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The end to a wacky season of football in the Big Sky. Two teams, Eastern Washington and Montana State will continue in the playoffs while the rest, including Montana, will stay home throughout. Here are the final Big Sky power rankings for the conference. All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion. Also included is the team's highest ranking and the lowest ranking for the season.

1. Eastern Washington Eagles (H-1, L-3)---The Eagles stayed fairly consistent and will claim a share of the conference title. They will take an at-large berth into the playoffs, due to losing to Montana State. They will welcome Southeast Missouri State from the Ohio Valley to the red field in two weeks.

2. Montana State Bobcats (H-1, L-2)---Many questions were answered positively for the Bobcats this year, culminating with a win in Missoula over Montana. Technically, they will share the conference title with Eastern Washington, but will claim the conference automatic bid into the playoffs due to their win over the Eagles. They, too, will be home in the second round, playing the winner of Robert Morris and North Dakota State in two weeks.

3. Montana Grizzlies (H-1, L-3)---In the end, a new coaching staff and new system doomed the Grizzlies from continuing their playoff streak. They had a shot, but a loss to Montana State at home did them in. Now they face the task of getting ready for next year, before Thanksgiving.

4. Sacramento State Hornets (H-4, L-6)---A wonderful year for the Hornets came to an abrupt end after losing last week to their rival, UC-Davis. Still, this year can be summed up as to what if as the Hornets had conference games wrapped up, only to see the opponent get a win late. One though, cannot help but think that the Hornet football program has turned a corner to the good side.

5. Weber State Wildcats (H-5, L-7)---A late season push was not good enough for the Wildcats to make it to the playoff picture but it did give hope to an otherwise dismal season. Late season wins over Montana and Northern Arizona meant the Wildcats closed on a positive note, but still not good enough.

6. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (H-4, L-6)---Once again, good feelings and hopes for a playoff appearance virtually guaranteed, the Jacks then took a dive at the end and fall out of the picture. This year was not as severe as in years past, but the chance was lost with home losses to Sacramento State and Weber State. Now, Jacks fans are wondering what is next.

7. Northern Colorado Bears (H-7, L-9)---What was supposed to be a breakout year for the Bears was met with disappointment, yet it ended on a good note with a win at Portland State. However, Bears fans were hoping for some more wins than Idaho State and Portland State and therefore, the season was not enough for the coach to keep his job. A new coach and a new philosophy may be what this program needs.

8. Idaho State Bengals (H-7, L-9)---Similar to Northern Colorado, the Bengals were hoping for good things, building on their near miss against Montana last year and the win at home against Portland State last year. By the end of the year they were playing much better, yet only ended up with a win over NAIA Montana-Western for the year. Next year, they will have a new coach to guide them.

9. Portland State Vikings (H-6, L-9)---Puzzling to say the least for the Vikings as the year ended. At the beginning of the year, they were able to get a win over UC-Davis, who beat Sacramento State at the end of the year, and trounced Idaho State, who was playing competitive at the end. Unfortunately, the Vikings went downhill from that point. Still, a young team and returning coach gives optimism for next year.

I wanted to thank all those who have responded to me about these power rankings throughout the year. These rankings came out of an idea I had that was inspired by Ken Goe of the Oregonian many years ago who did something similar with the Pac-10. It originally started to give those who were not familiar with the Big Sky an objective idea where the teams might be, ranking-wise. I appreciate all feedback, both positive and negative, that everyone gave through the years. Look for 2011's rankings around the last week in August.

Thanks again.

Nice job, JALMOND. My only quibble is that you rank your Vikes a spot too low.

Thanks for all the hard work this year!

native wrote:Nice job, JALMOND. My only quibble is that you rank your Vikes a spot too low.
Thanks for all the hard work this year!

Maybe even two spots....

Up until Saturday's Monsoon Bowl, I would have said 4 was a spot or two too low for Sacred City. After the egg we laid Saturday night, 4 might be a spot or two too high....

SuperHornet wrote:

native wrote:Nice job, JALMOND. My only quibble is that you rank your Vikes a spot too low.
Thanks for all the hard work this year!

Maybe even two spots....

