Big Sky Predictions 10-10

[JALMOND]

Yeah, so I know this is late. Tough games this weekend means I had to put in some extra thought (or I did not like the first throws at the dartboard:D). Currently I am at 27-3 after splitting the four conference games last week. Here are the predictions for this weekend. All are totally my opinion and I am sure all will create good discussion. Here they are...

ISU @ Sac State---The Hornets got a big boost last week as they virtually dominated Portland State on the road. The Bengals were not as lucky as they looked typical at home against Eastern Washington. Even before last week, this game was pretty easy to call, last week just reinforced it...Sac State 28, ISU 10.

Cal Poly @ UM---The Grizzlies are coming off a bye week, yet they go out of conference to welcome the Great West power Cal Poly. Maybe the Grizzlies needed an extra week to shake off the effects of the close win at Northern Arizona. Even so, this game will not be an easy one...UM 35, Cal Poly 21.

NAU @ MSU---How good is the Bobcat defense. Good enough to win ball games as last week at Weber State showed. The simple object is hold the opponent down long enough to get the win. This week, though, the high powered Jack offense comes to town, an offense that has not been held down. Then again, the Jacks have not faced the Bobcats until now...MSU 20, NAU 16.

PSU @ UNC---A complete reversal from how the year was going for both teams last week. For the Vikings, a complete meltdown at home against Sacramento State after taking Weber State to the wire the week before. For the Bears, an actual chance to upset Northern Arizona on the road after looking terrible against Montana State at home. Who shows up here?...PSU 16, UNC 14.

WSU @ EWU---The Wildcats seem to enjoy playing a game of cat and mouse with their opponents this year, as evidenced by last week's game with Montana State. A final chance to get the win was snuffed out at the feet of the ferocious Bobcat defense. While all that was happening, the Eagles were once again getting their usual win of the year against Idaho State. First strong test for the Eagles, but the Wildcats are battle-tested...WSU 38, EWU 30.

[bpcats]

Yeah, so I know this is late. Tough games this weekend means I had to put in some extra thought (or I did not like the first throws at the dartboard:D). Currently I am at 27-3 after splitting the four conference games last week. Here are the predictions for this weekend. All are totally my opinion and I am sure all will create good discussion. Here they are...

ISU @ Sac State---The Hornets got a big boost last week as they virtually dominated Portland State on the road. The Bengals were not as lucky as they looked typical at home against Eastern Washington. Even before last week, this game was pretty easy to call, last week just reinforced it...Sac State 28, ISU 10.

Cal Poly @ UM---The Grizzlies are coming off a bye week, yet they go out of conference to welcome the Great West power Cal Poly. Maybe the Grizzlies needed an extra week to shake off the effects of the close win at Northern Arizona. Even so, this game will not be an easy one...UM 35, Cal Poly 21.

NAU @ MSU---How good is the Bobcat defense. Good enough to win ball games as last week at Weber State showed. The simple object is hold the opponent down long enough to get the win. This week, though, the high powered Jack offense comes to town, an offense that has not been held down. Then again, the Jacks have not faced the Bobcats until now...MSU 20, NAU 16.

PSU @ UNC---A complete reversal from how the year was going for both teams last week. For the Vikings, a complete meltdown at home against Sacramento State after taking Weber State to the wire the week before. For the Bears, an actual chance to upset Northern Arizona on the road after looking terrible against Montana State at home. Who shows up here?...PSU 16, UNC 14.

WSU @ EWU---The Wildcats seem to enjoy playing a game of cat and mouse with their opponents this year, as evidenced by last week's game with Montana State. A final chance to get the win was snuffed out at the feet of the ferocious Bobcat defense. While all that was happening, the Eagles were once again getting their usual win of the year against Idaho State. First strong test for the Eagles, but the Wildcats are battle-tested...WSU 38, EWU 30.

Sac State is going to walk all over ISU - 28-7
UM is playing really well and I think that Cal Poly is overrated at this point. UM 38-Poly 7.
PSU @ UNC - UNC wins 28-24. but game could go either way
WSU @ EWU - Eastern proves that they will crush a lot of playoff dreams this year since theirs are done as well. EWU 42-WSU 35

NAU @ MSU - NAU can pass on anyone. Both UM and UNC have very good corners and NAU torched them both. I don't see NAU turning the ball over 4 times. NAU wins 35-24 at MSU as the Cats offense has trouble getting on track and keeping up with Lumberjacks.

