Big Sky Power Rankings 9-19

[JALMOND]

I know the 19th is tomorrow but, due to the wife's gall bladder surgery tomorrow, I am bringing these out today. After the games yesterday, what is becoming apparent is that both EWU and Sac State are doing a great job of convincing everyone that they are just a flash in the pan, while the darkhorse of the conference is...Weber State? As this conference is known as the "Big Sky" conference, the cream of the crop is slowly emerging as no one else but the two schools from "The Big Sky" (A.B. Guthrie would be proud). This week's power rankings (last week's ranking). As usual, all are my opinion only and all are open for discussion.

1. Montana State (1)---A bit of a breather for the Bobcats as they had pretty much no trouble dispatching the DII transition team, fellow MSU team Minot State. Although they are the only school that has not opened their conference slate, the Bobcats have had pretty good performances in non conference games. This week the road becomes tough, not only with the beginning of the conference season, but a road game at reeling Eastern Washington.

2. Montana (3)---The Grizzlies greeted the defending national champs Eastern Washington with a hard fought victory that their defense can be proud of. Obviously, the Grizzlies put their loss at Tennessee in the back and earned two great wins at home against the FCS. This week, they head on the road again as they go to the upstart Sacramento State team. No doubt the Hornets will be waiting for them.

3. Weber State (5)---So where did the Wildcats come from? In what some put as a rebuilding year, they have put things together in a hurry and served notice to the rest of the conference with a resounding home win over Sacramento State, showing that close losses over the FBS were no fluke. This week, they go on the road again, this time to Northern Colorado who seem to always give the Wilcats fits whenever they play.

4. Eastern Washington (2)---What a tough start to the year for the Eagles. Not only did they have three straight road games, but against some pretty stiff competition including the last game against Montana. As a result, the Eagles are still looking for their first win. Even though it is early, there is not much time to right the ship and this week, staying at home finally and playing Montana State is a good place to start. A must win definitely for the Eagles.

5. Sacramento State (4)---So how long are the Hornets going to hang their hats on their big win over the Pac-10. Last week, Weber State basically said who cares and took them behind the woodshed. A once promising season has now lost its luster and the Hornets are scrambling to right the ship. This week they get to stay home after three road games, but they have to face the mighty Montana team.

6. Portland State (7)---The Vikings may still have a bunch of unknowns but they are still the only undefeated overall team in the conference. A great home win over Northern Arizona, however, have the Vikings thinking this may be a good year. That may be the case. However, this week, they get the opportunity to take the money and play FBS Texas Christian (aka TCU). Conference play must wait one week.

7. Northern Arizona (6)---Still nursing some unknowns about the season, the Lumberjacks took one on the chin in their conference opener last week at Portland State. Still, there were some good things to come out of it and they did have a good shot to win it at the end. This weekend they stay at home and entertain a game Idaho State team, a team that is equally unknown. More questions should be answered.

8. Idaho State (8)---Good teams in the conference usually beat up on the lesser teams in the conference, so when the hurting the Bengals applied to Northern Colorado was shown, there was a bit of a shockwave through the conference. Are the Bengals that good or was it just a reflection on the opponent. This week, more questions will be answered as they head on the road to Northern Arizona, a place that gives conference foes much trouble.

9. Northern Colorado (9)---As the rest of the conference looks to be really strong, the word "hopeless" comes to mind when watching the Bears. In what was termed the fight for the bottom, the Bears never showed up in their game at Idaho State. Is that how far the Bears are from the rest? This week, they welcome the new darlings of the conference, Weber State, to their house. This is a team the Bears have given plenty of trouble to in the past, so maybe "hopeless" shouldn't be used yet.

Recap...1 and 2 pretty much together, 3-5 all slightly behind, 6-8 a tad behind them and 9 slowly losing ground.

[native]

Portland St. at TCU: No brainer. TCU by three touchdowns.

Weber St. at Northern Colorado: So far, the Bears are looking like a mediocre DII team. Firing Downing may not have been such a good idea after all.

