Big Sky predictions---Week 5

[JALMOND]

Golly gee, is it already week 5? Seems like the year has just begun. Maybe its due to all the teams playing nonconference opponents to start. For whatever reason, this week finds a full slate of conference games on the docket. Now we'll see where everyone is. Going into this week, I am 23-3, pretty much expected as the games have basically held serve. Still, time to take chances...

ISU @ MSU---Two teams whose offenses never really showed up last week. Expected for the Bengals, not so for the Cats. Good thing for the Cats that the defense did. Look for the defense to once again win the game for the Cats...MSU 30, ISU 10.

NAU @ Sac State---The Hornets had PSU on the ropes in their conference opener, but let the win slip through their fingers. The Jacks took care of UNC somewhat easily. What to make of either team. Jacks have the makings of a great team, but the Hornets are playing at home, and home is usually a good place to be in conference...Sac State 26, NAU 24.

UNC @ Cal Poly---Odd number of teams in the conference means an odd team has to play nonconference and, because of that, the Bears play Cal Poly. The Mustangs looked shaky against DII Western Oregon last week, the Bears have looked shaky all year. Not much better...Cal Poly 38, UNC 7.

PSU @ EWU---Vikings OC Mouse Davis has coached the run and shoot for 40 years, yet last week he introduced a new wrinkle in it, known as the shotgun. Result, fewer sacks and White threw for 400+ yards against FBS San Diego State. The Eagles opened conference play as expected, a blowout at Idaho State. Eagles go to Montana next week, could they be looking ahead?...PSU 35, EWU 30.

WSU @ UM---Finally the Griz open conference play, against a game Wildcat squad. Griz rolling along as expected. The Wildcat defense made a strong appearance against MSU last week. Just like last year, can the defense hold the scoring down enough for the offense to win? Against the Griz, probably not...UM 27, WSU 10.

There are my picks. Maybe a stretch (PSU and Sac State), but really not too far off to think the Eagles might be looking at the Griz and NAU having to go to Sacramento and play a pretty impressive Hornet team. Let the games begin.

[GOKATS]

The only two games I differ are:

NAU over Sac. St. 24-17

EWU over PSU 27-21

[cats2506]

I might give you the Sac St. game, but I dont think PSU can pull it off, I would also expect a little higher score for that game.

[Proud Griz Man]

What about the Portland St. defense? Can they hold EWU under 30? I wouldn't say that San Diego St. is a juggernaught 1-A team, given that Cal-Poly SLO beat them in San Diego last year and held them to around 17 points. xnodx

[Blazerbird]

Eastern's not looking past PSU. Coach Wulff won't allow it. Besides, the Eagles aren't good enough yet to even think about that crap. They should be looking back at last year's shutout loss in Portland.

[DaGriz]

The Jacks took care of UNC somewhat easily

Weren't the Jacks down at half time?
I think MSU/ISU will be closer than that.
EWU/PSU is the interesting game. Hard to see PSU losing another one, hard to see EWU losing after the way they have played but I think you're right. PSU in a barn burner.
Weber plays us tough every year. I think that game will be closer than that as well. I bet we win by 7.

[CopperCat]

Eastern's not looking past PSU. Coach Wulff won't allow it. Besides, the Eagles aren't good enough yet to even think about that crap. They should be looking back at last year's shutout loss in Portland.

This is one of those games where we'll find out quite a bit about either team. Should be interesting. PSU is getting desperate, EWU looks to be getting on a roll. I'd like to think that PSU is getting something going, but I have to think that with Coach Wulff at the helm EWU is going to get it done. Good teams, good coaches.