[slostang]

Sac State is going to walk all over ISU - 28-7
UM is playing really well and I think that Cal Poly is overrated at this point. UM 38-Poly 7.
PSU @ UNC - UNC wins 28-24. but game could go either way
WSU @ EWU - Eastern proves that they will crush a lot of playoff dreams this year since theirs are done as well. EWU 42-WSU 35

NAU @ MSU - NAU can pass on anyone. Both UM and UNC have very good corners and NAU torched them both. I don't see NAU turning the ball over 4 times. NAU wins 35-24 at MSU as the Cats offense has trouble getting on track and keeping up with Lumberjacks.

Cal Poly may or may not be overrated, but at least the Griz have enough balls to play us. How about the cats? After 7 straight losses to the Mustangs the Cats AD stopped answering his phone when our AD calls. What do you say, you ready to play an overrated Cal Poly team next year? I know we are looking for games.

[ncbears]

I'll go with UNC over PSU. It's homecoming, the weather is supposed to be horrible and no one will be there to watch. xbawlingxxbawlingx

[JackFan]

Sac State 24, ISU 6 – the woes for the Bengals continue and Sac State builds off last week.

UM 42, Cal Poly17 – I think the Griz are battle tested now as they pulled out that OT win against NAU, they had an extra week to get healthy and prepare for Poly which is dangerous.

NAU 38, MSU 31 – it seems like the key to this game will be which strength for each team will show up. That tough bobcat D vs the explosive jacks O. Which ever one sways the momentum wins.

UNC 20, PSU 13 – The bears looked hungry last week against the jacks and showed that they have a lot of fight in them.

WSU 28, EWU21 – Weber gets back on track and rebounds after a tough loss.

[saccat]

It is going to be 24 degrees and windy in Bozeman. I think that plays in the favor of the Cats.

MSU-21

nau-10

[laxVik]

The best thing to happen to PSU would be to lose the remaining games and get rid of the "JG" experiment once and for all. PSU's demise the last 3 years has been painful to watch and the excuse of "they were not my recruits until this year" is weak at best.

[Poker Alan]

Man oh man, I can't believe everyone who thinks we are gonna blow out Cal Poly -- I mean, I hope we do, but, I give them alot of respect, especially since Walsh is the coach and knows the Griz in n out from coaching against them at PSU. This game probably isn't decided until the 4th quarter, I hope the Griz win by 10.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

I'll bold who I think will win, my scores predictions have sucked lately, so I give up on that for a bit :D
ISU @ Sac State

Cal Poly @ UM

NAU @ MSU

PSU @ UNC

WSU @ EWU

I am going with one road win and I think the griz vs cp game is going to be close but I gotta give the nod to my griz. I think the NAU vs MSU game could go either way really, so the home team got my vote. I hope to watch as good of a game this week as I watched last week(msu vs wsu) with the griz getting the W xthumbsupx

[eagle1]

I'll take-

UM over Cal Poly 24-17
MSU over NAU 21-14
SAC over ISU 38-21
UNC over PSU 17-10
EWU over Weber 27-21 xthumbsupx

[DaGriz]

UM over Cal Poly. We'll probably lose one this year but I don't think it's during homecoming and after a bye against an injury riddled and young Cal Poly team.

PSU over UNC. No offense, but UNC might be the worst team I have seen in the Big Sky in a long time (now watch they'll beat us). I just think their offense can't score points and it really puts a little of pressure on their defense in a conference where most teams put up big numbers. PSU is struggling but they have a potent offense.

WSU over EWU. This Weber team is good. They are basically in the playoffs now. Pretty much one more loss and their post season hopes are all but done. So they just about need to win out. I think they win this one in a shoot out. This would be a fun game to go to.

NAU over MSU. This game is a coin flip. It all depends on what Cats team shows up. You know what you get with NAU. A high scoring team. If the Cats of last week shop up, they should win, especially at home in cold windy weather. If the Cats that played at UNC show up, I don't see them beating NAU. It seems like every year the Cats can't put it all together. Either they lose the games at home to the easy team and win the tough road games, or they can't win two tough games in a row or something like that. They always seem to self destruct when it matters most. Maybe this year they turn the corner and get a streak going where they don't lose until they play the Griz (:D), but until I see it, I think they either lose this weekend or they lose to ISU, a team they should beat.

Sac over ISU. They seemed to have finally gotten it together. Now can they keep it going? I think so. They better, they have a tough schedule ahead.

