This is totally my opinion.
Big Sky Power Ranking Week 3:
1. Eastern Washington -- The Eagles are back. It isn't whether or not their defense can stop you, it is whether or not you can outscore them. This week the Eagles get UNI in Cheney. UNI was beaten last week by the Griz and so, this game should end up being a W for the Eagles; if they are for real.
2. Montana -- Montana is 2-0. Both wins haven't been overly impressive, but nonetheless, the Griz have won the games they needed to. Last week was tough and then went to Iowa and got another W in a hostile atmosphere. This week they get to play BYE.
3. Cal Poly -- Sitting at 1-1 the Stangs look like they always do. Hard to stop. Once they get the ball they run and run and run. They eat up yards and clock. They are a defensive nightmare. Cal Poly gets to step out of conference again this week to take on South Dakota State in South Dakota. Would be nice to get another win for the Sky.
4. SUU -- Offense hasn't looked sharp, but damn the T-Birds defense looks good again. Like the Griz, the Birds are playing BYE this week.
5. North Dakota -- best 0-2 team in the conference. Should have beaten Bowling Green. Defensively the Sioux are scary good. Offense looks a bit off, but it definitely improved in last weeks close loss. This week the Sioux get South Dakota at their place. Would be nice to see the Sioux get the win. They should win, but the Coyotes offense will cause fits.
6. Northern Arizona -- The Lumbjacks just aren't quite clicking yet. Offensively they woke up a bit in their close loss to Western Illinois. Right now, it is a matter of consistency for the Lumberjacks. They have the pieces to succeed but are just under-performing right now. This week the Jacks take on New Mexico Highlands. This should be a W and by a big margin.
7. Northern Colorado -- The Cubbies have been hot offensively. Defensively they are still like a sieve, but are improving. In a week where the conference needed some solid OOC wins, the Cubs came through. A decent Cubs team needed to beat a bad Abilene Christian and they did. So far the Cubbies have taken care of business. If they happen to beat Colorado State this week, they might start being called the Bears. Another FBS win for the conference would be huge. Hope to see a good showing by the Cubs, but I doubt they get the win.
8. Portland State -- The Vikings defense must have lost more than what they expected. Things don't get easier for the Vikings as they head to Seattle to tangle with the Huskies of the PAC 12. We all doubted them last year and they beat Washington State, maybe they strike gold two years in a row?
9. Weber State -- Where is that vaunted defense that shocked so many fans last year? So far it has been non-existent. Hopefully, the Cats can get some guys healthy. This would have been a perfect time for a BYE. But, alas, the Cats have a game. Thankfully it is at home against former coach, Jody Sears Hornets. Maybe we see a different QB? Riley Bradshaw is back...Stefan Cantwell has been killing it in practice (heard that Justin Shaw might be Red Shirting) which could really help the offense get on a better, more dependable, track.
10. Montana State -- Okay, the Bobs have not be impressive. Losing by 3 to FBS Idaho in Moscow is expected, however, Idaho is bad. The Sun Belt is bad. 6/7 Sky teams go into Moscow and win going away. 1/2 win a close, hard fought battle; MSU loses by 3. On top of that, their win over Bryant was anything but impressive. The Bobs really struggled against a team with half their number of scholarships. This week they get Western Oregon that might be as good as Bryant, and already has a win against a Big Sky School.
11. UC Davis -- Davis might be better than advertised, yet, they still haven't shown anything to tell me that they are. This week they play at Wyoming. A close game there could show us how much they have improved. Laramie is a tough place to play, in Mid-Sept, for California teams. Should be an interesting game. A good Big Sky School wins this one.
12. Sac St. -- After losing to Western Oregon I really thought that the Hornets would be the absolute worst, however, they showed up defensively against Fresno St. So far though the Hornet offense has been non-existent, and even though the defense has been decent the 3-3-5 isn't one that works unless the offense can put up points. This week the Hornets travel to Ogden to take on Jody's former team. One thing that Jody will do is run the ball off the edges like USU and USD did for 400+ and 300+ yards respectively.
13. Idaho St. -- Kramer might retire after this season is over. Another PAC 12 this week, and this one is better than the one that hung 56 on the Bengals in the first half last week. Should be a long weekend for the ISU faithful.
