Big Sky Predictions 10-5

[JALMOND]

After suffering through a brutal opening week of conference play, I am now at 42-10 for the year. That first week showed how competitive the conference is going to be this year which makes the picking all the more difficult. Therefore, a perfect week is possible, but not likely, and anyone who does achieve a perfect week deserves a pat on the back. Here are my predictions for this week's slate of games. Some good ones out there.

WSU at UM---The Wildcats will truly see how good they are as they move on over to the Grizzlies's den for a strong matchup. The Grizzlies are eaget to come home after a free for all last week on the road. Can the Wildcats continue on their feel good ways and come through with a win in a tough place to play?...UM 31, WSU 20.

UNC at MSU---The Bears took a tumble out of the starting gate and lost a tough one at home to their cellar dweller mates. They now approach the other side of the spectrum as they enter the Bobcats lair for a tough one. Meanwhile, the Bobcats are rolling and should not have any problem with this game...MSU 48, UNC 7.

UCD at PSU---The Aggies got a strong home win over a tough foe last week, opening some eyes in doing it. The Vikings return to conference play after a quick trip back east. Can the Aggies build on their feel good fortunes from last week and get a conference road win? Can the Vikings find their defense?...UCD 35, PSU 21.

NAU at UI---The Lumberjacks showed last week that they can compete this year with the upper echelon of the conference, at least at home. Can they do it on the road? A strong test awaits them against a disappointed Vandal squad smarting from a tough road loss to open conference play...UI 24, NAU 21.

ISU at CP---The Bengals welcomed the top team last week to their house and succumbed to a defeat. This game should be easier as they feel they are much better than one of the bottom teams. But the Mustangs come it riding a win on the road last week and this is at their house. Might be tough...CP 21, ISU 17.

[bonarae]

Griz
Montana State
UC Davis
NAU (Idaho sliding down)
ISU orange

[wapiti]

All games are in conference this week. Sac and EWU on a bye.

Weber 17 @ UM 35 --- Missoula is a difficult place for road teams to earn a W. Weber has struggled at home. They do not stand much of a chance in Missoula.

NC 13 @ MSU 45 --- Top conference team at home against the bottom ranked conference team. MSU may play 2's in the 4th quarter.

UC Davis 32 @ PSU 20 --- Davis just took down Idaho. This is a road game for the Aggies, but PSU is not like Idaho.

NAU 24 @ Idaho 32 --- Idaho in another game of the week candidate. Upstart NAU on the road against a reeling Idaho team.

ISU 24 @ CP 21 --- An improving Bengal team on the road against a weak CP team. I think the Bengals are good enough to overcome the home field advantage CP has.

[MSUBobcat]

Weber 20 @ UM 31 - Griz seem to play to the level of their competition (with the exception of Morehead, who they were unable to lower they play far enough to). They'll get a solid home win, but I don't think it will be a blowout.
UNC 10 @ MSU 52 - The Bears lost to Cal Poly at home FFS. Another bloodbath for the Cats.
UC Davis 38 @ PSU 24 - Davis is a solid team. PSU appears to have no defense.
NAU 17 @ Idaho 27 - Idaho came so close to forcing OT at a good Aggies team. Some home cookin' gets them back on track against a resurgent Lumberjacks team.
ISU-o 27 @ Cal Poly 20 - The Bengals are improved over the last few years, while Poly appears pretty similar to previous years. Going with the Bungles to get a road W. Therefore, Poly will win.....

[mvemjsunpx]

Davis 34-27 Portland St. — The Aggies have been something of a "play to their opponents' level" team so far

Idaho St. 27-30 Cal Poly — The 'Stangs finally showed some signs of life last week

NAU 10-24 Idaho — Can the 'Jacks pull another big upset in a different dome?

Weber 21-34 Montana — The Griz had 701 yards in Cheney. The school record? 717 against Weber in 1999…

NololColol 0-38 Montana St. — The Bear program has now hit rock bottom… like "pulling out The Bible in a roach motel"-level rock bottom

[wapiti]

@jalmond Are you ok?

