Big Sky Pick'em Week 2

[wapiti]

Morehead State 10 @ MSU 49 MSU takes foot off the gas pedal part way through the 3rd quarter.

EWU 13 @ Oregon 45 Oregon is primed for a cupcake game

South Dakota 17 @ UM 35 UM should have another easy win.

PSU 10 @ Washington 38 PSU is going from the frying pan and into the fire.

UNCU 17 @ Wyoming 55 UNCU may get some garbage time points

San Diego 17 @ CP 28 San Diego played down a division last weekend and romped while CP played FBS and was beat. I predict a CP win, but it may be closer then they would like.

NAU 13 @ Sam Houston 24 SHU is transitioning to FBS and may have a few more Scholly's than NAU, but that will not be the reason for a SH win. SH is the better team.

UCD 17 @ South Dakota State 27 Big Sky game of the week. 2 good teams, but one is more polished and is at home

Weber 24 @ Utah State 21 I am going to pick an upset in this one. Utah state was embarrassed against Alabama and BBQ has the potential to pull it off.

UI 14 @ Indiana 38 Indiana is a step up from Washington State and Idaho could not beat WSU. (I see that these 2 played last season and Indiana won 56 - 14)

Idaho State 10 @ San Diego State 62 ISU playing another FBS and this time it is a decent FBS team.

[MSUBobcat]

Morehead State 6 @ Montana State 49 - This could be a wide range of scores, depending on when the 2nd and 3rd teams take the field
EWU 17 @ Oregon 56 - Oregon looking to exact revenge for last week's drubbing by the Dawgs and I was not impressed by EWU needing a late game-winning TD against a weak team.
South Dakota 16 @ Montana 34 - Griz at home yields stalled drives ending in FG's for the 'Yotes.
PSU 17 @ Washington 31 - Portland State nearly pulled an FBS win last week. Tougher competition this week, but it's a bit of a trap game for UW and they may be looking ahead a bit to facing a ranked Michigan State team.
NoNo 10 @ Wyoming 56 - I'm at a loss for how bad the teddy bears are.
San Diego 20 @ Cal Poly 28 - I think this will be a good game. Going with the home team by a score.
NAU 17 @ SHSU 45 - Sam was the #1 seed last year, is transitioning to FBS (adding scholarships), and is at home. NAU looked inept against a meh ASU team. NAU loses by at least as much as last year.
Davis 10 @ SDSU 28 - I think SDSU would have beaten Cal last week, based on their performance against a better Iowa team. I would pick them by more that Cal beat the Aggies, but the Wabbit O needs to show they can score, so I gave 'em 28.
Weber 17 @ USU 27 - I would be more willing to agree with wapiti on the upset call had they not gotten absolutely decimated last week. Pride is on the line, and the Aggies hang on for a double digit win.
Idaho 24 @ Indiana 37 - Both teams seem improved over last year. CBS Sports 131 has Indiana ranked slightly lower than the Cougs, but the road trip is more daunting, so I gave Indiana a 6 more point spread.
ISU-0 13 @ FBS SDSU 38 - the Aztecs lost bad, at home, to a pretty bad Arizona team. If the Bengals hadn't gotten their clocks cleaned by a terrible UNLV team, I may be tempted to call an FBS upset, but it appears ISU is a really bad team.

Somewhat interesting (to me), of the teams that identify as states (i.e. University of.....), we have the Pacific NW to the plains covered this week (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota).

[dbackjon]

Montana State
Oregon
Montana
Washington
Cal Poly
SHSU
SDSU
USU
Indiana
SDSU

[JALMOND]

Interesting slate of games this weekend...

2 games against USD (San Diego, South Dakota)
2 games against SDSU (San Diego State, South Dakota State)
2 games against UW (Wyoming, Washington)
MSU playing MSU (Morehead State vs Montana State)
UI playing IU (University of Idaho against Indiana University)

[bonarae]

Montana State
Ducks
Griz
UDub
Wyoming
Cal Poly
SHSU
Jackrabbits
Weber
Hoosiers
Aztecs

[McCowboys]

Interesting slate of games this weekend...

2 games against USD (San Diego, South Dakota)
2 games against SDSU (San Diego State, South Dakota State)
2 games against UW (Wyoming, Washington)
MSU playing MSU (Morehead State vs Montana State)
UI playing IU (University of Idaho against Indiana University)

MSU likes playing MSU's -- last week McNeese State University.
The Cowboys play at FBS Rice Saturday. Rice is favored, but by a lot less than the Bobcats were favored over McNeese.

[JALMOND]

After the first week, I am sitting at 11-1 with the lone blemish due to Northern Colorado's game. The games are a bit more difficult this weekend but still non-conference, and all on Saturday. Sacramento State is sitting out this weekend but everyone else is playing.

