The first week of Big Sky Conference play put the competitiveness of the league, top to bottom, on full display. All but one game — Eastern Washington’s 15-point win at Northern Arizona — came down to the final possession, setting the stage for what’s sure to be a wild conference race.
Each Tuesday 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 and each team’s future in regards to momentum, health, and upcoming match-ups.
EWU wide receiver Nic Spledorio in 2015/by Brooks Nuanez
1. Eastern Washington (1-0 in Big Sky play, 3-1 overall) — EWU followed up negotiating the toughest non-conference schedule in the FCS with a win that could pay dividends down the road when the league race really heats up.
Eastern head coach Beau Baldwin has proven he can play multiple quarterbacks with great success. In a 34-30 comeback win over Northern Iowa, Baldwin went with Reilly Hennessey down the stretch. The sophomore threw three touchdowns in the final quarter and a half on the win.
Against NAU, Gage Gubrud, the starter for EWUs’ first three games, reassumed the controls and thrived. The sophomore threw for 392 yards, including touchdowns to Shaq Hill and Nic Sblendorio. Gubrud also rushed for 95 yards on 11 carries, leading an EWU rushing attack that totaled 148 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. All-America wide receiver Cooper Kupp also returned after missing a game and a half with a shoulder injury. He caught 12 passes for 111 yards.
Zach Bruce, D’londo Tucker and Nzuzi Webster all notched interceptions and EWU’s much-improved defense held NAU to 5.6 yards per play on 87 offensive snaps as Eastern emerged from a showdown between two of the Big Sky’s preseason favorites.
Eastern Washington hosts UC Davis on Saturday.
2. Cal Poly (1-0 in Big Sky play, 3-1 overall) — Cal Poly catapulted into the Top 25 of this week’s FCS polls thanks to a third straight impressive victory.
The added element of Dano Graves’ ability to throw the ball has proven to be an X-factor for the Mustangs this fall. Graves threw three touchdowns in a 42-41 win over No. 6 Montana in San Luis Obispo. Graves fired a 16-yard play-action to Kory Fox to cap a 21-point barrage that gave the hosts a 28-17 lead. Graves’ 55-yard touchdown toss to fullback Joe Protheroe gave CP a 35-31 lead. UM scored 10 fourth-quarter points before Graves threw a 39-yard touchdown to Kyle Lewis to give Cal Poly a one-point lead with 4:29 to play.
Montana drove into Cal Poly territory but Tim Semenza’s 48-yard field goal missed wide right and the Mustangs drained most of the rest of the 1:55 on the clock to sew up a second straight win over a Top 10 team. Cal Poly posted a 38-31 win over No. 9 South Dakota State in Brookings two weeks ago.
Graves completed just six passes but totaled 157 yards through the air as Cal Poly accumulated 431 yards despite running 20 less plays than Montana’s up-tempo offense.
Cal Poly plays at North Dakota on Saturday.
3. Montana (0-1 in Big Sky play, 2-1 overall) — The Griz defense flummoxed Cal Poly’s triple option offense as well as any team has since CP joined the Big Sky in 2012. But a 21-point spurt by the hosts in the second quarter and Semenza’s missed field goal dropped Montana for the first time this season.
UM quarterback Brady Gustafson in 2015/by Brooks Nuanez
Montana held Cal Poly to 274 yards rushing; the Mustangs entered the contest rushing for 393yards per game, including 440 yards in the win at SDSU. Cal Poly did average 5.1 yards per rush on 54 totes, but it was the 31 yards per Graves completion that hurt Montana.
The heat might have also played a factor; three plays before Lewis’ long touchdown, UM senior safety Yamen Sanders went down with cramps in his leg. Lewis promptly burned him one on one for the game-winning score.
