Big Sky Predictions 11-5

[JALMOND]

After a soso result from last weekend, I'm at 39-11 for the year. Not bad considering how I started, but I am not pleased and would like a couple more perfect weeks to improve. This weekend's Big Sky slate seems to be some no-brainers, but there are a couple games that, while they could be considered upsets, people could sit back and say, "yeah, I had a hunch on that one." Here are my predictions for November 5's games.

Western Oregon at UM---After the Weber State game last week, the Grizzlies finally found their offense to complement that strong defense they've had all year. All that is left is to fine tune that offense and the DII Western Oregon team should give the Grizzlies that opportunity and then some...UM 47, Western Oregon 14.

MSU at WSU---The Bobcat train continues to roll on after their win last week over Idaho State. The Wildcats seem to have hit a crossroads in their season with not much left to play for, unless if it is a spoiler role. The Bobcats seem to struggle on the road however which could make this a tough game. Or not...MSU 31, WSU 27.

UNC at NAU---The Lumberjacks received some new life last week as they stole one on the road from downtrodden Sacramento State. The Bears showed some competitiveness at home last week, yet they still got beat by North Dakota. Both teams, however, are playing better than they were at the start of the season, which makes this game interesting...NAU 25, UNC 21.

Sac State at PSU---Obviously still feeling the effects of a sure win over Eastern Washington fall by the wayside in overtime, the Hornets stumbled at home last week against Northern Arizona. The Vikings, however, put that pesky Eagles team away. The Hornets should not feel too bad as the Eagles escaped from many teams. But the Vikings were not one of them...PSU 42, Sac State 20.

[MSUBobcat]

Western Oregon@UM - Griz destroyed WSU 45-10 and things are clicking in Missoula. Only reason to think a D-II school doesn't get blown out worse is because it is likely 2nd and 3rd stringers (and possibly 4th string and maybe some students from the stands in a walk-on roll) will be playing a large portion of the game. Still... UM 51, Western Oregon 13

MSU@WSU - As JALMOND already hit on, the Bobcats are not playing well on the road (see game @UNC) and Ogden seems to be a nemesis for MSU. Last week though, things were rolling for the Bobcats and the wheels fell off the BBQ grill, ending their miniscule hope of making the playoffs via the AQ. Hopefully the crushing defeat by the Griz demoralized WSU :p. MSU 34, WSU 24

UNC@NAU - Bears have shown marked improvement over the year. NAU has shown more during the year, playing PSU, UM and EWU close and beating ISU and Sac St. In addition to that, the game is in Walkup Skydome, which can be a tough place to play. NAU 27, UNC 21

Sac St.@PSU - Things are falling apart for the inconsistent Hornets. PSU appears to be hardly affected by the loss of McCaffrey, piling up 338 net rushing yards and almost 500 total yards. With how the Hornets seem to struggle on the road (yes I remember winning in Corvallis on a gutsy OT call), have to go with the dominating offense on their home turf. PSU 38, Sac St. 21

[Walkon79]

Western Oregon @ Montana 50-6 Tune up?
Montana State @ Weber State 24-14 Weather could be a factor but the MSU running game is pretty weather-proof. Could be much worse if Hoke isn't 100%.
Northern Colorado @ Northern Arizona 30-20 UNC is playing better, but no upset in the Walk-up
Sac State @ Portland State 30-27 in OT. This one is going to be ground and pound, but neither defense can stop the run.

No upsets this week, (I Hope) xsmiley_wix

[Walkon79]

[QUOTE=MSU@WSU - As JALMOND already hit on, the Bobcats are not playing well on the road (see game @UNC) and Ogden seems to be a nemesis for MSU. [/QUOTE]

Yeah, but we haven't lost there in awhile. I'm glad it's there and not at NAU, UNC or ISU. We've stuggled more there than Ogden in recent memory.

[MSUBobcat]

Yeah, but we haven't lost there in awhile. I'm glad it's there and not at NAU, UNC or ISU. We've stuggled more there than Ogden in recent memory.

This is true. Nemesis was probably a little stronger choice of word than I intended. I just meant games there tend to be close. 2 of the last 3 in Ogden have been decided by 5 points or less. On a neutral field, I'd feel confident of a 14 pt or more Bobcat win, but in Ogden I went with a 10 pt spread and I could see it being less than that even.