San Diego (Pioneer) at CP---The Mustangs didn't look too bad in stepping up a level last week and now get to return to the FCS with a game against a non-scholly school who has given them problems in the past. But not this year...CP 28, San Diego 24.

ISU at San Diego State (FBS Mtn West)---The Bengals get to stay with Mountain West competition but they had two weeks to prepare for this game against one of the better Mountain West teams, and one looking to make a statement...San Diego State 45, ISU 21.

Morehead State (Pioneer) at MSU---Rolling, rolling rolling, the Bobcat team just keeps rolling along. Last week the Southland in a ho-hum game. This week the Pioneer in a ho-hum game. They need them as next week is not ho-hum...MSU 45, Morehead State 7.

South Dakota (Missouri Valley) at UM---The Grizzlies are hoping to continue their dominance on both sides of the ball as things do get more difficult with a Missouri Valley team coming to town. But nothing they can't handle...UM 34, South Dakota 10.

PSU at Washington (FBS Pac-12)---Last week was the easy FBS game for the Vikings as they controlled the game for the most part, except on the scoreboard. They may not get that luxury this weekend with their trip to the Pac-12...Washington 27, PSU 16.

UNC at Wyoming (FBS Mtn West)---After their perplexing loss to the Southland doormat, the Bears non-conference trip gets much tougher with a step up to the FBS and on the road. Not much chance to make up for their loss...Wyoming 34, UNC 10.

NAU at Sam Houston (WAC)---By the time they got to Phoenix last week, the Lumberjacks were blown out to a good Pac-12 team. A return to the FCS awaits them this week, but the outcome does not look to be any different...Sam Houston 34, NAU 14.

UCD at South Dakota State (Missouri Valley)---Fresh off their opportunity last week against one of their Pac-12 brethren, the Aggies make a much longer trip to the Midwest for a game against a hungry (and great) FCS team...South Dakota State 31, UCD 10.

WSU at Utah State (FBS Mtn West)---The Wildcats showed last week that they can quickly put away a less inferior opponent. And, based on the scores last week, the Mountain West may be a bit down. Chance for an upset? Close...Utah State 27, WSU 24.

UI at Indiana (FBS Big 10)---The Vandals put together a good showing and game plan against a Power 5 opponent last week. They get another Power 5 opponent this week, but a longer trip and an opponent with more talent...Indiana 27, UI 17.

EWU at Oregon (FBS Pac-12)---In years past, this would be a good chance for the Eagles to get a big win. But after a close win at home last week and facing a bigger school who got embarrassed nationally, things may not be good here...Oregon 45, EWU 17.

[mvemjsunpx]

EWU 20-47 Oregano — Eastern's D has to play better than it did last week if they want any shot at upsetting a decent FBS

Portland St. 10-31 UDub — Are the Huskies better than San Jose? I would think so… I guess? xrotatehx

San Diego 14-38 Cal Poly — Even last year's Cal Poly team was able to beat the Toreros

Davis 17-42 SoDak State — I doubt this meeting will go much better for the Aggies than the last one did

Idaho 24-45 Indiana — Why is Indiana playing Idaho two years in a row? xchinscratchx

Idaho St. 6-30 San Diego St. — The rape scandal seems to be affecting the Aztecs, but I really doubt that's enough for them to fall to the Bungles

Weber 13-27 Utah St. — The Aggies won the three recent meetings by a combined score of 169-29

NAU 17-34 Sam Houston — Both teams coming off FBS smotherings…

SoDak 13-27 Montana — The Coyotes should be a good team, but they're probably not good enough to win a non-conference game in WaGriz

Morehead 10-55 Montana St. — Can the 'Cats beat Mercer's 50-point margin?

NoCo 7-31 Wyoming — Wyoming's last three FCS games have been decided by only one score… I don't see that happening this time xlolx

[Iridebikes]

Montana State keeps rolling.
Oregon beats EWU. Hope we're getting paid well.
Montana
Washington. Kudo's to PSU for creating a tough schedule.
Wyoming
Cal Poly. Beau gets a win.
Sam Houston. (it hurt to select SHSU)
South Dakota State
Utah State
Indiana
San Diego State

[MSUBobcat]

Montana State keeps rolling.
Oregon beats EWU. Hope we're getting paid well.
Montana
Washington. Kudo's to PSU for creating a tough schedule.
Wyoming
Cal Poly. Beau gets a win.
Sam Houston. (it hurt to select SHSU)
South Dakota State
Utah State
Indiana
San Diego State

EWU is getting $635,000 from Oregon. Picking up another $750k bag in Florida. EWU has 2 of the top 5 money games in FCS (this list is apparently far from complete). (https://herosports.com/2022-fcs-vs-fbs-payouts-bzbz/) It omitted at least the UNC-Wyo game (contract here (https://trib.com/sports/college/wyoming/pdf_8d5f920d-5ccc-5f75-8b15-ff643c57821c.html)) and both ISU-o games (one linked below, can't find the UNLV payout). Florida is the top money game and EWU has 2 of top 4 if you exclude the massive $1.3M Indiana agreed to pay Idaho back when they were still FBS. Big Sky conference teams have the top 5 payouts, and 7 of the top 11 (tied) if you include SUU, which was BSC when the contract was signed I believe.

