Final Big Sky Power Rankings

[JALMOND]

1. Weber State Wildcats
2. Sacramento State Hornets
3. Montana Grizzlies
4. Montana State Bobcats
5. Eastern Washington Eagles
6. UC Davis Aggies
7. Idaho Vandals
8. Portland State Vikings
9. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
10. Cal Poly Mustangs
11. Southern Utah Thunderbirds
12. Northern Colorado Bears
13. Idaho State Bengals

[uofmman1122]

Griz above Cats?

Really?

[JALMOND]

Griz above Cats?

Really?


Overall, yes. Griz have an impressive win over Weber the week before. Other than the win today, the Cats really don't have an impressive win. Cats also have a loss at home, and in conference play this year, the home team seemed to have a decided advantage in almost every game. Even with the win today (at home), I couldn't move the Cats above the Griz. Their home loss to Sac State is why I kept them behind the Griz.

[MTfan4life]

Griz above Cats?

Really?

It's tough to separate the 4 teams because all of them each have 2 really good wins. The argument against the Cats is that they're the only ones to lose to a team outside the top 10.
Here's what happens if you take each team as a blind resume:
Team A: blowout win over top 5 team and top 15 team. Losses to Top 20 team and top 5 team. 3rd best win is top 25 in Massey. 4th best win is #51 in Massey and soon to drop.
Team B: blowout win over top 5 team and top 15 team. Blowout losses to top 5 team and top 10 team. 3rd best win is top 15 in Massey, 4th best win is top 25 in Massey. 5th, 6th, and 7th best wins are all potentially top 40 in Massey.

Yes MSU has the head to head, but their wins drop significantly after their 2 best wins, and then drastically after their 3rd. So, it's reasonable to make the argument if you look at the whole picture. Still though:

For me, I have
Sacramento State - the only ones to beat 2 of the top 4...including a double digit win in Bozeman
Weber State - The only other with a road win among the top 4 wins...Probably best non-conference win
Montana State - simply peaking at the right time
Montana
UC Davis - Yes, they're 5-7, but their worst loss is a last second field goal on the road against a top 20 team. That's their worst loss. They still remain the only team to have had the ball inside the red zone with a chance to take the lead against NDSU in the 4th quarter. They deserve the 5th nod over EWU.
Eastern Washington - They pissed away their shot at one of the easiest schedules they'll face in Big Sky play. No Weber, no MSU, no Davis. There's no reason they shouldn't be 9-3 right now, wondering if they'll get to welcome San Diego to town.
Cal Poly - Nasty schedule as well that they didn't do too poorly with. Had MSU shaking in their boots, a missed chip shot away from beating EWU, and were still beating UND at the 2 minute warning.
Tied for 8th:
Idaho, Idaho State, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Portland State, Northern Arizona
At one point or another all 6 of these teams showed flashes of greatness. Unfortunately they also repeatedly wet the bed throughout the season.
Through October 12, ISU had a 7 point loss to UNI and call the coroner wins over North Dakota and PSU. Then they apparently started letting their dance squad fill in as replacements and they fell apart.
NoCo made sure to fight hard most times out. Picked up a win over Idaho when it looked like they were worth ranking.
Idaho beat EWU, took Weber to the wire, and won a thriller in Flagstaff. But they also got shutout by Portland State, a team that gave up 40 points a game to their other 7 Big Sky opponents.
NAU had a nasty schedule, but kept choking when they needed the marquee win.
SUU looked terrible at times, but they had flashes of excitement with the wins over ISU and NAU. Also brutal schedule. 5 road games against playoff teams.

Very weird year in the Big Sky.

[mvemjsunpx]

Overall, yes. Griz have an impressive win over Weber the week before. Other than the win today, the Cats really don't have an impressive win. Cats also have a loss at home, and in conference play this year, the home team seemed to have a decided advantage in almost every game. Even with the win today (at home), I couldn't move the Cats above the Griz. Their home loss to Sac State is why I kept them behind the Griz.

SEMO's gonna be in the playoffs, and MSU beat them by 3 touchdowns.

[JALMOND]

SEMO's gonna be in the playoffs, and MSU beat them by 3 touchdowns.

