Big Sky Predictions 9-4

[JALMOND]

After Week 0 that Southern Utah played in, I can claim a perfect 1-0 start. However, this week all the Big Sky schools are playing, including Southern Utah again, so there are 13 games this week. My quest for perfection will be extremely difficult this weekend. The conference has 5 games on Thursday which is why I'm rolling them out today instead of the usual Wednesday. Like I mentioned last week, the Big Sky schools will have their scoreboard abbreviation and the non-Big Sky schools will be spelled out which is why EWU is playing Nevada-Las Vegas this weekend instead of UNLV. Here's my attempt at perfection...

CP at San Diego (FCS Pioneer) Saturday---Mustangs get underway with a short trip down the California coast to a strong Pioneer program eager for a chance to play the mighty Big Sky. Mustangs are hoping for a strong showing but they may end up on the short end of the stick here. San Diego 28, CP 17.

EWU at Nevada-Las Vegas (FBS Mtn West) Thursday---Eagles are eager to get the season on the way and they start by heading down to Vegas. The Eagles can get this game, as long as they treat it as a business trip and not just a fun Vegas weekend. EWU 35, Nevada-Las Vegas 23.

Simon Fraser (DII) at UI Saturday---Everyone is playing a DI opponent except for the Vandals who bring in a DII opponent from the dying Great Northwest. This should be a great tuneup for the Vandals to prepare for bigger things on the horizon. UI 56, Simon Fraser 7.

North Dakota (FCS Missouri Valley) at ISU Saturday---For the opening weekend, the Bengals bring in a former member of the conference, North Dakota, for a strong opener. Bengals have this game at home and could possibly surprise but the Hawks may have too much power. North Dakota 35, ISU 32.

UM at Washington (FBS Pac-12) Saturday---The Grizzlies start the season strong with a trip to play one of the contenders in the Pac-12 North division. The Grizzlies should have a great season but this may be too big of a mouthful for them. Washington 48, Montana 20.

MSU at Wyoming (FBS Mtn West) Saturday---A new era for the Bobcats begins Saturday with a border clash with Wyoming. The Bobcats may have a chance here if everything is clicking early but Wyoming may prove to be a bit too much for them. Wyoming 31, Montana State 20.

Sam Houston (FCS WAC) at NAU Thursday---The Lumberjacks come in to the season with high hopes in the conference and they are eager to show it against one of the stronger FCS programs in the country. All good intentions aside, this may not be a great shot for a win. Sam Houston 38, NAU 27.

UNC at Colorado (FBS Pac-12) Friday---The dawn of a new age starts for the Bears on Friday as they start the season against their bigger in-state brethren. A new start, a new look, against a strong Pac-12 team. This may get ugly very quickly. Colorado 42, UNC 14.

PSU at Hawaii (FBS Mtn West) Saturday---In the nightcap, the Vikings head out to the islands for their start to the season. The last time they were there, they got the win. But that was 20 years ago and things are different now. Hawaii 38, PSU 23.

SAC at Dixie State (FCS WAC transitional) Saturday---The Hornets are hoping for the good things that started for them a few years ago will continue on this season. They hit the road against a transitional team eager for a strong start as well. In the end, a good win for the Hornets. SAC 28, Dixie State 21.

SUU at Arizona State (FBS Pac-12) Thursday---The Thunderbirds were the only Big Sky school to play in Week 0 and now they have a short week to prepare for a Pac-12 opponent. Will they be a little more competitive in this game? Maybe not. Arizona State 41, SUU 14.

UCD at Tulsa (FBS American) Thursday---After just missing out on the playoffs during the shortened season, the Aggies are hoping for a strong start to this season. Problem is Tulsa is hoping to continue their good fortune from last season. Aggies will need to play well to win, or come close. Tulsa 28, UCD 25.

WSU at Utah (FBS Pac-12) Thursday---The Wildcats are hoping to build on their successful season last year when they won the conference title. They start by taking the short trip down the freeway to play their bigger Pac-12 brothers. The Wildcats need a strong game to stay close. Utah 28, WSU 14.

[AZGrizFan]

Bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.

I think CP survives San Diego (giving them this because of their new HC)
I don’t think EWU beats UNLV either.
Utah puts up at least 35 on Weebs
No WAY PSU scores 23 on Hawaii, or UNC 14 on Colorado
I think SHSU beats NAU going away

And if Montana scores 20 on Washington I’ll be ecstatic.

