Big Sky Power Rankings 9-9

[JALMOND]

Week 2 is in the books and the conference got another scalp against the Mountain West. Now before we all can pat ourselves on the backs and talk about how great this conference is, the conference also took another loss to the Pioneer Football League. Some things are becoming clear and some are still pretty murky. But most teams still have a couple weeks to work out the bugs before conference season begins. Here are this week's power rankings (last week's ranking in parenthesis). All are my opinion only. Some good games coming up this weekend.

1. Montana State (1)---Last week beat Maine (FCS CAA) at home 41-24, this week bye---The Bobcats left little doubt early in their game after welcoming the visitors from the far off East. After racing out to a 3-0 record which included a game on week 0 (an impressive FBS scalp), they are the first conference team to earn a bye.

2. Idaho (3)---Last week won at Wyoming (FBS Mountain West) 17-13, this week Albany (FCS CAA) at home---The Vandals were the team that put the FBS on notice with a gritty performance at Oregon, then following it up with a good win at Wyoming. They make their return to the FCS with a good home game this weekend.

3. Montana (2)---Last week lost at North Dakota (FCS Missouri Valley) 27-24, this week Morehead State (FCS Pioneer) at home---The Grizzlies looked great in the first half against their former conference mates, but could not sustain it in the second half. They welcome a Pioneer team this week, a conference that has proven to be the nemesis so far.

4. UC Davis (4)---Last week beat Texas A&M-Commerce (FCS Southland) 36-22, this week at Southern Utah (FCS United)---The Aggies got a strong win last week in taking care of business against the Southland conference. They go on the road this week, playing a former conference member who got a FBS scalp last week.

5. Sacramento State (5)---Last week lost at Fresno State (FBS Mountain West) 46-30, this week Nicholls (FCS Southland)---To date, the Hornets have played two Mountain West schools tough, yet only have two losses to show for their efforts. They come home this weekend and welcome a team from the Southland for a tough tussle.

6. Weber State (7)---Last week beat Portland State at home 43-16, this week at Lamar (FCS Southland)---In typical Wildcat fashion, the defense led the way until the offense could get on track and they earned a good home conference win. They step back out of the conference and into the Southland this weekend for a strong road test.

7. Northern Arizona (8)---Last week lost at Arizona (FBS Big 12) 22-10, this week at Utah Tech (FCS United)---Showing no fear, the Lumberjacks took on the #20 team in the FBS (their big brothers to the south) and played them tough the whole game. They showed they are a team to be reckoned with, and this week they move up north for another tough test.

8. Eastern Washington (6)---Last week lost to Drake (FCS Pioneer) at home 35-32 (OT), this week at SE Louisiana (FCS Souhtland)---The Eagles are still trying to figure out how they lost against the Pioneer league. Perplexing to say the least, they need to get back to football because they have another strong test on the road this weekend.

9. Portland State (9)---Last week lost at Weber State 43-16, this week South Dakota (FCS Missouri Valley) at home---The early conference test was too muck for the Vikings as they took it on the chin last week. Their difficult schedule means little time to wallow as they have their home opener this week against a top 5 FCS team.

10. Idaho State (10)---Last week beat Western Oregon (DII) at home 50-10, this week at North Dakota (FCS Missouri Valley)---With all the surprises going around the conference, the Bengals did what they were supposed to in beating a lower division foe. Their reward is playing the same team that is coming off a win over Montana.

11. Northern Colorado (11)---Last week lost at Colorado State (FBS Mountain West) 38-17, this week Abilene Christian (FCS United) at home---The Bears actually looked pretty decent in staying with their big brothers to the west for most of the game. They head home this weekend in welcoming a team from the United conference.

12. Cal Poly (12)---Last week lost at Stanford (FBS ACC) 41-7, this week Western Oregon (DII) at home---The Mustangs managed to stay with their intellectual brothers for the first half last week before slowly losing traction as the game went on. They are looking for their first win and they should get it this weekend playing a DII school.

RECAP: 1-3 out front, 4-5 just behind, 6-7 keeping up, 8-11 trying to keep up, 12 falling.

[wapiti]

have a slightly different ratings then you have. Here are mine.

1. Idaho --The Vandals are 1-1 and yet sitting number 1 over a 3-0 team? Either team could be set in this first position and I do not like to have ties.