[veinup]

MSU @ Weber is definitely the game to watch this week.. Predicting a cat victory, but wouldn't mind seeing a loss either. Will be interesting to see how Weber bounces back from last week's thrashing.

[MSUBobcat]

MSU @ Weber is definitely the game to watch this week.. Predicting a cat victory, but wouldn't mind seeing a loss either. Will be interesting to see how Weber bounces back from last week's thrashing.

Really going out on a limb here predicting that the Bobcat v. Wildcat game doesn't end in a tie. ;)

[MTfan4life]

Western Oregon @ Montana - Trevor Roush returns the opening kickoff to the house, Buchanan gets two first-half pick-sixes, and Roush follows with a 94 yard North endzone silencing TD. With his Wolves up 31-0 just before halftime, Roush is sprinting down the sidelines about to score his third touchdown of the half when his alarm clock goes off. Montana 52 Western Oregon 13

Montana State @ Weber St. - The battle of the kittens proves to be all it was hyped up to be in the litterbox talk all week. Weber has Kirk sniffed out and Mcghee frustrated. However Cunningham nails four field goals and MSU has perfect red zone execution. Cutest Kitten award goes to the Bob, 26-21.

Northern Colorado @ Northern Arizona - The compass pointing North trophy is on the line as UNC tries to bring their kind of momentum into Flagstaff. However, UNC football only comes to play in Greeley, and they accidentally bring the Men's tennis team. NAU keeps the game close early with 4 first half turnovers, but the Lumberjacks physical play proves too intense for the usual racket holders. NAU 34-10.

Sacramento State @ Portland State - Kavanaugh runs for 200 yards, but so does Hilliard. Kavanaugh also passes for 200 yards, but so does Fleming. The game is won by the kickers. You tell me who sounds better. Zach Brown - 14-15 Jason Diniz - 1-6. Diniz misses his fourth and fifth 20-29 yd FG's of the season. The first one was a chance to win the game in regulation, the second was to force a second overtime. Vikings 30 Hornets 27.

[wapiti]

Western Oregon 6 at UM 58--- This will be a cake walk for UM. As mentioned earlier, students from the stands might get a chance to play in the 4th quarter.

MSU 28 at WSU 24---Tough one to pick this week. Hoke is suppose to be back this week, which will probably make for a close game.

UNC 13 at NAU 27---NAU easily beats UNC.

Sac State 30 at PSU 32---For some reason I think this may turn into a high scoring affair. It will probably depend on which Sac State team shows up. Either way I think PSU takes the W.

Future Big Sky Teams:

Souix Falls 12 @ North Dakota 28 Is Souix falls going to be forced to change its name too?

CP 23 @ UCD 19---CP would wrap up the Great West title with a win here and with a win out for the remainder of the season would earn play-off consideration.

[Silenoz]

Really going out on a limb here predicting that the Bobcat v. Wildcat game doesn't end in a tie. ;)

Huh?


And I don't think people are giving WOU enough credit. I predicted 49-14, but we could easily overlook them and find ourselves in a ball game come halftime

[MTfan4life]

Huh?


And I don't think people are giving WOU enough credit. I predicted 49-14, but we could easily overlook them and find ourselves in a ball game come halftime

WOU is 6-3. I just see our high powered offense taking over their inconsistent defense. They allowed 92 combined points in their last two road games.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Huh?


And I don't think people are giving WOU enough credit. I predicted 49-14, but we could easily overlook them and find ourselves in a ball game come halftime

I'm not saying it couldn't happen but it is far less likely that at this point after facing the teams we have faced and working out a whole lot of kinks that it could be like a first game type of thing.

[Silenoz]

I hope so. New staff of first time coaches = haven't learned the hard way to not overlook anyone, yet. Even if we come out flat I think we pull away in the 2nd half, but I still have nightmares about those CWU and NDSU games.

[alvinkayak6]

Connor Kavanaugh > Jeff Fleming so PORTLAND STATE by 7.
MONTANA by 28.
MONTANA STATE by 10.
NAU by 14.

[MSUBobcat]

MSU @ Weber is definitely the game to watch this week.. Predicting a cat victory, but wouldn't mind seeing a loss either. Will be interesting to see how Weber bounces back from last week's thrashing.


Really going out on a limb here predicting that the Bobcat v. Wildcat game doesn't end in a tie. ;)


Huh?