[kalm]

I've said it before, but a huge game and a huge 3-game stretch for Eastern. If we go 2-1 against PSU, the Griz, and the Cats over the next 3 weeks, then we can afford an away loss at NAU in November. Plus, going into Missoula 4-0 would be a lot of fun. I know the Griz fans would be looking forward to it. xthumbsupx

[AZGrizFan]

I predict the Griz beat WSU by 21, then set the over/under @ about game end+30 minutes before a "Does Montana Deserve Their #(insert # here) Ranking"? thread is started by some jealous fan of another team.... xnodx xnodx xnodx xnodx xnodx

[Proud Griz Man]

I predict the Griz beat WSU by 21, then set the over/under @ about game end+30 minutes before a "Does Montana Deserve Their #(insert # here) Ranking"? thread is started by some jealous fan of another team.... xnodx xnodx xnodx xnodx xnodx

Wrong. NDSU fan will post "Montana undeserving of #1, only leads by 21 at half time". xcoolx :(

[SeattleGriz]

Weren't the Jacks down at half time?
I think MSU/ISU will be closer than that.
EWU/PSU is the interesting game. Hard to see PSU losing another one, hard to see EWU losing after the way they have played but I think you're right. PSU in a barn burner.
Weber plays us tough every year. I think that game will be closer than that as well. I bet we win by 7.

After reading what Coach Hauck said about Weber, I would tend to agree that it will be closer than expected.

To paraphrase, Coach Hauck said it doesn't matter what Weber shows on tape, they always come with something completely different, so it is hard to prepare for them.

[ncbears]

Golly gee, is it already week 5? Seems like the year has just begun. Maybe its due to all the teams playing nonconference opponents to start. For whatever reason, this week finds a full slate of conference games on the docket. Now we'll see where everyone is. Going into this week, I am 23-3, pretty much expected as the games have basically held serve. Still, time to take chances...

ISU @ MSU---Two teams whose offenses never really showed up last week. Expected for the Bengals, not so for the Cats. Good thing for the Cats that the defense did. Look for the defense to once again win the game for the Cats...MSU 30, ISU 10.

NAU @ Sac State---The Hornets had PSU on the ropes in their conference opener, but let the win slip through their fingers. The Jacks took care of UNC somewhat easily. What to make of either team. Jacks have the makings of a great team, but the Hornets are playing at home, and home is usually a good place to be in conference...Sac State 26, NAU 24.

UNC @ Cal Poly---Odd number of teams in the conference means an odd team has to play nonconference and, because of that, the Bears play Cal Poly. The Mustangs looked shaky against DII Western Oregon last week, the Bears have looked shaky all year. Not much better...Cal Poly 38, UNC 7.

PSU @ EWU---Vikings OC Mouse Davis has coached the run and shoot for 40 years, yet last week he introduced a new wrinkle in it, known as the shotgun. Result, fewer sacks and White threw for 400+ yards against FBS San Diego State. The Eagles opened conference play as expected, a blowout at Idaho State. Eagles go to Montana next week, could they be looking ahead?...PSU 35, EWU 30.

WSU @ UM---Finally the Griz open conference play, against a game Wildcat squad. Griz rolling along as expected. The Wildcat defense made a strong appearance against MSU last week. Just like last year, can the defense hold the scoring down enough for the offense to win? Against the Griz, probably not...UM 27, WSU 10.

There are my picks. Maybe a stretch (PSU and Sac State), but really not too far off to think the Eagles might be looking at the Griz and NAU having to go to Sacramento and play a pretty impressive Hornet team. Let the games begin.


No they didn't. It was a much closer game then the score appears.

[catbob]

ISU's offense show up last week, the problem is they turned the ball over 5 times. They did put up 400 yards of offense, including 316 through the air, and that was with 4 picks! The ground game struggled, but this is a team capable of putting up good offensive numbers. Butler replaced Hill last week as Hill was doing awful, and put up good numbers and only threw one pick (good for a Bengal this year).

Cats win by a TD.

[ncbears]

One improvement I will say about our squad this year is this: We are certainly back to being more physical. Our defense had a reputation for years as being very physical, hard hitting. I don't know what happened last year but we weren't physical at all. This year we seem to be back on track. Just ask NAU. Several comments were made by jacks players about how hard our defense was hitting them, especially our LB's.

[Ronbo]

I'm telling you guys I've watched Hauck develop over the last 5 years and here is his MO. The guy will not bury and embarrass a team. He plays the 2's quite a bit even in close games. If we get up by about 21 the 3's see quite a bit of action in the 2nd half. Most other Coache's wait till they are up by 40 to send in any 3's. Hauck goes to about a 80% run game at 21 point lead in the 2nd half and 95% run game at 30 point lead. In the 4th quarter he won't go for a field goal if we are up by 21-28 points, he'll run the ball on 4th and 8 from the 30 yard line. Last game against Albany he went for a 4th and 5 from inside the twenty late in the game rather than tack on a field goal. We turned the ball over.

