Big Sky Predictions Week 2 (9/11)

[Screamin_Eagle174]

MSU 24 @ 21 Wazzu

ISU 10 @ 42 Utah State

UNC 21 @ 35 WSU

Central Wash. 24 @ 52 EWU

UM 34 @ 21 CPSLO

Western Ore. 14 @ 35 SAC

PSU 20 @ 28 UC-Davis

NAU 24 @ 31 Arizona State

[native]

MSU 17 @ 28 Wazzu
ISU 10 @ 42 Utah State
UNC 17 @ 45 WSU
Central Wash. 24 @ 42 EWU
UM 31 @ 14 CPSLO
Western Ore. 7 @ 31 SAC
PSU 13 @ 21 UC-Davis
NAU 10 @ 45 Arizona State

[frinq]

You're both wrong about PSU. Davis has a freshman QB starting this year. His only experience was the 52-3 drubbing at Cal. They gained, what? a total 83 yards; we gained a little over 200. We scored 3 field goals; they scored one. Is Cal that much better than ASU? Not that I could tell. Both teams are rebuilding, but on stats alone I'd put PSU winning by ten.

[native]

You're both wrong about PSU. Davis has a freshman QB starting this year. His only experience was the 52-3 drubbing at Cal. They gained, what? a total 83 yards; we gained a little over 200. We scored 3 field goals; they scored one. Is Cal that much better than ASU? Not that I could tell. Both teams are rebuilding, but on stats alone I'd put PSU winning by ten.

You could be right, fring!

[Screamin_Eagle174]

You're both wrong about PSU. Davis has a freshman QB starting this year. His only experience was the 52-3 drubbing at Cal. They gained, what? a total 83 yards; we gained a little over 200. We scored 3 field goals; they scored one. Is Cal that much better than ASU? Not that I could tell. Both teams are rebuilding, but on stats alone I'd put PSU winning by ten.

We're both entitled to our opinions, but whether I'm right or you're wrong won't be known until Saturday; that's why they play the game.

And yes, Cal is much better than ASU.

[Mvemjsunpx]

CWU 14-28 EWU (in Seattle) — Eagles win, but we all know it won't be easy.

PSU 16-28 UC Davis — The mediocrity game of the week. I'll go with the Aggies entirely because they're at home.

WOU 14-38 Sac State — WOU just beat the only Canadian school in the NCAA. Boy, does that mean absolutely nothing…

Idaho St. 7-48 Utah St. — The Bengals actually won this matchup 10 years ago. That won't happen this time.

NAU 21-38 Arizona St. — The 'Jacks love scaring their big brothers, they just never beat them.

Montana 27-14 Cal Poly — Griz O stays out-of-sync, but the D shuts down the 'Stangs.

Montana St. 24-28 Wazzu — Paul Wulff still has a little Bobcat-slaying magic in him.

NoCo 17-31 Weber — The Bears may be decent this year, but they don't have enough firepower to win in Ogden.

[SuperHornet]

Central Washington @ EWU 42-13
ISU at Utah State 52-3
UM at Cal Poly 35-31
MSU at Washington State 49-10
NAU @ Arizona State 21-17
UNC @ WSU* only conf game 31-9
PSU @ UC Davis 17-6
Western Oregon @ Sac 63-0

[Herky]

You're both wrong about PSU. Davis has a freshman QB starting this year. His only experience was the 52-3 drubbing at Cal. They gained, what? a total 83 yards; we gained a little over 200. We scored 3 field goals; they scored one. Is Cal that much better than ASU? Not that I could tell. Both teams are rebuilding, but on stats alone I'd put PSU winning by ten.

I'm with you on this one, PSU over the Manure Pile. Let's go Viks, destroy the ags.

[EWURanger]

MSU 14 @ 35 Wazzu - They may be crap but they still have Pac-10 athletes.

ISU 14 @ 28 Utah State - No chance for ISU even against lowly USU.

