Big Sky Power Rankings 10-29

[JALMOND]

After last week's results in the Big Sky, I had to resort to overtime myself for figuring out the power rankings this week. Not necessarily "upsets" as much as "unforseen circumstances" for many teams. When the dust settled, one thing that will be clear after this week is that either Cal Poly or Eastern Washington will be on a two game losing streak after the first weekend in November. Here are this week's power rankings (last week's in parenthesis). I'm sure there will be much discussion this week as parity seems to have reared its head.

1. Montana State (2)---Finally the Bobcats got a good one-sided win over a good team at home against North Dakota. Close wins have haunted the Bobcats all year so this had to feel pretty good. They will need to build on it as they head down the road this weekend at Sacramento State.

2. Northern Arizona (4)---It definitely was not pretty but the Lumberjacks stayed undefeated in conference play with a last second field goal at Northern Colorado. Undefeated says a lot for the Lumberjacks who are hoping to take out some frustration this week at Idaho State.

3. Eastern Washington (1)---The Eagles road to the conference title and the playoffs took an unexpected turn last week with a loss at Southern Utah. No one really could see that happening and now they must regroup and get a win at home against Cal Poly, otherwise the season possibly won't be as bright as they thought.

4. Sacramento State (6)---The Hornets gave a rude welcome to Cal Poly last week, sending the Mustangs home on the short end of the score. They may be on the verge of a special season, but this weekend will be difficult to continue as they host Montana State.

5. Cal Poly (3)---In their first real test of the year, the Mustangs could not eke out a victory at Sacramento State last week. Now they must regroup and try to get a win at Eastern Washington, otherwise they could lose track of their wonderful season (so far).

6. Southern Utah (9)---Someone should queue up Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" to describe the Thunderbirds as just a week removed from handing Weber State their first conference win of the year, they beat Eastern Washington at home. Questions surround just how good they are and this weekend they have to go to North Dakota.

7. Montana (7)---In the midst of all the chaos around the conference, one thing was certain, that the Grizzlies were going to take out some frustration at home on Idaho State and they did exactly that. Whether that jumpstarts the season or not, but they have another chance to release some frustration as they go to Weber State this weekend.

8. North Dakota (5)---The Dakotans were poised to show all that they belong at the top of the conference and were going to get a road win against Montana State to prove it. The problem was that they did not show up for the game. Now they are midpack, but have a chance to get back on the winning track, entertaining Southern Utah this weekend.

9. Portland State (10)---Lost among the hubbub of the conference outcomes was the fact that the Vikings came out after halftime and closed the door on UC-Davis on the road. With a chance to close the season strong, this weekend they host Northern Colorado.

10. Weber State (8)---After getting their first conference win of the season at Southern Utah, the Wildcats took last week off. Now they welcome the mighy Montana team to their home field with a chance to get win number 2.

11. Northern Colorado (12)---The Bears slowed Northern Arizona down to almost a crawl and as a result, they came just short of getting a big conference win. Now is time for payback, both for the game last week as well as the Portland State game last year that the Bears feel they should have won.

12. UC-Davis (11)---The Aggies could not overcome the changes Portland State made at halftime and succumbed to a home loss. Now they have this week off to prepare for their final two games of the year.

13. Idaho State (13)---It is true that the Bengals have a good passing attack and they showed parts of it at Montana last week. However, they also showed that they have nothing besides that, including a terrible defense. How they will slow down Northern Arizona this week is truly anybody's guess.

RECAP---1-2 on the move, 3-5 keeping up, 6-7 a bit behind, 8 on an island, 9 making up ground, 10-12 recovering and 13 lagging.

[frozennorth]

so beating UND at home counts for a good win for MSU, but beating UND at UND doesn't count as a good win for cal poly?

[wapiti]

Looks ok. I do have a few differences in my rankings.

1. Montana State ---The Cat's played a very good game last Saturday.

2. Northern Arizona ---NAU struggled to beat Northern Colorado.

3. Eastern Washington ---EWU lost a road game by a squeaker.

4. Sacramento State ---The Hornets did what they needed to do to keep playoff hopes alive.

5. Cal Poly ---CP did lose, but it was a road game like EWU's, but also like EWU they were expected to win.

6. Southern Utah ---Great win for SUU.

7. North Dakota ---ND got throttled on the road.

8. Montana ---The griz won, but it was ISU in Missoula.

9. Portland State ---Nice win for PSU. PSU is showing improvement and has something to build on for next year.

10. UC-Davis ---Bad game for UCD. After playing respectable games against CP, Weber, MSU and NAU, what happended in this game???

11. Weber State ---The BBQ grill was off this past weekend and they should be ready for Montana.

12. Northern Colorado---Nearly beat NAU in Greeley. But the loss keeps them at 12.

13. Idaho State ---Where's the defense?

[CopperCat]

so beating UND at home counts for a good win for MSU, but beating UND at UND doesn't count as a good win for cal poly?

Your anti-MSU campaign is getting pretty old.

[MTfan4life]

so beating UND at home counts for a good win for MSU, but beating UND at UND doesn't count as a good win for cal poly?

UND vs. Cal Poly: UND has 409-395 yard advantage and loses the turnover battle 4-1
UND vs. Montana State: State wins yard battle 695-180 gets 40 first downs to UND's 9

It's safe to say there's quite a discrepancy between the two wins.