Another no brainer. Weber State by three touchdowns, recent history notwithstanding.

Idaho St. at Northern Arizona: Does Idaho State look surprisingly stronger this year, or was the blowout of UNC because the Bears are unbelievably weak? Did the Lumberjack loss on the road at PSU tell us anything useful? The annual NAU meltdown usually starts much later in the season.

Tougher call, but Northern Arizona wins a close game at home.

Montana St. at Eastern Washington: Which team is the real deal this year? The defending conference champs have performed well against strong competition, and the defending national champs have lost their running game and started the season 0-3.

Home advantage will not be quite enough for this game as the ascending MSU Bobcats win another close game.

Montana at Sacramento St: After a bad year in 2010 (for Montana), and with a credible showing at Tennessee and strong wins at home against CalPoly and Eastern Washington, the always-strong Montana program appears to be back on track for 2011. But whether or not the Griz are the same juggernaut this year as they have been in past years remains to be seen. Sac State's road losses at Southern Utah and Weber were against very strong competition, and the Hornets program remains stronger and retains better athletes than in past years.

UPSET ALERT! In a squeeker, Sac State wins this one at home in the BSC game of the week.

[native]

Big Sky Conference Standings (Not Power Rankings) after Week 3:

TEAM, CONF, OVERALL

1. Portland State, 1-0, 2-0
(Tie) Idaho State, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Weber State, 1-0, 1-2

5. Montana State, 0-0, 2-1

6. Northern Arizona, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Sacramento State, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Eastern Washington, 0-1, 0-3
(Tie) Northern Colorado, 0-1, 0-3

Native's Predicted BSC Conference Standings after Week Four:

TEAM, CONFERENCE, OVERALL

1. Weber State 2-0, 2-2

2. Portland State 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana State 1-0, 3-1

4. Idaho State 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Montana 1-1, 2-2 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Arizona 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Sacramento State 1-1, 2-2

8. Eastern Washington 0-2, 0-4 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Colorado 0-2, 0-4

[SuperHornet]

I know it was just one half, but if that second half against Weber is any indication, PSU should be in front of Sac right now....

[JALMOND]

I know it was just one half, but if that second half against Weber is any indication, PSU should be in front of Sac right now....

Portland State had a chance to put NAU away and didn't do it. It took a missed FG on the last play for the Vikings to claim victory. Hopefully Burton and Co. now know that you can't play not to lose in this conference and that, for all the firepower within the conference, an 11 point lead can vanish quickly.

The Hornets second half is what put them behind the 0-3 Eagles, but I couldn't drop them further.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

I think you are pretty spot on Jalmond. Best of luck to your wife tomorrow.

[native]

I think you are pretty spot on Jalmond. Best of luck to your wife tomorrow.

Ditto!

[Wildcat Ryan]

Looks good Jalmond, now lets hope Weber can retain that # 3 Spot by winning in Greeley this weekend against a bears team that always gives us fits.

[native]

There are posts on other threads about the second half SacState collapse in Ogden this past weekend, which allowed the Weber running attack to take off only in the second half. I will respond here on JALMOND's thread.

While Weber was gaining only 25 yards on the ground in the first half, 20 of those yards were key plays which kept the passing drives going. Mike Hoke was patiently making great decisions, NOT pressing too hard, and NOT throwing interceptions like Cam did last year. Meanwhile the Wildcat defense kept the Hornet offense in check, maintaining great field position, making key plays, and limiting Sac State to a single field goal in the first half. Weber scored first in the 1st quarter on a 42-yard TD drive, never relinquished the lead for the rest of the game, and scored again in the 2nd quarter on a 76-yard scoring drive. The score at halftime was 14-3, with Weber having gained a respectable 162 air and ground yards in the half.

Another interpretation of the Sac State collapse in the second half is that the Hornets could not handle the balanced attack of the Wildcats in the first half and made too many mistakes trying to compensate. With a smart and capable quarterback at the helm, it really does not matter whether ground of air opportunities are presented first. It only matters that the quarterback is able to make good decisions and use all the arrows in his quiver at the right time. Incidentally, Hoke ended with a net 5 yards on 4 carries, another indication of his sound decision making and solid O-Line.