[JALMOND]

@jalmond Are you ok?

xnottalkingxxnottalkingxxnottalkingx

Hey, I picked the winner in that game. So far I missed the Griz game, like everyone else.

[FUBeAR]

xnottalkingxxnottalkingxxnottalkingx

Hey, I picked the winner in that game. So far I missed the Griz game, like everyone else.
Your Viks played a great game that was, unfortunately, stolen from them.

Adding the :01 back on the clock was the right call, but the TD was a total gaffe.

The well-fed Offical that was on top of the play ruling it a TD when the ball may not have even crossed the 1 yard line must’ve had the Big Sky league office talking to him in his earbuds! Probably didn’t have a good angle to overturn it on replay, but it wasn’t even close!

[JALMOND]

After suffering through a brutal opening week of conference play, I am now at 42-10 for the year. That first week showed how competitive the conference is going to be this year which makes the picking all the more difficult. Therefore, a perfect week is possible, but not likely, and anyone who does achieve a perfect week deserves a pat on the back. Here are my predictions for this week's slate of games. Some good ones out there.

WSU at UM---The Wildcats will truly see how good they are as they move on over to the Grizzlies's den for a strong matchup. The Grizzlies are eaget to come home after a free for all last week on the road. Can the Wildcats continue on their feel good ways and come through with a win in a tough place to play?...UM 31, WSU 20.

UNC at MSU---The Bears took a tumble out of the starting gate and lost a tough one at home to their cellar dweller mates. They now approach the other side of the spectrum as they enter the Bobcats lair for a tough one. Meanwhile, the Bobcats are rolling and should not have any problem with this game...MSU 48, UNC 7.

UCD at PSU---The Aggies got a strong home win over a tough foe last week, opening some eyes in doing it. The Vikings return to conference play after a quick trip back east. Can the Aggies build on their feel good fortunes from last week and get a conference road win? Can the Vikings find their defense?...UCD 35, PSU 21.

NAU at UI---The Lumberjacks showed last week that they can compete this year with the upper echelon of the conference, at least at home. Can they do it on the road? A strong test awaits them against a disappointed Vandal squad smarting from a tough road loss to open conference play...UI 24, NAU 21.

ISU at CP---The Bengals welcomed the top team last week to their house and succumbed to a defeat. This game should be easier as they feel they are much better than one of the bottom teams. But the Mustangs come it riding a win on the road last week and this is at their house. Might be tough...CP 21, ISU 17.

3-2 this week, although it feels like 2-3. Puts me at 45-12 for the year.

[AggiePride]

Your Viks played a great game that was, unfortunately, stolen from them.

Adding the :01 back on the clock was the right call, but the TD was a total gaffe.

The well-fed Offical that was on top of the play ruling it a TD when the ball may not have even crossed the 1 yard line must’ve had the Big Sky league office talking to him in his earbuds! Probably didn’t have a good angle to overturn it on replay, but it wasn’t even close!

You had the same terrible camera angles as all of us (so I don’t see how anyone can claim what happened with confidence), including the play by play team who backtracked once it got to review and they took a second look…. feels like their initial Homer call made this a thing

If it “wasn’t even close” it would have been obvious on one of the replays

[JALMOND]

You had the same terrible camera angles as all of us (so I don’t see how anyone can claim what happened with confidence), including the play by play team who backtracked once it got to review and they took a second look…. feels like their initial Homer call made this a thing

If it “wasn’t even close” it would have been obvious on one of the replays

My take on this, after seeing it live and watching the replays.

