Big Sky Power Rankings 10-25

[JALMOND]

My apologies for not getting this out on Monday...

After the dust cleared in the Big Sky last week, nothing unexpected happened. Yes, there were moments out there adn the conference was on the verge of the "big wreck" that I talked about last week. But in the end, with the big three playing at home, the home teams all emerged with wins and the road teams all came home wondering what happened. The road teams came close, some closer than expected, but what is the saying about close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and this game is football. Not much change in these power rankings for the week, so here they are. This week (last week). All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion.

1. Montana (1)---The Grizzlies knew that , even though they've had Northern Arizona's number the last few seasons and this game was in their house, the game was not going to be easy. Still, many thought the Grizzly magic in their house would carry them through. They just did not realize that it would take a last second drive for the win. This week, they hit the road again, going down to the bi-annual tilt at Weber State. Last time in Ogden was not too kind for the Grizzlies, will this be any different?

2. Montana State (2)---What has happened with the Bobcats? Just a couple weeks ago, they were clearly the top team in the conference and some Bobcat fans had visions of not only the conference title, but a possible national championship appearance. Then they faced Northern Colorado, a team that seems to always give them fits, and sure enough, the Bobcats had to come back in the fourth quarter to get the win. Are things right in Bozeman? This week, they head to Idaho State in what should be a "feel good" game, but will it be?

3. Eastern Washington (3)---An interesting fact in the games the Eagles have played since Sacramento State joined the Big Sky is that the Eagles have never lost when the game is on the road, but the Hornets have beaten the Eagles in Cheney (twice). It was widely speculated that this game, as it was in Cheney, was going to be close and it did live up to its hype, as the Eagles escaped with the win. Still, the Eagles' tough part of their schedule was early, this is the part that should be easy, yet games against Northern Colorado and Sacramento State have shown the opposite. This week, they hit the road and play at Portland State. Easy? Maybe not.

4. Northern Arizona (4)---Forget the fact that the Jacks had never won at Montana in a long time. They came into the massive stadium and stuck it to Montana for the full game and in the end, came close to getting the win. But still, close in football only means you lost. The Jacks came in hoping for the win and put themselves in a position to win, yet Montana's magic at the end was too much. This week, the Jacks head back home to face the upstart Sacramento State team. This game will not be easy, either.

5. Sacramento State (5)---Granted, the Hornets did not go up and play Eastern Washington with the hopes of having a good showing and heading home. Confidence was brimming as they faced the Eagles and confidence showed for most of the game. This may explain why this game was a difficult loss for the Hornets. This was a game they thought they could get and vault up the standings. This week still gives them a chance to cause chaos in the upper division as they head on the road to Northern Arizona.

6. Weber State (7)---With the big three playing at home up north, it was easy to overlook the Wildcats playing in a driving rainstorm the whole game against Portland State. These two teams played each other in what is beginning to resemble a typical clash between them, exciting and high scoring. The Wildcats thought the game was in the bag as they watched the comedy of the Vikings line up for a 65 yard FG as time ran out, then felt their hearts stop when the kick actually had a chance. Only when the ball fell two yards short could a sense of relief engulf the Wildcats. This week, not much easier but it is still Montana at home. More good crowd experience.

7. Portland State (6)---The Vikings headed down to Weber State last week thinking that they needed to stop with the turnovers to have a chance at winning the game. The Vikings were up by two scores only to see Higgins steal the game away. However, the Vikings did their best at stealing the game back as a 65 yard field goal try on the last play fell just short. Still, what it did was seal the fact that there will not be any chance at the playoffs this year. Still, this was to be a improving year and the Vikings can play spoiler as they welcome Eastern Washington out in Hillsboro.

8. Northern Colorado (8)---No one really gave the Bears a chance on the road against Montana State, even though the games played since the Bears joined the Big Sky have been close and competitive. But there were the Bears with a chance to win it in the fourth quarter. However, Montana State was able close out the deal and send the Bears home with another loss. This week, the Bears venture out of conference to play former DII rival, South Dakota on the road again. Another win would equal their win total from last year.

