Big Sky Power Rankings 9-30

[JALMOND]

The Grizzlies first bad game they've played all year. Put them on a neutral field, the outcome might be different. MSU, CP and NAU all pretty equal, even last week. MSU great road win, CP good road win, NAU great home win. I'll put conference road wins ahead of home wins for equal teams. Beating Montana at home is something, beating MSU with McGhee on the road, that is something else.

It was a total beat down. NAU dominated entire game. Home is worth 3-5 points. Don't give me this "wait until MSU game crap. NAU demonstrated they are far better than Montana

I still have to take in to account how NAU looked against Davis and South Dakota, two teams that more than likely are not going to take the FCS by fire this season. Has NAU's offense finally showed up this season? We may get that answer this week.

[AZGrizFan]

It was a total beat down. NAU dominated entire game. Home is worth 3-5 points. Don't give me this "wait until MSU game crap. NAU demonstrated they are far better than Montana

I still have to take in to account how NAU looked against Davis and South Dakota, two teams that more than likely are not going to take the FCS by fire this season. Has NAU's offense finally showed up this season? We may get that answer this week.

No, no you don't. NAU's offense scored 20 points. THey're the best team in the land.

[SDHornet]

I'm not sure I'd move them ahead of Montana anyway but I think all the talk of Cal Poly's weak defense is premature. I think time will show that Portland State has a hell of an offense and I think folks forget who Cal Poly has played.......Alabama's defense yielded similar numbers to Colorado St.......and Fresno State is currently ranked at about 20th in the country; Derek Carr will be getting Heisman hype by seasons end.

I'm not saying they are good...what I am saying is that it's a bit hard to judge right now. Lets see what PSU hangs on Montana this weekend......

I agree. Kind of funny SDHornet is calling Cal Poly defenseless when Sac State gave up 56 points and 599 yards to a NAIA team. Cal Poly held Fresno State's offense to a season low of 370 yards and 27 points (14 points were on punt returns). Cal Poly's D held PSU's offense to their lowest yardage this season (487 yards). PSU had over 550 yards of offense in their game against Cal and averaged over 600 yards for the season prior to playing Cal Poly. Are they a top D? Still too early to say, but I think it is safe to say they are not defenseless.

Kinda funny that you think I was claiming the Hornet defense is worth a damn with my statement. But if you want to talk about defensive performances then Sac’s D held SJSU’s Fales to his worst performance in his career (until Stanford did it again the following week). Does that mean our defense is any good? Hell no.

[SloStang]

I agree. Kind of funny SDHornet is calling Cal Poly defenseless when Sac State gave up 56 points and 599 yards to a NAIA team. Cal Poly held Fresno State's offense to a season low of 370 yards and 27 points (14 points were on punt returns). Cal Poly's D held PSU's offense to their lowest yardage this season (487 yards). PSU had over 550 yards of offense in their game against Cal and averaged over 600 yards for the season prior to playing Cal Poly. Are they a top D? Still too early to say, but I think it is safe to say they are not defenseless.

Kinda funny that you think I was claiming the Hornet defense is worth a damn with my statement. But if you want to talk about defensive performances then Sac’s D held SJSU’s Fales to his worst performance in his career (until Stanford did it again the following week). Does that mean our defense is any good? Hell no.

That was not my point. My point is that you have to take into consideration who our defense has faced. We have held each team to below their average and some to their lowest yards including Fresno State who is a FBS top 25 team. Portland State has some real talent on offense and I think that will show as the season goes on.

[uofmman1122]

I'd feel confident playing NAU again.

They had the perfect game plan, executed damn-near to perfection, punched us in the mouth to start, and we never recovered.

We, on the other hand, stuck to a game plan that wasn't working, started flat after a two-week letdown period, got overwhelmed early and had to play catch-up, and had two absolutely horrible, soul-crushing, deflating turnovers that were returned for scores.

It was the perfect storm.

Had they committed to a shorter passing attack, got the run going, and then decided to open it up downfield, I doubt we would have had much trouble winning the game.

So hopefully we'll get another shot in the playoffs.

If NAU can actually make the playoffs.

Also, I know it's stupid to play "what if", but without the ridiculous clown ball fumble returns, and had we done the smart thing and kicked the field goal on 4th and goal, both offenses would have scored 20 points. So yeah, we got beat down on the scoreboard, but NAU couldn't really do much after the first quarter.

I think NAU won't be able to count on 2 defensive TDs every game, especially in the Big Sky.

[cats2506]

I'd feel confident playing NAU again.

They had the perfect game plan, executed damn-near to perfection, punched us in the mouth to start, and we never recovered.

We, on the other hand, stuck to a game plan that wasn't working, started flat after a two-week letdown period, got overwhelmed early and had to play catch-up, and had two absolutely horrible, soul-crushing, deflating turnovers that were returned for scores.

It was the perfect storm.

Had they committed to a shorter passing attack, got the run going, and then decided to open it up downfield, I doubt we would have had much trouble winning the game.

So hopefully we'll get another shot in the playoffs.

If NAU can actually make the playoffs.

Also, I know it's stupid to play "what if", but without the ridiculous clown ball fumble returns, and had we done the smart thing and kicked the field goal on 4th and goal, both offenses would have scored 20 points. So yeah, we got beat down on the scoreboard, but NAU couldn't really do much after the first quarter.

I think NAU won't be able to count on 2 defensive TDs every game, especially in the Big Sky.

As long as you still have Delany I would bet on NAU a second time. What are the odds that he would actually come up with a new gameplan?

[uofmman1122]

I'd feel confident playing NAU again.

They had the perfect game plan, executed damn-near to perfection, punched us in the mouth to start, and we never recovered.

We, on the other hand, stuck to a game plan that wasn't working, started flat after a two-week letdown period, got overwhelmed early and had to play catch-up, and had two absolutely horrible, soul-crushing, deflating turnovers that were returned for scores.

It was the perfect storm.

Had they committed to a shorter passing attack, got the run going, and then decided to open it up downfield, I doubt we would have had much trouble winning the game.

So hopefully we'll get another shot in the playoffs.

If NAU can actually make the playoffs.

Also, I know it's stupid to play "what if", but without the ridiculous clown ball fumble returns, and had we done the smart thing and kicked the field goal on 4th and goal, both offenses would have scored 20 points. So yeah, we got beat down on the scoreboard, but NAU couldn't really do much after the first quarter.

I think NAU won't be able to count on 2 defensive TDs every game, especially in the Big Sky.

As long as you still have Delany I would bet on NAU a second time. What are the odds that he would actually come up with a new gameplan?

That's an easy criticism to make, but they've (outside of the NAU debacle) looked really good compared to last year. I think they thought NAU, like UND, would be more susceptible to the long pass play.

But you have a point. Once we got behind, it seemed like the entire team had a sense of panic that only exploded after the 98-yard fumble return. They didn't adjust, and kept trying to go downfield. Reminded me a lot of the 49ers when they played the Seahawks and Colts. They got away from their strengths and tried too hard to force their play, rather than go with what worked. JJ got hammered all night because we were constantly looking at long 2nd and 3rd downs, and yet even then they seemed only capable of trying long, drawn-out pass plays.

It remains to be seen if this is a 2008 Weber/2011 Sac-esque loss that intensifies our focus, or a 2012 NAU loss that signals a huge slide. I'm optimistic that it's the former, and I honestly am not afraid if we have to play them again, especially if it's in Missoula.