Big Sky Predictions 9-1

[JALMOND]

The cusp of college football (finally) and with more than half of the Big Sky teams playing on Thursday, I thought I needed to get the predictions out today. For the newbies to the conference, the way I distinguish between Big Sky teams and non-conference teams is that I use the common three (in a couple cases, two) letter abbreviations for the Big Sky teams (except for Sac St) and then spell out the name of the non conference team (including Brigham Young instead of BYU). Therefore, UNC is Northern Colorado and not North Carolina. Here are the predictions for the first week. Perfection is a must...

San Diego at CP---First game as a member of the Big Sky conference and the Mustangs get to play the Pioneer League's San Diego squad. Maybe a chance to work out the kinks, but San Diego could be formidable and not someone to mess around with, not that the Mustangs will...CP 31, San Diego 20.

EWU at Idaho---There was some scuttlebutt with the WAC's conference struggles that Idaho may be better served to move back to the Big Sky, so what a better way than to have the Eagles meet up with them in a non conference road game. In Moscow, of course...Idaho 33, EWU 30.

ISU at Air Force---There is some talent on the Bengals this year, probably more than in year's past so what they need is a good start to the year. But going to face the Air Force? Well, have to start somewhere...Air Force 28, ISU 7.

South Dakota at UM---Finally, a chance to put all the offseason mess in Missoula aside and start to play some football for the Grizzlies. Where everyone else in the conference are playing patsies or being patsies themselves, the Grizzlies welcome a formidable foe in South Dakota. A win would be a great start, a loss, well, don't think that way...UM 21, South Dakota 17.

Chadron State at MSU---A few years back, after an unexpected win at Colorado, the Bobcats pretty much folded the tent the next week against Chadron State so this could be a tough opener. But also, things change...MSU 45, Chadron State 7.

South Dakota School of Mines at UND---The first game in the Big Sky for the former Sioux squad and they get a former NAIA team making the transition to DII in South Dakota Mines. The Sioux looked great against lesser teams last year and will want to make a good impression for their new conference mates...UND 34, South Dakota Mines 14.

NAU at Arizona State---Quite the entrance in to the season for the Jacks with a trip down the freeway to Arizona State. This is the year for the Jacks to make some noise in the conference, but what will they do here...Arizona State 38, NAU 21.

UNC at Utah---The first game last year for the Bears was a home loss to the NAIA's Lindenwood. Now this year, they start on the road against the Pac-12's Utah squad. A different look for an improved team, but the same result...Utah 48, UNC 10.

Carroll College at PSU---This game will not be a pushover for the Vikings as Carroll boasts a very impressive resume in the NAIA ranks. Carroll will come in eager to make a good impression and the Vikings will need to combat that. This won't be like Southern Oregon last year, but the same result...PSU 40, Carroll College 17.

Sac State at New Mexico State---Last year, the Hornets shocked the west coast, going in to Oregon State and getting the win late in the game. They get rewarded this year with a game at New Mexico State. Can the Hornets do it again?...New Mexico State 38, Sac State 24.

SUU at Utah State---The first game for the Thunderbirds and their strong quarterback in the Big Sky and they head north to play Utah State. No doubt they will want to make a great showing for the new conference, but the opponent is still the FBS Utah State, who threw a scare early into Auburn last year...Utah State 41, SUU 20.

Azusa Pacific at UCD---Do the Aggies have an offense this year or will they need to rely on their defense in the high flying circus of the Big Sky? Time will tell, but they do get an easy game with newly DII (and former NAIA power) Azusa Pacific. But will it be easy?...UCD 20, Asuza Pacific 6.

WSU at Fresno State---One of the teams flying under the radar during the offseason was the Wildcats, but with the coaching carousel there, maybe it was expected. They start with a newly revamped Fresno State team, trying to regroup after a coaching change themselves...Fresno State 28, WSU 20.

[SuperHornet]

I believe that my Hornets will beat NMSU, but my lead pipe lock is EWU over Idaho....

[SDHornet]

Well done J. You know football season is here when J posts his weekly predictions.

And I would be ecstatic if the Hornets score more than 20 points this Thursday.

[dbackjon]

Great write up, as always!

[dbackjon]

Interesting - three games involve Aggies...(UC-Davis, NMSU and USU)

[Green Laser]

Interesting - three games involve Aggies...(UC-Davis, NMSU and USU)

I hope all three of them bite the dust this week!

[Screamin_Eagle174]

UNC @ Utah Utah 48 UNC 6
Sac St @ NM St NMSU 28 Sac St 16
SUU @ Utah St Utah St 31 SUU 17
Azusa Pac @ UC Davis UC Davis 38 Azusa Pac 10
EWU @ Idaho EWU 34 Idaho 24
Chadron St @ Montana St MSU 56 Chadron St 9
SD School of Mines @ North Dakota UND 48 SDSoM 10
NAU @ ASU ASU 35 NAU 17
South Dakota @ Montana UM 31 USD 17
ISU @ Air Force AF 41 ISU 7
SD @ Cal Poly Cal Poly 38 SD 13
Caroll College @ Portland St PSU 52 CC 10
Weber St @ Fresno State FSU 34 WSU 20

[Mvemjsunpx]

South Dakota at UM---Finally, a chance to put all the offseason mess in Missoula aside and start to play some football for the Grizzlies. Where everyone else in the conference are playing patsies or being patsies themselves, the Grizzlies welcome a formidable foe in South Dakota. A win would be a great start, a loss, well, don't think that way...UM 21, South Dakota 17.