9. Idaho State (9)---While the lower division teams hit the road and gave the upper teams fits all day, the Bengals were taking the week off. Not as much excitement in that regard at Bengal Nation, and no excitement in having only one win and that was against the NAIA. However, having two weeks to prepare for Montana State and a chance to play them in the dome is always a good thing. Weird things happen in the barn and, after last week, nothing can change that.

Where they are...pretty much the same as last week. UM, MSU and EWU all bunched together, NAU, Sac State and WSU not that far behind, PSU a bit further out, UNC a bit behind PSU and ISU in the last spot.

[grizcountry420]

Nice job. Great post..

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

I always enjoy your posts on the conference Jalmond. I do wish I could feel better about my Griz being #1, just not sure where to put us right now.

[grizcountry420]

I always enjoy your posts on the conference Jalmond. I do wish I could feel better about my Griz being #1, just not sure where to put us right now.

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I always enjoy your posts on the conference Jalmond. I do wish I could feel better about my Griz being #1, just not sure where to put us right now.

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

He ain't crying about shit. He's stating a fact. It's tough to tell if we are the top team as far as strength right now and it probably will be until the season is over at which point EWU will likely win the conference.

[weberwildcat]

I couldn't believe PSU's kicker had that distance in him. Had he not kicked the ball into the wind thought it was slight but it was still raining, it might have gone in.

Weber at 3-2 could be 5-0 as easily as 0-5. Everyone can beat everyone this year. I think its the most fun Ive had watching games in this league.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

I always enjoy your posts on the conference Jalmond. I do wish I could feel better about my Griz being #1, just not sure where to put us right now.

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

Not crying at all, just don't know how good we really are yet. I hope we can continue to improve and get better. I try to be a fan that is honest about their team. Right now I feel like we are a playoff team but I can't say we are a title contender because I haven't seen us play that way. Are we capable? I would like to think so, but our execution is not there and has been suspect most games, even the ones we have won. I've watched all the games this year online and watched us live against NAU and have been watching Griz football a long time. This is the hardest team to put a stamp on for me anyway.

[putter]

I always enjoy your posts on the conference Jalmond. I do wish I could feel better about my Griz being #1, just not sure where to put us right now.

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

have you been hanging with Alpha?? This team has come back with 5 in a row but it hardly has looked good. I don't even care about the score, just look like a football team. lets get the OLine going and move the football The Griz D is legit but has been forced to live on the field. Look at our lack of TOP...it is very lopsided and it is that time of the year you need to milk the clock with sustained drives and this team has not shown a strong ability to do that this year....liking where they are going but very nervous about every game.

[JALMOND]

I couldn't believe PSU's kicker had that distance in him. Had he not kicked the ball into the wind thought it was slight but it was still raining, it might have gone in.

Weber at 3-2 could be 5-0 as easily as 0-5. Everyone can beat everyone this year. I think its the most fun Ive had watching games in this league.

He had offers to kick from some FBS schools (Boise, Oregon State, Washington) but he wanted to go somewhere where he could play more, mainly at receiver. Glanville picked him up as a receiver and, after the Oregon State game, Brown agreed to kick for us. He is a true sophomore and has made 4 kicks over 50+ yards so far in his PSU career (there has only been 8 made FG's over 50 yards in PSU history including his).

I was glad to see Burton had enough faith in him to try the field goal. Brown had been in a slump lately, going 2 for 5 the two games leading into the Weber game.

The only other school to offer him a scholarship at receiver was Willamette.

[Wildcat Ryan]

I couldn't believe PSU's kicker had that distance in him. Had he not kicked the ball into the wind thought it was slight but it was still raining, it might have gone in.

Weber at 3-2 could be 5-0 as easily as 0-5. Everyone can beat everyone this year. I think its the most fun Ive had watching games in this league.