UNC 28 @ 24 WSU - Greatly improved UNC upsets Weber in a tight one.

Central Wash. 21 @ 42 EWU - Central stays with the Eagles the majority of the game but EWU pulls away in the 4th.

UM 31 @ 24 CPSLO - Poly's just not good enough to be Montana this year, even at home.

WOU 3 @ 54 SAC - Um, yeah. Won't be close.

PSU 28 @ 21 UC-Davis - Portland State will be much better this year and will take care of the Aggies.

NAU 24 @ 38 Arizona State - NAU will put a scare into ASU, but won't have enough to win it.

[JALMOND]

Computer problems last night led me cancel the predictions until today. 9-0 after last week, trying to build on that this week, which will be a bit more difficult as the competition is coming back to even. In addition to the non conference games, Weber State and Northern Colorado are meeting for the opening conference game of the year. Here are my predictions this week. All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion. Trying to stay perfect.

Central Washington at EWU---The Eagles come back to the state of Washington for this game and take on their DII instate brethren at Seattle. Last week, they never did lose sight of Nevada, but still a loss is a loss. Things should go better this week just by having Jones in the backfield...EWU 38, Central Washington 21.

ISU at Utah State---Seeing the Bengals at 1-0 is highly unusual, even as they beat an NAIA team. Carrying over from the end of last year with a win is also highly unusual. To beat the FBS Utah State on the road would also be highly unusual, especially after Utah State hung around Oklahoma last week. Highly unusual, yes, but highly unlikely...Utah State 48, ISU 10.

UM at Cal Poly---What a difference a week makes. The Grizzlies were pretty unstoppable last week on both sides as they played a DII. Cal Poly struggled against a DII. Both got the win, but the Grizzlies win was by far more impressive. Before last weekend, one might have thought Cal Poly had a shot in this game. As a result...UM 28, Cal Poly 24.

MSU at Washington State---A money game for the Bobcats, but a money game that people feel the Bobcats have a good shot at winning. Washington State is Pac-10 but at the bottom of the Pac-10 and the Bobcats are hoping for a great year. A good chance to steal a win against the Pac-10, but at the end, the Bobcats will have to be happy they kept it close...Washington State 28, MSU 20.

NAU at Arizona State---Typical scheduling by the Jacks had them facing a DII team that they destroyed in the opening week and then moving up to play one of their Pac-10 instate teams. Atypical of their opponent, Arizona State is playing their second Big Sky opponent in a row. Portland State could not stay close to Arizona State, now it is the Jacks' turn...Arizona State 34, NAU 10.

PSU at UC-Davis---While the Vikings were getting blown out at Pac-10 Arizona State, UC-Davis was getting blown out by Pac-10 California. This has been a good rivalry in the making as most games in the recent series have been close. For now, UC-Davis does have some pieces together to shrug off the loss to Cal. The Vikings still have work to do...UC-Davis 35, PSU 16.

Western Oregon at Sac State---Some are thinking this could be the Hornets year and putting 17 points on a strong Pac-10 team like Stanford is a good indication. This week they head down a level and welcome DII Western Oregon to their home. A good way to recover from last week...Sac State 48, Western Oregon 7.

UNC at WSU---It is hard to get an estimation where both these teams are, but with the conference season beginning now, both have to figure it out. The Bears destroyed a DII team while the Wildcats put up a game effort against the ACC's Boston College. Complicating it further is the idea that, for all their struggles since joining the conference, the Bears have always played the Wildcats tough. This should be the best game in conference. Its the only conference game...WSU 27, UNC 24.