This week's FBS money game payouts:

Idaho - $1.3M
EWU - $635k
PSU - $500k (also received $435k for last week's game @ SJSU)
ISU-o - $450k (https://fbschedules.com/idaho-state-adds-four-fbs-opponents-to-future-football-schedules/)
UNC - $400k
BBQ - $390k

[nevadagriz]

Question For Big Sky Fans. How Good of Coach and Recruiter is Coach Best at EWU.
Fiery Competitor for sure, wears his emotions on his sleeve how would you rate him as far as coaches go in the Big Sky?
Can he continue to recruit and develop players like his predecessors?

[MSUBobcat]

Question For Big Sky Fans. How Good of Coach and Recruiter is Coach Best at EWU.
Fiery Competitor for sure, wears his emotions on his sleeve how would you rate him as far as coaches go in the Big Sky?
Can he continue to recruit and develop players like his predecessors?

He's entering his 6th season as HC, so presumably last year would have been all players recruited during his tenure. They went 10-3 and last to your Griz in a rematch in the 2nd round. IMO, he seems like he's great at recruiting/developing OFFENSIVE players. But the defense is questionable.

[JALMOND]

After the first week, I am sitting at 11-1 with the lone blemish due to Northern Colorado's game. The games are a bit more difficult this weekend but still non-conference, and all on Saturday. Sacramento State is sitting out this weekend but everyone else is playing.

San Diego (Pioneer) at CP---The Mustangs didn't look too bad in stepping up a level last week and now get to return to the FCS with a game against a non-scholly school who has given them problems in the past. But not this year...CP 28, San Diego 24.

ISU at San Diego State (FBS Mtn West)---The Bengals get to stay with Mountain West competition but they had two weeks to prepare for this game against one of the better Mountain West teams, and one looking to make a statement...San Diego State 45, ISU 21.

Morehead State (Pioneer) at MSU---Rolling, rolling rolling, the Bobcat team just keeps rolling along. Last week the Southland in a ho-hum game. This week the Pioneer in a ho-hum game. They need them as next week is not ho-hum...MSU 45, Morehead State 7.

South Dakota (Missouri Valley) at UM---The Grizzlies are hoping to continue their dominance on both sides of the ball as things do get more difficult with a Missouri Valley team coming to town. But nothing they can't handle...UM 34, South Dakota 10.

PSU at Washington (FBS Pac-12)---Last week was the easy FBS game for the Vikings as they controlled the game for the most part, except on the scoreboard. They may not get that luxury this weekend with their trip to the Pac-12...Washington 27, PSU 16.

UNC at Wyoming (FBS Mtn West)---After their perplexing loss to the Southland doormat, the Bears non-conference trip gets much tougher with a step up to the FBS and on the road. Not much chance to make up for their loss...Wyoming 34, UNC 10.

NAU at Sam Houston (WAC)---By the time they got to Phoenix last week, the Lumberjacks were blown out to a good Pac-12 team. A return to the FCS awaits them this week, but the outcome does not look to be any different...Sam Houston 34, NAU 14.

UCD at South Dakota State (Missouri Valley)---Fresh off their opportunity last week against one of their Pac-12 brethren, the Aggies make a much longer trip to the Midwest for a game against a hungry (and great) FCS team...South Dakota State 31, UCD 10.

WSU at Utah State (FBS Mtn West)---The Wildcats showed last week that they can quickly put away a less inferior opponent. And, based on the scores last week, the Mountain West may be a bit down. Chance for an upset? Close...Utah State 27, WSU 24.

UI at Indiana (FBS Big 10)---The Vandals put together a good showing and game plan against a Power 5 opponent last week. They get another Power 5 opponent this week, but a longer trip and an opponent with more talent...Indiana 27, UI 17.

EWU at Oregon (FBS Pac-12)---In years past, this would be a good chance for the Eagles to get a big win. But after a close win at home last week and facing a bigger school who got embarrassed nationally, things may not be good here...Oregon 45, EWU 17.


Missed Weber and NAU. 9-2 for the week, 20-3 overall.

