Big Sky race

[clawman1]

Interesting how things are shaping up in the BCS
Montana State- is in the best shape to make the playoffs. They will get to 7 wins in the next two weeks.
Montana- will probably loose in Bozeman in last game of the season. If they loose any other games the balance of the season they will be at 6 wins. Out
Weber- can afford to loose one and still end up with 7 wins but that would put them in a tie with the Eagles, assuming the Eagles win out, and the tie breaker goes to the Eagles.
Eagles- we've known for several weeks we must win out or stay home. If they do win out they win a tie breaker against all except MSU and Montana.
Portland State- Must win out, they have a D-II game what limits their chances.
Sac State- Can afford to loose on and still get to 7 wins but if it against the Eagles EWU wins the tie breaker.
So if the Eagles win out they have a good chance to be the 3rd team from the BSC. I would be surprised to see four teams from the Big Sky make it in.

 

[Obzerver]

Have to believe we make it in if we go 7-4. Hard to keep a team(out of the BSC) who finishes with 7 wins and is the defending National Champions...

 

[EWURanger]

Still think any talk of making the playoffs is really premature. Three out of four of our remaining games will be very difficult to win, and the other one is no gimme, especially seeing how many passing yards we gave up against UNC.

I really think how we fare the rest of the season depends a lot on the progression of the offensive line and whether or not we can move people off the line and generate a respectable running game.

Of the four remaining games, all are winnable but all present their own unique challenges. I am by no means writing this team off just yet, but all we can really do is take it one game at a time and not worry too much about the playoffs at this point in time.

 

[FormerEag]

Still think any talk of making the playoffs is really premature.

Couldn't agree more. To quote coach Mora, "Playoffs?! You're talking about playoffs? Are you kidding me?"

We're sitting below .500. Playoffs are a loooong way off. I think there are some big games ahead of us and none of them (including ISU) are guaranteed. We have a brutal road trip to close out the season, and, pending the injury to McCaffrey, a bear of a final home game.

 

[EWURanger]

Still think any talk of making the playoffs is really premature.

Couldn't agree more. To quote coach Mora, "Playoffs?! You're talking about playoffs? Are you kidding me?"

We're sitting below .500. Playoffs are a loooong way off. I think there are some big games ahead of us and none of them (including ISU) are guaranteed. We have a brutal road trip to close out the season, and, pending the injury to McCaffrey, a bear of a final home game.

Hope the kid has a full recovery, but I wouldn't be heart-broken if he decided to take that game off.

 

[FormerEag]

Still think any talk of making the playoffs is really premature.

Couldn't agree more. To quote coach Mora, "Playoffs?! You're talking about playoffs? Are you kidding me?"

We're sitting below .500. Playoffs are a loooong way off. I think there are some big games ahead of us and none of them (including ISU) are guaranteed. We have a brutal road trip to close out the season, and, pending the injury to McCaffrey, a bear of a final home game.

Hope the kid has a full recovery, but I wouldn't be heart-broken if he decided to take that game off.

Yeah you really hate to see a guy like that go down. A really special player for what could have been a special season for the Viks. However, not having to deal with him would be a major plus for us.

BTW, watching that game made me remember how much I hate the Griz. Forget the whole "they supported us in the playoffs," bs. They play dirty, the refs give them calls and their fans are poor sports. Rivalry renewed.... :twisted:

 

[SDHornet]

I'm thinking we need to win out to get an at-large playoff berth. Our SUU loss is now a bad and embarrassing loss due to SUU's implosion, and even at 7 wins, it's hard to justify us getting a bid. I don't think the BSC gets 4 teams assuming there are 4, 7+ D1 win teams. We do have a favorable schedule in that this week's game with EWU will be our toughest one left, with the PSU road game being the next toughest left. Either way the Hornets need to take care of business every week if we want to see the post season. :twocents:

 

[Obzerver]

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/fcs/FCS_Bracket.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Has UM,MSU and SS in the playoffs from"For what it's worth dept."

 

[clawman1]

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/fcs/FCS_Bracket.pdf

Has UM,MSU and SS in the playoffs from"For what it's worth dept."

Notice his comments on the top? "William and Mary and Eastern will find a way into the playoffs"

 

[LDopaPDX]

The Big Sky will likely benefit from the Colonial having what appears to be a down year... Towson is at the top of that heap with Maine. Scary... who'da thunk it?

Anyone out of the Big sky that goes 7-4 is probably in, with the exception of Portland State who'll need 8 wins since they play a D-III and a D-II. The real dilemma would be if Montana goes 7-4 and/or Sac State goes 7-4 and we also go 7-4. Montana beat us and would probably go in front of us on head-to-head and even if we went 7-4 with a win over Sac State, they'd have "marquee" wins over Montana and Oregon State that we don't have.

Everything is irrelevant regarding Eastern unless we win out, starting with this weekend.

Another interesting feature of our lousy schedule, we play Sac State with them coming off a bye week. We also played NAU off their bye week. Also, we got Montana State after they played Minot State at home and we'll get Portland State coming off a home destruction of D-III Willamette. For all practical purposes, we play or played 4 teams coming off a scrimmage weekend instead of a big game.

