Analysis

BIG SKY POWER RANKINGS: Week of October 22

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The Big Sky Conference has begun to divide itself with half of the conference games in the rearview. Three teams — Eastern Washington, North Dakota and Weber State — remain unbeaten in conference play while Montana and Cal Poly have positioned themselves to make second-half playoff pushes.

Each Wednesday for the rest of the season, Skyline Sports will break down the Big Sky Conference race with weekly power rankings. These rankings are based on strength of schedule, quality of wins, most recent performance and each team’s future in regard to momentum, health and upcoming match-ups.

Saturday, October 22

UC Davis at Cal Poly

North Dakota at Idaho State

Eastern Washington at Montana State

Montana at Northern Arizona

Sacramento State at Northern Colorado

Weber State at Southern Utah

1. Eastern Washington (3-0 in Big Sky, 5-1 overall) — Although EWU was idle last week with a bye placed perfectly in the middle of the season, the Eagle stay atop the power rankings.

EWU wide receiver Shaq Hill (1)/by Ron Sword EWU Athletics

EWU wide receiver Shaq Hill (1)/by Ron Sword EWU Athletics

Eastern is up to No. 3 in the country after North Dakota State’s loss to South Dakota State last week. EWU enters its matchup with Montana State on Saturday with several of the most impressive wins by any Big Sky team this season. The Eagles have done it by surging past everybody. EWU is averaging 47.5 points and 567.5 yards of total offense a game. EWU has scored at least 49 points in all three of its Big Sky games. Montana State’s inability to find consistency offensively could mean more possessions for the Eagles, which is not ideal for anyone playing Eastern Washington.

2. Montana (2-1 in Big Sky, 5-1 overall) — The Griz jump up to No. 2 despite their one conference loss because of a string of three straight offensive performances that serve as the most efficient stretch of the Bob Stitt era.

Montana senior running back Joey Counts/ by Jason Bacaj

Montana senior running back Joey Counts/ by Jason Bacaj

Montana piled up 627 yards of total offense in a 43-20 win over Southern Utah, scored 67 points in a 60-point non-conference win over Mississippi Valley State and rolled up 655 yards of offense in a 68-7 win over Sacramento State last week. Montana’s 128 unanswered points were the most since 1920 and the back-to-back 60-point performances marked the first time UM has accomplished such a feat in program history.

UM now embarks on the toughest part of its schedule: back-to-back road games at Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington beginning with a trip to Flagstaff this weekend.

3. North Dakota (4-0 in Big Sky, 5-2 overall) — The momentum continues to build for UND as the offense continues to gain traction and diversify.

UND wide receiver Travis Toivonen/by UND Athletics

UND wide receiver Travis Toivonen/by UND Athletics

In a 45-23 win over Southern Utah, UND piled up 537 yards of total offense despite the 1-2 running back punch of Brady Oliveira 964 yards on 12 carries) and John Santiago (55 yards on 15 carries) being held in check. UND still managed to rush for 255 yards as fullback Kyle Norberg gained 73 yards on six carries. Oliveira and Santiago each scored touchdowns while quarterback Keaton Studsrud continued evolving as a passer.

The junior threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns, including finding true freshman Travis Toivonen five times for 99 yards and a score.

North Dakota will try to extend its five-game winning streak with a matchup at Holt Arena in Pocatello against Idaho State on Saturday.

4. Cal Poly (2-1 in Big Sky, 4-2 overall) — When Joe Protheroe plays and Cal Poly’s triple option attack is fully stocked, the Mustangs look nearly impossible to stop.

Cal Poly running back Kyle Lewis/by Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly running back Kyle Lewis/by Cal Poly Athletics

Protheroe returned after a few weeks away with an injury and Cal Poly was quite literally unstoppable against Portland State. Kyle Lewis rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns, Kori Garcia rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown and Protheroe, Cal Poly’s All-American fullback, rushed 16 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns as CP rolled PSU in the City of Roses, 55-35. Cal Poly rushed for 462 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Quarterback Dano Graves completed 12-of-13 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns as Cal Poly did not punt.

Cal Poly hosts rival UC Davis on Saturday.

5. Weber State (3-0 in Big Sky, 4-2 overall) — Weber is all of a sudden one of the hottest teams in the league after a dominant win over Montana State in the Bobcats’ first trip to Ogden since 2013 last weekend.

WSU quarterback Jadrian Clark/ by Brooks Nuanez

WSU quarterback Jadrian Clark/ by Brooks Nuanez

Weber State scored on its first six possessions, jumping out to a 21-0 lead before the game was 10 minutes old and taking a 42-14 lead to halftime. The Wildcats dismantled the Bobcats despite running backs Eric Wilkes, Treshawn Garrett and Emmanuel Pooler all missing action with ankle ailments. Jadrian Clark threw four touchdowns before halftime and fifth-string running back Haini Moimoi added two more on the ground in the 45-27 victory.

