Big Sky Power Rankings 10-10

[JALMOND]

Sorry I'm late with these. Computer problems and my parents are in town (Dad is a big Bobcat fan ). Not much change in the rankings this week. Helps when the visitors are favored to win and they do win. Conference road wins are good, especially this late in the year. Here are this week's power rankings (last week's rankings). All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion.

1. Montana State (1)---In a battle of conference undefeateds, the Bobcats were able to hold off Portland State on the road. With the game in hand, the Bobcats forgot one thing about the conference...Never think you have the game won. But a road win is a good thing. This week, they stay home and welcome Northern Arizona. Should be cool.

2. Montana (2)---The game might have been expected to be closer, but no one can argue with the results as the Grizzlies took care of Idaho State on the road last week. From the score, it appears the offense may be finally getting on track. The defense is surely holding its end of the rope. This week, they entertain Portland State.

3. Eastern Washington (3)---The march towards reaching the playoffs continues for the Eagles, but it did get over a major hurdle at Northern Arizona. The Eagles really cannot afford even a minor slipup. This week, they stay at home and face Northern Colorado. Where they are, they cannot look past the Bears on their march.

4. Weber State (4)---While the favorites were winning on the road, the Wildcats took the week off to recover and reload. This week, they will stay home and face the unpredictable Idaho State team. If the Wildcats are entertaining any playoff thoughts, they cannot look past Idaho State.

5. Portland State (6)---Many things have been said about this Vikings team, but no one can say they "quit". Being down to the top team in the conference, Montana State, the Vikings almost stole a win at their place. However, the road does not get easy as this week they head down to Montana, a place that has not been kind to them recently.

6. Sacramento State (5)---So, the one thing that can ground the Hornet air attack seems to be the weather and a reluctance to throw. Such was the case last week at Northern Colorado, with the wind and the rain, but they still were able to hold on for a good road win. This week, an off week to thaw out.

7. Northern Arizona (7)---In trying to return to respectability, the Lumberjacks had a good opportunity to steal a win at home against Eastern Washington, but could not get the job done. Now it might be awhile before they can get another win. This week, they venture to the north country and play at Montana State.

8. Idaho State (8)---With their home place buzzing and making a lot of noise, the Bengals were unable to duplicate that magic on the field as they fell flat against Montana. A golden opportunity to make a statement and they were on the short end of that statement. This week, a chance to make some noise as they face their rivals, Weber State.

9. Northern Colorado (9)---As if it couldn't get worse, the Bears were just as cold as the weather playing at home to Sacramento State, in a game that no one really could do anything. Yet the Hornets found a way to win and the Bears found a way to hibernate early. They better wake up as they go on the road to Eastern Washington.

RECAP: 1, then 2-6 close together, 7 then 8 then 9.

[AZGrizFan]

2. Montana (2)---The game might have been expected to be closer, but no one can argue with the results as the Grizzlies took care of Idaho State on the road last week. From the score, it appears the offense may be finally getting on track. The defense is surely holding its end of the rope. This week, they entertain Portland State.

Uh.....NO. ISU giftwrapped SEVEN turnovers for the Griz....5 first half turnovers resulted in a grand total of 3 points for the mighty Griz offense. SIX field goal attempts by the mighty Griz offense. Sure, 499 total yards, but they also had TWENTY possessions and ran 93 offensive plays....it was a less than stellar performance against a horrible defense. I do not have a warm fuzzy for the remainder of the season and getting playoff eligible.

[JALMOND]

2. Montana (2)---The game might have been expected to be closer, but no one can argue with the results as the Grizzlies took care of Idaho State on the road last week. From the score, it appears the offense may be finally getting on track. The defense is surely holding its end of the rope. This week, they entertain Portland State.

Uh.....NO. ISU giftwrapped SEVEN turnovers for the Griz....5 first half turnovers resulted in a grand total of 3 points for the mighty Griz offense. SIX field goal attempts by the mighty Griz offense. Sure, 499 total yards, but they also had TWENTY possessions and ran 93 offensive plays....it was a less than stellar performance against a horrible defense. I do not have a warm fuzzy for the remainder of the season and getting playoff eligible.

That's okay. You're going up against our secondary this weekend. We should make you very pleased.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

Uh.....NO. ISU giftwrapped SEVEN turnovers for the Griz....5 first half turnovers resulted in a grand total of 3 points for the mighty Griz offense. SIX field goal attempts by the mighty Griz offense. Sure, 499 total yards, but they also had TWENTY possessions and ran 93 offensive plays....it was a less than stellar performance against a horrible defense. I do not have a warm fuzzy for the remainder of the season and getting playoff eligible.

That's okay. You're going up against our secondary this weekend. We should make you very pleased.

I hope so, we have had a few receivers taking plays off and not trying very hard.