We, unfortunately, drew a two week bye from conference play at the end of the season. That doesn't make much sense to me that we play 7 conference games in a row and then get two weeks off from Big Sky play before getting Idaho State.

 

[kalm]

The Big Sky will likely benefit from the Colonial having what appears to be a down year... Towson is at the top of that heap with Maine. Scary... who'da thunk it?

Anyone out of the Big sky that goes 7-4 is probably in, with the exception of Portland State who'll need 8 wins since they play a D-III and a D-II. The real dilemma would be if Montana goes 7-4 and/or Sac State goes 7-4 and we also go 7-4. Montana beat us and would probably go in front of us on head-to-head and even if we went 7-4 with a win over Sac State, they'd have "marquee" wins over Montana and Oregon State that we don't have.

Everything is irrelevant regarding Eastern unless we win out, starting with this weekend.

Another interesting feature of our lousy schedule, we play Sac State with them coming off a bye week. We also played NAU off their bye week. Also, we got Montana State after they played Minot State at home and we'll get Portland State coming off a home destruction of D-III Willamette. For all practical purposes, we play or played 4 teams coming off a scrimmage weekend instead of a big game.

We, unfortunately, drew a two week bye from conference play at the end of the season. That doesn't make much sense to me that we play 7 conference games in a row and then get two weeks off from Big Sky play before getting Idaho State.

Montana would be at only 6 DI wins. That's a dagger even considering their head to head win IMHO. Noticed and agree on the bye week thing though.

 

[EWURanger]

The Big Sky will likely benefit from the Colonial having what appears to be a down year... Towson is at the top of that heap with Maine. Scary... who'da thunk it?

Anyone out of the Big sky that goes 7-4 is probably in, with the exception of Portland State who'll need 8 wins since they play a D-III and a D-II. The real dilemma would be if Montana goes 7-4 and/or Sac State goes 7-4 and we also go 7-4. Montana beat us and would probably go in front of us on head-to-head and even if we went 7-4 with a win over Sac State, they'd have "marquee" wins over Montana and Oregon State that we don't have.

Everything is irrelevant regarding Eastern unless we win out, starting with this weekend.

Another interesting feature of our lousy schedule, we play Sac State with them coming off a bye week. We also played NAU off their bye week. Also, we got Montana State after they played Minot State at home and we'll get Portland State coming off a home destruction of D-III Willamette. For all practical purposes, we play or played 4 teams coming off a scrimmage weekend instead of a big game.

We, unfortunately, drew a two week bye from conference play at the end of the season. That doesn't make much sense to me that we play 7 conference games in a row and then get two weeks off from Big Sky play before getting Idaho State.

The other thing that has pissed me off about the Big Sky schedule is that we have been playing the Montana schools back to back for a while now. I think Sac State also has it this way. They need to shake up the conference schedule some. Montana doesn't play EWU and MSU in back to back weeks, nor does MSU play EWU and UM in back to back weeks. What gives?

 

[WILDCAT]

The Big Sky will likely benefit from the Colonial having what appears to be a down year... Towson is at the top of that heap with Maine. Scary... who'da thunk it?

Anyone out of the Big sky that goes 7-4 is probably in, with the exception of Portland State who'll need 8 wins since they play a D-III and a D-II. The real dilemma would be if Montana goes 7-4 and/or Sac State goes 7-4 and we also go 7-4. Montana beat us and would probably go in front of us on head-to-head and even if we went 7-4 with a win over Sac State, they'd have "marquee" wins over Montana and Oregon State that we don't have.

Everything is irrelevant regarding Eastern unless we win out, starting with this weekend.

Another interesting feature of our lousy schedule, we play Sac State with them coming off a bye week. We also played NAU off their bye week. Also, we got Montana State after they played Minot State at home and we'll get Portland State coming off a home destruction of D-III Willamette. For all practical purposes, we play or played 4 teams coming off a scrimmage weekend instead of a big game.

We, unfortunately, drew a two week bye from conference play at the end of the season. That doesn't make much sense to me that we play 7 conference games in a row and then get two weeks off from Big Sky play before getting Idaho State.

The other thing that has pissed me off about the Big Sky schedule is that we have been playing the Montana schools back to back for a while now. I think Sac State also has it this way. They need to shake up the conference schedule some. Montana doesn't play EWU and MSU in back to back weeks, nor does MSU play EWU and UM in back to back weeks. What gives?

Weber State has played the Montana's back to back for 2 years in a row.

 

[SDHornet]

Weber State has played the Montana's back to back for 2 years in a row.

That’s nothing. Sac State has played UM, MSU, WSU, & EWU in a span of 5 weeks for the second year in a row. hno:

 

[clawman1]

The Big Sky will likely benefit from the Colonial having what appears to be a down year... Towson is at the top of that heap with Maine. Scary... who'da thunk it?