Offensively, Brady Gustafson tied a school record by completing 47 of his 59 passing attempts and his 418 yards was the second-highest total of his career. He hit Jerry Louie-McGee for a Big Sky record-tying 21 receptions and McGee scored two touchdowns. But a pair of fumbles, including one Gustafson muff thanks to a huge hit by Anders Turner and an interception of Gustafson by Aaryn Bouzon on a pass tipped at the line gave Cal Poly short fields all through the second quarter as the Mustangs flipped a 17-7 deficit into a 28-17 lead.
The Grizzlies will look to bounce from their first loss with Southern Utah coming to town for Homecoming.
4. Southern Utah (1-0 in Big Sky play, 2-1 overall) — The Thunderbirds have build a reputation as a defensively formidable outfit and justifiably so. SUU made the 2013 playoffs and won the 2015 Big Sky championship thanks to a play-making defense that flustered opponents on all three levels.
Southern Utah linebacker Mike Needham/by SUU Media Relations
But Southern Utah’s offense has been equally prolific since Justin Walterscheid began calling the plays. Last season, veteran offensive coordinator abruptly resigned following SUU’s 44-0 win over Weber State. SUU didn’t miss a beat, scoring 39.7 points per game for the rest of Big Sky Conference play, including 44 points against Sacramento State, 54 points against Cal Poly, 49 points against NAU to sew up the league title and 39 points in a three-point loss to Sam Houston State in the first round of the playoffs.
This season, especially last week, the T-Birds continue to roll. In the nine games against FCS teams with Walterscheid as the offensive coordinator, SUU is averaging 39.5 points per game, including last weekend’s 45-point outburst in a 45-31 win over Portland State. SUU scored three offensive touchdowns or more than 71 yards, including a 90-yard catch by Mike Sharp and an 87-yard touchdown run by Malik Brown as SUU totaled 541 yards against the Vikings.
SUU averaged 9.1 yards per carry in rushing for 292 yards while backup quarterback Patrick Tyler — sophomore starter McCoy Hill is out with a shoulder injury — threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns to Sharp, who finished with five catches for 139 yards.
Still, PSU hung tough and had the ball on the SUU 4-yard line trailing 38-31 with 26 seconds left before Jarmaine Doubs intercepted Portland State senior Alex Kuresa for the fourth time and returned the final pick 98 yards for the game-sealing score.
The reigning Big Sky champions did not play Montana last season but will play in Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday.
UND running back John Santiago (22) and Brady Oliveria (5)/by Brooks Nuanez
5. North Dakota (1-0 in Big Sky play, 2-2 overall) — North Dakota’s bell cow for the last two seasons has been All-America running back John Santiago. With Montana State dead set on shutting out the star sophomore, UND turned to fellow sophomore Brady Oliveira and picked up its second straight win.
Santiago finished with less than 100 yards for just the fourth time in 15 career starts, totaling 57 yards on 19 carries. But Oliveira picked up the slack, rushing for 171 yards on 22 carries, including a game-sealing 60-yard touchdown in UND’s 17-15 win.
North Dakota still has several issues to work out — slow starts offensively, ineffectiveness on long third down situations to name two — but the swarming UND defense and the Fighting Hawks’ ability to sell out and stop the run will always keep them competitive.
UND’s defense will receive its biggest challenge thus far with Cal Poly’s powerhouse triple option rushing attack coming to Grand Forks on Saturday.
6. Montana State (0-1 in Big Sky play, 2-2 overall) — The Bobcats are the only team to move up the rankings despite a loss. That’s the case for two reasons: one, MSU’s ability to hold Santiago at bay and make UND work for every yard it gained offensively was the best display yet of just how much the Bobcat defense has improved. In last season’s 44-38 loss to UND in Grand Forks, MSU surrendered 426 yards rushing including a career-high 230 to Santiago.
MSU linebacker Fletcher Collins (59)/by Brooks Nuanez
Secondly, Weber State has two straight wins but each victory came against the two least formidable teams in the Big Sky – Sacramento State and UC Davis — and Weber won each game by the skin of its teeth.