[free7694]

Montana State at Washington State: Washington State, 28-24

Idaho State at Utah State: Utah State, 35-10

Northern Colorado at Weber State: Northern Colorado, 20-17

Central Washington at Eastern Washington: Eastern Washington, 41-24

Montana at Cal Poly: Montana, 31-20

Western Oregon at Sacramento State: Sacramento State, 45-9

Portland State at UC Davis: Portland State, 17-7

Northern Arizona at Arizona State: Arizona State, 38-21

[weberwildcat]

EWU 42, Central Washington 14
Utah State 49, ISU 7
UM 35, Cal Poly 14
MSU 24, Washington State 21
Arizona State 38, NAU 24
WSU 35, UNC 21
PSU 28, UC-Davis 27
Sac 41, Western Oregon 17

[JALMOND]

You're both wrong about PSU. Davis has a freshman QB starting this year. His only experience was the 52-3 drubbing at Cal. They gained, what? a total 83 yards; we gained a little over 200. We scored 3 field goals; they scored one. Is Cal that much better than ASU? Not that I could tell. Both teams are rebuilding, but on stats alone I'd put PSU winning by ten.

Cal was picked to finish anywhere from 3rd to 6th in the Pac-10 this year, ASU was a consensious 9th. As for the new QB, I, too, am not worried about him, nor am I about the receivers. I believe our corners can do a good job at shutting down the passing. What concerns me is the Aggies O-Line and Trombetta in the backfield. That aspect and, for us, having Kavanaugh at QB has always scared me. I know Hubel's style of play may not be typical of the traditional pistol QB, but we may need him to air out a few if we want to score touchdowns instead of field goals.

[bpcats]

UNC at Weber - UNC likes to play tight man to man coverage but struggled last year in that area and their run defense needed a little work..Hard fought battle with Weber winning 35-28 over improving UNC.

EWU vs Central Washington - From all accounts CW is a shell of former self EWU rolls 49-10.

Wazzu vs MSU - MSU struggled with pass defense last week and Wazzu freshman went off on Ok State. Talent of Wazzu wins out 42-28 over the Cats The Cats probably faced a better quarterback last week but didn't have time to throw.

PSU vs UC Davis - PSU wins in a tough battle. They were missing big plays on both sides of the ball due to talent gap..there is no gap this week and PSU wins 38-27.

Northern Arizona vs Arizona State - NAU has a better defense than Portland State and should hang tough. ASU 35- NAU 24

Sac State - rolls win big..

Montana @ Cal Poly - UM's defense is better than last year but offense is still trying to get in sync. Griz win 24-10.

ISU vs USU - Utah State rolls 52 - 20.

[SDHornet]

EWU 45, Central Washington 10 - Should b a good game for a quarter.

Utah State 38, ISU 3 - I know nothing about USU.

UM 42, Cal Poly 17 - Is CP going to have a bad year or were they overlooking Humboldt.

MSU 13, Washington State 27 - Pac 12 team takes it down. Should be a good game though.

Arizona State 38, NAU 20 - I hope NAU keeps it close. I have no idea how ASU is suppose to be.

WSU 34, UNC 17 - We'll see if WSU doesn't drop off from last year or/and if UNC really is improved.

PSU 17, cal-davis 9 - cal-davis is young and weak offensively, specifically in the passing game. I'm pulling for PSU to win this one.

Sac 38, Western Oregon 13 - We need to get everything going and use this game to prep for next week.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Correct Pick
Incorrect Pick
Actual Score
(-123) = Difference between predicted and actual point spread
APSE = Average Point Spread Error
___________________________________________________


MSU 24 @ 21 Wazzu
MSU 22 @ 23 Wazzu (-4)

ISU 10 @ 42 Utah State
ISU 17 @ 38 Utah State (-11)

UNC 21 @ 35 WSU
UNC 47 @ 50 WSU (-11)

Central Wash. 24 @ 52 EWU
Central Wash. 32 @ 35 EWU (-25)

UM 34 @ 21 CPSLO
UM 33 @ 35 CPSLO (-15)

Western Ore. 14 @ 35 SAC
Western Ore. 17 @ 31 SAC (-7)

PSU 20 @ 28 UC-Davis
PSU 41 @ 33 UC-Davis (-16)