Really? They lost a ton & were picked in the bottom three of the MVFC (last by TSN).

[Wildcat Ryan]

August 30th

Northern Colorado- 0
Utah- 41

Eastern Washington- 28
Idaho- 17

Yep I went there

Southern Utah- 17
Utah State- 38

Sacramento State- 20
New Mexico State- 27

South Dakota Mines- 3
North Dakota- 44

Chadron State- 0
Montana State- 48

Northern Arizona- 17
Arizona State- 41

September 1st

South Dakota- 24
Montana- 35

San Diego- 14
Cal Poly- 28

Carroll- 17
Portland State- 34

Azusa Pacific- 13
UC Davis- 30

Weber State- 14
Fresno State- 31

Idaho State- 10
Air Force- 38

[SuperHornet]

Interesting - three games involve Aggies...(UC-Davis, NMSU and USU)

I hope all three of them bite the dust this week!

While I DEFINITELY want NMSU to lose this week, I'd like to see the Manure Pile win quite a few games so that it means something when we take the rug out from under them at the end of the season. While it ALWAYS means something to beat them, it's MUCH more important if we make the playoffs and they miss on the basis of their loss to us....

[SouthDakotaGrizzly]

South Dakota at UM---Finally, a chance to put all the offseason mess in Missoula aside and start to play some football for the Grizzlies. Where everyone else in the conference are playing patsies or being patsies themselves, the Grizzlies welcome a formidable foe in South Dakota. A win would be a great start, a loss, well, don't think that way...UM 21, South Dakota 17.

Really? They lost a ton & were picked in the bottom three of the MVFC (last by TSN).

What he said....this isn't the same USD that knocked off then #1 EWU last year.

The Griz may not be the same Griz that came within 4 points of a NC berth, but still.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

I am predicting all the home teams will win.


UNC @ Utah
Sac St @ NM
SUU @ Utah St
Azusa Pac @ UC Davis
EWU @ Idaho
Chadron St @ Montana St
SD School of Mines @ North Dakota
NAU @ ASU
South Dakota @ Montana
ISU @ Air Force
SD @ Cal Poly
Caroll College @ Portland St
Weber St @ Fresno State

[EWURanger]

UNC @ Utah 42-7
Sac St @ NMSU 31-21
SUU @ Utah St 31-17
Azusa Pac @ UC Davis 28-10
EWU @ Idaho, 28-27
Chadron St @ Montana St 48-14
SD School of Mines @ North Dakota 31-14
NAU @ ASU 42-17
South Dakota @ Montana 24-21
ISU @ Air Force 48-7
SD @ Cal Poly 34-17
Caroll College @ Portland St 58-7
Weber St @ Fresno State 31-14

[frinq]

Re PSU vs Carroll, Burton doesn't run up the score. If we pull ahead by three or four touchdowns he'll substitute in the freshmen. I figure 36-21, assuming we can stop their running game.

[Mvemjsunpx]

Thursday

EWU 28-17 Idaho — The Vandals get a glimpse of their future: losing to Big Sky teams

Azusa 10-38 UC Davis — Bob Biggs's final season begins with a breather

Sac State 14-28 NMSU — The Aggies are bad, but not quite bad enough to lose to Sac

Suutah 21-48 Utah St. — USU isn't quite the pathetic mess they used to be

NAU 28-24 Arizona St. — I didn't pick this upset in my standings picks, but I didn't realize how much ASU lost

Chadron St. 10-56 Montana St. — Danny Woodhead's ghost ain't showing up…

NoCo 14-55 Utah — Next…

SDSM&T 3-45 NoDak — The Fighting won't have any trouble in this one


Saturday

Carroll 21-37 Portland St. — The Saints are an NAIA dynasty, but that won't be enough

San Diego 21-35 Cal Poly — The Toreros could give CP a tough game

Idaho St. 17-49 Air Force — Air Force lost a ton, but they'll still run over the Bengals

Weber 24-45 Fresno — The Bulldogs have a new coach, but they return most of their personnel

SoDak 10-38 Montana — Joe Glenn's Coyotes have a lot more questions than his former team does

[Darell1976]