Weber has now won four straight for the first time since 2010. Some would argue the wins have come against lesser competition — Sacramento State, UC Davis, Portland State and Montana State have combined for four Division I wins this season. Saturday, Weber will get a chance to prove itself against in-state rival Southern Utah in Cedar City.

6. Northern Arizona (2-2 in Big Sky, 3-4 overall) — The preseason Big Sky favorites are on track finally after a disappointing 1-4 start.

NAU defensive end Siupeli Anau (90)/by Brooks Nuanez

NAU defensive end Siupeli Anau (90)/by Brooks Nuanez

Northern Arizona earned its first Division I win with a 20-14 victory at Montana State. The running game thrived as true freshman Joe Logan rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns. In last week’s 52-7 win over Idaho State, Blake Kemp threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns as NAU piled up 52 unanswered points.

The offense seems to be adjusting in recent weeks with star quarterback Case Cookus on the shelf. The Lumberjacks will get their stiffest test thus far in Big Sky play with Montana coming to Flagstaff on Saturday.

7. Southern Utah (2-2 in Big Sky, 3-3 overall) — The defending league champions have one of the most unproven starts at the midpoint of the season.

SUU has home victories overs struggling Portland State (45-31) and one-win UC Davis (24-3) but has not been able to hang at No. 11 Montana (43-20) and last week at North Dakota (45-23).

Junior quarterback Patrick Tyler has found a consistent touchdown threat in senior Mike Sharp; they have hooked up seven times this season. Malik Brown has been one of the most explosive running backs in the league, averaging 96.5 yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry. But the defense has had its ups and downs, particularly in the UM and UND losses. SUU gave up 537 yards to UND and 627 to Montana.

The Thunderbirds will look for a breakthrough against surging Weber State on Saturday.

8. UC Davis (1-3 in Big Sky, 2-5 overall) — The Aggies are this week’s biggest movers after posting their first Big Sky and Division I win over Northern Colorado.

Against the short-handed Bears — star running back Trae Riek did not play — Davis played stout defense and efficient offense. Manu Luuga rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns as Davis averaged 4.0 yards per carry. Senior quarterback Ben Scott returned to the lineup after a week away and completed 19-of-24 passes for 194 yards. The Aggies held the Bears to 2.8 yards per rush and 269 yards overall.

Davis will look to build momentum in San Luis Obispo against Cal Poly.

9. Northern Colorado (1-2 in Big Sky, 3-3 overall) — Riek is the catalyst for UNC’s entire offense. He averages more than 120 yards from scrimmage and his ability to hit home runs in the run game makes UCN’s explosive offense go.

With Riek on the shelf, Northern Colorado lost what should’ve been a win that pushed the team one step closer to finishing with a winning record for the second straight season. Instead, UNC goes back to the drawing board with reeling Sacramento State coming to Greeley on Saturday.

10. Portland State (1-3 in Big Sky, 2-5 overall) — The Cinderella story of the Big Sky last season has found no such fairytale this fall.

Portland State did not record a single stop against former head coach Tim Walsh’s Cal Poly squad in Portland last weekend. PSU also found no room to run the ball, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry and totaling just 72 rushing yards.

PSU is giving up 38.1 points and 476.3 yards of total offense per game this season. The Vikings will look for their second Division I win following this week’s bye by hosting Northern Colorado on October 29 in Greeley.

11. Idaho State (1-2 in Big Sky, 2-4 overall) — Idaho State has been vulnerable against the run for the entire decade and the deficiency was again put on display in a 45-20 loss at Portland State. That afternoon, the Vikings rushed for 531 yards and did not complete a pass.

Against Northern Arizona, the Bengals allowed 3.4 yards per carry and held a run game that totaled 210 yards against Montana State the week prior to 120 yards on the ground. But NAU back-up quarterback Blake Kemp threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns.

Idaho State’s defense will again be tested with red-hot North Dakota coming to Pocatello this weekend.

12. Sacramento State (1-3 in Big Sky, 1-6 overall) — Sacramento State climbed after its comeback win over Montana State to kick off October. Since then, the Hornets are in a tailspin.

Sac fell behind 34-0 to North Dakota with almost 25 minutes to play in a 40-7 loss. Last week, Montana ran through the Sac defense, building a 61-0 lead before the third quarter was finished in a 68-7 win.

The Hornets will try to right the ship at Northern Colorado this weekend.

13. Montana State (0-4 in Big Sky, 2-5 overall) — Montana State’s first three Big Sky losses came by a total of 11 points. Last week, the floor fell out from under the Bobcats.

MSU gave up touchdowns on six consecutive possessions against Weber State in a start reminiscent of the struggles that thwarted expectation-filled seasons in 2014 and 2015. By halftime, MSU trailed 42-14 in a 45-27 loss to fall to 0-4 in conference.

Montana State is the only team in the league without a victory. MSU will look to change that against visiting Eastern Washington on Saturday.

Photo attribution noted. All Rights Reserved. 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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