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JALMOND
September 18th, 2017, 10:01 PM
This has certainly been a crazy start to the season in the Big Sky. Teams start looking good, then go bad. Teams that are supposed to be good look bad, then bounce back. Teams that are usually bad end up good. I've been doing these rankings since 2004 and I can't recall a weird start to the season as this one. At this point, maybe I do need a dartboard. Here are this week's power rankings (last week in parenthesis). I'm sure this week will spark some interesting discussion.

1. Weber State (2)---Last week, won at Sacramento State 31-24. this week UC-Davis at home---What was strange was the Wildcats were supposed to win in a place that has been their bugaboo in recent years. They start off their season at home this weekend.

2. Southern Utah (4)---Last week, beat Northern Iowa (Mo Valley) at home 24-21, this week at Sacramento State---Opening week's thumping by Oregon is looking a bit better every week, just as long as the Thunderbirds continue to win. This week, they open the conference season on the road.

3. North Dakota (1)---Last week, lost at South Dakota (Mo Valley) 45-7, this week Montana State at home---After looking so good against the Valley at home the previous week, the Hawks looked pretty bad against the Valley on the road. Fortunately, they are at home for the conference opener.

4. Montana State (6)---Last week, bye, this week at North Dakota---With carnage flying all around them, the Bobcats took last week off after a close home loss to a top 5 team to refocus and get ready for the conference season. They head out on the road for a good tilt.

5. Montana (7)---Last week, beat Savannah State (MEAC) at home 56-3, this week Eastern Washington at home---Finally, the Grizzlies took care of business early on. Unfortunately, they lost their starting quarterback to a bad injury. They do start the conference season at home.

6. Northern Arizona (5)---Last week, bye, this week at Cal Poly---The Lumberjacks quiet bye week was interrupted with the news that their longtime coach will be gone after this season. How that plays out for the team remains to be seen. They hit the road to start.

7. Eastern Washington (8)---Last week, won at Fordham (Patriot) 56-21, this week at Montana---The Eagles finally emerged with an impressive road win to enter the conference slate. Time will tell if this signals the start of a good year. They have to go on the road to start the year.

8. UC-Davis (12)---Last week, won at Portland State 37-14, this week at Weber State---No one thought much of the Aggies win the previous week against San Diego. So, to prove it was no fluke, they throttled Portland State from beginning to end. They are hoping it continues.

9. Idaho State (13)---Last week, won at Nevada (Mountain West) 30-28, this week at Northern Colorado---The usual patsy, the Bengals are typically found at the bottom of the standings, but beating an FBS team is truly impressive. Maybe a sign of good things this year?

10. Portland State (3)---Last week, lost to UC-Davis at home 37-14, this week bye---After two great efforts against the FBS, the Vikings were pounded at home by a fellow Big Sky member. It is back to the drawing board as they take this weekend off to prepare for the start of the year.

11. Cal Poly (9)---Last week, bye, this week Northern Arizona at home---The Mustangs took last week off in order to regroup and prepare for the start to the conference season, and a good showing on the road in the last game should be a precursor of things to come.

12. Northern Colorado (10)---Last week, lost at Colorado (Pac-12) 41-21, this week Idaho State at home---The Bears took the fight to their big FBS brothers and finally succumbed in the end. Still, a good showing should lead into a good start to the season as they go back home.

13. Sacramento State (11)---Last week, lost to Weber State at home 31-24, this week Southern Utah at home---The Hornets looked tough and poised to come through against Weber State last week, only to come just short. They start the year at home in conference, ready to make some noise.

RECAP: When your 1st place team beat your last place team by only 7, the only way to go is 1-13 in a big pile.

tomq04
September 18th, 2017, 10:09 PM
Love your recap. The big sky is a mess.

GoEags

Grizalltheway
September 18th, 2017, 10:19 PM
Love your recap. The big sky is a mess.

GoEags
Yeah that cracked me up as well.xlolx

citdog
September 18th, 2017, 10:58 PM
This will be an interesting week. Imagine what we will know on Sat night!

The Pud
September 19th, 2017, 06:28 AM
Will EWU be a deep playoff team this year? Time will tell

nevadagriz
September 19th, 2017, 09:41 AM
Will EWU be a deep playoff team this year? Time will tell

Ewu could win every Bsc game this year and head into playoffs seeded. However a loss at Montana could put them in a tailspin. Injuries and a brutal schedule make the eagles a huge unknown at this point!

wapiti
September 19th, 2017, 10:15 AM
To compare side by side with "The Wedge" Big Sky Power Rankings.

