Analysis

BIG SKY POWER RANKINGS: Week of October 15

on

The Big Sky Conference continued to separate during the third weekend of the season. Only three teams — Eastern Washington, North Dakota, Weber State — enter the third Saturday in October without a league loss while two more (UC Davis, Montana State) continue to search for a league breakthrough.

 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 15

Sacramento State at Montana

Southern Utah at North Dakota

Idaho State at Northern Arizona

Northern Colorado at UC Davis

Montana State at Weber State

Cal Poly at Portland State

EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud/by EWU Athletics

EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud/by EWU Athletics

1. Eastern Washington (3-0 in Big Sky play, 5-1 overall) — Eastern Washington put together a six-game winning streak last season but in most of the victories, it seemed like the Eagles were hanging on for dear life. When the momentum broke, EWU went into a tailspin, losing three straight to miss the playoffs for just the second time this decade.

This season, EWU has shown a strong penchant for finishing. Eastern rallied from a 24-7 deficit to defeat No. 10 Northern Iowa, turned a 36-28 lead at Northern Arizona into a 50-35 win, turned a 30-28 deficit midway through the third quarter against UC Davis and turned it into a 63-30 runaway and did it again last week. Northern Colorado held a 24-21 lead over EWU with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Eastern scored 28 points in the game’s last 25 minutes to win 49-31.

Even when Cooper Kupp isn’t the go-to guy — three Eastern receivers had more than Kupp’s five catches and 59 yards — the Eagles have been lethal. On Saturday, senior Shaq Hill caught seven passes for 153 yards and four touchdowns as Gage Gubrud remained on fire, hitting 33-of-39 passes for 435 yards and five touchdowns while adding 79 yards rushing.

Eastern enters its bye week having won four straight with a date in Bozeman against Montana State coming up on October 22.

2. North Dakota (3-0 in Big Sky play, 4-2 overall) — North Dakota won for the fourth straight time, keeping its spot at No. 2 in these ranking with a dominating 40-7 win at Sacramento State.

UND quarterback Keaton Studsrud/by Russ Hons - UND Ahtletics

UND quarterback Keaton Studsrud/by Russ Hons – UND Ahtletics

UND’s run game put forth it’s most dominant performance of the season, sparked by an 8-play, 99-yard drive in the first quarter and carried on by a slew of contributors as UND scored 34 unanswered points to begin the game. Quarterback Keaton Studsrud rushed for almost all of his 100 yards before halftime, capping the long opening drive with a touchdown run and adding a 44-yard scoring sprint later in the first half. Brady Oliveira rushed for more than 100 yards for the third straight game and is now averaging 136 yards per game in Big Sky play after his 111-yard, two-touchdown performance. Austin Gordon added 102 yards, including a 76-yard run as UND rushed for 422 yards.

UND’s defense also stayed hot, allowing just 13 first downs and 272 yards of total offense. Nate Ketteringham threw for more than 325 yards in each of Sac’s first two Big Sky games but UND held him to 177 yards.

North Dakota will look for its fifth straight win with Southern Utah coming to Grand Forks on Saturday.

3. Montana (1-1 in Big Sky play, 4-1 overall) — Montana wrapped up its non-conference schedule a few weeks later than every other team in the league win an inconsequential 67-7 drubbing of Mississippi Valley State.

UM wide receiver Keenan Curran (6)/ by Jason Bacaj

UM wide receiver Keenan Curran (6)/ by Jason Bacaj

Although the blowout was never in question, Montana’s offense continued to display efficiency and a bevy of players saw in-game action. Senior quarterback Brady Gustafson is throwing for 311 yards per game and has 14 touchdown passes compared to four interceptions this season. Five different Grizzlies have caught at least two touchdown passes while Jeremy Calhoun and John Nguyen have combined to rush for more than 550 yards. Calhoun has seven of Montana’s 10 rushing touchdowns.