This is a textbook case of all of us putting a lot of emphasis on the officials. Close plays like this, we expect them to see 1) if the catch was made, and 2) if the feet are inbounds. In a case like this, we can add 3) did the ball break the goal line. The official is thus expected to have three sets of eyes in order to "see" all these things at once. They need to be able to utilize all the tools and technology to make the right decision. The official saw the catch was made and his feet were in the end zone, but didn't see if the ball crossed over the goal line. He did the right thing, though, and he was relying on the replay to show whether or not the ball did cross the goal line. Unfortunately, the bigger the game, the better the camera angles, and the Viks are not going to have as many camera angles at their home stadium as, say, Montana would at theirs. While I am pretty confident (from what I saw) that the ball did NOT cross the goal line, I am also pretty confident that there was no clear angles that showed where the ball was in accordance with the goal line. Therefore, the officials have to let the play stand. Had the initial call been that the receiver did not get in, I'm pretty confident that would not have been overturned either. Until we all get the same, consistent technology regarding replay at all DI stadiums and venues, we have to rely on what we have.

[AggiePride]

My take on this, after seeing it live and watching the replays.

This is a textbook case of all of us putting a lot of emphasis on the officials. Close plays like this, we expect them to see 1) if the catch was made, and 2) if the feet are inbounds. In a case like this, we can add 3) did the ball break the goal line. The official is thus expected to have three sets of eyes in order to "see" all these things at once. They need to be able to utilize all the tools and technology to make the right decision. The official saw the catch was made and his feet were in the end zone, but didn't see if the ball crossed over the goal line. He did the right thing, though, and he was relying on the replay to show whether or not the ball did cross the goal line. Unfortunately, the bigger the game, the better the camera angles, and the Viks are not going to have as many camera angles at their home stadium as, say, Montana would at theirs. While I am pretty confident (from what I saw) that the ball did NOT cross the goal line, I am also pretty confident that there was no clear angles that showed where the ball was in accordance with the goal line. Therefore, the officials have to let the play stand. Had the initial call been that the receiver did not get in, I'm pretty confident that would not have been overturned either. Until we all get the same, consistent technology regarding replay at all DI stadiums and venues, we have to rely on what we have.

Excellent take, and I agree, I certainly wouldn’t be placing any bets either way and feel extremely lucky to get out with a W.

I just don’t think anything about it is obvious. The angles we had for a play with someone going back towards the ball can be very hard to determine the exact plane it was at when he possessed the catch. I can’t help but think anyone watching is biased by the casting team, even your comment about the feet is something they said; we really don’t know what the ref saw. At the end of the day, that ref was at an angle to best make the call.

[AggiePride]

But If I had to bet… I would say within the half yard line.

[FUBeAR]

Excellent take, and I agree, I certainly wouldn’t be placing any bets either way and feel extremely lucky to get out with a W.

I just don’t think anything about it is obvious. The angles we had for a play with someone going back towards the ball can be very hard to determine the exact plane it was at when he possessed the catch. I can’t help but think anyone watching is biased by the casting team, even your comment about the feet is something they said; we really don’t know what the ref saw. At the end of the day, that ref was at an angle to best make the call.After further ‘frame by frame’ review on a view that was on X, FUBeAR is also recanting his initial assertion BECAUSE one can see on that view that the Receiver did not catch the ball with his hands. If he had, then FUBeAR’s and many others’ opinions would have been correct. It is clear to see his hands, when the ball arrives are extended out into the field (outside the goal line). BUT, the Receiver let the ball go through his hands and into his body before cradling it with his arms. From that view or any others FUBeAR has seen, it cannot, conclusively, be determined, either where his body is in relation to the Goaline, nor really see the position of the ball ‘under’ his body.

So … call on the field stands … not confirmed.

[lucchesicourt]

The one thing i did read was if both feet are on the ground in the end zone and the ball is caught against the body is that it is hard to say if the tip of the ball was not over the goal line.
And if it was then it would be a touchdown. A very difficult call

[caribbeanhen]

Your Viks played a great game that was, unfortunately, stolen from them.

Adding the :01 back on the clock was the right call, but the TD was a total gaffe.

The well-fed Offical that was on top of the play ruling it a TD when the ball may not have even crossed the 1 yard line must’ve had the Big Sky league office talking to him in his earbuds! Probably didn’t have a good angle to overturn it on replay, but it wasn’t even close!

I didn't know they had Shoney's in the Pac NW

My precession like depth perception and part time job as a teen tells me that ball was a medium Italian sub from crossing the goal line