Up until Saturday's Monsoon Bowl, I would have said 4 was a spot or two too low for Sacred City. After the egg we laid Saturday night, 4 might be a spot or two too high....

I couldn't drop you lower than Weber State after their performance against Texas Tech, although I would say they probably gained a bit on Sacramento State. In regard to NAU, the last four weeks, they beat UNC and PSU and lost to Weber and Sac State. I'd say 4, 5 and 6 are probably right.

As for my team, the way we finished as compared to both UNC and ISU, we were most likely fortunate we played ISU early on. My guess now, the game would have been similar to the UNC game. I'd say 8 and 9 is close.

Great job all season long J. I don't think we would have been ranked higher than 4th even if we had won this week. The monsoon conditions and no Hilliard plus a lot of self inflicted turnovers/mistakes were too much to overcome. Enjoy the offseason.

native wrote:Nice job, JALMOND. My only quibble is that you rank your Vikes a spot too low.

Thanks for all the hard work this year!

When I wrote my original response, I had forgotten that - unlike Weber State - Montana, Sac State and Northern Arizona each have a victory over a non-DI program this year.

Thus, I now have two quibbles. Weber has more DI wins than either Sacramento State or Northern Arizona, and is tied with the Grizz at 6 DI wins each.

For whatever it is worth, Weber should be tied with Montana for third in the 2010 Big Sky power rankings.

I enjoy reading these treads throughout the season.

JALMOND -

Thank you for your weekly power rankings/predictions for Big Sky football. Good stuff.

Jalmond does a really great job at this. Sometimes you can disagree with a team here or there but his reasoning is always pretty sound.

Thanks for all the work Jalmond

native wrote:

native wrote:Nice job, JALMOND. My only quibble is that you rank your Vikes a spot too low.

Thanks for all the hard work this year!

When I wrote my original response, I had forgotten that - unlike Weber State - Montana, Sac State and Northern Arizona each have a victory over a non-DI program this year.

Thus, I now have two quibbles. Weber has more DI wins than either Sacramento State or Northern Arizona, and is tied with the Grizz at 6 DI wins each.

For whatever it is worth, Weber should be tied with Montana for third in the 2010 Big Sky power rankings.

Coming back in here, I see you had another question. Good thing I didn't put away all my notes from this season (Portland State is done this year, as well as 7 of the 9 Big Sky teams, so forgive me for trying to tidy some things up).

Sacramento State was a pleasant surprise this year in the conference. They played the big 3 all fairly close, with two of those games on the road. They also beat Weber State in the head to head. They also played Stanford, a team that is currently looking at a major BCS bowl bid and has shut out three opponents this year (Sac State scored 17 on them). They also closed the year strongly, even with the loss to UC-Davis, with the win at Northern Arizona where they totally took apart the Jacks.

Weber State did not play a DII, that is true. They also played the big 3 close, with two of those games at home, including a win at home over Montana. They lost to Sac State in head to head. They played Boston College (at the beginning) and Texas Tech (at the end) about as well as Sac State played Stanford, yet the Eagles and the Red Raiders do not find themselves going to a major BCS bowl. They also beat NAU on the road, however the game was much closer than the shellacking the Jacks received from the Hornets.

Ultimately, the games that both played late in the year against NAU, and the head to head were too much for Weber State to overcome, even with their win against Montana and the Hornets loss the last game of the year to UC-Davis. I realize that the Wildcats beat UC-Davis at home, the Hornets lost to them on the road in a rivalry game. I stand by my decision to place the Hornets 4th and the Wildcats 5th. I will say it was close and something I did consider. Even if it came from an FBS, 64 points is a lot to give up your last game of the year.

native wrote:Thus, I now have two quibbles. Weber has more DI wins than either Sacramento State or Northern Arizona, and is tied with the Grizz at 6 DI wins each.

Wins do mean a lot but they are not the total factor. Portland State finished with two DI wins, Idaho State had none (only win against NAIA Montana-Western), yet with how both teams were playing at the end of the year, I'd say that the Bengals would beat the Vikings on a neutral field, given how the Bengals played Montana State and Weber State close and the Vikings let Northern Colorado come back to beat them, then looked terrible against Northern Arizona.

The Causeway was also played in the middle of a monsoon which obviously made its mark on the game.