2012 Big Sky Predictions

[WeberAlum02]

Surprised this thread hasn't been bumped since April…



My predictions:

• 1. Montana State _______7-1____10-1_____ They've got the talent, can they sack up when it counts?
  2. Eastern Washington__7-1_____9-2_____ If Padron=Mitchell, a somewhat better defense should be the difference
  3. Weber State__________6-2_____6-5_____ Their playoff hopes could come down to the McNeese game
  4. Montana _____________6-2_____8-3_____ The Griz D looks like it should be better than projected
  5. Northern Arizona ____6-2_____8-3_____ The 'Jacks should shred teams if Baumann stays healthy
  6. UC Davis ____________ 5-3_____7-4_____ Azusa Pacific will cost the retiring Bob Biggs a playoff appearance
  7. Cal Poly ______________4-4_____5-6_____ Favorable schedule, average team
  8. Southern Utah _______3-5_____4-7_____ The T-Birds have Sorensen & little else
  9. North Dakota ________3-5_____5-6_____ They're too lacking in big-play capabiliity
  10.Portland State_______ 2-6_____3-8_____ Replacing Kavanaugh, McCaffrey, and most of the D is a bit too much
  11.Northern Colorado___2-6_____3-8_____ I've got questions about their coaching staff, but they should still improve
  12. Idaho State _________1-7_____2-9_____ Even The Big Human can't turn the Bengals around overnight
  13.Sacramento State ___ 0-8_____1-10 ___ Last year was Sac's big chance & they blew it

EWU, NAU, and the Montanas make the playoffs
Tiebreakers (head-to-head) are included.

Weber State has a better chance of being 0-9 going into their last two games than they do of being 6-2 in the BSC.

With the larger conference, an important part of making predictions is knowing the schedules. And I don't think most bother to even look at them. So think what you want about Weber's team, but their conference schedule is very favorable, IMO.

EWash (picked 2nd & 2nd)
@Davis (11,12)
Cal Poly (5,5)
@Sac (10,9)
@SUtah (8,8)
Montana (3,3)
NColorado (13,13)
@IdahoSt (12,11)

No MSU (1,1), PSU (4,4), and UND (6,10)

On paper, and before the season starts, everyone of those games are winnable. And winning 6 of them is very doable.

[AZGrizFan]

EWash (picked 2nd & 2nd) L
@Davis (11,12) W
Cal Poly (5,5) L
@Sac (10,9) L
@SUtah (8,8) L
Montana (3,3) L
NColorado (13,13) W
@IdahoSt (12,11) W

No MSU (1,1), PSU (4,4), and UND (6,10)

On paper, and before the season starts, everyone of those games are winnable. And winning 6 of them is very doable.

3-5 in conference at best.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Might want to look at your list again there bud.

Thanks...bud

[Mvemjsunpx]

Here's how I picked Weber's schedule:



EWash (picked 2nd & 2nd) L
@Davis (11,12) L
Cal Poly (5,5) W
@Sac (10,9) W
@SUtah (8,8) W
Montana (3,3) W
NColorado (13,13) W
@IdahoSt (12,11) W


Montana & Davis are toss-ups. I think the Griz are better on paper, but they haven't won in Ogden since 2006 and haven't played well in Ogden since 2004.

[bincitysioux]

Surprised this thread hasn't been bumped since April…



My predictions:

• 1. Montana State _______7-1____10-1_____ They've got the talent, can they sack up when it counts?
  2. Eastern Washington__7-1_____9-2_____ If Padron=Mitchell, a somewhat better defense should be the difference
  3. Weber State__________6-2_____6-5_____ Their playoff hopes could come down to the McNeese game
  4. Montana _____________6-2_____8-3_____ The Griz D looks like it should be better than projected
  5. Northern Arizona ____6-2_____8-3_____ The 'Jacks should shred teams if Baumann stays healthy
  6. UC Davis ____________ 5-3_____7-4_____ Azusa Pacific will cost the retiring Bob Biggs a playoff appearance
  7. Cal Poly ______________4-4_____5-6_____ Favorable schedule, average team
  8. Southern Utah _______3-5_____4-7_____ The T-Birds have Sorensen & little else
  9. North Dakota ________3-5_____5-6_____ They're too lacking in big-play capabiliity
  10.Portland State_______ 2-6_____3-8_____ Replacing Kavanaugh, McCaffrey, and most of the D is a bit too much
  11.Northern Colorado___2-6_____3-8_____ I've got questions about their coaching staff, but they should still improve
  12. Idaho State _________1-7_____2-9_____ Even The Big Human can't turn the Bengals around overnight
  13.Sacramento State ___ 0-8_____1-10 ___ Last year was Sac's big chance & they blew it

EWU, NAU, and the Montanas make the playoffs
Tiebreakers (head-to-head) are included.

