see how UC Davis does this year. They are always tough. I hope NDSU can get some revenge from the last time UC Davis came to Fargo. Since NDSU can't make the playoffs I hope one of the California teams in the Great West can.

tcbison

[YoUDeeMan]

It would be good to see a GWFC team do well in the playoffs. Sad to see the Dakota teams go, and I hope you will be able to backfill with the other Dakotas.

While we're discussing the western teams, has anyone thought about the possibility in 4-5 years of the four Dakota teams linking up with 2-3 other FCS teams to form their own conference? If the 4 Dakota teams pluck one or two from the Gateway, and one or two from the BSC, they could save a lot of money on travel and have themselves a nice conference. The remaining western BSC teams could then backfill the departing Dakotas in the GWFC.

Just a thought.

[tcbison]

It would be good to see a GWFC team do well in the playoffs. Sad to see the Dakota teams go, and I hope you will be able to backfill with the other Dakotas.

While we're discussing the western teams, has anyone thought about the possibility in 4-5 years of the four Dakota teams linking up with 2-3 other FCS teams to form their own conference? If the 4 Dakota teams pluck one or two from the Gateway, and one or two from the BSC, they could save a lot of money on travel and have themselves a nice conference. The remaining western BSC teams could then backfill the departing Dakotas in the GWFC.

Just a thought.

Interesting. NDSU and SDSU fought hard to get into the Gateway, so I don't see them leaving any time soon. The autobid is very important and that was one of the main reasons to leave the Great West. The other reason was scheduling problems with only 5 teams in the conference. NDSU has really stuggled to get good home games during the transition, now with the Gateway that won't be an issue anymore. Plus, with some of the Gateway teams in the Missouri Valley that could help some basketball scheduling as well.

[AggieFinn]

Interesting. NDSU and SDSU fought hard to get into the Gateway, so I don't see them leaving any time soon. The autobid is very important...The other reason was scheduling problems with only 5 teams in the conference. NDSU has really stuggled to get good home games during the transition, now with the Gateway that won't be an issue anymore.

Agreed, and agreed. Great move for NDSU and SDSU. UC Davis would've tried for the same given a similar opportunity. Maybe in say 8 to 10 years there may be a reforming into a new Western style Auto-bid conference if the Southwest, Northwest and Midwest get more FCS teams transitioned.