In hindsight it appears to me that Cameron Higgins as a junior and senior was, to a certain extent, a victim of his own success as a sophomore. A play here, and a play there... Maybe Cam pushed too hard and lacked the patience and judgment that Hoke has displayed thus far?

[Wildcat Ryan]

There are posts on other threads about the second half SacState collapse in Ogden this past weekend, which allowed the Weber running attack to take off only in the second half. I will respond here on JALMOND's thread.

While Weber was gaining only 25 yards on the ground in the first half, 20 of those yards were key plays which kept the passing drives going. Mike Hoke was patiently making great decisions, NOT pressing too hard, and NOT throwing interceptions like Cam did last year. Meanwhile the Wildcat defense kept the Hornet offense in check, maintaining great field position, making key plays, and limiting Sac State to a single field goal in the first half. Weber scored first in the 1st quarter on a 42-yard TD drive, never relinquished the lead for the rest of the game, and scored again in the 2nd quarter on a 76-yard scoring drive. The score at halftime was 14-3, with Weber having gained a respectable 162 air and ground yards in the half.

Another interpretation of the Sac State collapse in the second half is that the Hornets could not handle the balanced attack of the Wildcats in the first half and made too many mistakes trying to compensate. With a smart and capable quarterback at the helm, it really does not matter whether ground of air opportunities are presented first. It only matters that the quarterback is able to make good decisions and use all the arrows in his quiver at the right time. Incidentally, Hoke ended with a net 5 yards on 4 carries, another indication of his sound decision making and solid O-Line.

In hindsight it appears to me that Cameron Higgins as a junior and senior was, to a certain extent, a victim of his own success as a sophomore. A play here, and a play there... Maybe Cam pushed too hard and lacked the patience and judgment that Hoke has displayed thus far?

We Wildcat fans knew Hoke could be good, now lets hope he can keep it going and get a victory over UNC

[AZGrizFan]

Big Sky Conference Standings (Not Power Rankings) after Week 3:

TEAM, CONF, OVERALL

1. Portland State, 1-0, 2-0
(Tie) Idaho State, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Weber State, 1-0, 1-2

5. Montana State, 0-0, 2-1

6. Northern Arizona, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Sacramento State, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Eastern Washington, 0-1, 0-3
(Tie) Northern Colorado, 0-1, 0-3

Native's Predicted BSC Conference Standings after Week Four:

TEAM, CONFERENCE, OVERALL

1. Weber State 2-0, 2-2

2. Portland State 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana State 1-0, 3-1

4. Idaho State 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Montana 1-1, 2-2 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Arizona 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Sacramento State 1-1, 2-2

8. Eastern Washington 0-2, 0-4 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Colorado 0-2, 0-4

so, I find it very interesting that you feel the Bobcats will go into Cheney and defeat the struggling national champions (a team, incidently, that the 'scats have beaten just ONCE since 2002, and only TWICE in Spokane/Cheney since 1982 when the series resumed), whereas you feel the Griz will go into Sacramento and LOSE to a struggling Suck State team----a team the Griz have NEVER lost to, in either Missoula OR Sacramento...a team the Griz routinely blow out of the stadium...a team that up until last year (Griz's worst team in 25 years) had not stayed within 14 points of the Griz since 1993.

Makes me wonder if this is what you THINK will happen, or what you HOPE will happen.