I call BS on this post.................(except for your comments on SUU).

I cordially invite any and all fans of Big Sky Conference schools to rip apart this post, and fully expect numerous Bison fans to do the same..............because we all know that North Dakota is always on their mind.

DISCLAIMER: When I made my predictions, by default I picked a loss for any Big Sky team playing an FBS team. Also, as a perpetual homer, I picked the Big Sky team to win every non-conference FCS game on their schedule.

Cal Poly
8-3 Overall
7-1 Big Sky

Conference loss to North Dakota

Montana St.
10-1 Overall
7-1 Big Sky

Conference loss to Portland St.

Eastern Washington
6-5 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Montana, and Montana St.

North Dakota
8-3 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Eastern Washington, and Montana St.

Portland St.
7-4 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Northern Arizona, and Cal Poly

Montana
8-3 Overall
5-3 Big Sky

Conference losses to North Dakota, Weber St., and Montana St.

Northern Arizona
6-5 Overall
5-3 Big Sky

Conference losses to Montana, North Dakota, and Cal Poly

Weber St.
4-7 Overall
3-5 Big Sky

Conference losses to Eastern Washington, Cal Poly, Sac St., Southern Utah, and Idaho St.

UC Davis
4-7 Overall
2-6 Big Sky

Conference losses to Cal Poly, Weber St., Montana St., Northern Arizona, Portland St., and Eastern Washington

Southern Utah
3-8 Overall
2-6 Big Sky

Conference losses to Portland St., Montana St., Montana, Eastern Washington, North Dakota, and Northern Arizona

Sacramento St.
3-8 Overall
2-6 Big Sky

Conference losses to North Dakota, Southern Utah, Eastern Washington, Cal Poly, Montana St., and UC Davis

Idaho St.
2-9 Overall
1-7 Big Sky

One conference WIN against Weber St. in the rival game

Northern Colorado
2-9 Overall
1-7 Big Sky

One conference WIN at home against Idaho St.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Surprised this thread hasn't been bumped since April…



My predictions:

• 1. Montana State _______7-1____10-1_____ They've got the talent, can they sack up when it counts?
  2. Eastern Washington__7-1_____9-2_____ If Padron=Mitchell, a somewhat better defense should be the difference
  3. Weber State__________6-2_____6-5_____ Their playoff hopes could come down to the McNeese game
  4. Montana _____________6-2_____8-3_____ The Griz D looks like it should be better than projected
  5. Northern Arizona ____6-2_____8-3_____ The 'Jacks should shred teams if Baumann stays healthy
  6. UC Davis ____________ 5-3_____7-4_____ Azusa Pacific will cost the retiring Bob Biggs a playoff appearance
  7. Cal Poly ______________4-4_____5-6_____ Favorable schedule, average team
  8. Southern Utah _______3-5_____4-7_____ The T-Birds have Sorensen & little else
  9. North Dakota ________3-5_____5-6_____ They're too lacking in big-play capabiliity
  10.Portland State_______ 2-6_____3-8_____ Replacing Kavanaugh, McCaffrey, and most of the D is a bit too much
  11.Northern Colorado___2-6_____3-8_____ I've got questions about their coaching staff, but they should still improve
  12. Idaho State _________1-7_____2-9_____ Even The Big Human can't turn the Bengals around overnight
  13.Sacramento State ___ 0-8_____1-10 ___ Last year was Sac's big chance & they blew it

EWU, NAU, and the Montanas make the playoffs
Tiebreakers (head-to-head) are included.

I call BS on this post.................(except for your comments on SUU).

I cordially invite any and all fans of Big Sky Conference schools to rip apart this post, and fully expect numerous Bison fans to do the same..............because we all know that North Dakota is always on their mind.

