Big Sky Power Rankings 9-25

[JALMOND]

Obviously, in order to claim the conference championship, a team needs to win on the road. This is something that is proving quite difficult for most teams in the Big Sky. Teams that look unbeatable at home seem to look rather lost on the road. September is over now and October is when separation occurs. However, this is when two or three teams emerge from the pack and show dominance. This year in the conference, it seems there are five teams that still could win it. Here are this week's power rankings in the Big Sky. All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion. This week (last week)

1. Montana State (1)---A true contender needs to win on the road especially in hostile places and last week, the Bobcats took a good win at Eastern Washington. It is early, but a win at the defending national champions could go a long way towards a title. This week, the Bobcats need to keep it going as they welcome Sacramento State to their own field. Can't afford a slip up.

2. Weber State (3)---A road win is always a good place to start in a team's quest for a title and the Wildcats got a good win at Northern Colorado. What started as a rebuilding project with what they lost from last year is quickly becoming a good story in the conference view. Whether they can keep it up is a guess as this week they head to Eastern Washington. A true test to see if they do belong.

3. Sacramento State (5)---On the edge of becoming irrelevant and entertaining a strong Montana team, the Hornets got an impressive victory at home. With their first win over the Grizzlies, the Hornets righted the ship and entered the conference race again. Whether they can keep it going remains to be seen as they now hit the road and go to Montana State.

4. Montana (2)---The good feelings from great home wins for the Grizzlies went by the wayside as they took it on the chin at Sacramento State. Good games at home bode well, as long as they can follow them with wins on the road. This week they get to stay at home as face conference basement Northern Colorado. Should be a good opportunity to get back on track.

5. Eastern Washington (4)---Is this what the defending national champion Eagles wanted? Failure to win on the road, yet compounded by losing at home to Montana State last week has the Eagles still searching for their first win for the year. Things don't get any easier as this week they entertain the upstart Weber State team, yet needing a win desperately.

6. Portland State (6)---While everyone was playing within the conference, the Vikings stepped up to the FBS level and played Texas Christian pretty close to a draw...in the first half. Then the Horned Frogs woke up and steamrolled past the Vikings. Still, good things appeared and could be used to work on for conference play. This week, they go on the road at Idaho State, a place they haven't won since 1999.

7. Northern Arizona (7)---Questions that have been plaguing the Lumberjacks all year are slowly getting answered. The defense has looked strong holding Idaho State without a touchdown and the offense is also beginning to gel, too. Being on a good roll is advantageous, yet this week, they get a bye and able to regroup for the rest of the year.

8. Idaho State (8)---Joining the conference funk of home over road, the Bengals looked like a different team last week at Northern Arizona than the one that destroyed Northern Colorado the week before. The offense that clicked before could not get anything going last week. This week, they are back home, entertaining a game Portland State squad.

9. Northern Colorado (9)---Still struggling along, the Bears welcomed Weber State to their home and, unlike the trend that is emerging in the conference, could not even stay within striking distance of the Wildcats. A few good signs were overshadowed by bad effort. This week, they have to head on the road to Montana, a place that does not treat visitors well, especially those visitors looking to win.

[wapiti]

The ranking looks good.
It seems odd that a 0 - 4 team would be 5th place and not last, but all 4 games were against quality opponents and EWU did play well in those losses and now BBQ looks to be another quailty opponent.
Will they avoid 0 and 5?

[Squealofthepig]

The ranking looks good.
It seems odd that a 0 - 4 team would be 5th place and not last, but all 4 games were against quality opponents and EWU did play well in those losses and now BBQ looks to be another quailty opponent.
Will they avoid 0 and 5?

That is the question - if they falter at home to the Wildcats, it won't be any easier the following week at the NAU gym, especially since the Jacks get an off week to prepare.

[JALMOND]

The ranking looks good.
It seems odd that a 0 - 4 team would be 5th place and not last, but all 4 games were against quality opponents and EWU did play well in those losses and now BBQ looks to be another quailty opponent.
Will they avoid 0 and 5?

When your only home game has been Montana State, and given how all the conference teams have struggled on the road so far, I believe I can make a good argument for EWU at #5. Stepping up to play the Pac-12, followed by road games at South Dakota (an underrated FCS home team who gave Northern Iowa fits there last year) and Montana (we all know about that place) would have been tough for anyone. The bottom 4 still have many questions and none of them have done anything to merit a move past EWU. Portland State has beaten NAU, but does that really trump EWU's games against Montana and Montana State. NAU beat Idaho State at home but they still lost to PSU. The gap may be closing but EWU right now is a good fit at #5 even with an 0-4 record.

[Walkon79]

I would agree with EWU at #5 for now. Lose to Weber and they should drop at least to #7. The other four at the bottom don't have a signature win, yet...

I also don't think Weber is getting enough love from any of the polls, including AGS.

[Squealofthepig]

I also don't think Weber is getting enough love from any of the polls, including AGS.

I agree - a shame, as Weber is flying low and would be considered more of a spoiler than a contender. Only one home game so far (a thorough drumming of Sac State), a three point loss at Wyoming and a win at UNC (and a big loss at Utah State). They get SUU and Montana State at home, so have they the opportunity to make a major splash in the FCS too (and they always seem to play the Griz close, so a win at Wa-Griz isn't completely outside the realm of possibility).

[I Bleed Purple]

I don't understand the "rebuilding" label that posters posters put on Weber. Anytime a team loses its quarterback, it's a rebuilding year?

I understood being below the Montanas, the defending champ, and the upstart Sac team at the beginning of the year because of the loss of the quarterback and running back, but we had a backup that ran well, and the O-Line was coming back full. Our defense has been average for three, four years. I laughed when we were ranked behind NAU.