Jalmod ------------------------------The Wedge

1. Weber State (2)-----------------EWU

2. Southern Utah (4)--------------Weber State

3. North Dakota (1)---------------North Dakota

4. Montana State (6)-------------Montana

5. Montana (7)--------------------Southern Utah

6. Northern Arizona (5)-----------Idaho State

7. Eastern Washington (8)--------NAU

8. UC-Davis (12)------------------Northern Colorado

9. Idaho State (13)---------------UC Davis

10. Portland State (3)-------------MSU

11. Cal Poly (9)--------------------Cal Poly

12. Northern Colorado (10)------PSU

13. Sacramento State (11)-------Sac State

wapiti
September 19th, 2017, 10:27 AM
Both seem to agree that Weber and UND are at or near the top and Sac and Cal Poly are at the bottom. Everyone else is jumbled up in the middle.

This could make for some interesting games in conference this year.

AggiePride
September 19th, 2017, 11:25 AM
Just glad to even be logging in... after so many years of... I see a team I remember with Hawkins at the helm (well except for the 3 man rushes!). Excited for this week.

slostang
September 19th, 2017, 11:28 AM
Cal Poly loses in OT to UNI on the road and are ranked 11th and SUU wins by 3 at home against UNI and are ranked 2nd????

nevadagriz
September 19th, 2017, 11:31 AM
Cal Poly loses in OT to UNI on the road and are ranked 11th and SUU wins by 3 at home against UNI and are ranked 2nd????
Oh I agree Poly should be tenth!

slostang
September 19th, 2017, 11:40 AM
Oh I agree Poly should be tenth!I would have love to play Montana this year. We could have made it 4 straight wins over the Griz.

We got off to a rough start with a new OC and QB, but any Big Sky team that think that Cal Poly is an easy win because we are 0-3 will be in for a tougher game than they expect. We did not schedule teams Miss Valley State and Savannah State for our OOC games.

centennial
September 19th, 2017, 11:40 AM
Sagarin has completely different ratings. It'll be interesting to see if these hold up.

121 Eastern Washington AA = 56.66 1 2 67.13( 53) 0 0 | 0 0 | 54.92 133 | 57.03 122 | 56.94 117
126 North Dakota AA = 56.12 1 2 64.45( 71) 0 0 | 0 1 | 56.86 121 | 57.13 120 | 55.06 128
139 Southern Utah AA = 53.29 2 1 58.04( 120) 0 0 | 0 1 | 52.53 141 | 51.47 144 | 54.56 132
147 Weber State AA = 50.88 2 1 58.71( 114) 0 0 | 0 0 | 51.47 144 | 50.19 152 | 50.93 147
148 UC Davis AA = 50.54 2 1 50.53( 174) 0 0 | 0 0 | 52.33 142 | 46.90 167 | 51.88 142
149 Montana AA = 50.25 2 1 20.10( 252) 0 1 | 0 1 | 48.91 161 | 50.42 150 | 50.51 151
152 Northern Arizona AA = 49.92 0 2 66.24( 60) 0 0 | 0 0 | 49.29 156 | 51.46 145 | 49.04 160
167 Montana State AA = 48.09 0 2 73.78( 22) 0 0 | 0 1 | 49.48 153 | 47.92 164 | 47.52 165
170 Cal Poly-SLO AA = 46.69 0 3 53.73( 156) 0 0 | 0 0 | 47.40 167 | 49.40 155 | 44.50 178
178 Northern Colorado AA = 44.20 1 1 80.01( 8) 0 0 | 0 0 | 46.81 169 | 43.39 183 | 43.51 180
180 Portland State AA = 43.61 0 3 61.49( 86) 0 0 | 0 0 | 45.66 174 | 45.05 174 | 41.71 190
201 Idaho State AA = 37.98 2 1 59.19( 109) 0 0 | 0 0 | 37.41 203 | 36.25 207 | 39.05 198
202 Sacramento State AA = 37.73 1 2 43.22( 210) 0 0 | 0 0 | 38.60 200 | 37.79 202 | 37.20 205

nevadagriz
September 19th, 2017, 12:05 PM
Relax stang your team is 0-3 that is why they are ranked below a 2-1 SUU. It has nothing to do with you losing to UNI and Suu beating UNI it is a body of work thing. Poly is a tough team no doubt, I just chuckled at your above post and the rankings. You brought up Montana no else. Chill it is early in the season.
For the Millionth time SUU was supposed to be Mcneese ST!!!!!!!!!!!