[slostang]

The best thing to happen to PSU would be to lose the remaining games and get rid of the "JG" experiment once and for all. PSU's demise the last 3 years has been painful to watch and the excuse of "they were not my recruits until this year" is weak at best.

laxVik, what do you think of Tim Walsh? I have been real impressed with him and the other coaches from PSU (Greg Lupfer, Saga Tuitele and Justin Woods) so far. He seems to be a great recruiter and the guys play hard for him.

[slostang]

Heading out for Missoula in 3 hours. Here is some pictures from our 2006 trip:

[JALMOND]

laxVik, what do you think of Tim Walsh? I have been real impressed with him and the other coaches from PSU (Greg Lupfer, Saga Tuitele and Justin Woods) so far. He seems to be a great recruiter and the guys play hard for him.

Walsh did a great job for us when he was here, making the transition from DII to I-AA/FCS. A traditional coach, he recruits great players who make great students. Week in and week out, the kids will be ready to play you can bet on that. I did not realize the other coaches were there, too. Lupfer is an excellent assistant, the team wanted him to replace Walsh when Walsh went to Army. I can remember watching both Tuitele and Woods play, they both are good examples of Walsh coached kids, maybe not top level talent, but they will play hard every week and put in a solid effort.

[wapiti]

ISU 10 @ Sac State 32 Sac State wins easily, unless they look past ISU, which case it is a close W.

Cal Poly 24 @ UM 32 UM Wins, not a blow out, but not close either.

NAU 24[B] @ MSU 23 I am still nerveous about MSU's preformance from their first 2 games. They seemed to have corrected some issues. but I fear those issues may arise again on occasion and cost the Cats a game

PSU 21 @ [B]UNC 27[B] Tough pick here. Which UNC team will show up? Which PSU team will show up? I say UNC finds their better team at home takes a W.

WSU 28 @ [B]EWU 32 Another tough pick. EWU proves they are playoff worthy over a good BBQ team. (If this game were in Ogden, then I would pick BBQ.)
Question is, will EWU's post season ban be lifted.

[laxVik]

laxVik, what do you think of Tim Walsh? I have been real impressed with him and the other coaches from PSU (Greg Lupfer, Saga Tuitele and Justin Woods) so far. He seems to be a great recruiter and the guys play hard for him.I was quite jazzed when JG and mouse were hired. I thought it would be a great thing. I think the run-n-shoot is archaic and one reason JG added a more balanced offense. In theory at least. I liked Tim Walsh. PSU may not have won conference titles under him but his teams were ready to play. In hindsight I wonder if he regrets leaving PSU for Army. But he's a good get IMO at Poly.

[slostang]

I was quite jazzed when JG and mouse were hired. I thought it would be a great thing. I think the run-n-shoot is archaic and one reason JG added a more balanced offense. In theory at least. I liked Tim Walsh. PSU may not have won conference titles under him but his teams were ready to play. In hindsight I wonder if he regrets leaving PSU for Army. But he's a good get IMO at Poly.

From what I hear he would not have left PSU if he knew they would only have 1 1/2 sesons to turn it around at Army. I know that Walsh had other opportunities to coach other places during his 14 years at PSU, but wanted did not want to move his kids around. He has nothing but great things to say about Portland and PSU.

I think that he will do a great job at Cal Poly. I know he like recruiting to Cal Poly. SLO is a beautiful town and he puts the recruits up at the Cliffs in Shell Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

[JALMOND]

I was quite jazzed when JG and mouse were hired. I thought it would be a great thing. I think the run-n-shoot is archaic and one reason JG added a more balanced offense. In theory at least. I liked Tim Walsh. PSU may not have won conference titles under him but his teams were ready to play. In hindsight I wonder if he regrets leaving PSU for Army. But he's a good get IMO at Poly.

Cal Poly is a good fit for Walsh, too. I believe he is from the South Bay Area (San Jose, but I could be wrong) and he has extensive knowledge about the California JUCO system. He'll get the student athletes (I emphasize student) to Cal Poly and will get the best from them. He's not an easterner, I believe that more than anything led to his return to the west after his buddy, Brock, was fired. I highly doubt he will leave anytime soon. He was at Portland State for 14 years so he does not subscribe to the Dennis Erickson notion of here one day, gone the next. He had many opportunities to leave and kept coming back. What happened in 2006 to Portland State would have tested the mettle of any coach.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

ISU 17 @ Sac State 38

Cal Poly 20 @ UM 28

NAU 27 @ MSU 28

PSU 17 @ UNC 27

WSU 31 @ EWU 38

[EdubAlum]

a lot of good games this weekend, i don't even wanna make any predictions but....