[slostang]

UND vs. Cal Poly: UND has 409-395 yard advantage and loses the turnover battle 4-1
UND vs. Montana State: State wins yard battle 695-180 gets 40 first downs to UND's 9

It's safe to say there's quite a discrepancy between the two wins.
You are correct. One was at home when UND's season was over and one was in Grand Forks when UND was still in the hunt.

[frozennorth]

UND vs. Cal Poly: UND has 409-395 yard advantage and loses the turnover battle 4-1
UND vs. Montana State: State wins yard battle 695-180 gets 40 first downs to UND's 9

It's safe to say there's quite a discrepancy between the two wins.

fair enough, but UND has performed much better at home than away, and was far healthier against cal poly.


Your anti-MSU campaign is getting pretty old.
'my campaign' was only your imagination while I defended my right no to be impressed by some pretty mediocre early season performances. MSU has been in my top 10 for a couple weeks now. I was directing my comments at this sentence:

In their first real test of the year, the Mustangs could not eke out a victory at Sacramento State last week.
Wyoming and UND both on the road would count as solids win imo.

MSU curbstopped UND like only a top-flight team could. Glad your playing better.

[darell1976]

UND in the middle looks about right. Time to end this year and get ready for the offseason. Good luck to the teams still in the hunt for the conference title and the playoffs!

[UNDBIZ]

After last week's results in the Big Sky, I had to resort to overtime myself for figuring out the power rankings this week. Not necessarily "upsets" as much as "unforseen circumstances" for many teams. When the dust settled, one thing that will be clear after this week is that either Cal Poly or Eastern Washington will be on a two game losing streak after the first weekend in November. Here are this week's power rankings (last week's in parenthesis). I'm sure there will be much discussion this week as parity seems to have reared its head.

1. Montana State (2)---Finally the Bobcats got a good one-sided win over a good team at home against North Dakota. Close wins have haunted the Bobcats all year so this had to feel pretty good. They will need to build on it as they head down the road this weekend at Sacramento State.

2. Northern Arizona (4)---It definitely was not pretty but the Lumberjacks stayed undefeated in conference play with a last second field goal at Northern Colorado. Undefeated says a lot for the Lumberjacks who are hoping to take out some frustration this week at Idaho State.

3. Eastern Washington (1)---The Eagles road to the conference title and the playoffs took an unexpected turn last week with a loss at Southern Utah. No one really could see that happening and now they must regroup and get a win at home against Cal Poly, otherwise the season possibly won't be as bright as they thought.

4. Sacramento State (6)---The Hornets gave a rude welcome to Cal Poly last week, sending the Mustangs home on the short end of the score. They may be on the verge of a special season, but this weekend will be difficult to continue as they host Montana State.

5. Cal Poly (3)---In their first real test of the year, the Mustangs could not eke out a victory at Sacramento State last week. Now they must regroup and try to get a win at Eastern Washington, otherwise they could lose track of their wonderful season (so far).

6. Southern Utah (9)---Someone should queue up Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" to describe the Thunderbirds as just a week removed from handing Weber State their first conference win of the year, they beat Eastern Washington at home. Questions surround just how good they are and this weekend they have to go to North Dakota.

7. Montana (7)---In the midst of all the chaos around the conference, one thing was certain, that the Grizzlies were going to take out some frustration at home on Idaho State and they did exactly that. Whether that jumpstarts the season or not, but they have another chance to release some frustration as they go to Weber State this weekend.

8. North Dakota (5)---The Dakotans were poised to show all that they belong at the top of the conference and were going to get a road win against Montana State to prove it. The problem was that they did not show up for the game. Now they are midpack, but have a chance to get back on the winning track, entertaining Southern Utah this weekend.

9. Portland State (10)---Lost among the hubbub of the conference outcomes was the fact that the Vikings came out after halftime and closed the door on UC-Davis on the road. With a chance to close the season strong, this weekend they host Northern Colorado.

10. Weber State (8)---After getting their first conference win of the season at Southern Utah, the Wildcats took last week off. Now they welcome the mighy Montana team to their home field with a chance to get win number 2.

11. Northern Colorado (12)---The Bears slowed Northern Arizona down to almost a crawl and as a result, they came just short of getting a big conference win. Now is time for payback, both for the game last week as well as the Portland State game last year that the Bears feel they should have won.

12. UC-Davis (11)---The Aggies could not overcome the changes Portland State made at halftime and succumbed to a home loss. Now they have this week off to prepare for their final two games of the year.

13. Idaho State (13)---It is true that the Bengals have a good passing attack and they showed parts of it at Montana last week. However, they also showed that they have nothing besides that, including a terrible defense. How they will slow down Northern Arizona this week is truly anybody's guess.

RECAP---1-2 on the move, 3-5 keeping up, 6-7 a bit behind, 8 on an island, 9 making up ground, 10-12 recovering and 13 lagging.

Not that anyone other than a picky UND fan that has nothing else to do right now cares about who's #7 and who's #8, but UND's losses are to #s 1, 2, 3, & 5 with wins over 4, 7, & 9 while Montana has wins over 11 & 13 with losses to 2, 3, 6, & 8. I realize UND just got pounded, but I'm not sure how you justify Montana jumping us other than historical bias.....

[Walkon79]

UND vs. Cal Poly: UND has 409-395 yard advantage and loses the turnover battle 4-1
UND vs. Montana State: State wins yard battle 695-180 gets 40 first downs to UND's 9

It's safe to say there's quite a discrepancy between the two wins.

Hopefully we'll get a shot at Poly in the playoffs. I like our chances as we're now healthy and rounding into form with McGiven and the new offense. Plus the #1 defense in the league and probably anywhere west of Fargo. :)