I'd put the rankings like this:
1. Montana State - can't argue with winning.
2. Montana - Defense is playing well, the offense is well, offensive at times
2. Weber State - Should get some guys back and roll at home this week
2. Portland State - With only one conference loss, they are still a factor
2. Sacramento State - Need to learn to throw the ball
6. Eastern Washington - still have a shot at making the playoffs
7. Northern Arizona - can still be a fly in the ointment and probably will pull out an upset somewhere to mess things up
8. Idaho State - beat NoCo
9. Northern Colorado - hope they can play better

[SuperHornet]

2. Portland State - With only one conference loss, they are still a factor

[AZGrizFan]

That's okay. You're going up against our secondary this weekend. We should make you very pleased.

I hope so, we have had a few receivers taking plays off and not trying very hard.

If I were a WR in the Montana offense I'd be pissed as hell. 3-4 WR on the field almost every play, and in the ISU game the high receptions total for a WR was TWO. TWO!!! 22 completions from the QB's, 8 to Kemp and 5 to the running backs. Sambrano had 2, Gratton had 2, Moutra had 1 and Saylor had 2. The WR's and the TE's are absolutely non existent in this offense, and they're the best players on the field.

Is it a coincidence that on the Griz's first TD drive there were two key completions to the WR's? Or that on the 2nd TD drive, there was a key completion (28 yards) to a WR? A scary evolution has developed in the Griz offense...when they incorporate the WR's, they move the ball...when they don't they settle for field goals.

[catbooster]

We did have some wide open receivers...but I think PSU is capable of playing some good football. I wouldn't pick them to win over the Griz, but they could win if overlooked or play near their best ability.

What I don't understand is how they can continue to have so many penalties. Does Burton not care, or is he having that much trouble getting the players to play disciplined ball? Or something else? You have one of the top rushers in FCS, in terms of yardage gained, but I read that the penalties are almost as many yards as he has gained for the year so far. You won't win many games that way.

[SuperHornet]

I know I said last week that PSU should be ahead of Sac, but using a monsoon to justify the move doesn't seem very logical....

[JALMOND]

What I don't understand is how they can continue to have so many penalties. Does Burton not care, or is he having that much trouble getting the players to play disciplined ball? Or something else? You have one of the top rushers in FCS, in terms of yardage gained, but I read that the penalties are almost as many yards as he has gained for the year so far. You won't win many games that way.

Burton did threaten to bench anyone with a penalty after the third quarter of the Bobcat game. It seemed to work as we only had one penalty in the fourth. He did say that keeping your composure is going to be a point of emphasis during practice this week. Good thing as keeping your composure is really tough playing at Missoula at times.

The Idaho State game was more dealing with the noise (false starts and offside penalties). The Bobcat game was lack of composure. No matter if it is a big game, you need to stay within yourself.

[JALMOND]

I know I said last week that PSU should be ahead of Sac, but using a monsoon to justify the move doesn't seem very logical....

Weather may be a neutralizing factor, but staying close to a team that everyone had been kicking so far this year as compared to a team that came within inches of going to OT with the best team in the conference. PSU wasn't that far behind last week and really aren't that far ahead this week.

[catbooster]

Burton did threaten to bench anyone with a penalty after the third quarter of the Bobcat game. It seemed to work as we only had one penalty in the fourth. He did say that keeping your composure is going to be a point of emphasis during practice this week. Good thing as keeping your composure is really tough playing at Missoula at times.

The Idaho State game was more dealing with the noise (false starts and offside penalties). The Bobcat game was lack of composure. No matter if it is a big game, you need to stay within yourself.

That's good. I hope they can clean up the panalties. I hate to see momentum, outcome, etc. determined by the refs rather than the players' abilities (although with the Big Sky's refs ...).

[SuperHornet]

JALMOND: Was the penalty problem an eagerness issue (i.e. offside and maybe false start) or a stupidity issue (e.g. personal fouls)? Were all of those penalties legitimately earned, or was there some of the old story of horrible BSC officials going on, too?

[grizzaholic]

PSU's coach needs a beating thrown his way.

[CatBlitz22]

JALMOND: Was the penalty problem an eagerness issue (i.e. offside and maybe false start) or a stupidity issue (e.g. personal fouls)? Were all of those penalties legitimately earned, or was there some of the old story of horrible BSC officials going on, too?

BSC refs were wretched. And PSU is dirty and I lost all respect for the program after Saturday.

[cats2506]

We did have some wide open receivers...but I think PSU is capable of playing some good football. I wouldn't pick them to win over the Griz, but they could win if overlooked or play near their best ability.

What I don't understand is how they can continue to have so many penalties. Does Burton not care, or is he having that much trouble getting the players to play disciplined ball? Or something else? You have one of the top rushers in FCS, in terms of yardage gained, but I read that the penalties are almost as many yards as he has gained for the year so far. You won't win many games that way.