NAU 24 @ 31 Arizona State
NAU 20 @ 41 Arizona State (-14)
___________________________________________________

This week: 5-3
Last week: 9-0
Overall: 14-3
APSE last week: 16.5 pts.
APSE this week: 12.9 pts.
APSE overall: 14.7 pts.
___________________________________________________


Overall, a crazy week in both FCS and FBS. This is why I love college football. Very close on the WSU-MSU game, yet a loss is a loss. A missed PAT and bad play call cost the Cats the game, one they had in the bag. A close game between PSU and UC-Davis like most expected, except the opposite result with PSU pulling off the win after both teams looked terrible against Pac-10 opponents last week. Montana lost in a surprising upset to Cal Poly after the Mustangs rallied to win against a weak D-II team last week. EWU held on to win against an always tough CWU squad after hanging in the game late against Nevada, one of the FBS's top offenses from last year. And in the game of the week, Weber State held off Northern Colorado in a quadruple overtime win in Ogden.

You have me by one game J, but it was almost the other way around. Looking forward to an intriguing week 3 in the BSC.

[CPAlum]

Correct Pick
Incorrect Pick
Actual Score
(-123) = Difference between predicted and actual point spread
APSE = Average Point Spread Error
___________________________________________________


MSU 24 @ 21 Wazzu
MSU 22 @ 23 Wazzu (-4)

ISU 10 @ 42 Utah State
ISU 17 @ 38 Utah State (-11)

UNC 21 @ 35 WSU
UNC 47 @ 50 WSU (-11)

Central Wash. 24 @ 52 EWU
Central Wash. 32 @ 35 EWU (-25)

UM 34 @ 21 CPSLO
UM 33 @ 35 CPSLO (-15)

Western Ore. 14 @ 35 SAC
Western Ore. 17 @ 31 SAC (-7)

PSU 20 @ 28 UC-Davis
PSU 41 @ 33 UC-Davis (-16)

NAU 24 @ 31 Arizona State
NAU 20 @ 41 Arizona State (-14)
___________________________________________________

This week: 5-3
Last week: 9-0
Overall: 14-3
APSE last week: 16.5 pts.
APSE this week: 12.9 pts.
APSE overall: 14.7 pts.
___________________________________________________


Overall, a crazy week in both FCS and FBS. This is why I love college football. Very close on the WSU-MSU game, yet a loss is a loss. A missed PAT and bad play call cost the Cats the game, one they had in the bag. A close game between PSU and UC-Davis like most expected, except the opposite result with PSU pulling off the win after both teams looked terrible against Pac-10 opponents last week. Montana lost in a surprising upset to Cal Poly after the Mustangs rallied to win against a weak D-II team last week. EWU held on to win against an always tough CWU squad after hanging in the game late against Nevada, one of the FBS's top offenses from last year. And in the game of the week, Weber State held off Northern Colorado in a quadruple overtime win in Ogden.

You have me by one game J, but it was almost the other way around. Looking forward to an intriguing week 3 in the BSC.

Screaming pretty nice work. i would only add that Humboldt is not "pretty weak". That team is full of ineligible DI guys. Cal Poly benefitted greatly from several guys that were not available last week. The coach also finally started the right QB. Big win for Cal Poly.

[EWURanger]

MSU 14 @ 35 Wazzu - They may be crap but they still have Pac-10 athletes.

ISU 14 @ 28 Utah State - No chance for ISU even against lowly USU.

UNC 28 @ 24 WSU - Greatly improved UNC upsets Weber in a tight one.

Central Wash. 21 @ 42 EWU - Central stays with the Eagles the majority of the game but EWU pulls away in the 4th.

UM 31 @ 24 CPSLO - Poly's just not good enough to beat Montana this year, even at home.

WOU 3 @ 54 SAC - Um, yeah. Won't be close.

PSU 28 @ 21 UC-Davis - Portland State will be much better this year and will take care of the Aggies.

