JALMOND
October 10th, 2022, 08:50 PM
Last week was interesting. Three teams took the week off, one played a DII team that is playing no home games this season, and the rest went pretty much to form, with all home teams winning. Consequently, there is not much change to the power rankings this week as compared to last week. Some good games on the docket for this weekend, however, so there may be come mild surprises coming up. Here are this week's power rankings for the Big Sky (last week rankings in parenthesis). All are my opinion only.
1. Montana (1)---Last week bye, this week Idaho at home---The Grizzlies were marching along, letting nothing get in their way, heading towards the break. Not even a ho-hum effort could kill the momentum they've generated so far. Things do pick up for them as they stay home to face the conference's main upstart.
2. Weber State (2)---Last week beat Eastern Washington at home 45-21, this week at Portland State---The Wildcats are keeping pace with the top teams in the conference, taking their turn in keeping the Eagles off their perch. They have a big game coming up in two weeks, but they first have to stay focused on avenging a defeat at the hands of the Vikings from last season.
3. Sacramento State (3)---Last week beat Northern Colorado at home 55-7, this week at Eastern Washington---The Hornets are for real and they seem to put lesser teams away with relative ease. They didn't give the Bears any chance last week, and now they go on the road and take their turn at the reeling Eagles squad.
4. Montana State (4)---Last week beat Idaho State at home 37-6, this week at Northern Colorado---The Bobcats are looking sharp with their home win last week when they didn't give the Bengals much chance to spring an upset. A tough test awaits them in two weeks, but first they cannot overlook a conference road game.
5. Idaho (5)---Last week bye, this week at Montana---The Vandals have looked really good against FCS competition and have to be feeling good about themselves heading into the break. The road will get tough from now on, starting with this week's game on the road, but the Vandals had two weeks to prepare so they should be ready.
6. UC Davis (6)---Last week bye, this week Northern Arizona at home---The Aggies have been coming up just short so it was probably a great time to take a break, catch their breath and turn their attention to finishing the season strong. They have a game this week at home against a reeling Lumberjack squad to return back to competition.
7. Eastern Washington (7)---Last week lost at Weber State 45-21, this week Sacramento State at home---The Eagles offense is having problems in that they cannot cover the points that their defense is giving up. That certainly does not bode well for a winning team. And this week, they get another high-flying conference foe, at their house.
8. Portland State (8)---Last week beat Lincoln, CA (DII) 48-6, this week Weber State at home---The Vikings took a break from their conference schedule to play a team that only plays road games. One will see if they game was a tune up for conference success. They bring in a tough Wildcat team with revenge on their minds.
9. Northern Arizona (9)---Last week beat Cal Poly at home 31-29, this week at UC Davis---Good things were predicted for the Lumberjacks this season, so when they took a tough loss at the Vikings, they followed it up with a uncharacteristic performance at home against one of the worst teams. To top it off, things don't get much better this week.
10. Northern Colorado (10)---Last week lost at Sacramento State 55-7, this week Montana State at home---Did the Bears even make it to the Hornets den last week? They were somewhat competitive until last week's blowout. No one is going to show them any sympathy as they get another game against a heavy hitter, this time at their place.
11. Cal Poly (12)---Last week lost at Northern Arizona 31-29, this week at Idaho State---The Mustangs had a good road conference win in their grasp, but could not get it to come to fruition. Close games will only get them so far. This week, they stay on the road for a game to determine last place in the conference for now anyway.
12. Idaho State (11)---Last week lost at Montana State 37-6, this week Cal Poly at home---The Bengals took their feel good vibes from their game aganst the Grizzlies and promptly fell flat on their faces last week at the Bobcats. Things should get a bit easier, on paper this week, as they return home to face a more formidable foe.
RECAP: 1-4 on top, 5-6 staying close, 7-9 trying to hold on, 10-12 bringing up the rear.
1. Montana (1)---Last week bye, this week Idaho at home---The Grizzlies were marching along, letting nothing get in their way, heading towards the break. Not even a ho-hum effort could kill the momentum they've generated so far. Things do pick up for them as they stay home to face the conference's main upstart.
2. Weber State (2)---Last week beat Eastern Washington at home 45-21, this week at Portland State---The Wildcats are keeping pace with the top teams in the conference, taking their turn in keeping the Eagles off their perch. They have a big game coming up in two weeks, but they first have to stay focused on avenging a defeat at the hands of the Vikings from last season.
3. Sacramento State (3)---Last week beat Northern Colorado at home 55-7, this week at Eastern Washington---The Hornets are for real and they seem to put lesser teams away with relative ease. They didn't give the Bears any chance last week, and now they go on the road and take their turn at the reeling Eagles squad.
4. Montana State (4)---Last week beat Idaho State at home 37-6, this week at Northern Colorado---The Bobcats are looking sharp with their home win last week when they didn't give the Bengals much chance to spring an upset. A tough test awaits them in two weeks, but first they cannot overlook a conference road game.
5. Idaho (5)---Last week bye, this week at Montana---The Vandals have looked really good against FCS competition and have to be feeling good about themselves heading into the break. The road will get tough from now on, starting with this week's game on the road, but the Vandals had two weeks to prepare so they should be ready.
6. UC Davis (6)---Last week bye, this week Northern Arizona at home---The Aggies have been coming up just short so it was probably a great time to take a break, catch their breath and turn their attention to finishing the season strong. They have a game this week at home against a reeling Lumberjack squad to return back to competition.
7. Eastern Washington (7)---Last week lost at Weber State 45-21, this week Sacramento State at home---The Eagles offense is having problems in that they cannot cover the points that their defense is giving up. That certainly does not bode well for a winning team. And this week, they get another high-flying conference foe, at their house.
8. Portland State (8)---Last week beat Lincoln, CA (DII) 48-6, this week Weber State at home---The Vikings took a break from their conference schedule to play a team that only plays road games. One will see if they game was a tune up for conference success. They bring in a tough Wildcat team with revenge on their minds.
9. Northern Arizona (9)---Last week beat Cal Poly at home 31-29, this week at UC Davis---Good things were predicted for the Lumberjacks this season, so when they took a tough loss at the Vikings, they followed it up with a uncharacteristic performance at home against one of the worst teams. To top it off, things don't get much better this week.
10. Northern Colorado (10)---Last week lost at Sacramento State 55-7, this week Montana State at home---Did the Bears even make it to the Hornets den last week? They were somewhat competitive until last week's blowout. No one is going to show them any sympathy as they get another game against a heavy hitter, this time at their place.
11. Cal Poly (12)---Last week lost at Northern Arizona 31-29, this week at Idaho State---The Mustangs had a good road conference win in their grasp, but could not get it to come to fruition. Close games will only get them so far. This week, they stay on the road for a game to determine last place in the conference for now anyway.
12. Idaho State (11)---Last week lost at Montana State 37-6, this week Cal Poly at home---The Bengals took their feel good vibes from their game aganst the Grizzlies and promptly fell flat on their faces last week at the Bobcats. Things should get a bit easier, on paper this week, as they return home to face a more formidable foe.
RECAP: 1-4 on top, 5-6 staying close, 7-9 trying to hold on, 10-12 bringing up the rear.