DISCLAIMER: When I made my predictions, by default I picked a loss for any Big Sky team playing an FBS team. Also, as a perpetual homer, I picked the Big Sky team to win every non-conference FCS game on their schedule.

Cal Poly
8-3 Overall
7-1 Big Sky

Conference loss to North Dakota

Montana St.
10-1 Overall
7-1 Big Sky

Conference loss to Portland St.

Eastern Washington
6-5 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Montana, and Montana St.

North Dakota
8-3 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Eastern Washington, and Montana St.

Portland St.
7-4 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Northern Arizona, and Cal Poly

Montana
8-3 Overall
5-3 Big Sky

Conference losses to North Dakota, Weber St., and Montana St.

Northern Arizona
6-5 Overall
5-3 Big Sky

Conference losses to Montana, North Dakota, and Cal Poly

Weber St.
4-7 Overall
3-5 Big Sky

Conference losses to Eastern Washington, Cal Poly, Sac St., Southern Utah, and Idaho St.

UC Davis
4-7 Overall
2-6 Big Sky

Conference losses to Cal Poly, Weber St., Montana St., Northern Arizona, Portland St., and Eastern Washington

Southern Utah
3-8 Overall
2-6 Big Sky

Conference losses to Portland St., Montana St., Montana, Eastern Washington, North Dakota, and Northern Arizona

Sacramento St.
3-8 Overall
2-6 Big Sky

Conference losses to North Dakota, Southern Utah, Eastern Washington, Cal Poly, Montana St., and UC Davis

Idaho St.
2-9 Overall
1-7 Big Sky

One conference WIN against Weber St. in the rival game

Northern Colorado
2-9 Overall
1-7 Big Sky

One conference WIN at home against Idaho St.

Mvem's looks much more reasonable than yours. You have a lot to learn, young tadpole.

[SuperHornet]

Now, wait just a minute. What is it that makes you guys predict such a horrible record for a school coming off a season B(C)$ win, a win vs. Montana, AND having fixed last season's major malfunction?

[Grizalltheway]

Now, wait just a minute. What is it that makes you guys predict such a horrible record for a school coming off a season B(C)$ win, a win vs. Montana, AND having fixed last season's major malfunction?

4-7.

[bincitysioux]

Mvem's looks much more reasonable than yours. You have a lot to learn, young tadpole.

He has Weber and Davis WAY too high. Cal Poly, Portland St., and North Dakota are WAY too low. Any "poll" that doesn't have Cal Poly in the top 4 is a joke as far as I am concerned. It will be fun to see how it all plays out................

[Mvemjsunpx]

Mvem's looks much more reasonable than yours. You have a lot to learn, young tadpole.

He has Weber and Davis WAY too high. Cal Poly, Portland St., and North Dakota are WAY too low. Any "poll" that doesn't have Cal Poly in the top 4 is a joke as far as I am concerned. It will be fun to see how it all plays out................

Um, why exactly? What does CP have? They return Broadous, but lost Romanelli & Rodgers. Their pass defense was also crap last year, and—after losing Asa Jackson—looks unlikely to improve.


Portland State could have the best O-Line in the league (& the best kicker), but it's tough when you lose 72% of your offensive production (Kavanaugh & McCaffrey) and graduate a ton of players off an already average defense.

North Dakota should have the best run D in the Big Sky, but their pass D & pass O are quite questionable. If you can stop the run &/or throw the ball well, you'll likely beat NoDak.

Weber had coaching turmoil (even more than Montana), but they return a ton of talent.

Davis lost very little from a down year (they played noticeably better late last season, too) and Biggs has a proven track record of success.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Now, wait just a minute. What is it that makes you guys predict such a horrible record for a school coming off a season B(C)$ win, a win vs. Montana, AND having fixed last season's major malfunction?

I don't if you mean the OC thing as your "malfunction," but here goes…

The Hornets just don't seem to have a lot of note or anything scary on their roster and they appear noticeably less talented than the last couple seasons. They may not "deserve" to go winless (& their game in Pocatello is a toss-up, IMO), but they don't have the friendliest conference slate. I did pick Sac to beat NoCo, but that counts as a non-conference game.

[SuperHornet]

No games have been played yet, but Sac "appears" less talented? Despite the fact that we have a pre-season All-Big Sky on the roster and some pretty decent drop-downs?

