Big Sky Predictions 11-14

[JALMOND]

Right now, with two weeks left, I am at 53-22 for the year. Teams fighting for position, possible playoff spots, or just playing out the string, these games count for something, and therefore are difficult to forecast. here is my feeble attempt at perfection this week.

CP at UCD---The Mustangs go for the sweep of the other two California schools and to try to finish strong. The Aggies are just trying to hold on to what they have, and that really isn't all that much. Maybe the easiest of the bunch...CP 35, UCD 13.

EWU at UM---At the beginning of the year, this looked like a great matchup between the top teams, but as the year went on, both the Eagles and the Grizzlies are fighting for their playoff lives and, strangely, both need this game. Go with the home team...UM 35, EWU 33.

MSU at ISU---The main game that was supposed to be bigger than it is. Both the Bobcats and the Bengals were supposed to be great and while their offenses have emerged, their defenses have been suspect. All offense, no defense...ISU 48, MSU 45.

UNC at UND---The "We beat Portland State" game. The Bears beat the Vikings last week, the Dakotans beat the Vikings earlier. While the Bears have been surprising, the Dakotans are playing at home and that is becoming a tough place to play...UND 17, UNC 14.

SAC at NAU---Everyone else has some tough games this week and the Lumberjacks draw the hapless Hornets. Still, if the Lumberjacks aren't ready, could the Hornets surprise on the road? Maybe, but the way the Jacks are playing, highly unlikely...NAU 51, SAC 17.

SUU at PSU---In a weekend of big games, probably the biggest one of all with both the Thunderbirds and the Vikings fighting for the top spot. Hard to say who has the edge here as this is really unfamiliar territory for both teams. Go with the home team...PSU 31, SUU 28.

[bonarae]

Cal Poly
EWU - close
Montana State
North Dakota
NAU
Portland State

[Peems]

What time is the PSU game on? I really want to watch it and see SUU against them. I'll be in Missoula for the Griz game so I might just be SOL. I think that is the most intriguing game of the week.

Rest of my picks: Cal Poly, MSU, UND, NAU, and of course the Griz. I feel like the Eastern D is almost(key word) on the level of the Cats, and if the Griz can't get 30 or more, it will be ugly. I'm both sad and ecstatic that we do not have to play VA.

[FCSwatcher]

Cal Poly
EWU - close
Montana State
North Dakota
NAU
Portland State

Agree except I think EWU wins easily


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[mvemjsunpx]

Suutah 13-24 Portland St. — Playing the hungry Vikings in Portland is a brutal test for the T-Birds

Cal Poly 35-13 Davis — Whatever…

Montana St. 42-41 Idaho St. — The Griz Hangover leads to another tragic loss in Kramerica

Sac State 21-52 NAU — The Hornets are the perfect opponent for a team prone to late-season collapses

EWU ??-?? Montana — Because nobody in this world can truly know anything, really…

NoCo 24-27 NoDak — They may be murky, but who thought this game would have any playoff implications at all?

[tomq04]

NAU was a disaster for EWU all around, and yards given up has been a massive number...but EWU has been forcing a lot more field goals that TD's allows in the 3 games prior to NAU. Granted they weren't great offenses, but neither is UM.

I think EWU plays with some zeal and pull out a win that is not as close as the score indicates.

[eiu1999]

Cal Poly
EWU
Idaho State
North Dakota
NAU
Portland State

[UNDColorado]

Suutah 13-24 Portland St. — Playing the hungry Vikings in Portland is a brutal test for the T-Birds

Cal Poly 35-13 Davis — Whatever…

Montana St. 42-41 Idaho St. — The Griz Hangover leads to another tragic loss in Kramerica

Sac State 21-52 NAU — The Hornets are the perfect opponent for a team prone to late-season collapses

EWU ??-?? Montana — Because nobody in this world can truly know anything, really…

NoCo 24-27 NoDak — They may be murky, but who thought this game would have any playoff implications at all?

Going into year two of a new coaching regime I would have been happy with a 6-5 record. I certainly did not think this game would have much meaning. It is nice to be playing meaningful football in November as it has been a while.

[veinup]

portland state
poly
MSU
NAU
EWU
the nodaks

[UNDColorado]

portland state
poly
MSU
NAU
EWU
the nodaks

Fortunately Nodaks was eliminated as a nickname option. Today the voting began to choose between Roughriders and Fighting Hawks. Both suck.