Grizalltheway
September 19th, 2017, 12:13 PM
I would have love to play Montana this year. We could have made it 4 straight wins over the Griz.

We got off to a rough start with a new OC and QB, but any Big Sky team that think that Cal Poly is an easy win because we are 0-3 will be in for a tougher game than they expect. We did not schedule teams Miss Valley State and Savannah State for our OOC games.

Look man, if your Stangs are as good as you seem to think they are, they can still run the conference table and win the auto-bid. But I won't be holding my breath. ;)

GreenGlasses
September 19th, 2017, 12:57 PM
Sagarin has completely different ratings. It'll be interesting to see if these hold up.

121 Eastern Washington AA = 56.66 1 2 67.13( 53) 0 0 | 0 0 | 54.92 133 | 57.03 122 | 56.94 117
126 North Dakota AA = 56.12 1 2 64.45( 71) 0 0 | 0 1 | 56.86 121 | 57.13 120 | 55.06 128
139 Southern Utah AA = 53.29 2 1 58.04( 120) 0 0 | 0 1 | 52.53 141 | 51.47 144 | 54.56 132
147 Weber State AA = 50.88 2 1 58.71( 114) 0 0 | 0 0 | 51.47 144 | 50.19 152 | 50.93 147
148 UC Davis AA = 50.54 2 1 50.53( 174) 0 0 | 0 0 | 52.33 142 | 46.90 167 | 51.88 142
149 Montana AA = 50.25 2 1 20.10( 252) 0 1 | 0 1 | 48.91 161 | 50.42 150 | 50.51 151
152 Northern Arizona AA = 49.92 0 2 66.24( 60) 0 0 | 0 0 | 49.29 156 | 51.46 145 | 49.04 160
167 Montana State AA = 48.09 0 2 73.78( 22) 0 0 | 0 1 | 49.48 153 | 47.92 164 | 47.52 165
170 Cal Poly-SLO AA = 46.69 0 3 53.73( 156) 0 0 | 0 0 | 47.40 167 | 49.40 155 | 44.50 178
178 Northern Colorado AA = 44.20 1 1 80.01( 8) 0 0 | 0 0 | 46.81 169 | 43.39 183 | 43.51 180
180 Portland State AA = 43.61 0 3 61.49( 86) 0 0 | 0 0 | 45.66 174 | 45.05 174 | 41.71 190
201 Idaho State AA = 37.98 2 1 59.19( 109) 0 0 | 0 0 | 37.41 203 | 36.25 207 | 39.05 198
202 Sacramento State AA = 37.73 1 2 43.22( 210) 0 0 | 0 0 | 38.60 200 | 37.79 202 | 37.20 205






Sagarin ratings are even more skewed than Massey or KenPom for basketball.

SactoHornetFan
September 19th, 2017, 01:43 PM
Im trying to figure out how you have us dead last when our starting two deep defense (they didn't play the 4th quarter against Incarnate Word, where the Cards racked up 142 yds against 3rd and 4th string guys) has only given up an avg of 266 yards of offense thru 3 games: 356 to Idaho, 164 to UIW (through 3 qtrs, overall for the game 306) and only 279 to Weber (a Weber team that put over 500 on Cal). Once the offense gel's I think we will surprise people. No way we are 13th in this league right now.

Silenoz
September 19th, 2017, 01:52 PM
I would have love to play Montana this year. We could have made it 4 straight wins over the Griz.
Another sign of how far we've fallen. Can't even manage wins against the other mediocre Big Fluffy teams.

slostang
September 19th, 2017, 02:50 PM
I did not say that Cal Poly should be ranked above SUU. I was questioning the 9 spots between them.

JALMOND
September 19th, 2017, 09:04 PM
I did not say that Cal Poly should be ranked above SUU. I was questioning the 9 spots between them.

It is a fair question. Setting up the rankings this weekend was one of the toughest weekends I've had since I started doing these. Let me just say the gap between 1 and 13 is not as wide as during most weeks. Based on results so far, there is no clear cut "best" team in the conference, and no clear cut "worst" team. One thing that is clear to me is that, unlike other years where you could say going in to the start of conference play, one team is the one to beat and one team is an easy win, this season all conference teams better come to play every weekend because any team can beat anybody. Any Given Saturday has arrived in the Big Sky.