He had offers to kick from some FBS schools (Boise, Oregon State, Washington) but he wanted to go somewhere where he could play more, mainly at receiver. Glanville picked him up as a receiver and, after the Oregon State game, Brown agreed to kick for us. He is a true sophomore and has made 4 kicks over 50+ yards so far in his PSU career (there has only been 8 made FG's over 50 yards in PSU history including his).

I was glad to see Burton had enough faith in him to try the field goal. Brown had been in a slump lately, going 2 for 5 the two games leading into the Weber game.

The only other school to offer him a scholarship at receiver was Willamette.

And Portland State is a MUCH better choice than Willamette

[JALMOND]

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

have you been hanging with Alpha?? This team has come back with 5 in a row but it hardly has looked good. I don't even care about the score, just look like a football team. lets get the OLine going and move the football The Griz D is legit but has been forced to live on the field. Look at our lack of TOP...it is very lopsided and it is that time of the year you need to milk the clock with sustained drives and this team has not shown a strong ability to do that this year....liking where they are going but very nervous about every game.

Must be a victim of the success. The main reason I've put the Griz at #1 is because they have won five straight conference games, something that has been proven to be very difficult this year, not only in the Big Sky, but all over the country. You first have to get to the playoffs and you do that by winning. Once you get there, you have to keep winning. If you win, you continue on. If you lose, you go home, and no one will care how you looked looked at that time.

[JALMOND]

He had offers to kick from some FBS schools (Boise, Oregon State, Washington) but he wanted to go somewhere where he could play more, mainly at receiver. Glanville picked him up as a receiver and, after the Oregon State game, Brown agreed to kick for us. He is a true sophomore and has made 4 kicks over 50+ yards so far in his PSU career (there has only been 8 made FG's over 50 yards in PSU history including his).

I was glad to see Burton had enough faith in him to try the field goal. Brown had been in a slump lately, going 2 for 5 the two games leading into the Weber game.

The only other school to offer him a scholarship at receiver was Willamette.

And Portland State is a MUCH better choice than Willamette

Actually, I guess they don't offer scholarships at DIII.

I should have edited my post, Willamette was the only one that showed an interest in playing him at receiver, as well as us.

[EWURanger]

I don't even care about the score, just look like a football team. lets get the OLine going and move the football The Griz D is legit but has been forced to live on the field. Look at our lack of TOP...it is very lopsided and it is that time of the year you need to milk the clock with sustained drives and this team has not shown a strong ability to do that this year....liking where they are going but very nervous about every game.

Funny, but this is the exact same criticism most EWU have of our team this year. You can almost count on our offense coming out hot to start the game and putting up points, only to fizz out in the 3d quarter and then somehow win the game in the final seconds. We rely almost entirely on big plays to score, and with the exception of the Weber game haven't really put together sustained drives on a consistant basis for 4 quarters yet this year. Our TOP differential is horrible. On defense, we've given up yards, but the stats don't really tell the whole story - they've given up those yards because they're on the field 3/4 of the game! Our defense is really the only reason we've kept ourselves in the close ones this year. Night and day from last year.

It's frustrating for people after 3 years of Meyer and 4 years of Nichols. Maybe we've been spoiled as fans with the offenses we've had the past few years, but we're all just "waiting" for this offense to wake up and show it's true potential. The talent in there - we just haven't been able to put it all together. Hopefully that changes this weekend.

[grizcountry420]

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

He ain't crying about ****. He's stating a fact. It's tough to tell if we are the top team as far as strength right now and it probably will be until the season is over at which point EWU will likely win the conference.

Your an idiot

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

He ain't crying about ****. He's stating a fact. It's tough to tell if we are the top team as far as strength right now and it probably will be until the season is over at which point EWU will likely win the conference.

Your an idiot

TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE!