[Wildcat Ryan]

Big Sky Conference Standings (Not Power Rankings) after Week 3:

TEAM, CONF, OVERALL

1. Portland State, 1-0, 2-0
(Tie) Idaho State, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Weber State, 1-0, 1-2

5. Montana State, 0-0, 2-1

6. Northern Arizona, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Sacramento State, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Eastern Washington, 0-1, 0-3
(Tie) Northern Colorado, 0-1, 0-3

Native's Predicted BSC Conference Standings after Week Four:

TEAM, CONFERENCE, OVERALL

1. Weber State 2-0, 2-2

2. Portland State 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana State 1-0, 3-1

4. Idaho State 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Montana 1-1, 2-2 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Arizona 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Sacramento State 1-1, 2-2

8. Eastern Washington 0-2, 0-4 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Colorado 0-2, 0-4

so, I find it very interesting that you feel the Bobcats will go into Cheney and defeat the struggling national champions (a team, incidently, that the 'scats have beaten just ONCE since 2002, and only TWICE in Spokane/Cheney since 1982 when the series resumed), whereas you feel the Griz will go into Sacramento and LOSE to a struggling Suck State team----a team the Griz have NEVER lost to, in either Missoula OR Sacramento...a team the Griz routinely blow out of the stadium...a team that up until last year (Griz's worst team in 25 years) had not stayed within 14 points of the Griz since 1993.

Makes me wonder if this is what you THINK will happen, or what you HOPE will happen.

Cant it be both

[Wildcat Ryan]

Big Sky Conference Standings (Not Power Rankings) after Week 3:

TEAM, CONF, OVERALL

1. Portland State, 1-0, 2-0
(Tie) Idaho State, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Weber State, 1-0, 1-2

5. Montana State, 0-0, 2-1

6. Northern Arizona, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Sacramento State, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Eastern Washington, 0-1, 0-3
(Tie) Northern Colorado, 0-1, 0-3

Native's Predicted BSC Conference Standings after Week Four:

TEAM, CONFERENCE, OVERALL

1. Weber State 2-0, 2-2

2. Portland State 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana State 1-0, 3-1

4. Idaho State 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Montana 1-1, 2-2 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Arizona 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Sacramento State 1-1, 2-2

8. Eastern Washington 0-2, 0-4 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Colorado 0-2, 0-4

so, I find it very interesting that you feel the Bobcats will go into Cheney and defeat the struggling national champions (a team, incidently, that the 'scats have beaten just ONCE since 2002, and only TWICE in Spokane/Cheney since 1982 when the series resumed), whereas you feel the Griz will go into Sacramento and LOSE to a struggling Suck State team----a team the Griz have NEVER lost to, in either Missoula OR Sacramento...a team the Griz routinely blow out of the stadium...a team that up until last year (Griz's worst team in 25 years) had not stayed within 14 points of the Griz since 1993.

Makes me wonder if this is what you THINK will happen, or what you HOPE will happen.

double post

[AZGrizFan]

Cant it be both

Nope.

Can't it be both?

Nope.

[Wildcat Ryan]

Stupid double posts

[AZGrizFan]

Stupid double posts

BS. One has an apostrophe and the other doesn't...and you used a different smilie...

[Wildcat Ryan]

Stupid double posts

BS. One has an apostrophe and the other doesn't...and you used a different smilie...

You caught me, you caught the tater

[native]

Big Sky Conference Standings (Not Power Rankings) after Week 3:

TEAM, CONF, OVERALL

1. Portland State, 1-0, 2-0
(Tie) Idaho State, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana, 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Weber State, 1-0, 1-2

5. Montana State, 0-0, 2-1

6. Northern Arizona, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Sacramento State, 0-1, 1-2
(Tie) Eastern Washington, 0-1, 0-3
(Tie) Northern Colorado, 0-1, 0-3

Native's Predicted BSC Conference Standings after Week Four:

TEAM, CONFERENCE, OVERALL

1. Weber State 2-0, 2-2

2. Portland State 1-0, 2-1
(Tie) Montana State 1-0, 3-1

4. Idaho State 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Montana 1-1, 2-2 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Arizona 1-1, 2-2
(Tie) Sacramento State 1-1, 2-2

8. Eastern Washington 0-2, 0-4 (Big surprise!)
(Tie) Northern Colorado 0-2, 0-4

so, I find it very interesting that you feel the Bobcats will go into Cheney and defeat the struggling national champions (a team, incidently, that the 'scats have beaten just ONCE since 2002, and only TWICE in Spokane/Cheney since 1982 when the series resumed), whereas you feel the Griz will go into Sacramento and LOSE to a struggling Suck State team----a team the Griz have NEVER lost to, in either Missoula OR Sacramento...a team the Griz routinely blow out of the stadium...a team that up until last year (Griz's worst team in 25 years) had not stayed within 14 points of the Griz since 1993.