[Lumberjackfanbefore2012]

Here is my breakdown of what I've seen from NAU the last two weeks.
1. The offense is moving the ball, but they keep making mistakes. There were quite a few turnovers in the red zone yesterday against Sam Houston. The passing attack was exceptional.
2. Kevin Daniels has struggled to run the ball up until the 4th quarter of yesterday's game. I'm looking for him to have a monster game in the dome next week against North Dakota. If he can get the run going, that will take some relief off the wideouts.
3. The NAU secondary is disgusting this year. They played well in the games against Sam Houston and Arizona State. Big Sky teams who rely heavily on the passing game are going to struggle this year against NAU.
4. The NAU run defense has struggled a bit. That was the one thing that really kept the game out of reach against Arizona State. Fortunately, Sam Houston struggled to run most of the game. Teams that can run well are going to give NAU some trouble.

Overall, I'm happy we took down Sam Houston, but there is some work to be done on the offensive side of the ball. They could be a real dark horse this year if they can string some early wins together and get some confidence.

[dbackjon]

NAU!

[Lumberjackfanbefore2012]

NAU!
You have to think at some point this team is too talented (and probably better funded than the average fcs school) to be mediocre. Hopefully the SHSU game was a stepping stone in the right direction.

[wapiti]

You have to think at some point this team is too talented (and probably better funded than the average fcs school) to be mediocre. Hopefully the SHSU game was a stepping stone in the right direction.

NAU has been an inigma.
With the resources they have. Size of school. Population of Flagstaff plus surrounding area and ASU and U of A are not very good for P5 FBS level.
I have been perplexed by NAU being a middle of the pack Big Sky team.

Is Arizona lacking for High School football talent to draw from??

[dbackjon]

You have to think at some point this team is too talented (and probably better funded than the average fcs school) to be mediocre. Hopefully the SHSU game was a stepping stone in the right direction.

With the talent base and little competition for recruits in southern CA and Phoenix, we should be far better.

[Lumberjackfanbefore2012]

With the talent base and little competition for recruits in southern CA and Phoenix, we should be far better.
The Arizona high school football talent is definitely not lacking. Phoenix is a big market, and it draws attention from Pac 12 and Mountain West schools. ASU and Arizona have been incompetent at recruiting, so players tend to leave for California, Texas, Oklahoma, etc. NAU has picked up some solid talent the last couple of years. They have really started to specialize in picking up local players missed by ASU and Arizona. I think what is really killing them is their out of conference schedules have been some of the toughest in the Big Sky Conference. Last year they had Arizona, Sam Houston, and South Dakota. This year they have Arizona State, Sam Houston, and a ranked North Dakota team. I think the game against North Dakota next week should be winnable in front of a home crowd at the Skydome. Next week is going to tell us alot about this team.

[MSUBobcat]

The Arizona high school football talent is definitely not lacking. Phoenix is a big market, and it draws attention from Pac 12 and Mountain West schools. ASU and Arizona have been incompetent at recruiting, so players tend to leave for California, Texas, Oklahoma, etc. NAU has picked up some solid talent the last couple of years. They have really started to specialize in picking up local players missed by ASU and Arizona. I think what is really killing them is their out of conference schedules have been some of the toughest in the Big Sky Conference. Last year they had Arizona, Sam Houston, and South Dakota. This year they have Arizona State, Sam Houston, and a ranked North Dakota team. I think the game against North Dakota next week should be winnable in front of a home crowd at the Skydome. Next week is going to tell us alot about this team.

Definitely an interesting game. NAU is tough at home and UND is not a good road team lately, having won only 1 road game in each of the last 3 seasons (granted 2020 was an oddball shortened season). In 2019, they had a playoff-caliber team, yet only went 1-5 on the road, including a blowout to Idaho State.

[Lumberjackfanbefore2012]

If NAU can win a quality game next week, I could see them as an 8-3 or 7-4 team this year. The rest of their schedule gets easier up until Montana State and Weber State in the last three weeks. And both of those games are in Flagstaff. Or it could go thee other way in typical NAU football fashion.

[dbackjon]

The Arizona high school football talent is definitely not lacking. Phoenix is a big market, and it draws attention from Pac 12 and Mountain West schools. ASU and Arizona have been incompetent at recruiting, so players tend to leave for California, Texas, Oklahoma, etc. NAU has picked up some solid talent the last couple of years. They have really started to specialize in picking up local players missed by ASU and Arizona. I think what is really killing them is their out of conference schedules have been some of the toughest in the Big Sky Conference. Last year they had Arizona, Sam Houston, and South Dakota. This year they have Arizona State, Sam Houston, and a ranked North Dakota team. I think the game against North Dakota next week should be winnable in front of a home crowd at the Skydome. Next week is going to tell us alot about this team.

Yup - big test at the Skydome.

NAU has had a tough schedule OOC last few years.