I guess I felt Weber could contend for a playoff spot if everything came together. Never saw the "spoiler" tag.

[wapiti]

Weber has fallen under the radar with the 2 FBS losses, but the 2 W's have been good blowout wins against FCS competition with one of them on the road. At this point Weber could take the Big Sky crown this year. This weekend's game in Cheney will be a great indicator if that continues. Good job BBQ.

[Squealofthepig]

I guess I felt Weber could contend for a playoff spot if everything came together. Never saw the "spoiler" tag.

I agree - just saying how I feel most other voters view Weber. Weber's remaining schedule, after all, is conducive to playoffs:

Current D1 wins - two. Need five for consideration:

@EWU - I do think this is winnable. The Eagles can right the ship vs. UNC later, and EWU may be able to sneak out of Cheney with a W. They're not favored, but it's possible.
vs. ISU - definitely winnable
vs. SUU - a good crowd here might help, and the Thunderbirds are definitely Go this year. One of the four toughest games remaining (UM, MSU, EWU, SUU)
@ Montana - not easy to win at Wa-Griz, but Weber always plays us tight - definitely a possible win
vs. Montana State - The Cats are good away from home - depending on the EWU/SUU/Montana games, this could actually be a game for all the marbles.
vs. NAU - Good to get the Lumberjacks at home
@PSU - Definitely winnable on the road, especially if Weber still has something to play for.

Two tough road games, and you get MSU and SUU (non-conf) at home. Scheduling wise you couldn't ask for anything better!

[JALMOND]

I don't understand the "rebuilding" label that posters posters put on Weber. Anytime a team loses its quarterback, it's a rebuilding year?

I understood being below the Montanas, the defending champ, and the upstart Sac team at the beginning of the year because of the loss of the quarterback and running back, but we had a backup that ran well, and the O-Line was coming back full. Our defense has been average for three, four years. I laughed when we were ranked behind NAU.

I guess I felt Weber could contend for a playoff spot if everything came together. Never saw the "spoiler" tag.

I understand where you are coming from, IBP. My tag on them as "rebuilding" was not just on Higgins. Bolen proved a quite capable replacement for Smith but he was gone this year. Tafuna (hope I'm close on spelling) was a good number two but I think he is gone as well (??). It also looked like most of the receivers were gone and Hoke had only carried a clipboard most of his career at WSU. I gave you guys credit for the O-Line but my concern was where the scoring would come from. The questions I had about WSU have all been answered positively and the Wildcats are legitimate contenders this year.

[alvinkayak6]

Sacramento State is the cinderella. I still like that win over Oregon State with Jeff Fleming and his receiver weapons. Sac State is 1-0 in the Pac-12!

[I Bleed Purple]

I understand where you are coming from, IBP. My tag on them as "rebuilding" was not just on Higgins. Bolen proved a quite capable replacement for Smith but he was gone this year. Tafuna (hope I'm close on spelling) was a good number two but I think he is gone as well (??). It also looked like most of the receivers were gone and Hoke had only carried a clipboard most of his career at WSU. I gave you guys credit for the O-Line but my concern was where the scoring would come from. The questions I had about WSU have all been answered positively and the Wildcats are legitimate contenders this year.

Well, the third string RB had 300+ yards last year, so he had experience. Hoke led a comeback win on the road at NAU last year, plus he played the running QB two to three plays a game last year, so the principle guys had a bit of experience. I didn't expect Hoke to have an interception rate of zero through four games, however.

[Walkon79]

vs. Montana State - The Cats are good away from home - depending on the EWU/SUU/Montana games, this could actually be a game for all the marbles.

I kinda penciled this in as one of the tough one's on MSU's schedule based on location. McBride always seems to put a good product on the field, so even with the losses in skill position areas, I always worry about travelling to Ogden.

[EdubAlum]

I agree - a shame, as Weber is flying low and would be considered more of a spoiler than a contender. Only one home game so far (a thorough drumming of Sac State), a three point loss at Wyoming and a win at UNC (and a big loss at Utah State). They get SUU and Montana State at home, so have they the opportunity to make a major splash in the FCS too (and they always seem to play the Griz close, so a win at Wa-Griz isn't completely outside the realm of possibility).

I'm not saying Weber isn't good, because they are. But EWU lost by 3 points to Washington, that clearly didn't turn out to be any indicator that we were a good team.

[Go Cats]

who you play the week before never will guarantee a win or loss the week after. To me football is a game of individual match-ups, you don't need to win every match up to win or loss games. you may only need to play 10 of them to a draw and win only one to be successful. The rest of the teams you play maybe able to stop the one match up you had the week before that made you successful and change the outcome to a loss the week after

[slostang]

Jalmond, I wonder where you would put Cal Poly, UC Davis, Southern Utah and North Dakota in your power rankings? I know we do not join the Big Sky until 2012, but you do such a great job with your rankings and I thought it would be fun to see where the 2012 new Big Sky teams would fall in your rankings this year.

[JALMOND]

Jalmond, I wonder where you would put Cal Poly, UC Davis, Southern Utah and North Dakota in your power rankings? I know we do not join the Big Sky until 2012, but you do such a great job with your rankings and I thought it would be fun to see where the 2012 new Big Sky teams would fall in your rankings this year.

I don't really know. I favor outcomes in conference games more than non-conference games although SUU's win over UNLV would have given them a big jump. Also, not everyone in both conferences play each other this year (this is one of the few times that Portland State doesn't even play UC-Davis). Next year will be interesting and I'm pretty sure I will be VERY busy next year.