Montana State’s improvements defensively have been offset by a giant step back offensively. A season after leading the Big Sky in scoring offense and total offense, with 42 points and 519 yards per game, respectively, the Bobcats are struggling to score or move the ball. Of MSU’s seven touchdowns against Division I opponents — MSU scored 55 of its 114 total points against Division II Western Oregon — defensive takeaways have given the offense the ball inside the red-zone on three occasions.
The first drive of the season against Idaho, the first drive of the second half at UI, two scoring drives in the second quarter against Bryant and a last-gasp touchdown drive aided by Kevin Kassis’ 55-yard catch and run to set up Chad Newell’s touchdown (MSU’s only TD against UND) are the only true touchdown drives the Bobcats have to show against D-I opponents.
Montana State will be able to hang in games with any team in the league if the defense continues to play with the effort it’s displayed during the season’s first month but wins will be hard to come by if the offense can’t manufacture more points.
Montana State plays at Sacramento State on Saturday evening.
7. Northern Colorado (0-0 in Big Sky play, 2-1 overall) — The Bears are the only team in the league that did not open conference play last week.
UNC is the hardest team in the Big Sky to gage thus far. On the heels of last season’s 6-5 finish — Northern Colorado’s first winning season as a Division I member — momentum seemed to be building in Greeley. With the return of quarterback Jacob Knipp, running back Trae Riek and defensive end Keifer Morris after each had standout freshmen seasons bred optimism.
But UNC has not played a like opponent yet. The Bears destroyed Rocky Mountain College of the NAIA in their opener before hanging on for a 55-52 win over Abilene Christian in the second week. At ABU, Kyle Sloter came off the bench to throw for 408 yards and six touchdowns but Abilene is a program in its third season transitioning to Division I. The week before taking last week’s bye, UNC fell behind 38-0 at Colorado State in a 47-21 loss in Fort Collins.
UNC gets its first test against a like opponent with Northern Arizona coming to Greeley on Saturday.
8. Weber State (1-0 in Big Sky play, 2-2 overall) — The Wildcats are on a two-game winning streak entering their bye week thanks to hard-fought wins over Sacramento State and UC Davis.
WSU piled up 520 yards of total offense against Sac but needed a Jadrian Clark touchdown run with 1:42 let to emerge with a 14-7 win. Last week, Weber built leads of 32-10 and 35-20 before Davis came storming back to tie the game at 35 with 1:35 left.
What appeared to be Weber’s final possession stalled out and the Wildcats punted. But UCD returner Isiah Olave muffed the punt and Weber recovered on the Davis 23. Two plays later, freshman Taylor Hintze kicked a 45-yard field goal to lift WSU to its second straight win.
Thus far, Weber’s offense appears improved. The Wildcats are averaging 452 yards of total offense, 171 rushing yards and 35 points per game against FCS opponents this season. But the defense has struggled with two-time All-Big Sky middle linebacker Emmett Tela on the shelf with an injury. Weber is giving up 35 points and 417 yards of offense per game thus far this season.
The Wildcats have a bye this week and host Portland State on October 8.
9. Northern Arizona (0-1 in Big Sky play, 1-3 overall) — The preseason Big Sky favorites are still in search of their first Division I victory a month into the 2016 season.
NAU suffered a 44-13 loss to Arizona State and a 34-20 loss at No. 17 Western Illinois before making its home debut with a 73-3 runaway from Division II New Mexico Highlands. Last week, the Lumberjacks went shot for shot with EWU as Case Cookus’ third touchdown pass with 5;14 left in the third quarter cut the EWU lead to 36-28.
But Cookus did not play in the fourth quarter. Backup Blake Kemp completed 9-of-12 passes for 77 yards and a late touchdown but Eastern intercepted the backup twice, setting up two of its five rushing touchdowns on the afternoon as the top-ranked team in the Big Sky won going away.
NAU will look for its first league win and its first Division I win with a matchup in Greeley against Northern Colorado on Saturday.
10. Portland State (0-1 in Big Sky play, 1-3 overall) — The Vikings are on their first losing streak of the Bruce Barnum era.