This Griz Offense is capable of putting up 45 points a game but will probably end up the season at about 34 points a game. What's been interesting in the Hauck era though is that with our Defense I always seem very comfortable with a 14 point lead because the Defense makes it so hard for anyone to come back on us.

[putter]

2 years ago Weber came to Missoula for Homecoming and were about 1 foot from beating the Griz. They had a last second throw in the endzone that was just underthrown or they beat the Griz on Homecoming. The Griz will get everyone's best shot so I hope that Bobby opens the O up in the first half and puts these guys away early.

[already123]

NAU beat UNC quite handily....rolling up over 500 yards of offense. I'm not predicting a blowout by ANY means but I'll say NAU wins 24-17 over SAC....great game in Sacramento


Also, I think the best game this week is EWU against PSU...this will be a good test for both teams to see where they stack up. I'll predict that if EWU ROLLS, they'll be in the playoffs come november

[kalm]

Looking at the remaining schedules, I could see three teams out of the BSC making the playoffs this year. NAU plays Montana, at MSU, and EWU to finish the season. It will be very interesting if all four teams head into that stretch with 2 losses or less. toxthumbsupx

[catbob]

Looking at the remaining schedules, I could see three teams out of the BSC making the playoffs this year. NAU plays Montana, at MSU, and EWU to finish the season. It will be very interesting if all four teams head into that stretch with 2 losses or less. toxthumbsupx

The only way I see that happening is if the Griz finish in the top 5, the Cats finish in the top 10, and Eastern wins the autobid.

[kalm]

Cats lose to EWU and the Griz - and finish 8-3, EWU loses to NAU and Griz finish - 8-3, Griz lose to someone finish 10-1.

[catatac]

Cats lose to EWU and the Griz - and finish 8-3, EWU loses to NAU and Griz finish - 8-3, Griz lose to someone finish 10-1.

I don't think we'll make the playoffs if we lose two Big Sky games, but I guess it's possible we'd get in as a bubble team...

I guess another possibility would be... you beat the Griz, we run the table... but the Griz win all their other games, so we'd be at 10-1 with the Big Sky Crown, you'd have one loss so would be in for sure, and the Griz would only have 2 losses so would be there as well.... highly unlikely but would be cool to see 3 BS teams there this year.

[kalm]

Has an 8-3 BSC team ever not received an at large bid?

[biobengal]

Has an 8-3 BSC team ever not received an at large bid?

Yes, Idaho State in 2002. Idaho State was 8-3, BSC co-champs, with their three losses at Montana, Utah state, and Portland State by a combined 12 points. xmadx

[already123]

2003 NAU got an at lare bid at 8-3.....then proceeded to beat the number 1 ranked mcneese state quite handily on the road.....anything can happen. A n y G i v e n S a t u r d a y !!!

[kalm]

Or, on specific saturdays when at-large teams from a certain underrated conference face #1 ranked opponents on the road, in the last few years, as they case may be...xthumbsupx

[McNeese75]

Or, on specific saturdays when at-large teams from a certain underrated conference face #1 ranked opponents on the road, in the last few years, as they case may be...xthumbsupx

And in 2002 that same top ranked team beat BOTH representatives of a certain underrated conference. xrolleyesx

I understand about the continuing celebration over the upset in 2003. That was pretty much all that happened for the Jacks and Murietta in his career.

[Ronbo]

Yes, Idaho State in 2002. Idaho State was 8-3, BSC co-champs, with their three losses at Montana, Utah state, and Portland State by a combined 12 points. xmadx

I don't understand your not making it that year. You had a nice season.