2. Montana State --- Easily beat Maine in Bozeman. I think the Bobcats had a fair number of 2's and 3's playing in the 2nd half when Maine started scoring.

3. UC Davis ---I expected a bigger margin of victory over Texas A&M-Commerce (FCS Southland), but earned a W none-the-less.

4. Montana ---The Griz dominated the 1st half, but the Sioux dominated the 2nd half. It's better to dominate the 2nd half. The Griz next opponent is a Pioneer team which is 2-0 against the Big Sky this season.

5. Sacramento State ---Starting off the season with 2 FBS losses is a tough way to start the season and sets Sac behind the 8-ball for earning a playoff berth.

6. Weber State ---The first half was close, but then the BBQ took care of business in the 2nd.

7. Northern Arizona ---Played Arizona closer than expected. NAU is primed to move up, but who would they jump unless someone stumbles?

8. Portland State ---Took a road game on the chin in a conference game.

9. Eastern Washington ---Losing to Drake at home is a really bad loss.

10. Idaho State ---I almost put the Bengals ahead of EWU, but a win over a weak Div 2 team does not do that.

11. Northern Colorado ---Played a respectable game at Colorado State. As I said last week UNCU is showing improvement over last season and is primed to move up.

12. Cal Poly --- The Stang's kept the game close for the first half. Then Stanford came out of their slumber and put the game away.

RECAP: 1-2 out front, 3-5 just behind, 6-7 Have a chance, 8-11 Starting to fall behind, 12 way behind.

[MSUBobcat]

1. MSU (2) - The Bobcats looked like a well-oiled machine on offense and defense before yielding to the 2's and 3's. They scored 5 TD's on just 20 plays to start the game, including TD drives of just 2 plays each on the first 3 possessions. They also forced 5 Maine punts (1 of which was blocked) to start the game.
2. Idaho (3) - Idaho seems to have some dawgs in the trenches, battling FBS competition for the 2nd straight week, but coming up with the W this time. I totally understand putting them at #1. The only reason I didn't is because Oregon doesn't seem to be as good as advertised, struggling to put away a team from Idaho for the 2nd straight week (and needing both a kickoff and punt returned for TD's to do it) and Wyoming is a looking like a poor FBS squad this year. The battle in Bozeman 10/12 will determine if I am correct in my placement.
3. Montana (1) - The Griz didn't come out of the locker room in the 2nd half. 3 straight 3-and-outs to start the second half and long, sustained drives by UND allowed them back in the game. Their 4th possession got them in position for a long, game-tying FG, but it was unsuccessful. The offense needs to figure things out fast. Luckily, they bring in Morehead State to tune things up, before bringing in a playoff team that can't get the train on the track in Western Carolina.
4. UC Davis (5) - I debated flipping them with the Griz, but they started off slow against a weaker opponent and I believe UM would have won by more.
5. Sac St. (4) - Played a MWC club respectably for the 2nd week in a row, but still a 16 pt loss as a result.
6. Weber (7) - I was surprised how badly BBQ was able to thump Portland State. Back to back 4th quarter turnovers opened up what had been a fairly close game, down "only" 12 to start the 4th with the ball.
7. NAU (9) - Somehow the 'Jacks always play their big brothers tough and last weekend was no exception.
8. PSU (8) - The wheels fell off a bit in the 4th. The next 4 games don't get any easier.
9. EWU (6) - Losing to Drake at home... sheesh. After that performance, I'm not sure I see a win on their schedule until Nov. 9th @ NoCo, unless they find a way to win a road game at SELA this weekend.
10. ISU-o (10) - Did what they were supposed to playing down a level. Almost moved them above EWU.....
11. NoCo (11) - Surprisingly, they lost by the same amount of points as they did to UIW. Did not see that coming.
12. Cal Poly (12) - Followed up losing to PFL San Diego with a 34 point shellacking by Stanford.

Looking like a 2 horse race at the moment, 3-5 hunting a playoff berth, 6-7 jury is still out, 8-12 writing them off after just Week 2, some because they are that bad, others because their schedule is not conducive to winning enough games (PSU, ISU-o and maybe EWU if they aren't as bad as the Drake game has me thinking they are)