Anyone out of the Big sky that goes 7-4 is probably in, with the exception of Portland State who'll need 8 wins since they play a D-III and a D-II. The real dilemma would be if Montana goes 7-4 and/or Sac State goes 7-4 and we also go 7-4. Montana beat us and would probably go in front of us on head-to-head and even if we went 7-4 with a win over Sac State, they'd have "marquee" wins over Montana and Oregon State that we don't have.

Everything is irrelevant regarding Eastern unless we win out, starting with this weekend.

Another interesting feature of our lousy schedule, we play Sac State with them coming off a bye week. We also played NAU off their bye week. Also, we got Montana State after they played Minot State at home and we'll get Portland State coming off a home destruction of D-III Willamette. For all practical purposes, we play or played 4 teams coming off a scrimmage weekend instead of a big game.

We, unfortunately, drew a two week bye from conference play at the end of the season. That doesn't make much sense to me that we play 7 conference games in a row and then get two weeks off from Big Sky play before getting Idaho State.

The other thing that has pissed me off about the Big Sky schedule is that we have been playing the Montana schools back to back for a while now. I think Sac State also has it this way. They need to shake up the conference schedule some. Montana doesn't play EWU and MSU in back to back weeks, nor does MSU play EWU and UM in back to back weeks. What gives?

Apparently Big Sky officials are listening to you

 

[kalm]

Weber State has played the Montana's back to back for 2 years in a row.

That’s nothing. Sac State has played UM, MSU, WSU, & EWU in a span of 5 weeks for the second year in a row. hno:

Part of it is that the conference is pretty damn solid. We now have 6 quality programs so it's tough to avoid these type of stretches.

 

[LDopaPDX]

Montana at 7-4 would almost certainly be in the playoff race over a 7-4 Eastern... although, ideally, both would be in. Remember, the NCAA says 7 D-I wins gives you "preference," but it really has no concrete bearing on selections. There will be teams from crappy conferences with 9 D-I wins this season who won't get in, because even the East Coast hacks on the selection committee know that beating Monmouth or St. Francis is a weaker win than Western Oregon or Central Washington.

 

[marceagfan5]

Here is my take on the big sky race and playoff picture.

MSU - cats are in, they have 2 games against ISU and UNC they should win easily and play at Weber and host the griz to end the year. Both WSU and the Griz will be tough games, and MSU may drop one of those games, but I don't see them losing more than one, if any, of their remaining games. If MSU wins out, they will win the big sky.

GRIZ - The griz have a difficult schedule, they play at NAU and MSU and still host Weber, they have to win 2 of those games to make the playoffs because they can't finish 7-4. Even if we finish 7-4 and they finish 7-4, we should get the bid. They beat us head to head, but will only have 6 wins against FCS opponents, just like last year, the committee will see there record as 6-4 not 7-4. I do think the Griz beat NAU and WSU , but lose to the Cats and still make the playoffs, but NAU will be a big game this weekend. If the Griz win out, they will win the big sky.

PSU - I think PSU is done already. They can only finish the season with 6 FCS wins even if they win out because they played 2 drop down games this year.

WEBER - Weber can most likely lose 1 game and still make it, but they still have both Montana schools, NAU, SUU, and PSU left. If weber finishes the season 7-4 they are in, because if they go 4-1 in their last 5 they earned it. We would most likely get in to the playoffs over weber if we were both 7-4 as we won head to head. If weber wins out, they will win the big sky.

SAC ST - Sac can most likely still lose 1 and make it in as they will finish 7-4 and have an FBS win under their belt. If we win this weekend and finish 7-4 I think we would get the bid over them due to the head to head matchup.

EWU - we have to win out to make it in. We can do it, but the most difficult game remaining is this weekends game. I think if we pull out the win saturday we will run the table. After this weekend we have PSU at home, then cal poly after a bye followed by an ISU team that seems to be melting down.

Eastern has the easiest remaining schedule and WSU and the GRIZ have the toughest. The next 2 weeks will really clear up the big sky and playoff picture.

Bottom line is we need to win!

 

[mt jack]

The other thing that has pissed me off about the Big Sky schedule is that we have been playing the Montana schools back to back for a while now. I think Sac State also has it this way. They need to shake up the conference schedule some. Montana doesn't play EWU and MSU in back to back weeks, nor does MSU play EWU and UM in back to back weeks. What gives?

Weber State has played the Montana's back to back for 2 years in a row.[/quote]

This drove me to do a little research and I found that NAU has played Montana and Montana State on consecutive weekends for 9 of the past 10 seasons. Shake up the scheduling, Big Sky Conference officials....please.

 

[EWURanger]

The other thing that has pissed me off about the Big Sky schedule is that we have been playing the Montana schools back to back for a while now. I think Sac State also has it this way. They need to shake up the conference schedule some. Montana doesn't play EWU and MSU in back to back weeks, nor does MSU play EWU and UM in back to back weeks. What gives?

Weber State has played the Montana's back to back for 2 years in a row.

This drove me to do a little research and I found that NAU has played Montana and Montana State on consecutive weekends for 9 of the past 10 seasons. Shake up the scheduling, Big Sky Conference officials....please.[/quote]

I agree! There's no such thing as travel partners in football!