Big Sky Power Ranking Week 3:
1. Eastern Washington -- The Eagles are back. It isn't whether or not their defense can stop you, it is whether or not you can outscore them. This week the Eagles get UNI in Cheney. UNI was beaten last week by the Griz and so, this game should end up being a W for the Eagles; if they are for real.
2. Montana -- Montana is 2-0. Both wins haven't been overly impressive, but nonetheless, the Griz have won the games they needed to. Last week was tough and then went to Iowa and got another W in a hostile atmosphere. This week they get to play BYE.
3. Cal Poly -- Sitting at 1-1 the Stangs look like they always do. Hard to stop. Once they get the ball they run and run and run. They eat up yards and clock. They are a defensive nightmare. Cal Poly gets to step out of conference again this week to take on South Dakota State in South Dakota. Would be nice to get another win for the Sky.
4. SUU -- Offense hasn't looked sharp, but damn the T-Birds defense looks good again. Like the Griz, the Birds are playing BYE this week.
5. North Dakota -- best 0-2 team in the conference. Should have beaten Bowling Green. Defensively the Sioux are scary good. Offense looks a bit off, but it definitely improved in last weeks close loss. This week the Sioux get South Dakota at their place. Would be nice to see the Sioux get the win. They should win, but the Coyotes offense will cause fits.
6. Northern Arizona -- The Lumbjacks just aren't quite clicking yet. Offensively they woke up a bit in their close loss to Western Illinois. Right now, it is a matter of consistency for the Lumberjacks. They have the pieces to succeed but are just under-performing right now. This week the Jacks take on New Mexico Highlands. This should be a W and by a big margin.
7. Northern Colorado -- The Cubbies have been hot offensively. Defensively they are still like a sieve, but are improving. In a week where the conference needed some solid OOC wins, the Cubs came through. A decent Cubs team needed to beat a bad Abilene Christian and they did. So far the Cubbies have taken care of business. If they happen to beat Colorado State this week, they might start being called the Bears. Another FBS win for the conference would be huge. Hope to see a good showing by the Cubs, but I doubt they get the win.
8. Portland State -- The Vikings defense must have lost more than what they expected. Things don't get easier for the Vikings as they head to Seattle to tangle with the Huskies of the PAC 12. We all doubted them last year and they beat Washington State, maybe they strike gold two years in a row?
9. Weber State -- Where is that vaunted defense that shocked so many fans last year? So far it has been non-existent. Hopefully, the Cats can get some guys healthy. This would have been a perfect time for a BYE. But, alas, the Cats have a game. Thankfully it is at home against former coach, Jody Sears Hornets. Maybe we see a different QB? Riley Bradshaw is back...Stefan Cantwell has been killing it in practice (heard that Justin Shaw might be Red Shirting) which could really help the offense get on a better, more dependable, track.
10. Montana State -- Okay, the Bobs have not be impressive. Losing by 3 to FBS Idaho in Moscow is expected, however, Idaho is bad. The Sun Belt is bad. 6/7 Sky teams go into Moscow and win going away. 1/2 win a close, hard fought battle; MSU loses by 3. On top of that, their win over Bryant was anything but impressive. The Bobs really struggled against a team with half their number of scholarships. This week they get Western Oregon that might be as good as Bryant, and already has a win against a Big Sky School.
11. UC Davis -- Davis might be better than advertised, yet, they still haven't shown anything to tell me that they are. This week they play at Wyoming. A close game there could show us how much they have improved. Laramie is a tough place to play, in Mid-Sept, for California teams. Should be an interesting game. A good Big Sky School wins this one.
12. Sac St. -- After losing to Western Oregon I really thought that the Hornets would be the absolute worst, however, they showed up defensively against Fresno St. So far though the Hornet offense has been non-existent, and even though the defense has been decent the 3-3-5 isn't one that works unless the offense can put up points. This week the Hornets travel to Ogden to take on Jody's former team. One thing that Jody will do is run the ball off the edges like USU and USD did for 400+ and 300+ yards respectively.
13. Idaho St. -- Kramer might retire after this season is over. Another PAC 12 this week, and this one is better than the one that hung 56 on the Bengals in the first half last week. Should be a long weekend for the ISU faithful.