Winners are...
Sac State
UM
Montana State
UNC

not going to pick a winner of the Weber state EWU game....I think the eags can spread out the offense enough to win, but i wouldn't bet my life on it.

[CopperCat]

Ah what the heck. I'll give this thing a shot.

ISU 10 @ Sac State 27

Cal Poly 23 @ UM 27

NAU 20 @ MSU 23

PSU 31 @ UNC 20

WSU 30 @ EWU 24

[Walkon79]

Sac State
UM
MSU
PSU
WSU

[JALMOND]

Yeah, so I know this is late. Tough games this weekend means I had to put in some extra thought (or I did not like the first throws at the dartboard:D). Currently I am at 27-3 after splitting the four conference games last week. Here are the predictions for this weekend. All are totally my opinion and I am sure all will create good discussion. Here they are...

ISU @ Sac State---The Hornets got a big boost last week as they virtually dominated Portland State on the road. The Bengals were not as lucky as they looked typical at home against Eastern Washington. Even before last week, this game was pretty easy to call, last week just reinforced it...Sac State 28, ISU 10.

Cal Poly @ UM---The Grizzlies are coming off a bye week, yet they go out of conference to welcome the Great West power Cal Poly. Maybe the Grizzlies needed an extra week to shake off the effects of the close win at Northern Arizona. Even so, this game will not be an easy one...UM 35, Cal Poly 21.

NAU @ MSU---How good is the Bobcat defense. Good enough to win ball games as last week at Weber State showed. The simple object is hold the opponent down long enough to get the win. This week, though, the high powered Jack offense comes to town, an offense that has not been held down. Then again, the Jacks have not faced the Bobcats until now...MSU 20, NAU 16.

PSU @ UNC---A complete reversal from how the year was going for both teams last week. For the Vikings, a complete meltdown at home against Sacramento State after taking Weber State to the wire the week before. For the Bears, an actual chance to upset Northern Arizona on the road after looking terrible against Montana State at home. Who shows up here?...PSU 16, UNC 14.

WSU @ EWU---The Wildcats seem to enjoy playing a game of cat and mouse with their opponents this year, as evidenced by last week's game with Montana State. A final chance to get the win was snuffed out at the feet of the ferocious Bobcat defense. While all that was happening, the Eagles were once again getting their usual win of the year against Idaho State. First strong test for the Eagles, but the Wildcats are battle-tested...WSU 38, EWU 30.

4-1 for the week, 31-4 for the season. Glad my homer pick came through. Should have took NAU, though. It was their week for something good.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Correct Pick
Incorrect Pick
Actual Score
(-123) = Difference between predicted and actual point spread
APSE = Average Point Spread Error
_________________________________________________

ISU 17 @ Sac State 38
ISU 17 @ Sac State 38 (-0)

Cal Poly 20 @ UM 28
Cal Poly 23 @ UM 35 (-4)

NAU 27 @ MSU 28
NAU 23 @ MSU 10 (-14)

PSU 17 @ UNC 27
PSU 23 @ UNC 18 (-15)

WSU 31 @ EWU 38
WSU 31 @ EWU 13 (-25)
_________________________________________________

This week: 2-3
Last week: 2-2
Overall: 28-7
APSE this week: 11.6 pts
APSE last week: 17.8 pts
APSE overall: 12.4 pts

Well, 2-3 this week, so not too hot, although I did nail the ISU/SAC game on the head. I was riding the fence with the PSU/UNC game, as well as the NAU/MSU game, and I guess home field advantage coupled with the prior week’s performances dissuaded me into going with the wrong pick. I knew turnovers would be the key to EWU’s game with Weber, but I didn’t think it’d be us that committed the majority of them. Oh well, there’s always next week.

[DaGriz]

UM over Cal Poly. We'll probably lose one this year but I don't think it's during homecoming and after a bye against an injury riddled and young Cal Poly team.

PSU over UNC. No offense, but UNC might be the worst team I have seen in the Big Sky in a long time (now watch they'll beat us). I just think their offense can't score points and it really puts a little of pressure on their defense in a conference where most teams put up big numbers. PSU is struggling but they have a potent offense.

