Big Sky Conference Power Rankings: Week 4
We’re on to Week 2 of the Big Sky Conference season! There were a couple surprises in Week 1 but for the most part, the favorites won and won big. Here’s how we have the teams ranked in our 4th Power Ranking heading into Week 5 of the season:
1. Eastern Washington (STATS FCS Poll: 5, Sagarin Rank: 92)
EWU absolutely demolished Cal Poly 70-17 last week in Cheney. No chance they’re dropping out of the #1 spot in our Power Rankings. The Eagles hit the road to take on Montana State in Bozeman this weekend.
2. UC Davis (STATS FCS Poll: 19, Sagarin Rank: 119)
UC Davis kept their strong start to the season going by welcoming Idaho back to the Big Sky Conference with a 44-21 beatdown in Davis. UC Davis has a bye week this week and travels to Northern Colorado on October 6th.
3. Weber State (STATS FCS Poll: 6, Sagarin Rank: 111)
Weber took care of business and handled Northern Colorado at home last weekend, winning 45-28. Weber State has had two strong showings the last couple of weeks and heads into a bye week before traveling to NAU on October 6th.
4. Montana (STATS FCS Poll: 17, Sagarin Rank: 126)
The Griz came back from a halftime deficit to take down the pesky Hornets of Sacramento State, winning 41-34 in Missoula. The defense was nowhere to be found in this game with both teams putting up over 500 yards of total offense. Montana travels to Cal Poly this weekend and will try to get their first road victory of the year.
5. Montana State (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 154)
Troy Anderson was back at QB as Montana State ran for over 300 yards in their convincing 43-23 win over Portland State on the road. The Cats’ last two opponents have not been very strong teams so it’ll be very interesting to see how the offense looks against Big Sky power Eastern Washington at home this weekend. Eastern is known for the high flying offense but their defense is stout this year. This will be a HUGE test for MSU.
6. Northern Arizona (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 149)
NAU got back on track with their 31-23 win over Southern Utah last weekend. Case Cookus is still not back under center so we’re hesitant to move NAU up in the rankings after their win. Southern Utah showed some fight but and was up 6 in the 3rd quarter before NAU scored 14 unanswered points to close the game. NAU travels to Pocatello to take on the Idaho State Bengals this weekend.
7. Sacramento State (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 147)
Sacramento State looked to have the Griz on the ropes at halftime but couldn’t close out the game and let Montana QB Dalton Snead run and gun all over them leading to a 41-34 loss in Missoula. They played the Griz really tough in a hostile environment and laid some licks on UM, but in the end it wasn’t enough. Sacramento State has a week to regroup with a bye and then hosts Cal Poly on October 6th.
8. Idaho State (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 162)
Idaho State went to Grand Forks, scored a late touchdown, and held on to beat North Dakota 25-21 in a really good road win. North Dakota had just beat, at the time, #5 Sam Houston State the week before and few were giving the Bengals a chance heading into this game. Idaho State hosts NAU this weekend in a game that could really rearrange the Power Rankings.
9. Idaho (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 175)
Idaho played their first conference game since 1995 and got a rude welcome back, losing to UC Davis 44-21 on the road. Davis is a tough team but after dropping down from FBS you’d have thought the Vandals would come out firing in their first conference game. Nope. They do catch a break this weekend and should get their first conference win, taking on a weak Portland State team at home.
10. Cal Poly (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 188)
Cal Poly got absolutely crushed by EWU this weekend on the road, losing 70-17. They were up 3-0 early in the 1st Quarter but then it was all down hill from there in a massive blowout. It doesn’t get any easier as they host Montana at home this weekend. We’ll see if the 53 point loss motivates Cal Poly or destroyed their confidence. At least they get the Griz on the road.
11. Northern Colorado (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 182)
The bottom three remain the same and probably will for most of the year. Northern Colorado opened up conference play with a 17 point loss to Weber on the road. After a few close games, Northern Colorado was outmatched by the Wildcats. UNC hosts North Dakota this weekend and will look to give UND their second fake conference loss in a row.
12. Southern Utah (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 172)
SUU had to have some confidence coming into this game seeing how weak NAU had looked without Case Cookus at the helm. It didn’t help. Southern Utah dropped another game, losing 31-23, in what has been a very disappointing opening to the 2018 season. Southern Utah is off this weekend before traveling to Eastern Washington on October 6th. Their opening schedule has been BRUTAL.
13. Portland State (STATS FCS Poll: NR, Sagarin Rank: 215)
Portland State has a win this season… against a NAIA team. Montana State came to town and showed the Vikings that they were not a Frontier Conference team and ran all over them. Portland State was never in this game and took the L by 20. Now Portland State has to travel to Moscow to take on an Idaho team looking to get their first conference win in 23 years. It’s not looking good for PSU.
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Hot Take Nate Hot Take Nate now resides in Northern California but still calls Montana his home. It'll always be home.
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