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And down the stretch they come. Rivalry week were really anything goes. Bad teams can make their season by beating their rival, and good seasons can be bad by losing to your rival. Here are this week's conference power rankings (last week in parenthesis). All are my opinion only. Last week of the regular season. Here they are.

1. Eastern Washington (1)---The Eagles took care of Cal Poly last weekend on the road and strengthened their quest for a seed in the playoffs. Clearly the top team in the conference and playing a strong schedule should help. This weekend, they entertain Portland State in the Dam Cup.

2. Northern Arizona (3)---Waiting for the end of season swoon for the Lumberjacks, yet they have pretty much seen their way clear. Last weekend they avoided a pitfall at home against lowly Northern Colorado. Things get tough this weekend as they head out to Southern Utah.

3. Montana (4)---The Grizzlies did not get much of a fight last weekend from Weber State and coasted with a good win. They should be a lock for the playoffs but they would like a strong signature win. This weekend they play Montana State in the Brawl of the Wild en route to the playoffs.

4. Southern Utah (6)---The Thunderbirds are for real and on the edge of a super season. They arrived last week with a great win at Montana State. This weekend, they head back home with a chance for icing on the cake against Northern Arizona.

5. Montana State (2)---Playoffs? Did someone say playoffs? Championship contender? All those things took a big hit last week as the Bobcats lost at home to Southern Utah. They may be in a spot having to win this weekend against Montana just to make the playoff field.

6. Cal Poly (5)---The Mustangs chances at being super spoilers against Eastern Washington last week went quickly away. Only a few scores late made the game look relatively close. Playing for pride and not much of a rivalry game this weekend, they go out to Northern Colorado to finish up.

7. Sacramento State (8)---The Hornets slept through most of their game last week at Portland State only to wake up just in time to get an impressive road win. Maybe they are still playing for something. They better stay awake this weekend as they bring in UC-Davis in the Causeway Classic.

8. Portland State (7)---The Vikings had their fourth win in a row in hand until a final drive by Sacramento State dashed all hopes they had of a winning season and a possible playoff spot. Now they are playing for pride as they go out to Eastern Washington.

9. UC-Davis (9)---The Aggies good season got better as they dispatched North Dakota last week at home. Laughing at the idea of rebuilding, they take the short trip to Sacramento State in the Causeway Classic in the hopes of ending the season a winner.

10. North Dakota (10)---The former Sioux in a season of high expectations, fell down last week in their last game of the year to UC-Davis, a team having a good season when they should be rebuilding. Nothing left to play for and no games left to play.

11. Idaho State (11)---The Bengals took a break from their conference season to play FBS foe Brigham Young (and got sounding beaten). Still, a fun respite from their rigors of the conference season. This weekend they head to Weber State for a chance to go out a winner.

12. Northern Colorado (12)---The Bears didn't give up last weekend in their game at Northern Arizona and showed they are going to finish the season strong, even if they don't have anything to play for. This weekend, they have one last home game, bringing in Cal Poly.

13. Weber State (13)---Things didn't go as planned for the Wildcats last week at Montana. Actually, things have not gone so well all year, but that could change. A win over the rival is a great way to go out and the Wildcats have Idaho State in town this weekend.

RECAP: 1 frontrunner, 2-5 just behind, 6 alone, 7 a bit behind 6, 8-9 out, 10-13 in the back.

Nope. Swap 4 and 6....

SuperHornet wrote:Nope. Swap 4 and 6....

So, you'd still put SUU below MSU?

Mvemjsunpx wrote:

SuperHornet wrote:Nope. Swap 4 and 6....

So, you'd still put SUU below MSU?

I would

BlackFalkin wrote:

Mvemjsunpx wrote:
So, you'd still put SUU below MSU?

I would

That makes alot of sense, especially when you take into account that we just beat ranked MSU in their house . And Cal Poly is a good team, but they are no better then we are this season, played alot of close game and each have a bad loss (Yale and UC-Davis).

BlackFalkin wrote:

Mvemjsunpx wrote:
So, you'd still put SUU below MSU?

I would

That's funny. BlackFalkin and SH sharing a coke together...

NAU too low

I'm happy with 9 since some sources pre-season had the Aggies at 12 or 13.

JALMOND wrote:8. Portland State (7)---The Vikings had their fourth win in a row in hand until a final drive by Sacramento State dashed all hopes they had of a winning season and a possible playoff spot. Now they are playing for pride as they go out to Eastern Washington.

Major league pet peeve of mine. When one goes East, one goes "back." When one goes West, one goes "out."

It's as simple as North is "up" and South is "down."

Granted, your format is traditional. The East is the center of population from which people went Out west to. But now the West Coast is the center of population, so we go Out to the relatively empty plains of the Palouse.

frinq wrote:Granted, your format is traditional. The East is the center of population from which people went Out west to. But now the West Coast is the center of population, so we go Out to the relatively empty plains of the Palouse.

Indeed. And after Saturday I am thinking you will have wished you had stayed "back" there.