Cats win over SE Missouri pretty much on par with the Griz win over Monmouth, in my opinion.

[VandalBasher]

Vandal fans are torn about this year. Is this year an improvement? It was another 3-5 BSC record.

The positioning within the conference has improved with the same record. Talking badly about the coach's son, Mason Petrino, isn't fair. He gave his best. But, he wasn't DI (FBS nor FCS) ready to be a QB in the Big Sky. Will Coach Petrino be here next year? Probably.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Idaho_Vandals_football_team
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Idaho_Vandals_football_team
2018: Idaho tied for 9th with PSU at 3-5
2019: Idaho tied for 6th with PSU and UCD at 3-5

[GreatGreatGreat]

I think the separation between 1-4 is miniscule. Each game between the 4 is a toss up. I'm really looking forward to a rematch with Montana in Ogden. Similar (but opposite) of 2008.

[uofmman1122]

I think the separation between 1-4 is miniscule. Each game between the 4 is a toss up. I'm really looking forward to a rematch with Montana in Ogden. Similar (but opposite) of 2008.
If I'm being honest, if we have to have an early rematch with any of the Big Sky teams we played this year, I'm super happy that it's Weber State and not the other two.

I just think we match up so much better against you guys than against Sac or MSU.

Could be a different story in Ogden, though, and given our performance yesterday, my confidence has taken a pretty sizable hit.

[GreatGreatGreat]

If I'm being honest, if we have to have an early rematch with any of the Big Sky teams we played this year, I'm super happy that it's Weber State and not the other two.

I just think we match up so much better against you guys than against Sac or MSU.

Could be a different story in Ogden, though, and given our performance yesterday, my confidence has taken a pretty sizable hit.
Hey, in all honesty we should be more nervous about playing Montana but I just want another shot. Hopefully our long snapper won’t give you 2 short fields to start the game. Gotta take care of business against Wofford or KSU first.

[Grizzlies82]

I think the separation between 1-4 is miniscule. Each game between the 4 is a toss up. I'm really looking forward to a rematch with Montana in Ogden. Similar (but opposite) of 2008.

What is bizarre is how commanding each one of the wins were among these teams.

MT State absolutely destroyed Montana yesterday.
Montana absolutely crushed Weber State last week.
Weber State was nearly perfect on both sides of the ball in demolishing Sacramento St on the road.
Finally Sacramento State completely spanked Montana, and MT State (in Bozeman).

Cat fans may disagree with that last one but Sac State definitely let off the gas and was just trying to milk the clock. Final score made it look closer than it was.
Agree or not, the above results are odd. None of these games involved someone squeaking out a win. Each was well decided long before it was done.
Each win was impressive. However, I feel the most impressive was Weber's win in California. Hopefully Montana has a chance to beat Weber again (this time in Utah).

[GreatGreatGreat]

What is bizarre is how commanding each one of the wins were among these teams.

MT State absolutely destroyed Montana yesterday.
Montana absolutely crushed Weber State last week.
Weber State was nearly perfect on both sides of the ball in demolishing Sacramento St on the road.
Finally Sacramento State completely spanked Montana, and MT State (in Bozeman).

Cat fans may disagree with that last one but Sac State definitely let off the gas and was just trying to milk the clock. Final score made it look closer than it was.
Agree or not, the above results are odd. None of these games involved someone squeaking out a win. Each was well decided long before it was done.
Each win was impressive. However, I feel the most impressive was Weber's win in California. Hopefully Montana has a chance to beat Weber again (this time in Utah).
Totally agree. I think each team got a little too satisfied with their success and suffered the consequence of a beat down. Weber deserved to lose to UND but got away with it. The Montana beatdown probably will help us. You could tell our team had their fire back on Saturday.

[Grizzlies82]

Totally agree. I think each team got a little too satisfied with their success and suffered the consequence of a beat down. Weber deserved to lose to UND but got away with it. The Montana beatdown probably will help us. You could tell our team had their fire back on Saturday.


As ugly as the Cat/Griz was yesterday I'm not completely sure it "will help us" in any fashion. Maybe, maybe not?

Anyway, here is hoping all the Big Sky teams advance as far as they can. Go Griz!