The Griz defense is also one of the top units in the league. Montana leads the league in total defense (333.2 yards per game) and UM is giving up almost two first downs less than anyone else in the league.

Montana will look for its third straight win in its third straight home game with Sacramento State coming to Missoula on Saturday.

4. Cal Poly (1-1 in Big Sky play, 3-2) — Cal Poly experienced a letdown after one of the signature wins of the young Big Sky season. A week after handing Montana its lone league loss 42-41, the Mustangs played North Dakota without stud fullback Joe Protheroe.

Cal Poly running back Kori Garcia (24)/by CP Athletics

Cal Poly running back Kori Garcia (24)/by CP Athletics

UND stuffed Cal Poly’s rushing attack, holding the ‘Stangs to a season-low 204 yards rushing with Protheroe, the Big Sky’s leading rusher, on the shelf. UND posted a 31-24 win to stay unbeaten in Big Sky play. Even with John Santiago on the bench win an injury, Brady Oliveira continued to thrive, rushing for more than 100 yards for the second time in three weeks.

Cal Poly was idle last week, a welcome week off for Protheroe to heel. Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh confirmed Protheroe will play Saturday at Portland State, a huge return for the Mustangs and they continue fighting for playoff positioning.

5. Weber State (2-0 in Big Sky play, 3-2 overall) — All of a sudden, Weber State is surging for the first time under third-year head coach Jay Hill. Weber carries a three-game winning streak over three straight Big Sky teams.

WSU running back Emmanuel Pooler/by Rob Casey

WSU running back Emmanuel Pooler/by Rob Casey

The first three-game winning streak of the Hill era has come with Weber’s ability to finish. The Wildcats posted a 14-7 win over Sac State thanks to senior quarterback Jadrian Clark’s touchdown run with 1:42 left to lift WSU in the non-conference affair. Weber downed UC Davis on a last-second field goal, 38-35. Last week, Weber emerged from a slugfest with Portland State with a 14-10 win to stay unbeaten in league play.

A week after Portland State rushed for 531 yards in a win over Idaho State, the Wildcats limited the Vikings to 136 yards, including 3.2 yards per carry. The Weber defense, led by All-America candidate outside linebacker Tre’von Johnson and one of the league’s best secondaries (Weber leads the league in pass defense) will look to lead the way to a fourth straight win on Saturday against visiting Montana State.

6. Southern Utah (2-1 in Big Sky play, 3-2 overall) — Southern Utah sits squarely on the fence between contender and pretender in the Big Sky so far.

SUU quarterback Patrick Tyler (3)/by Brooks Nuanez

SUU quarterback Patrick Tyler (3)/by Brooks Nuanez

The reigning Big Sky champions posted a win over Portland State only to be taken apart by the Griz in Missoula the following week. The Thunderbirds bounced back for a 24-3 win over UC Davis, the alma mater of first-year head coach Demario Warren.

Southern Utah’s offense sputtered, notching just 12 first downs and accumulating just 260 offensive yards. But the defense limited Davis to 4-of-19 on third downs and used a 21-point second quarter to pull away.

Southern Utah has another tough task this week as it hits the road to play at UND on Saturday.

7. Northern Colorado (1-1 in Big Sky play, 3-2 overall) — A week after posting a landmark win over preseason Big Sky favorite Northern Arizona, UNC went toe to toe with Eastern Washington for two and a half quarters. But in the end, the Eagles had too much firepower for the visiting Bears.

Northern Colorado is second in the league in scoring offense behind EWU, averaging 38.2 points per game. But some of the scoring has come against lesser competition; UNC is averaging 25.5 points in its two Big Sky games.

Still, senior quarterback Kyle Sloter has been a serviceable replacement for injured starter Jacob Knipp, who will miss the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. Sloter has throw 13 touchdown passes and is averaging 235 yards per game. Running back Trae Riek has also emerged as one of the league’s best big-play backs, although he managed just 38 yards against Eastern Washington.