During last season’s magical run, Barnum led PSU to five wins over ranked FCS squads, two wins over FBS teams and nine wins all told. Portland State made the playoffs for the second time since joining Division I 20 years ago and the Vikings never lost back-to-back games.
PSU got drilled by FBS schools in consecutive weeks after a harder than expected win over Division II Central Washington to kick off the season. Portland State turned the ball over six times in a 66-35 loss to San Jose State and four more times in a 41-3 loss at No. 8 Washington.
Last week in a rematch from last year’s instant classic — Southern Utah missed a two-point conversion late to fall 24-23 in Portland — PSU turned the ball over five times, including Kuresa’s four interceptions. Southern Utah went on a 24-point run in the second quarter to take a 31-10 lead into halftime. The Thunderbirds had more than 400 yards of offense to PSU’s 80 in the first half.
After halftime, PSU rallied as Kuresa’s 17-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter cut the lead to 31-24. But Malike Brown’s 87-yard touchdown run — SUU averaged 9.2 yards per rush and scored rushing TDs of 37, 71 and 87 yards — extended the lead to two scores again.
PSU trailed 38-31 with the ball four yards away from pay dirt and less than 30 seconds left before Jarmaine Doubs took Kuresa’s fourth and final interception 98 yards for a game-winning touchdown in SUU’s 45-31 triumph.
Portland State searches for its first Division I win with Idaho State coming to the City of Roses on Saturday.
11. Idaho State (1-0 in Big Sky play, 2-2 overall) — The Bengals are the only team on this list that did not move up despite a victory. ISU’s first Division I win came against Sac State, the only winless team in the Big Sky.
True freshman Michael Dean had a breakout performance, ripping off a 62-yard touchdown run to give ISU a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter and sprinting to a 91-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 35-17 after Sac State cut it to 21-17 midway through the third quarter. Dean finished with 154 yards on four carries.
Sac trailed 35-24 before Nikko Taylor intercepted Nate Ketteringham and walked into the end-zone from four yards out to give ISU a 42-24 lead with five minutes left. Sac would notch a safety and get a Ketteringham touchdown run but the hosts held on for a 42-34 win.
Sac piled up 547 yards of total offense, 102 more than ISU and rushed for 220 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Ketteringham’s two interceptions proved to be the difference.
ISU plays at struggling Portland State on Saturday
12. UC Davis (0-1 in Big Sky play, 1-3 overall) — Davis took Weber State down to the wire but remains in search of its first Division I win, one of four Big Sky teams that finds themselves in that situation as October begins.
The Aggies run game continued to struggle, averaging 3.8 yards per carry and getting just 98 yards at home against WSU on Saturday. Ben Scott shook off an injury suffered against Wyoming to complete 20-of-34 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns to Keelan Doss but the defense allowed Weber to move the ball at will. The Wildcats averaged 5.8 yards per carry and piled up 463 yards of total offense at Aggie Stadium.
Davis plays at front-running Eastern Washington on Saturday.
13. Sacramento State (0-1 in Big Sky play, 0-4 overall) — The Hornets have showed marked improvement since a 38-30 loss to Division II Western Oregon to open the season. The other three Big Sky teams still searching for a Division I win this season notched a victory over a D-II team, something that eluded Sac State.
The Hornets trailed just 10-3 entering the fourth quarter at FBS Fresno State before the Bulldogs scored three touchdowns in 10 minutes to put the game away. Sac State held Weber to just seven points for the first 58 minutes of its trip to Ogden before falling by a touchdown. The Hornets fell behind 21-0 at Idaho State before rallying for a win.
Sac quarterback Nate Ketteringham rushed for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown against ISU. He is completing 52.2 percent of his passes for 199 yards per game and has five touchdowns compared to six interceptions. He will have to be more efficient if Sac hopes to break through.
The Hornets return home for the first time since the Western Oregon debacle to host Montana State on Saturday night.
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