Whoosh! It was just a joke. Predicting a "cat victory" in a game between bobCATS and wildCATS is fairly obvious, except in the rare case of a tie. Obviously I know he was referring to the Bobcats due to not minding seeing a loss either.

[JALMOND]

After a soso result from last weekend, I'm at 39-11 for the year. Not bad considering how I started, but I am not pleased and would like a couple more perfect weeks to improve. This weekend's Big Sky slate seems to be some no-brainers, but there are a couple games that, while they could be considered upsets, people could sit back and say, "yeah, I had a hunch on that one." Here are my predictions for November 5's games.

Western Oregon at UM---After the Weber State game last week, the Grizzlies finally found their offense to complement that strong defense they've had all year. All that is left is to fine tune that offense and the DII Western Oregon team should give the Grizzlies that opportunity and then some...UM 47, Western Oregon 14.

MSU at WSU---The Bobcat train continues to roll on after their win last week over Idaho State. The Wildcats seem to have hit a crossroads in their season with not much left to play for, unless if it is a spoiler role. The Bobcats seem to struggle on the road however which could make this a tough game. Or not...MSU 31, WSU 27.

UNC at NAU---The Lumberjacks received some new life last week as they stole one on the road from downtrodden Sacramento State. The Bears showed some competitiveness at home last week, yet they still got beat by North Dakota. Both teams, however, are playing better than they were at the start of the season, which makes this game interesting...NAU 25, UNC 21.

Sac State at PSU---Obviously still feeling the effects of a sure win over Eastern Washington fall by the wayside in overtime, the Hornets stumbled at home last week against Northern Arizona. The Vikings, however, put that pesky Eagles team away. The Hornets should not feel too bad as the Eagles escaped from many teams. But the Vikings were not one of them...PSU 42, Sac State 20.

Perfect on the picks. Now 43-11 overall for the year.

[MTfan4life]

Western Oregon @ Montana - Trevor Roush returns the opening kickoff to the house, Buchanan gets two first-half pick-sixes, and Roush follows with a 94 yard North endzone silencing TD. With his Wolves up 31-0 just before halftime, Roush is sprinting down the sidelines about to score his third touchdown of the half when his alarm clock goes off. Montana 52 Western Oregon 13

Montana State @ Weber St. - The battle of the kittens proves to be all it was hyped up to be in the litterbox talk all week. Weber has Kirk sniffed out and Mcghee frustrated. However Cunningham nails four field goals and MSU has perfect red zone execution. Cutest Kitten award goes to the Bob, 26-21.

Northern Colorado @ Northern Arizona - The compass pointing North trophy is on the line as UNC tries to bring their kind of momentum into Flagstaff. However, UNC football only comes to play in Greeley, and they accidentally bring the Men's tennis team. NAU keeps the game close early with 4 first half turnovers, but the Lumberjacks physical play proves too intense for the usual racket holders. NAU 34-10.

Sacramento State @ Portland State - Kavanaugh runs for 200 yards, but so does Hilliard. Kavanaugh also passes for 200 yards, but so does Fleming. The game is won by the kickers. You tell me who sounds better. Zach Brown - 14-15 Jason Diniz - 1-6. Diniz misses his fourth and fifth 20-29 yd FG's of the season. The first one was a chance to win the game in regulation, the second was to force a second overtime. Vikings 30 Hornets 27.

Surprisingly spot on...Sac. St. didn't even use their kicker, and PSU won by nine (3 FG's) Nau score almost exact!...Cunningham kicked three not 4 fg's...pretty good I'd say!

[JALMOND]

Surprisingly spot on...Sac. St. didn't even use their kicker, and PSU won by nine (3 FG's) Nau score almost exact!...Cunningham kicked three not 4 fg's...pretty good I'd say!

The first time in his college career that Brown missed two FG's in the same game. Viks play was really ugly at times. We tried to give the game to the Hornets many times but they didn't want it either.

[veinup]

been busy and drunk all day. did the BOBcats really pull it out!?

[Ginsbach]

ISU doesn't add another tally to the loss column! That's a positive in my book.

[Walkon79]

I hope so. New staff of first time coaches = haven't learned the hard way to not overlook anyone, yet. Even if we come out flat I think we pull away in the 2nd half, but I still have nightmares about those CWU and NDSU games.

That was pretty spot-on. That's a D2 I wouldn't want to see very often!!