Northern Colorado can take another step in proving it belongs in the top half of the Big Sky with a game at UC Davis on Saturday.

8. Northern Arizona (1-2 in Big Sky play, 2-4 overall) — Northern Arizona is one of this week’s biggest movers after finally breaking through for its first Division I win.

The preseason Big Sky favorites got 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Joe Logan and a game-changing performance from senior defensive end Siupeli Anua, who notched three sacks, including a sack-strip that NAU recovered to seal a 20-14 victory.

NAU will look to carry the momentum from its breakthrough with Idaho State coming to Flagstaff on Saturday.

9. Portland State (1-2 in Big Sky play, 2-4 overall) — Portland State has not been able to capture the magic that trademarked last season’s playoff run. Instead, the entire 2016 year has been defined by tragedy and disappointment.

PSU had a breakthrough with its nearly record-setting performance against ISU — the Vikings missed the league’s all-time rushing mark by eight yards — but the offense could not produce points against Weber State. The off-season included the deaths of left tackle Kyle Smith and outside linebacker A.J. Schlatter and the beginning of the season saw starting safety Walter Santiago have his season end with an injury.

PSU is rushing for 237 yards per game but giving up nearly as much. The Vikings are averaging almost 29 points per game in conference play but giving up almost as many. The sum result is just one Division I win through the first half of the season.

Portland State hosts dangerous Cal Poly on Saturday.

10. Idaho State (1-1 in Big Sky play, 2-3 overall) — Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer said “it might’ve looked like we bled to death against Portland State. We didn’t bleed to death. We gouged ourselves and hemorrhaged to death,” when describing ISU’s run defense.

Kramer said last week’s bye was dedicated completely to getting back to basics in terms of run defense. Logan and the NAU running game, a ground attack pounding the ball more than usual with star quarterback Case Cookus on the shelf will test his team right away.

11. Sacramento State (1-2 in Big Sky play, 1-5 overall) — Sacramento State broke through with 20-point run to win in comeback fashion over Montana State two weeks ago only to get blown out by North Dakota at home last week. The Hornets have proven they can move the ball on the teams in the bottom third of these rankings but still need to prove they can do it with the rest of the league.

Sac had more than 500 yards of offense against ISU and MSU. The Hornets managed just 270 against Weber and 272 against UND.

Ketteringham and the Hornets will have another stout test in Montana’s multifaceted defense in Missoula on Saturday.

12. UC Davis (0-3 in Big Sky play, 2-4 overall) — Davis performed admirably against Eastern Washington, taking a lead into the second half of the third quarter before the Eagles avalanched the Aggies. Last week, with starting quarterback Ben Scott on the shelf, UCD couldn’t do much of anything in terms of manufacturing points.

Southern Utah limited usually productive running back Manu Luuga to just 27 yards on 16 carries as Davis rushed for 71 yards and averaged 2.1 yards per run. Brock Dale threw for 219 yards but was sacked three times in the 24-3 loss at Southern Utah.

Davis will look for its first Division I win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.

13. Montana State (0-3 in Big Sky play, 2-4 overall) — Montana State has a Division I win — a 27-24 victory over Bryant in Bozeman the second week of the season — but the Bobcats have been reeling ever since. They stay below Davis this week for one reason: Montana State losing at home, given MSU’s home field advantage and tradition of success in Bozeman, is more striking that a perennially struggling Davis team losing in Cedar City, Utah to the defending Big Sky champions.

Montana State’s offense has been hard to come by when it isn’t freshman quarterback Chris Murray running all over the field. The passing game has struggled mightily, evidence in Mitch Herbert, an All-Big Sky selection last season, having just one catch in the last two games combine. The MSU defense is much improved — the Bobcats lead the league with 16 takeaways and the 20 points per game they surrender is also tops in the BSC — but the offense is averaging just 14.5 points per game at home in conference play.

Montana State will look to get back on track against Weber State’s fast, physical defense in the Bobcats’ first trip to Ogden since 2013 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.

Recommended for you