NAU 24 @ 38 Arizona State - NAU will put a scare into ASU, but won't have enough to win it.

Dropped two this week. I knew the UNC-Weber game would be close, but damned UNC couldn't pull it out. And I honestly did not think Poly would knock off Montana.

UNC 47 @ 50 WSU

UM 33 @ 35 CPSLO

[SDHornet]

I called the PSU game. I knew they had it in them.

*Just ingnore my prediction of it being a low scoring game.

[JALMOND]

Computer problems last night led me cancel the predictions until today. 9-0 after last week, trying to build on that this week, which will be a bit more difficult as the competition is coming back to even. In addition to the non conference games, Weber State and Northern Colorado are meeting for the opening conference game of the year. Here are my predictions this week. All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion. Trying to stay perfect.

Central Washington at EWU---The Eagles come back to the state of Washington for this game and take on their DII instate brethren at Seattle. Last week, they never did lose sight of Nevada, but still a loss is a loss. Things should go better this week just by having Jones in the backfield...EWU 38, Central Washington 21.

ISU at Utah State---Seeing the Bengals at 1-0 is highly unusual, even as they beat an NAIA team. Carrying over from the end of last year with a win is also highly unusual. To beat the FBS Utah State on the road would also be highly unusual, especially after Utah State hung around Oklahoma last week. Highly unusual, yes, but highly unlikely...Utah State 48, ISU 10.

UM at Cal Poly---What a difference a week makes. The Grizzlies were pretty unstoppable last week on both sides as they played a DII. Cal Poly struggled against a DII. Both got the win, but the Grizzlies win was by far more impressive. Before last weekend, one might have thought Cal Poly had a shot in this game. As a result...UM 28, Cal Poly 24.

MSU at Washington State---A money game for the Bobcats, but a money game that people feel the Bobcats have a good shot at winning. Washington State is Pac-10 but at the bottom of the Pac-10 and the Bobcats are hoping for a great year. A good chance to steal a win against the Pac-10, but at the end, the Bobcats will have to be happy they kept it close...Washington State 28, MSU 20.

NAU at Arizona State---Typical scheduling by the Jacks had them facing a DII team that they destroyed in the opening week and then moving up to play one of their Pac-10 instate teams. Atypical of their opponent, Arizona State is playing their second Big Sky opponent in a row. Portland State could not stay close to Arizona State, now it is the Jacks' turn...Arizona State 34, NAU 10.

PSU at UC-Davis---While the Vikings were getting blown out at Pac-10 Arizona State, UC-Davis was getting blown out by Pac-10 California. This has been a good rivalry in the making as most games in the recent series have been close. For now, UC-Davis does have some pieces together to shrug off the loss to Cal. The Vikings still have work to do...UC-Davis 35, PSU 16.

Western Oregon at Sac State---Some are thinking this could be the Hornets year and putting 17 points on a strong Pac-10 team like Stanford is a good indication. This week they head down a level and welcome DII Western Oregon to their home. A good way to recover from last week...Sac State 48, Western Oregon 7.

UNC at WSU---It is hard to get an estimation where both these teams are, but with the conference season beginning now, both have to figure it out. The Bears destroyed a DII team while the Wildcats put up a game effort against the ACC's Boston College. Complicating it further is the idea that, for all their struggles since joining the conference, the Bears have always played the Wildcats tough. This should be the best game in conference. Its the only conference game...WSU 27, UNC 24.

6-2 this week means I start the year 15-2. I actually had Cal Poly beating the Griz in my preliminary projections all summer, then changed it after reading about the performances of both teams in week 1. As for Portland State, as a fan I was hoping for a win, but objectively, I had to take the home team over the visitors, especially after the home team (Davis) looked mediocre against a mid-level Pac-10 team (Cal) whereas the vistors looked mediocre against a lower level Pac-10 team (Arizona State). Needless to say, I was extremely pleased with the outcome, even if I missed it on my predictions.