UNC @ Utah Utah 63 UNC 0
Sac St @ NM St NMSU 28 Sac St 27
SUU @ Utah St Utah St 31 SUU 17
Azusa Pac @ UC Davis UC Davis 38 Azusa Pac 10
EWU @ Idaho EWU 34 Idaho 27
Chadron St @ Montana St MSU 56 Chadron St 9
SD School of Mines @ North Dakota UND 52 SDSoM 3
NAU @ ASU ASU 35 NAU 14
South Dakota @ Montana UM 45 USD 13
ISU @ Air Force AF 41 ISU 10
SD @ Cal Poly Cal Poly 35 SD 3
Caroll College @ Portland St PSU 52 CC 6
Weber St @ Fresno State FSU 31 WSU 28 OT

[kemajic]

CPSLO 27; San Diego 10
Idaho 34; EWU 17
Air Force 41; ISU 20
Montana 37; USD 13
MSU 41; Chadron 21
UND 38; SD Mines 10
ASU 41; NAU 17
Utah 51; UNC 10
PSU 41; Carroll 14
NMSU 38; SacSt 17
Utah St. 45; SUU 21
Davis 27; Azusa Pacific 7
Fresno St. 45; Weber 17

[AZGrizFan]

CPSLO 27; San Diego 10
Idaho 34; EWU 17
Air Force 41; ISU 20
Montana 37; USD 13
MSU 41; Chadron 21
UND 38; SD Mines 10
ASU 41; NAU 17
Utah 51; UNC 10
PSU 41; Carroll 14
NMSU 38; SacSt 17
Utah St. 45; SUU 21
Davis 27; Azusa Pacific 7
Fresno St. 45; Weber 17

[Grizalltheway]

CPSLO 27; San Diego 10
Idaho 34; EWU 17
Air Force 41; ISU 20
Montana 37; USD 13
MSU 41; Chadron 21
UND 38; SD Mines 10
ASU 41; NAU 17
Utah 51; UNC 10
PSU 41; Carroll 14
NMSU 38; SacSt 17
Utah St. 45; SUU 21
Davis 27; Azusa Pacific 7
Fresno St. 45; Weber 17

Make it +2.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Make it +2.

Yeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh......but I'm going to need some of these teams to come in to work on Saaaaaaaaaaaaturday.....yeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhh.....

[kemajic]

CPSLO 27; San Diego 10
Idaho 34; EWU 17 Idaho 3; EWU 20
Air Force 41; ISU 20
Montana 37; USD 13
MSU 41; Chadron 21 MSU 33; Chadron 6
UND 38; SD Mines 10 UND 66; SD Mines 0
ASU 41; NAU 17 ASU 42; NAU 6 (in the 3Q)
Utah 51; UNC 10 Utah 41; UNC 0
PSU 41; Carroll 14
NMSU 38; SacSt 17 NMSU 49; SacSt 19
Utah St. 45; SUU 21 Utah St. 34; SUU 3
Davis 27; Azusa Pacific 7 Davis 41: Azusa Pacific 3
Fresno St. 45; Weber 17

Missed big time on the Idaho/EWU game. Congrats to the Eagles on an impressive defensive effort.

[kalm]

CPSLO 27; San Diego 10
Idaho 34; EWU 17 Idaho 3; EWU 20
Air Force 41; ISU 20
Montana 37; USD 13
MSU 41; Chadron 21 MSU 33; Chadron 6
UND 38; SD Mines 10 UND 66; SD Mines 0
ASU 41; NAU 17 ASU 42; NAU 6 (in the 3Q)
Utah 51; UNC 10 Utah 41; UNC 0
PSU 41; Carroll 14
NMSU 38; SacSt 17 NMSU 49; SacSt 19
Utah St. 45; SUU 21 Utah St. 34; SUU 3
Davis 27; Azusa Pacific 7 Davis 41: Azusa Pacific 3
Fresno St. 45; Weber 17

Missed big time on the Idaho/EWU game. Congrats to the Eagles on an impressive defensive effort.

Thanks K. It's a long season, but at least a good start.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

CPSLO 27; San Diego 10
Idaho 34; EWU 17 Idaho 3; EWU 20
Air Force 41; ISU 20
Montana 37; USD 13
MSU 41; Chadron 21 MSU 33; Chadron 6
UND 38; SD Mines 10 UND 66; SD Mines 0
ASU 41; NAU 17 ASU 42; NAU 6 (in the 3Q)
Utah 51; UNC 10 Utah 41; UNC 0
PSU 41; Carroll 14
NMSU 38; SacSt 17 NMSU 49; SacSt 19
Utah St. 45; SUU 21 Utah St. 34; SUU 3
Davis 27; Azusa Pacific 7 Davis 41: Azusa Pacific 3
Fresno St. 45; Weber 17

Missed big time on the Idaho/EWU game. Congrats to the Eagles on an impressive defensive effort.

It's okay. I understand how your hatred of EWU could get in the way of common sense.

[uofmman1122]

Missed big time on the Idaho/EWU game. Congrats to the Eagles on an impressive defensive effort.

It's okay. I understand how your hatred of EWU could get in the way of common sense.

No offense, but I'm pretty sure kem hates Idaho way more than EWU, like most Griz fans.

[Darell1976]

Perfect on my pics so far.