[Grizalltheway]

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

Not crying at all, just don't know how good we really are yet. I hope we can continue to improve and get better. I try to be a fan that is honest about their team. Right now I feel like we are a playoff team but I can't say we are a title contender because I haven't seen us play that way. Are we capable? I would like to think so, but our execution is not there and has been suspect most games, even the ones we have won. I've watched all the games this year online and watched us live against NAU and have been watching Griz football a long time. This is the hardest team to put a stamp on for me anyway.

To be fair to grizcountry, you DID use the "crying or very sad" emoticon.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Not crying at all, just don't know how good we really are yet. I hope we can continue to improve and get better. I try to be a fan that is honest about their team. Right now I feel like we are a playoff team but I can't say we are a title contender because I haven't seen us play that way. Are we capable? I would like to think so, but our execution is not there and has been suspect most games, even the ones we have won. I've watched all the games this year online and watched us live against NAU and have been watching Griz football a long time. This is the hardest team to put a stamp on for me anyway.

To be fair to grizcountry, you DID use the "crying or very sad" emoticon.

i've already proven that grizcunt is an idiot so he probably didn't notice that.

[grizcountry420]

To be fair to grizcountry, you DID use the "crying or very sad" emoticon.

i've already proven that grizcunt is an idiot so he probably didn't notice that.

Jizz Towel > Ursus A. Horribilis

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

i've already proven that grizcunt is an idiot so he probably didn't notice that.

Jizz Towel > Ursus A. Horribilis

It's called a spankerchief fucko. Stop being a dummy please.

Good one though.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Not crying at all, just don't know how good we really are yet. I hope we can continue to improve and get better. I try to be a fan that is honest about their team. Right now I feel like we are a playoff team but I can't say we are a title contender because I haven't seen us play that way. Are we capable? I would like to think so, but our execution is not there and has been suspect most games, even the ones we have won. I've watched all the games this year online and watched us live against NAU and have been watching Griz football a long time. This is the hardest team to put a stamp on for me anyway.

To be fair to grizcountry, you DID use the "crying or very sad" emoticon.

Sorry, I shouldn't have used the "cry" smiley, I guess confused would have been better. I don't think you will find a post of mine where I am crying about our team, critical at times yes, whining and crying no.

[kalm]

I'd lump NAU in there with the other three as they have held serve at home and lost on the road to EWU, UM, and MSU and have also won rest they're supposed to.

[grizcountry420]

To be fair to grizcountry, you DID use the "crying or very sad" emoticon.

Sorry, I shouldn't have used the "cry" smiley, I guess confused would have been better. I don't think you will find a post of mine where I am crying about our team, critical at times yes, whining and crying no.

I know what your saying. It has been a difficult year to watch the Griz but somehow we keep finding a way to win games. It would be nice to watch a game where the Griz are firing on all cylinders.

[AZGrizFan]

We've won 5 games in a row and your crying about it??

He ain't crying about shit. He's stating a fact. It's tough to tell if we are the top team as far as strength right now and it probably will be until the season is over at which point EWU will likely win the conference.

Which begs the question....if the Griz win out and EWU wins out and therefore wins the conference title, will EWU be #1 in JALMOND'S power poll?

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

He ain't crying about shit. He's stating a fact. It's tough to tell if we are the top team as far as strength right now and it probably will be until the season is over at which point EWU will likely win the conference.

Which begs the question....if the Griz win out and EWU wins out and therefore wins the conference title, will EWU be #1 in JALMOND'S power poll?

Possibility but from the past I know that he ranks them based on what he thinks is the most productive team or powerful team at the time and therefore if he thinks the Griz would win on a nuetral field then the Griz may still have the edge.

[kalm]

He ain't crying about ****. He's stating a fact. It's tough to tell if we are the top team as far as strength right now and it probably will be until the season is over at which point EWU will likely win the conference.

Which begs the question....if the Griz win out and EWU wins out and therefore wins the conference title, will EWU be #1 in JALMOND'S power poll?

There is no way EWU can catch the Griz in Jalmond's poll unless the Griz lose or EWU beats them at home in the playoffs.