Big Sky Power Rankings 8-19

[JALMOND]

So Montana State scheduled a game in Week 0 so I had to cut my summer early. Even so, it is still time for football and the conference race is shaping up to be interesting with 5 teams coming in with a legitimate shot at the title. Yet it seems every year someone comes from the bottom of the pile to surprise so this year probably will be more of the same. Here are my power rankings for the conference. I won't have any rankings next week so I've listed the games for both week 0 and week 1. As usual, all are my opinion only. Here we go.

1. Montana Grizzlies---Week 1, Missouri State (FCS Missouri Valley) at home---The Grizzlies need to find a quarterback but once they do that, they are pretty loaded everywhere, and the quarterback prospects are numerous. They will find their quarterback and once they do, there should be no looking back.

2. Montana State Bobcats---Week 0, at New Mexico (FBS Mtn West), Week 1, Utah Tech (FCS United) at home---The Bobcats also have a strong returning group and look to be in the thick of things as the season goes on. They get things going early with a week 0 game against a beatable FBS opponent, then come home.

3. Idaho Vandals---Week 1, at Oregon (FBS Big 10)---The Vandals come off a strong season last year, but an early playoff loss denied them a chance at the national championship. They have a tall order in their first game, but they should be in the middle of the conference race throughout the season.

4. UC Davis Aggies---Week 1, at California (FBS ACC)---The Aggies had a tough time at it last year, but they look strong enough to get back and contend for the title this year. Bolstered by the return of their top running back, things should improve for the Aggies this year.

5. Sacramento State Hornets---Week 1, at San Jose State (FBS Mtn West)---The Hornets have a nice streak of playoff appearances, but they hope to go further by the end of this season. Once the quarterback situation is resolved, they should be ready to make some noise this year and keep that streak alive.

6. Weber State Wildcats---Week 1, at Washington (FBS Big 10)---The Wildcats may have some holes to fill, but great quarterback play usually leads to good results in the Big Sky and the Wildcats have a good returning quarterback. Once the rest of the team catches up, they will be dangerous.

7. Eastern Washington Eagles---Week 1, Monmouth (FCS CAA) at home---The Eagles have been missing from the playoffs for awhile now, but they are hoping to make a return appearance this year. The returnees are strong and the holes are few, so they may be able to get back there again.

8. Portland State Vikings---Week 1, at Washington State (FBS Pac-2)---This year's Viking team may be the best they have had in years which should be good, but a brutal schedule has them playing most of the top teams. They won't make excuses and are hoping to show they can play with the big boys.

9. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks---Week 1, Lincoln, CA (NAIA Independent) at home---No one is talking about the Lumberjacks right now, but maybe they will be after the first couple weeks, if they can surprise some people. Good returnees, but some holes all around. If they can gel soon, watch out.

10. Northern Colorado Bears---Week 1, at Incarnate Word (FCS Southland)---Things did go so well for the Bears last year, so the only way to go is up. They should be improved this year but will they be improved enough to make some serious noise? Playing the top Southland team won't help.

11. Idaho State Bengals---Week 1, at Oregon State (FBS Pac-2)---The Bengals have some holes to fill, which is usually the case. They have some people to fill those holes, which is typically the norm. But they usually fail to make some strides to the top. Their top receiver came back, but do they have anyone else?

12. Cal Poly Mustangs---Week 1, at San Diego (FCS Pioneer)---Things look bleak right now for the Mustangs as the season starts. Still, the season starts with everyone equal. The Mustangs will be better this year, but will they be able to make some noise in conference play?

RECAP: 1-2 frontrunners, 3-5 contenders, 6-9 darkhorses, 10-12 maybe?

[bonarae]

Suggesting to possibly merge with the thread below FYR.

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?361574-Big-Sky-Conference-Weeks-Zero-and-1-2024

[JALMOND]

Suggesting to possibly merge with the thread below FYR.

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?361574-Big-Sky-Conference-Weeks-Zero-and-1-2024

I'm fine with that. I didn't know if I could put the rankings there or if it was just for picks. Some may wonder where they are.

[bonarae]

I'm fine with that. I didn't know if I could put the rankings there or if it was just for picks. Some may wonder where they are.

I'm fine with keeping the picks in a separate thread, which I created beforehand. That thread is also for in-game discussion and post-game analysis and opinions.

[SactoHornetFan]

I'm fine with keeping the picks in a separate thread, which I created beforehand. That thread is also for in-game discussion and post-game analysis and opinions.