Makes me wonder if this is what you THINK will happen, or what you HOPE will happen.

What I hope is that WSU runs the table, and that my picks are correct so I look like a genius. I don't care too much who wins the other conference games, as long as we win ours. I prefer to win the conference and go to the playoffs because we win the important games, not because someone else loses.

What I think is that there are still serious unknowns about both EWU and Sacramento State, and perhaps a few remaining unknowns about Montana. Sac State beat the BEAVERS [edit-correction ]on the road, and that counts for something with me. MSU has shown many strengths and few weaknesses in three (OK, maybe two) games so far this year. That's why I am giving Sac at home and MSU the the nod this coming weekend. No doubt I could be wrong on either or both counts.

[AZGrizFan]

What I think is that there are still serious unknowns about both EWU and Sacramento State, and perhaps a few remaining unknowns about Montana. Sac State beat the Ducks on the road, and that counts for something with me. MSU has shown many strengths and few weaknesses in three (OK, maybe two) games so far this year. That's why I am giving Sac and MSU tye the nod at home this coming weekend. No doubt I could be wrong on either or both counts.

Uh....NO. Sac State beat the BEAVERS. Big difference. BIG, BIG difference. The Beavers lost to fucking Washington STATE last year.

[native]

What I think is that there are still serious unknowns about both EWU and Sacramento State, and perhaps a few remaining unknowns about Montana. Sac State beat the Ducks on the road, and that counts for something with me. MSU has shown many strengths and few weaknesses in three (OK, maybe two) games so far this year. That's why I am giving Sac and MSU tye the nod at home this coming weekend. No doubt I could be wrong on either or both counts.

Uh....NO. Sac State beat the BEAVERS. Big difference. BIG, BIG difference. The Beavers lost to **** Washington STATE last year.

I was also hoping my provocative pick would elicit some Griz action on the boards.

[AZGrizFan]

Uh....NO. Sac State beat the BEAVERS. Big difference. BIG, BIG difference. The Beavers lost to **** Washington STATE last year.

I was also hoping my provocative pick would elicit some Griz action on the boards.

Yeah, because lord knows there's not enough of THAT.

[native]

I was also hoping my provocative pick would elicit some Griz action on the boards.

Yeah, because lord knows there's not enough of THAT.

[catbob]

MSU
UM
Weber
...
PSU
EWU
Sac
ISU
NAU
UNC

[BigSkyBears]

I would switch ISU and NAU. Other than that, looks about right.

[SDHornet]

While Weber was gaining only 25 yards on the ground in the first half, 20 of those yards were key plays which kept the passing drives going. Mike Hoke was patiently making great decisions, NOT pressing too hard, and NOT throwing interceptions like Cam did last year. Meanwhile the Wildcat defense kept the Hornet offense in check, maintaining great field position, making key plays, and limiting Sac State to a single field goal in the first half. Weber scored first in the 1st quarter on a 42-yard TD drive, never relinquished the lead for the rest of the game, and scored again in the 2nd quarter on a 76-yard scoring drive. The score at halftime was 14-3, with Weber having gained a respectable 162 air and ground yards in the half.

Sperbeck used nothing but runs in the first half. The play calling was too unbalanced and that type of game plan (if that is one) isn’t going to win many games in the BSC. I think what killed us was the TD late in the 1st half; otherwise it would have been 7-3 at halftime and who knows how it would have went from there. WSU opened the 2nd half with a TD drive and at 21-3, I knew from there the Wildcats would just pound the ball behind their big OL. The two halves of that game were complete night and day.

Credit is due, WSU (and mainly Hoke) looks a lot better than what I expected, especially at this point in the season. If they can maintain a balanced attack (which they should with their OL), WSU will have a good season.

And another great write-up J.