WSU over EWU. This Weber team is good. They are basically in the playoffs now. Pretty much one more loss and their post season hopes are all but done. So they just about need to win out. I think they win this one in a shoot out. This would be a fun game to go to.

NAU over MSU. This game is a coin flip. It all depends on what Cats team shows up. You know what you get with NAU. A high scoring team. If the Cats of last week shop up, they should win, especially at home in cold windy weather. If the Cats that played at UNC show up, I don't see them beating NAU. It seems like every year the Cats can't put it all together. Either they lose the games at home to the easy team and win the tough road games, or they can't win two tough games in a row or something like that. They always seem to self destruct when it matters most. Maybe this year they turn the corner and get a streak going where they don't lose until they play the Griz (:D), but until I see it, I think they either lose this weekend or they lose to ISU, a team they should beat.

Sac over ISU. They seemed to have finally gotten it together. Now can they keep it going? I think so. They better, they have a tough schedule ahead.


I was right on. I would be so pissed if I was a cat fan. This happens every year to them. They win the tough games and lose the games they should win. They always seem to have a let down after a big game.

[JALMOND]

I was right on. I would be so pissed if I was a cat fan. This happens every year to them. They win the tough games and lose the games they should win. They always seem to have a let down after a big game.

I thought 4-1 for the week was good. I didn't think anyone would be perfect. Good job, DaGriz.xthumbsupxxbowx

[CopperCat]

I was right on. I would be so pissed if I was a cat fan. This happens every year to them. They win the tough games and lose the games they should win. They always seem to have a let down after a big game.

Yup, and there are plenty of people that are pointing fingers because of it. We have the talent to win, but we aren't. Something needs to change, and quickly. This is the third year that Ash has been here and he has brought in plenty of good players to make this team better. We are seeing another 7-4 or 6-5 team this year, and that frankly is unacceptable. If we lose again next week, prepare for the fanbase to start calling for heads to roll.

[Silenoz]

For the first time in a long time (since the App State game in fact) I was pretty dissapointed to hear the Cats lost.

[JackFan]

Ok I can see bobcat nation being upset about losing on homecoming after a huge win the previous week, but most people on here are making it seem like they lost to ISU. I think its time that nau get a little respect. We took the griz to OT and then got a sold win in tough conditions on the road against a tough team in MSU. I think the jacks made a big statement on Saturday that they are for real.

[Silenoz]

I meant no disrespect to NAU (hell in the smack thread I laughed at the Cat fans predicting an easy win over a bad team), I just wanted Cat Griz to be as big as possible come November 18th

[JackFan]

I meant no disrespect to NAU (hell in the smack thread I laughed at the Cat fans predicting an easy win over a bad team), I just wanted Cat Griz to be as big as possible come November 18th

I totally understand, those instate rivalries are good when both are coming in strong. I was pointing more to the replies that hinted towards the fact that this game was a game the bobcats should have won. I think what it is, is that I seem to be the only jack fan speaking up for our guys on here, I just want others to understand that we finally have a team that should be feared i.e. WERE NO CUPCAKE

[DaGriz]

I totally understand, those instate rivalries are good when both are coming in strong. I was pointing more to the replies that hinted towards the fact that this game was a game the bobcats should have won. I think what it is, is that I seem to be the only jack fan speaking up for our guys on here, I just want others to understand that we finally have a team that should be feared i.e. WERE NO CUPCAKE

NAU is no cupcake for sure but MSU beat Weber at Weber last week and were looking like a playoff caliber team. Playoff caliber teams take care of business at home. Plus their running game looked pretty good against Weber and their D is pretty lock tight, so factor in the weather and NAU traditionally throws the ball a ton, I don't think anybody expected NAU to put up many points under the circumstances. Hats off to NAU, now prove your a quality team and beat Weber for us!

[Walkon79]

Ok I can see bobcat nation being upset about losing on homecoming after a huge win the previous week, but most people on here are making it seem like they lost to ISU. I think its time that nau get a little respect. We took the griz to OT and then got a sold win in tough conditions on the road against a tough team in MSU. I think the jacks made a big statement on Saturday that they are for real.

No argument here. I thought the NAU D won that game. Too many 3 and outs for MSU in the 2nd half and costly turnovers in the red-zone in the 1st half. Our D had another great effort but they were on the field too long.

And we also need to mix up the coverages going forward or we're in trouble. Too many wide open receivers across the middle against our soft cover 2.