Normally, you have some pretty good arguments, Venus, but this time, I think you've taken leave of your senses....

[AZGrizFan]

North Dakota
8-3 Overall
6-2 Big Sky

Conference losses to Eastern Washington, and Montana St.


Montana
8-3 Overall
5-3 Big Sky

Conference losses to North Dakota, Weber St., and Montana St.

Drake, W 16-0
@ Idaho, L 44-14
@ Fresno St, L 27-22
Black Hills St. (SD), W 53-19
@ Southern Utah, W 23-20
Western Montana, W 42-9
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, L 23-19
@ Northern Colorado, W 25-23
Sioux Falls (SD), W 15-13
@ UC Davis, W 14-7
South Dakota, W 38-37

Looking at last year's underwhelming performance what, pray tell, makes you think you're going to waltz into the Big Sky Conference and beat the perennial champions in year ONE? Last year you struggled against D-II schools, and barely beat the two teams acknowledge to be at or near the bottom of the heap this year (UNC and Davis). You play AT San Diego State, AT Sacramento State, AT EWU and AT MSU, not to mention murderers row of PSU, NAU, Cal Poly, Montana and SUU coming into Grand Forks. I see no reason for optomism...I see a 4-7 season with losses to Montana, Montana State, EWU, Cal Poly, Sac State, and potentially @ UNC.

[Mvemjsunpx]

No games have been played yet, but Sac "appears" less talented? Despite the fact that we have a pre-season All-Big Sky on the roster and some pretty decent drop-downs?

Normally, you have some pretty good arguments, Venus, but this time, I think you've taken leave of your senses....

You're bragging because your team has a whopping one player in the all-conference team?

And the dropdowns don't look too notable. You keep touting Mason Magleby, but has he even played in fall camp yet?

[SDHornet]

No games have been played yet, but Sac "appears" less talented? Despite the fact that we have a pre-season All-Big Sky on the roster and some pretty decent drop-downs?

Normally, you have some pretty good arguments, Venus, but this time, I think you've taken leave of your senses....

You're bragging because your team has a whopping one player in the all-conference team?

And the dropdowns don't look too notable. You keep touting Mason Magleby, but has he even played in fall camp yet?

It's SH for fuck sakes, he has no idea what he is talking about. After all, this isn't the Sirens we are talking about.

Magleby has been hurt and did not participate in the 1st scrimmage. Right now it looks like Safron is the guy and it sounds like he showed a lot of improvement over the offseason (thanks largely to Peterson I'm sure). We are putting in a new offense for the 3rd straight year and aside from 3 returning OL, pretty much everything is new but there are a handful of WR's coming off of a redshirt so who knows how that will go.

Defensively I think we will be ok. If the DL can be consistent and play better against the run we will be fine. Both LB return and 2 starters in the secondary return along with a backup who had considerable time last season plus a couple of dropdowns.

God only knows how the kicking will go but it can't be nearly as bad as last season. Sperbeck brought in a ton of kickers this offseason and the shitty kicker from last season was kicked off the team.

Having said that our schedule isn't that brutal once we get past the money games (vs UNC, vs UND, @ ISU) so I would be surprised if we do as poorly as you have us listed. I think 3 wins is our low with 5 being the high. I mean 1-10!? We are not UNC status.

[SDHornet]

Davis lost very little from a down year (they played noticeably better late last season, too) and Biggs has a proven track record of success.

cal davis has a pretty tough schedule. They were young last season but we'll see how they fare in their rough stretches during the season:

-vs Azuza Pacific - W - non counter scrimmage win here
-@ San Jose State - L - SJSU is not as awful as they have been in recent years
-@ South Dakota State - toss up - no idea what SDSU returns but traveling to Brookings can't be easy
-@ CP - L - tough rivalry game following a long road trip
-vs WSU - L - WSU has had some turmoil this offseason but if they play to their strengths they should have a solid year
-vs MSU - L - MSU should win this
-@ ISU - W - Possible toss up, I'll give cal davis the edge here
-@ NAU - L - Playing at elevation and trying to stop Bauman will be tough
-vs PSU - L - PSU has been on an upswing, if they have a capable QB PSU should have a solid year
-bye
-@ EWU - L - Padron will be the best FCS QB ever...at least according to SE
-vs Sac State - toss up - rivalry game with coming off a loss to EWU and Sac coming off of a bye