Currently PSU has 599 in Penelties and McCaffery has 628 in Rushing

[cats2506]

JALMOND: Was the penalty problem an eagerness issue (i.e. offside and maybe false start) or a stupidity issue (e.g. personal fouls)? Were all of those penalties legitimately earned, or was there some of the old story of horrible BSC officials going on, too?

stupid penalties and dirty play, yes the BSC refs sucked but that isnt why they are getting so many penalties.

[JALMOND]

JALMOND: Was the penalty problem an eagerness issue (i.e. offside and maybe false start) or a stupidity issue (e.g. personal fouls)? Were all of those penalties legitimately earned, or was there some of the old story of horrible BSC officials going on, too?

If you want me to make a comment of the officiating, I will offer the following...I've been following Big Sky football for a long time and, within the last five years, I have seen a strong reluctance of the officials to make a close call go against the home team, regardless of who is playing or who the home team is. That is why it is extremely difficult to win in this conference on the road.

I have never said BSC officials are "horrible" and I will not say that now either. The job of officiating is a thankless job but that plays an important part in the course of the game. They are the easiest scapegoats, yet winning or losing a game can be pinpointed to other things that happened, usually with virtually no effort at finding them.

Our loss against Montana State had to do with blown coverages in the secondary and the fact that McGhee is an outstanding quarterback who will routinely burn you if given that chance. If Montana State would have lost, you could point to the questionable playcalling on the two kickoff returns late that got us back in the game.

Our penalty situation is something that Burton is not pleased with and made adjustments with it as the game went on, even threatening to bench players that made stupid penalties. Does that sound like someone who condones "dirty play"? Portland's KGW TV station caught the whole post game exchange on the field between Ash and Burton and no mention was made by Ash about "dirty play". None of our players or our coaches have been repremanded by the conference about "dirty play". No one was thrown out of the game because of "dirty play". I find it interesting how, after a thoroughly entertaining and hard-fought game, some want to come here and talk about "dirty play". I say, whatever. I know what I saw and I saw a great game between two good teams. You all are entitled to your opinions, but be careful about the term "dirty play".

[grizzaholic]

JALMOND: Was the penalty problem an eagerness issue (i.e. offside and maybe false start) or a stupidity issue (e.g. personal fouls)? Were all of those penalties legitimately earned, or was there some of the old story of horrible BSC officials going on, too?

If you want me to make a comment of the officiating, I will offer the following...I've been following Big Sky football for a long time and, within the last five years, I have seen a strong reluctance of the officials to make a close call go against the home team, regardless of who is playing or who the home team is. That is why it is extremely difficult to win in this conference on the road.

I have never said BSC officials are "horrible" and I will not say that now either. The job of officiating is a thankless job but that plays an important part in the course of the game. They are the easiest scapegoats, yet winning or losing a game can be pinpointed to other things that happened, usually with virtually no effort at finding them.

Our loss against Montana State had to do with blown coverages in the secondary and the fact that McGhee is an outstanding quarterback who will routinely burn you if given that chance. If Montana State would have lost, you could point to the questionable playcalling on the two kickoff returns late that got us back in the game.

Our penalty situation is something that Burton is not pleased with and made adjustments with it as the game went on, even threatening to bench players that made stupid penalties. Does that sound like someone who condones "dirty play"? Portland's KGW TV station caught the whole post game exchange on the field between Ash and Burton and no mention was made by Ash about "dirty play". None of our players or our coaches have been repremanded by the conference about "dirty play". No one was thrown out of the game because of "dirty play". I find it interesting how, after a thoroughly entertaining and hard-fought game, some want to come here and talk about "dirty play". I say, whatever. I know what I saw and I saw a great game between two good teams. You all are entitled to your opinions, but be careful about the term "dirty play".

Time to take those green glasses off Jalmond.

[weberwildcat]

I'd put the rankings like this after week 6:
1. Montana State -
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2. Eastern Washington -
2. Montana -
2. Sacramento State -
2. Weber State -
6. Portland State -
7. Northern Arizona -
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.
.

8. Idaho State -
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.
.
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.
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9. Northern Colorado -

[weberwildcat]

2. Montana (2)---The game might have been expected to be closer, but no one can argue with the results as the Grizzlies took care of Idaho State on the road last week. From the score, it appears the offense may be finally getting on track. The defense is surely holding its end of the rope. This week, they entertain Portland State.