[SDHornet]

USD over CP
UNLV over EWU
Idaho over SF
UND over ISU
UDub over UM
Wyo over MSU
SHSU over NAU
Colorado over UNC
Hawaii over PSU
Sac State over Utah Tech
ASU over SUU
Tulsa over the dungpilers
Utah over Weebs

[Mvemjsunpx]

Thursday

EWU 35-27 UNLV — The first, and probably last, FBS scalp of the season for the Big Sky

Davis 17-34 Tulsa — Tulsa actually managed to get to the AAC Championship Game in 2020

Suutah 14-59 Arizona St. — The T-Birds have two FBS games 5 days apart, then no game for more than 2 weeks

Weber 10-31 Utah — Weber's two FBS losses in 2019 were decided by a combined score of 25-13

SHSU 45-24 NAU — The Lumberjacks last hosted the defending national champions 10 years ago (lost to EWU 36-28)


Friday

NoCo 10-51 Colorado — Prediction: every UNC coach will be a member of the McCaffrey family by the end of the season


Saturday

PSU 17-55 Hawai'i — Portland State's 66-7 beatdown of North Texas seems like a lifetime ago

Cal Poly 21-31 San Diego — The 'Stangs looked awful in the spring

Sac State 34-20 Dixie — The Hornets haven't played since their postseason loss to Austin Peay, but their superior talent will eventually take over

Canuck School 3-52 Idaho — Simon Fraser has won 2 games in the past 5 seasons (skipping 2020)

NoDak 27-30 Idaho St. — The Bengals have had NoDak's number in recent years, for whatever reason

Montana 9-38 UDub — The official depth chart suggests the Griz will only start 10 players on offense this week

Montana St. 14-24 Wyoming — The Cowboys haven't looked impressive in their last few FCS games

[kalm]

I think both ISU and NAU have decent shots at pulling the upset.

[AZGrizFan]

Montana 9-38 UDub — The official depth chart suggests the Griz will only start 10 players on offense this week

Just wanted to give the poor Huskies a chance…make them feel good about themselves.

[SuperHornet]

For the most part, I like JAL's picks. Here are mine:

San Diego 21, Cow Poly 10. I think I heard something about Cow Poly finally dumping the Wishbone. Shifting offenses is always difficult, and San Diego is one of the few semi-tough non-schollie schools out there. A decent win for the Pioneer, but not a blowout.

EWU 31, UNLV 17 A perfect set-up for a scalp.

Idalol 24, Simon Fraser 20. The difference in division will tell here, but not by all THAT much. I just don't trust Idalol to do anything huge, even here.

North Dakota 35, Bungles 17. You can't trust ISU with ANYTHING....

Washington 35, Griz 24. Washington is decidedly NOT Wazzu nor Oregon State, both of whom have a history of playing down to one's opponent, and the Griz will play tough. UW will pull it out near the end, though....

Wyoming 24, Kitties 17. This one is something of a mystery to me. I don't really like MSU, but Wyoming also has a history of playing down to the opponent. I think the difference in division will tell, but not by as much as one would think....

SHSU 40, NAU 31. SHSU is playoff-caliber, but NAU falls just short of that.

Colorado 42, UNC 3. This will be a pathetic game.

Hawai'i 38, PSU 21. The Vikes will enjoy their trip to Paradise, right up until the kickoff.

Sac State 56, Dixie State 0. It's time for the Hornets to start their playoff run.

Danny White University 70, SUU 0. The Pac-12 will be way too much.

Manure Pile 31, Tulsa 27. This one is a mystery, but Davis did do well during the spring....

BBQ 24, Utah 23. A botched PAT will win this one for the Wildcats....

[JALMOND]

Idalol 24, Simon Fraser 20. The difference in division will tell here, but not by all THAT much. I just don't trust Idalol to do anything huge, even here.

The College of Idaho would have given the Vandals a better game than Simon Fraser.

[SuperHornet]

Idalol 24, Simon Fraser 20. The difference in division will tell here, but not by all THAT much. I just don't trust Idalol to do anything huge, even here.

The College of Idaho would have given the Vandals a better game than Simon Fraser.

I wonder how it would look if Simon Fraser were allowed to use CFL rules (12 men, any and all eligible receivers in motion in any direction so long as the snap happens before the line is crossed, and rouges allowed) while Idalol had to use NCAA rules....

[JALMOND]

The College of Idaho would have given the Vandals a better game than Simon Fraser.

I wonder how it would look if Simon Fraser were allowed to use CFL rules (12 men, any and all eligible receivers in motion in any direction so long as the snap happens before the line is crossed, and rouges allowed) while Idalol had to use NCAA rules....

Portland State played Simon Fraser a few years back. I watched that game and I thought they were clearly outclassed.

One of my buddies on the PSU board is a fan of Western Oregon and he said that Simon Fraser actually is competitive most of the time in DII. They just don't win many games. They've been playing American football for awhile now.

[SeattleGriz]

Montana 9-38 UDub — The official depth chart suggests the Griz will only start 10 players on offense this week

Just wanted to give the poor Huskies a chance…make them feel good about themselves.

I'll be in the stands yelling for the Griz. Huskies have no chance.