4, maybe 5 wins max.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Here's how I picked UCD's schedule…



-vs Azuza Pacific - W
-@ San Jose State - W - Apparently SJSU only returns 2 starters on defense or something
-@ South Dakota State - L
-@ CP - W - CP's weak pass defense will cost them.
-vs WSU - W - Weber may still be pretty raw early
-vs MSU - L
-@ ISU - W
-@ NAU - L
-vs PSU - W
-@ EWU - L
-vs Sac State - W

[SDHornet]

Here's how I picked UCD's schedule…



-vs Azuza Pacific - W
-@ San Jose State - W - Apparently SJSU only returns 2 starters on defense or something
-@ South Dakota State - L
-@ CP - W - CP's weak pass defense will cost them.
-vs WSU - W - Weber may still be pretty raw early
-vs MSU - L
-@ ISU - W
-@ NAU - L
-vs PSU - W
-@ EWU - L
-vs Sac State - W

Fair enough, I doubt they beat SJSU but I wouldn't be shocked if it happens.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Fair enough, I doubt they beat SJSU but I wouldn't be shocked if it happens.

They've done it before.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Here they are…

• Best Rushing Offense - Northern Arizona
  Worst Rushing Offense - Idaho St.
  
  Best Passing Offense - Eastern Washington
  Worst Passing Offense - Sacramento St.
  
  Best Overall Offense - Northern Arizona
  Worst Overall Offense - Sacramento St.
  
  Best Run Defense - North Dakota
  Worst Run Defense - Idaho St.
  
  Best Pass Defense - Montana St.
  Worst Pass Defense - Cal Poly
  
  Best Overall Defense - Montana St.
  Worst Overall Defense - Idaho St.
  
  Best Special Teams - Eastern Washington
  Worst Special Teams - Sacramento St.
  
  
  
  Best Quarterback - Denarius McGhee (MSU)
  Best Running Back - Zach Bauman
  Best Wide Receiver - Rodrick Rumble (ISU)
  Best Tight End - Josh Hill (ISU)
  Best WR/TE Corps - Eastern Washington
  Best Offensive Lineman - Danny Kistler (UMT)
  Best Offensive Line - Portland St.
  
  Best Defensive Lineman - Zach Minter (MSU)
  Best Defensive Line - Montana St.
  Best Linebacker - Clarence Bumpas (UNC)
  Best LB Corps - Montana
  Best Defensive Back - Matt Hermanson (UMT)
  Best Secondary - Montana St.
  
  Best Kicker - Zach Brown (PSU)
  Best Punter - Jake Miller (EWU)
  Best Ret. Specialist - Dominic Gunn (UNC)
  Best Return Team - Montana

[SuperHornet]

Again, no.

We have upgraded our kicking position, and we have fairly decent coverage teams. Sac State will not likely challenge Zach Brown for best in the league, but the Hornets will be nowhere near the worst in the league in special teams, either.

You can probably pencil in ISU or UNC for that dubious distinction.

[Grizalltheway]

Again, no.

We have upgraded our kicking position, and we have fairly decent coverage teams. Sac State will not likely challenge Zach Brown for best in the league, but the Hornets will be nowhere near the worst in the league in special teams, either.

You can probably pencil in ISU or UNC for that dubious distinction.

Give it a rest, already. The guy clearly knows what he's talking about, you're a hopelessly subjective homer.

[AZGrizFan]

Here they are…

• Best Rushing Offense - Montana St.

Perhaps you haven't been paying attention to MSU's O-line woes.

[Catattack]

Here they are…

• Best Rushing Offense - Montana St.

Perhaps you haven't been paying attention to MSU's O-line woes.

please elaborate.

[kittiekop]

Here they are…

• Best Rushing Offense - Montana St.

Perhaps you haven't been paying attention to MSU's O-line woes.

Define "woes". They're certainly "unproven", but in fall scrimmages certainly held their own against their own defense and improved steadily since spring. Definitely some talent in there, but no one will no for certain until the games start next Thursday. A question mark? Definitely. A woe? No. Woeful was three years ago when our entire kicking staff was down with the flu for the trip to EWU. Our kicking game that day was woeful.