[deez_na]

Fortunately Nodaks was eliminated as a nickname option. Today the voting began to choose between Roughriders and Fighting Hawks. Both suck.

Nodaks sounded corniest to me.

[UNDColorado]

Nodaks sounded corniest to me.

Agreed, and very lazy!

[JALMOND]

What time is the PSU game on? I really want to watch it and see SUU against them. I'll be in Missoula for the Griz game so I might just be SOL. I think that is the most intriguing game of the week.

2:05pm PST. Too bad ROOT couldn't have worked out a doubleheader this weekend.

[Grizzlies82]

After perfect picks a few weeks back my next prediction installment was trashed. Therefore I'm back on track to achieve perfection.

Cal Poly over Cal Davis
Montana over E. Washington *
Montana St over Idaho St **
No Dakota over No Colorado
No Arizona over Sacramento St
Portland St over So Utah ***

* For fifteen years or so E. WA has always been up for their Montana game. With both teams inconsistent this year it could be lopsided yet suspect it will be a close one.
** Montana State should win handily (say about 48 to 32), yet ISU coach Krammer would love to kick them while they're down and about now MSU is barely off the floor.
*** I'm curious to see how this one comes out. Playing in Portland should be the difference. Though if SUU can close the season with 2 wins they deserve a decent seed.

[veinup]

Portland St over So Utah ***

*** I'm curious to see how this one comes out. Playing in Portland should be the difference. Though if SUU can close the season with 2 wins they deserve a decent seed.

i'm curious about whether or not PSU gets much of a boost at home. i have no idea what their home/away record is .. but it isn't like that stadium gets noisy. i guess its always more comfortable to play at home, i just don't know if i see them getting that big of a boost out of it. i'll check the numbers. the other noteworthy thing about playing in portland is that it is terrible football weather there a lot of the time ..

also yes i am bitter about my team getting spanked in there, but that was clearly due to my team sucking and not because of some portland home field advantage

[JALMOND]

i'm curious about whether or not PSU gets much of a boost at home. i have no idea what their home/away record is .. but it isn't like that stadium gets noisy. i guess its always more comfortable to play at home, i just don't know if i see them getting that big of a boost out of it. i'll check the numbers. the other noteworthy thing about playing in portland is that it is terrible football weather there a lot of the time ..

also yes i am bitter about my team getting spanked in there, but that was clearly due to my team sucking and not because of some portland home field advantage

PSU 7-2 overall (1 DII win)

road record: 4-1
at Providence Park: 3-0 (1 DII win)
at Hillsboro: 0-1

[veinup]

looks like ROOT picked up the Montana EWU game, sweeeeeeeeet.

[JALMOND]

looks like ROOT picked up the Montana EWU game, sweeeeeeeeet.

ROOT better hope that the Griz win, otherwise people will wonder why they aren't showing the Dam Cup or the Grand Canyon Classic next week (if they are not already wondering).xlolx

[veinup]

ROOT better hope that the Griz win, otherwise people will wonder why they aren't showing the Dam Cup or the Grand Canyon Classic next week (if they are not already wondering).xlolx

it seems like there have been a couple changes to the ROOT schedule as it was given at the start of the season .. they ended up playing more montana games (at least in the NW) than they had originally announced.

[FCSwatcher]

Which means no stream for the rest of us


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[veinup]

Which means no stream for the rest of us

which is ridiculous.. ROOT should work out some sort of pay to stream thing. i'm sure it's complicated blah blah blah whatever.

sorry for the derailing

[CrazyCat]

which is ridiculous.. ROOT should work out some sort of pay to stream thing. i'm sure it's complicated blah blah blah whatever.

sorry for the derailing

Fields said they were trying to work out a deal with ROOT to stream games outside of the viewing area. Didn't get it done for this year. Hopefully next season.

[SDFS]

Fields said they were trying to work out a deal with ROOT to stream games outside of the viewing area. Didn't get it done for this year. Hopefully next season.

That would be great... I would love to see it

[JALMOND]

If ROOT truly wanted to show "the best Big Sky conference game", they need to make sure they have the capabilities of showing the best Big Sky conference game, instead of either Montana or Montana State. There are others in this conference who play some great football, quite a few this year anyway.