[JALMOND]

After Week 0 that Southern Utah played in, I can claim a perfect 1-0 start. However, this week all the Big Sky schools are playing, including Southern Utah again, so there are 13 games this week. My quest for perfection will be extremely difficult this weekend. The conference has 5 games on Thursday which is why I'm rolling them out today instead of the usual Wednesday. Like I mentioned last week, the Big Sky schools will have their scoreboard abbreviation and the non-Big Sky schools will be spelled out which is why EWU is playing Nevada-Las Vegas this weekend instead of UNLV. Here's my attempt at perfection...

CP at San Diego (FCS Pioneer) Saturday---Mustangs get underway with a short trip down the California coast to a strong Pioneer program eager for a chance to play the mighty Big Sky. Mustangs are hoping for a strong showing but they may end up on the short end of the stick here. San Diego 28, CP 17.

EWU at Nevada-Las Vegas (FBS Mtn West) Thursday---Eagles are eager to get the season on the way and they start by heading down to Vegas. The Eagles can get this game, as long as they treat it as a business trip and not just a fun Vegas weekend. EWU 35, Nevada-Las Vegas 23.

Simon Fraser (DII) at UI Saturday---Everyone is playing a DI opponent except for the Vandals who bring in a DII opponent from the dying Great Northwest. This should be a great tuneup for the Vandals to prepare for bigger things on the horizon. UI 56, Simon Fraser 7.

North Dakota (FCS Missouri Valley) at ISU Saturday---For the opening weekend, the Bengals bring in a former member of the conference, North Dakota, for a strong opener. Bengals have this game at home and could possibly surprise but the Hawks may have too much power. North Dakota 35, ISU 32.

UM at Washington (FBS Pac-12) Saturday---The Grizzlies start the season strong with a trip to play one of the contenders in the Pac-12 North division. The Grizzlies should have a great season but this may be too big of a mouthful for them. Washington 48, Montana 20.

MSU at Wyoming (FBS Mtn West) Saturday---A new era for the Bobcats begins Saturday with a border clash with Wyoming. The Bobcats may have a chance here if everything is clicking early but Wyoming may prove to be a bit too much for them. Wyoming 31, Montana State 20.

Sam Houston (FCS WAC) at NAU Thursday---The Lumberjacks come in to the season with high hopes in the conference and they are eager to show it against one of the stronger FCS programs in the country. All good intentions aside, this may not be a great shot for a win. Sam Houston 38, NAU 27.

UNC at Colorado (FBS Pac-12) Friday---The dawn of a new age starts for the Bears on Friday as they start the season against their bigger in-state brethren. A new start, a new look, against a strong Pac-12 team. This may get ugly very quickly. Colorado 42, UNC 14.

PSU at Hawaii (FBS Mtn West) Saturday---In the nightcap, the Vikings head out to the islands for their start to the season. The last time they were there, they got the win. But that was 20 years ago and things are different now. Hawaii 38, PSU 23.

SAC at Dixie State (FCS WAC transitional) Saturday---The Hornets are hoping for the good things that started for them a few years ago will continue on this season. They hit the road against a transitional team eager for a strong start as well. In the end, a good win for the Hornets. SAC 28, Dixie State 21.

SUU at Arizona State (FBS Pac-12) Thursday---The Thunderbirds were the only Big Sky school to play in Week 0 and now they have a short week to prepare for a Pac-12 opponent. Will they be a little more competitive in this game? Maybe not. Arizona State 41, SUU 14.

UCD at Tulsa (FBS American) Thursday---After just missing out on the playoffs during the shortened season, the Aggies are hoping for a strong start to this season. Problem is Tulsa is hoping to continue their good fortune from last season. Aggies will need to play well to win, or come close. Tulsa 28, UCD 25.

WSU at Utah (FBS Pac-12) Thursday---The Wildcats are hoping to build on their successful season last year when they won the conference title. They start by taking the short trip down the freeway to play their bigger Pac-12 brothers. The Wildcats need a strong game to stay close. Utah 28, WSU 14.

10-3 this week, 11-3 overall.

[kalm]

Cal poly had a QB pass for 318.

[SeattleGriz]

Just wanted to give the poor Huskies a chance…make them feel good about themselves.

I'll be in the stands yelling for the Griz. Huskies have no chance.

Need I say more?

[BDKJMU]

I'll be in the stands yelling for the Griz. Huskies have no chance.

Need I say more?

I haven’t said it yet, but congrats to Montana on the huge win.

I guess preliminary indications are sitting out the winter/spring didn’t hurt (although I see y’all played 2 games, and a lot of the teams that ‘played’ the winter/spring only ended up playing 1-3 games.

[kalm]

I'll be in the stands yelling for the Griz. Huskies have no chance.

Need I say more?

They had a chance.

[SuperHornet]

Less than .500 for me. Went with my heart more often than I should have, I guess. I DID call the Manure Pile's scalp, as much as it hurt to call THAT one....