The Big Sky Power Rankings have always been separate from game picks and should remain that way.

Also, and no offense Bonarae, but Jalmond has always started the Big Sky weekly picks thread as well. I think he should be allowed to continue that. He always does weekly rankings at the beginning of the week, then weekly picks a couple of days later.

Just MHO

[MSUBobcat]

So Montana State scheduled a game in Week 0 so I had to cut my summer early. Even so, it is still time for football and the conference race is shaping up to be interesting with 5 teams coming in with a legitimate shot at the title. Yet it seems every year someone comes from the bottom of the pile to surprise so this year probably will be more of the same. Here are my power rankings for the conference. I won't have any rankings next week so I've listed the games for both week 0 and week 1. As usual, all are my opinion only. Here we go.

1. Montana Grizzlies---Week 1, Missouri State (FCS Missouri Valley) at home---The Grizzlies need to find a quarterback but once they do that, they are pretty loaded everywhere, and the quarterback prospects are numerous. They will find their quarterback and once they do, there should be no looking back.

2. Montana State Bobcats---Week 0, at New Mexico (FBS Mtn West), Week 1, Utah Tech (FCS United) at home---The Bobcats also have a strong returning group and look to be in the thick of things as the season goes on. They get things going early with a week 0 game against a beatable FBS opponent, then come home.

3. Idaho Vandals---Week 1, at Oregon (FBS Big 10)---The Vandals come off a strong season last year, but an early playoff loss denied them a chance at the national championship. They have a tall order in their first game, but they should be in the middle of the conference race throughout the season.

4. UC Davis Aggies---Week 1, at California (FBS ACC)---The Aggies had a tough time at it last year, but they look strong enough to get back and contend for the title this year. Bolstered by the return of their top running back, things should improve for the Aggies this year.

5. Sacramento State Hornets---Week 1, at San Jose State (FBS Mtn West)---The Hornets have a nice streak of playoff appearances, but they hope to go further by the end of this season. Once the quarterback situation is resolved, they should be ready to make some noise this year and keep that streak alive.

6. Weber State Wildcats---Week 1, at Washington (FBS Big 10)---The Wildcats may have some holes to fill, but great quarterback play usually leads to good results in the Big Sky and the Wildcats have a good returning quarterback. Once the rest of the team catches up, they will be dangerous.

7. Eastern Washington Eagles---Week 1, Monmouth (FCS CAA) at home---The Eagles have been missing from the playoffs for awhile now, but they are hoping to make a return appearance this year. The returnees are strong and the holes are few, so they may be able to get back there again.

8. Portland State Vikings---Week 1, at Washington State (FBS Pac-2)---This year's Viking team may be the best they have had in years which should be good, but a brutal schedule has them playing most of the top teams. They won't make excuses and are hoping to show they can play with the big boys.

9. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks---Week 1, Lincoln, CA (NAIA Independent) at home---No one is talking about the Lumberjacks right now, but maybe they will be after the first couple weeks, if they can surprise some people. Good returnees, but some holes all around. If they can gel soon, watch out.

10. Northern Colorado Bears---Week 1, at Incarnate Word (FCS Southland)---Things did go so well for the Bears last year, so the only way to go is up. They should be improved this year but will they be improved enough to make some serious noise? Playing the top Southland team won't help.

11. Idaho State Bengals---Week 1, at Oregon State (FBS Pac-2)---The Bengals have some holes to fill, which is usually the case. They have some people to fill those holes, which is typically the norm. But they usually fail to make some strides to the top. Their top receiver came back, but do they have anyone else?

12. Cal Poly Mustangs---Week 1, at San Diego (FCS Pioneer)---Things look bleak right now for the Mustangs as the season starts. Still, the season starts with everyone equal. The Mustangs will be better this year, but will they be able to make some noise in conference play?

RECAP: 1-2 frontrunners, 3-5 contenders, 6-9 darkhorses, 10-12 maybe?

Minor correction, MSU is AT Utah Tech as the return game from a H&H agreement. The Bobcats first home game (Gold Rush) is Sept. 7 vs Maine.

[JALMOND]

The Big Sky Power Rankings have always been separate from game picks and should remain that way.

Also, and no offense Bonarae, but Jalmond has always started the Big Sky weekly picks thread as well. I think he should be allowed to continue that. He always does weekly rankings at the beginning of the week, then weekly picks a couple of days later.