[veinup]

If ROOT truly wanted to show "the best Big Sky conference game", they need to make sure they have the capabilities of showing the best Big Sky conference game, instead of either Montana or Montana State. There are others in this conference who play some great football, quite a few this year anyway.

i understand your point but i think it might be a lot to ask of a for-profit company .. they're always going to want to show the games that will draw the most viewers. if that's UM or MSU (i dont know for sure if these schools draw bigger TV ratings or not tbh, dont have the numbers) that's who they'll tend to favor, I think.

[JALMOND]

i understand your point but i think it might be a lot to ask of a for-profit company .. they're always going to want to show the games that will draw the most viewers. if that's UM or MSU (i dont know for sure if these schools draw bigger TV ratings or not tbh, dont have the numbers) that's who they'll tend to favor, I think.

Should EWU beat the Griz, then instead of having their choice of two games with playoff and/or seeding aspirations, they will be showing two teams with nothing to play for. Are you really saying the casual fan would rather watch two teams that are not going to the postseason over the two games featuring teams that may be going?

The underlying truth to this has nothing to do with the Big Sky or which games would draw the most viewers. It is that ROOT has sold out to the Montana advertisers who insist on them showing either Montana or Montana State, thus making ROOT just an extension of the Montana Sports Network.

[veinup]

Are you really saying the casual fan would rather watch two teams that are not going to the postseason over the two games featuring teams that may be going?

No, i'm not. i'm saying that if ROOT knows it has an automatically built in large audience for UM/MSU games it's going to favor those games regardless of what's going on. perhaps the "casual fan" flipping through channels doesn't make big enough of a difference. i couldn't tell you, i don't have the metrics.

[JALMOND]

Right now, with two weeks left, I am at 53-22 for the year. Teams fighting for position, possible playoff spots, or just playing out the string, these games count for something, and therefore are difficult to forecast. here is my feeble attempt at perfection this week.

CP at UCD---The Mustangs go for the sweep of the other two California schools and to try to finish strong. The Aggies are just trying to hold on to what they have, and that really isn't all that much. Maybe the easiest of the bunch...CP 35, UCD 13.

EWU at UM---At the beginning of the year, this looked like a great matchup between the top teams, but as the year went on, both the Eagles and the Grizzlies are fighting for their playoff lives and, strangely, both need this game. Go with the home team...UM 35, EWU 33.

MSU at ISU---The main game that was supposed to be bigger than it is. Both the Bobcats and the Bengals were supposed to be great and while their offenses have emerged, their defenses have been suspect. All offense, no defense...ISU 48, MSU 45.

UNC at UND---The "We beat Portland State" game. The Bears beat the Vikings last week, the Dakotans beat the Vikings earlier. While the Bears have been surprising, the Dakotans are playing at home and that is becoming a tough place to play...UND 17, UNC 14.

SAC at NAU---Everyone else has some tough games this week and the Lumberjacks draw the hapless Hornets. Still, if the Lumberjacks aren't ready, could the Hornets surprise on the road? Maybe, but the way the Jacks are playing, highly unlikely...NAU 51, SAC 17.

SUU at PSU---In a weekend of big games, probably the biggest one of all with both the Thunderbirds and the Vikings fighting for the top spot. Hard to say who has the edge here as this is really unfamiliar territory for both teams. Go with the home team...PSU 31, SUU 28.

5-1 this week. Only game I missed was the MSU/ISU game. 58-23 overall.

[andthehomeofthe-BIZON-]

The Big Sky is hurting my brain this year... How any of you have anything figured out is black magic voodoo, nothing more

[Grizzlies82]

After perfect picks a few weeks back my next prediction installment was trashed. Therefore I'm back on track to achieve perfection.

Cal Poly over Cal Davis
Montana over E. Washington *
Montana St over Idaho St **
No Dakota over No Colorado
No Arizona over Sacramento St
Portland St over So Utah ***

* For fifteen years or so E. WA has always been up for their Montana game. With both teams inconsistent this year it could be lopsided yet suspect it will be a close one.
** Montana State should win handily (say about 48 to 32), yet ISU coach Krammer would love to kick them while they're down and about now MSU is barely off the floor.
*** I'm curious to see how this one comes out. Playing in Portland should be the difference. Though if SUU can close the season with 2 wins they deserve a decent seed.

Perfect picks again. Some redemption for missing about half of them the last time out.

[veinup]

Perfect picks again. Some redemption for missing about half of them the last time out.

nice work there fella.

glad all of my picks weren't accurate. :D