Idaho State 2002

W
08-29-2002
48
Western Montana
7
Pocatello, ID


L
09-14-2002
33
Utah St.
38
Logan, UT


L
09-21-2002
9
Montana
13
Missoula, MT


W
09-28-2002
32
Cal St.-Sacramento
24
Pocatello, ID


W
10-05-2002
21
Eastern Washington
14
Cheney, WA


W
10-12-2002
18
Montana St.
14
Pocatello, ID


W
10-26-2002
34
Weber St. (UT)
0
Pocatello, ID


L
11-02-2002
24
Portland St. (OR)
27
Portland, OR


W
11-09-2002
46
Northern Arizona
20
Pocatello, ID


W
11-16-2002
24
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
14
Pocatello, ID


W
11-23-2002
42
Southern Utah
17
Cedar City, UT

[kalm]

And in 2002 that same top ranked team beat BOTH representatives of a certain underrated conference. xrolleyesx

I understand about the continuing celebration over the upset in 2003. That was pretty much all that happened for the Jacks and Murietta in his career.

Well yeah, if you want to go way back to 2002. Can we please try to keep the discussion relevant, and in the modern era? ;)

[CatFan22]

Yes, Idaho State in 2002. Idaho State was 8-3, BSC co-champs, with their three losses at Montana, Utah state, and Portland State by a combined 12 points. xmadx

Why didn't you get an auto-bid, being co-champs?

[biobengal]

Why didn't you get an auto-bid, being co-champs?

Is that a joke?

The Bobcats received the autobid........ I don't remember the criteria for the three-way tie but ISU was the only one left out.

[McNeese75]

Well yeah, if you want to go way back to 2002. Can we please try to keep the discussion relevant, and in the modern era? ;)

My response was to Already123 xcoffeex

[JALMOND]

Golly gee, is it already week 5? Seems like the year has just begun. Maybe its due to all the teams playing nonconference opponents to start. For whatever reason, this week finds a full slate of conference games on the docket. Now we'll see where everyone is. Going into this week, I am 23-3, pretty much expected as the games have basically held serve. Still, time to take chances...

ISU @ MSU---Two teams whose offenses never really showed up last week. Expected for the Bengals, not so for the Cats. Good thing for the Cats that the defense did. Look for the defense to once again win the game for the Cats...MSU 30, ISU 10.

NAU @ Sac State---The Hornets had PSU on the ropes in their conference opener, but let the win slip through their fingers. The Jacks took care of UNC somewhat easily. What to make of either team. Jacks have the makings of a great team, but the Hornets are playing at home, and home is usually a good place to be in conference...Sac State 26, NAU 24.

UNC @ Cal Poly---Odd number of teams in the conference means an odd team has to play nonconference and, because of that, the Bears play Cal Poly. The Mustangs looked shaky against DII Western Oregon last week, the Bears have looked shaky all year. Not much better...Cal Poly 38, UNC 7.

PSU @ EWU---Vikings OC Mouse Davis has coached the run and shoot for 40 years, yet last week he introduced a new wrinkle in it, known as the shotgun. Result, fewer sacks and White threw for 400+ yards against FBS San Diego State. The Eagles opened conference play as expected, a blowout at Idaho State. Eagles go to Montana next week, could they be looking ahead?...PSU 35, EWU 30.

WSU @ UM---Finally the Griz open conference play, against a game Wildcat squad. Griz rolling along as expected. The Wildcat defense made a strong appearance against MSU last week. Just like last year, can the defense hold the scoring down enough for the offense to win? Against the Griz, probably not...UM 27, WSU 10.

There are my picks. Maybe a stretch (PSU and Sac State), but really not too far off to think the Eagles might be looking at the Griz and NAU having to go to Sacramento and play a pretty impressive Hornet team. Let the games begin.

Looks like 5-0 this week. 28-3 for the year. Thank you Sac State and PSU.

[Peems]

I'm definitely most impressed with Sac St.

[Casey_Orourke]

I'm definitely most impressed with Sac St.


Sac St. is going to surprise some teams this year. They took it to us to the end. We were lucky enough to get some breaks to get those last two scores, but it could have easily gone the other way.

[SLO_LIFE]

...because the Defense makes it so hard for anyone to come back on us.

I agree...if by "defense" you mean those guys in the striped shirts at Wash. Griz Stadium.
xnodx