Just MHO

They do stand alone on the other two sites that I post to (CS and Bigskyfans). However, I understand this site has more traffic that those two and therefore the need to consolidate what may be considered "similar" may be necessary. I am perfectly fine posting them where needed. Just let me know.

btw...My Mondays have been filled with a bunch of personal stuff since June. I may start posting the power rankings on Sunday.

[MSUBobcat]

My preseason crack at it, having not followed much, if any, recruiting classes and transfer activity.

1. Montana - I debated putting MSU ahead because of the uncertainty at QB and the amount of turnover on D (per Keeper's spreadsheet), but they went to Frisco, so they get the benefit of the doubt.

2. Montana State - The Bobcats return a pretty strong core from last year, though Chambers will be missed and there were some key players that transferred to "greener pastures". A deep playoff run is the expectation among Bobcat faithful.

3. UC Davis - They return much of the team that just missed the playoffs last year. Larison is a beast.

4. Sac State - Again, per Keeper's spreadsheet, the Hornets' D was decimated, returning a conference-low 30% of the tackles from last season. In a league with so many high powered offenses, this may be problematic. They also start the year with 2 FBS and a playoff team from 2023 in Nicholls.

5. Idaho - The Vandals had a nice playoff run, but lost some players that were absolute studs from last year's potent offense. They will be hard to replace.

6. Portland State - I believe they had another highly ranked recruiting class (if memory serves). This will be a weird ranking because I think they will be better than what their ultimate record shows. Their schedule is BRUTAL with 2 FBS and 2 AGS-ranked OOC games, and also getting all 6 preseason AGS-ranked BSC teams. And of those 10 games vs FBS/ranked-FCS, 6 are on the road. Depending on outcomes, PSU may be the best 2-10/3-9 team in the country this year.

7. Weber State - I wasn't sure if PSU or Weber should be #6, but they get the chance to settle it in an early-season conference battle in week 2 in Ogden. Weber is another team (1 of 5) that returns less than 50% of the tackles from the prior season, but even worse, returns by far the least number of snaps for the OL at a scant 20%. The next closest team is NAU with double the returning snaps at 40%. The QB may be running for his life.

8. EWU - The Eags have had a disappointing run for the last few years, but they return some key players at the skills positions, 80% of the offensive line snaps, and a respectable 68% of tackles from PY (though the defense wasn't all that good). They start the year with 3 winnable games (4, really, as Nevada looks to be a weak FBS) to build some momentum, but then hit murderer's row of 5 straight preseason-ranked BSC teams.

9. NAU - The 'Jacks get the distinction of being 1 of 2 teams (NoCo is the other) that returns less than 50% of the OL snaps (40%, 2nd lowest in the conference), combined rush and pass yards (38%) and tackles (45%). That can't bode well, even if the schedule is somewhat favorable with Lincoln (why do people keep scheduling this team?!), Utah Tech and only 4 of the 6 preseason ranked BSC teams.

10. Idaho State - The best of the rest, I guess. They return much of last year's production, with nearly all of the rush and pass ypg, 65% of the OL snaps and a conference-best 80% of the tackles, all adding up to Keeper's 7th-best in FCS overall rank (though I don't know how he calculates the "Offense/Defense Change" columns). Is it a good thing to be bringing back basically the same team that went 3-8.... maybe not optimal. But with all that experience, if the players take a step forward, they may surprise some folks this year. There OOC is so-so and they only play 4 of the 6 preseason-ranked BSC teams, and 3 of those are at home.

11. Cal Poly - Looking at the stats, Poly needs to break in a new QB. On the plus side, they return 80% of the OL snaps so they may be able to buy him some time. They also return a 2nd-best 77% of the tackles from last year. However, similar to ISU-o, is returning much of a team that didn't play very well a good thing? The start of the season is favorable to building momentum and confidence, however. They start @San Diego, then a sure-loss @Stanford, then DII Western Oregon, @ NoCo and finally home for ISU-o. A stunning 4-1 start should be the goal for the 'Stangs before the wheels fall off when the rubber meets the road, playing ranked opponents in 5 of the final 6 games.

12. NoCo - The dismal winless Bears are the other aforementioned team that returns less than half of..... everything. Perhaps given last year's results, that's the best thing for what ails them.

Tiers: 1-2 clear favorites for the BSC champs; 3-5 playoff potential; 6-9 also-rans; 10-12 never left the starting gate.

[Catbooster]

It's official - football season has started when Jalmond posts his power rankings.