Uh.....NO. ISU giftwrapped SEVEN turnovers for the Griz....5 first half turnovers resulted in a grand total of 3 points for the mighty Griz offense. SIX field goal attempts by the mighty Griz offense. Sure, 499 total yards, but they also had TWENTY possessions and ran 93 offensive plays....it was a less than stellar performance against a horrible defense. I do not have a warm fuzzy for the remainder of the season and getting playoff eligible.

it really is an unbelievable box score when you look at all the stats. were griz sleep walking in the first half or what? i saw none of the game.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=312810304" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[WeberAlum02]

Agreed, with one change

I'd put the rankings like this after week 6:
1. Montana State -
.
.
.
.
.
2. Eastern Washington -
2. Montana -
2. Sacramento State -
2. Weber State -
6. Portland State -
7. Northern Arizona -
8. Idaho State -
.
.
.
.
.
9. Northern Colorado -

[weberwildcat]

Agreed, with one change

I'd put the rankings like this after week 6:
1. Montana State -
.
.
.
.
.
2. Eastern Washington -
2. Montana -
2. Sacramento State -
2. Weber State -
6. Portland State -
7. Northern Arizona -
8. Idaho State -
.
.
.
.
.
9. Northern Colorado -

i just updated my post too

[weberwildcat]

jalm, they are all close for now but i need to see sac a little higher.

[WSUWaldo]

Sorry I'm late with these. Computer problems and my parents are in town (Dad is a big Bobcat fan ). Not much change in the rankings this week. Helps when the visitors are favored to win and they do win. Conference road wins are good, especially this late in the year. Here are this week's power rankings (last week's rankings). All are my opinion only and all are open for discussion.

1. Montana State (1)---In a battle of conference undefeateds, the Bobcats were able to hold off Portland State on the road. With the game in hand, the Bobcats forgot one thing about the conference...Never think you have the game won. But a road win is a good thing. This week, they stay home and welcome Northern Arizona. Should be cool.

2. Montana (2)---The game might have been expected to be closer, but no one can argue with the results as the Grizzlies took care of Idaho State on the road last week. From the score, it appears the offense may be finally getting on track. The defense is surely holding its end of the rope. This week, they entertain Portland State.

3. Eastern Washington (3)---The march towards reaching the playoffs continues for the Eagles, but it did get over a major hurdle at Northern Arizona. The Eagles really cannot afford even a minor slipup. This week, they stay at home and face Northern Colorado. Where they are, they cannot look past the Bears on their march.

4. Weber State (4)---While the favorites were winning on the road, the Wildcats took the week off to recover and reload. This week, they will stay home and face the unpredictable Idaho State team. If the Wildcats are entertaining any playoff thoughts, they cannot look past Idaho State.

5. Portland State (6)---Many things have been said about this Vikings team, but no one can say they "quit". Being down to the top team in the conference, Montana State, the Vikings almost stole a win at their place. However, the road does not get easy as this week they head down to Montana, a place that has not been kind to them recently.

6. Sacramento State (5)---So, the one thing that can ground the Hornet air attack seems to be the weather and a reluctance to throw. Such was the case last week at Northern Colorado, with the wind and the rain, but they still were able to hold on for a good road win. This week, an off week to thaw out.

7. Northern Arizona (7)---In trying to return to respectability, the Lumberjacks had a good opportunity to steal a win at home against Eastern Washington, but could not get the job done. Now it might be awhile before they can get another win. This week, they venture to the north country and play at Montana State.

8. Idaho State (8)---With their home place buzzing and making a lot of noise, the Bengals were unable to duplicate that magic on the field as they fell flat against Montana. A golden opportunity to make a statement and they were on the short end of that statement. This week, a chance to make some noise as they face their rivals, Weber State.

9. Northern Colorado (9)---As if it couldn't get worse, the Bears were just as cold as the weather playing at home to Sacramento State, in a game that no one really could do anything. Yet the Hornets found a way to win and the Bears found a way to hibernate early. They better wake up as they go on the road to Eastern Washington.

RECAP: 1, then 2-6 close together, 7 then 8 then 9.

Jalmond...I've been a long-time reader of this forum, but just barely decided to post. I've always been big fan of your weekly power rankings. Thank you for taking the time to do them. As a huge admirer of FCS football, I wish these sort of things would have more publicity and support. Good job!!

[WSUWaldo]

2. Montana (2)---The game might have been expected to be closer, but no one can argue with the results as the Grizzlies took care of Idaho State on the road last week. From the score, it appears the offense may be finally getting on track. The defense is surely holding its end of the rope. This week, they entertain Portland State.

Uh.....NO. ISU giftwrapped SEVEN turnovers for the Griz....5 first half turnovers resulted in a grand total of 3 points for the mighty Griz offense. SIX field goal attempts by the mighty Griz offense. Sure, 499 total yards, but they also had TWENTY possessions and ran 93 offensive plays....it was a less than stellar performance against a horrible defense. I do not have a warm fuzzy for the remainder of the season and getting playoff eligible.

Yeah, since the Cats had the week off, I watched the Grizz vs. Bengal game. All I could do was shake my head. The Grizz offense looked anything but polished. Could it have been the Bengal defense? Or is it that UM's offense is really that out of sync?