Head to head, Cal Poly is 0-3 currently, 0-2 against the FCS (1 ranked opponent), and 0-1 against a G5 FBS team. Southern Utah is 2-1, 2-0 against the FCS including a win over a ranked opponent, and 0-1 against a P5 FBS team. The teams between them, Portland State is 0-3, 0-1 against the FCS, and 0-2 against P5 FBS opponents. Idaho State 2-1, 1-1 against G5 teams with the only win over FBS in the conference, 1-0 against DII. UC-Davis 2-1, 2-0 against the FCS, 0-1 against G5. EWU 1-2, 1-1 against the FCS with a road win across the country (lost to FCS top 5), 0-1 against the P5. NAU 0-2, 0-1 against FCS ranked opponent, 0-1 against P5. Montana 2-1, 2-0 against the FCS, 0-1 against P5 (ranked 7th in the FBS poll). Montana State 0-2, 0-1 against top 5 FCS, 0-1 against P5. North Dakota 1-2, 1-1 against the FCS, 0-1 against G5.

Maybe you could move them ahead of Portland State, but the Vikings did look good against both BYU and Oregon State. Was the Davis game just a blip and they are actually as good as they showed against the 2 FBS teams? Other than that, I don't see anyone else that the Mustangs could move ahead of at this point. But beating NAU at home this weekend could change all that.

SactoHornetFan
September 19th, 2017, 10:43 PM
At this point any team that in winless should be at the bottom below everyone else. Sac State is a respectable 0-1 against a FBS school and 1-1 against the FCS.

JALMOND
September 20th, 2017, 02:42 AM
At this point any team that in winless should be at the bottom below everyone else.

Not necessarily. Anyone in the conference should be able to beat Incarnate Word. Anyone in the conference should be able to beat Savannah State. Not everyone in the conference could stay within striking distance of South Dakota State. Not everyone in the conference could hang with both BYU and Oregon State. Not everyone in the conference could take Northern Iowa in to overtime on their own field.

Everyone is pretty much bunched together so the margin from 1st to 13th is not that great (like I said in the recap, 7 points). Who do you think should be at the bottom?

The Pud
September 20th, 2017, 05:48 AM
At this point any team that in winless should be at the bottom below everyone else. Sac State is a respectable 0-1 against a FBS school and 1-1 against the FCS.


+2

BadlandsGrizFan
September 20th, 2017, 01:58 PM
Not necessarily. Anyone in the conference should be able to beat Incarnate Word. Anyone in the conference should be able to beat Savannah State. Not everyone in the conference could stay within striking distance of South Dakota State. Not everyone in the conference could hang with both BYU and Oregon State. Not everyone in the conference could take Northern Iowa in to overtime on their own field.

Everyone is pretty much bunched together so the margin from 1st to 13th is not that great (like I said in the recap, 7 points). Who do you think should be at the bottom?


So were giving teams points for close losses at home couch MSU cough. Got it...everyone is a winner.

wapiti
September 20th, 2017, 02:17 PM
So were giving teams points for close losses at home couch MSU cough. Got it...everyone is a winner.

Sounds like you are proponent of scheduling cupcakes; Which should automatically result in a good ranking.

Katfan
September 20th, 2017, 02:53 PM
Sounds like you are proponent of scheduling cupcakes; Which should automatically result in a good ranking.
Nope, doesn't work.

The Pud
September 20th, 2017, 02:57 PM
Sounds like you are proponent of scheduling cupcakes; Which should automatically result in a good ranking.


For JMU it works. xnodx

cx500d
September 20th, 2017, 05:12 PM
So were giving teams points for close losses at home couch MSU cough. Got it...everyone is a winner.


Here's what everybody is playing for:

http://www.trophiesplus.co.uk/62-home_default/a1129-mini-star-football-participation-trophy.jpg

Grizalltheway
September 20th, 2017, 05:30 PM
Here's what everybody is playing for:

http://www.trophiesplus.co.uk/62-home_default/a1129-mini-star-football-participation-trophy.jpg

That's what all of FCS is playing for in the eyes of 95%+ of the football viewing public. xcoffeex

Colgate Raider Redux
September 20th, 2017, 11:47 PM
The Colgate-Cal Poly game was supposed to unveil how "transitional" this season was going to be for 'gate. 'Gate lost a boatload of good players on both sides of the pigskin from graduation. We're also experimenting with a freshman qb. After 3 games, we still can't figure out whether either Cal Poly or Colgate are decent teams this year..