With two weeks left in the regular season, a handful of teams remain alive in the Big Sky Conference title race.
Preseason Big Sky favorite Montana State is not one of them as the Bobcats head to Pocatello to play Idaho State at Holt Arena for the first time since 2010 (Bobcat preview here). Montana remains alive, but will need to defeat Eastern Washington this week and the Bobcats next week to secure a spot on the playoff bubble (Montana-EWU preview here). UM could sneak into a share for the league title if Southern Utah were to lose at Portland State this weekend and against Northern Arizona at home next weekend and if EWU were to take down Portland State in the season finale for both teams.
North Dakota is clinging to its playoff hopes with Northern Colorado coming to Grand Forks. NAU has to take care of business against Sacramento State at home to raise the magnitude of the season-ending matchup with Southern Utah. Cal Poly and UC Davis play an in-state rivalry game with bragging rights and recruiting clout on the line.
No. 18 Southern Utah at No. 15 Portland State — All season, Portland State has played with an underdog, take-no-prisoners mentality instilled within the Vikings by first-year head coach Bruce Barnum. The longtime offensive coordinator and first-team head coach has preached to his team all season that the Vikings are the perpetual underdogs. Portland State was picked to finish 12th in the 13-team Big Sky.
Last week, PSU took a No. 10 national ranking and four-game winning streak to Greeley, Colorado. For the first time all season, the Vikings were a definitive favorite. The Vikings were playing for an seventh Division I win and a potential spot in the playoffs. This time, it was Portland State that was on the wrong end of an upset as Northern Colorado mounted a last-minute drive capped by a touchdown with 23 seconds to play to emerge with a 35-32 win.
“I don’t think I taught them the right thing because this team has never had to play for anything in November,” Barnum said. “We’ve always been trying to upset the mighty Eagles of Eastern Washington or play Montana and try to not give them a first round bye. The game changed and I have to make sure they are aware of that.
“We have played every game with a certain mindset but now, look what we are playing for. We have to wake up. I don’t want these guys to have to worry about buying a ticket home for Thanksgiving.”
On paper at least, the Vikings are back to being the underdogs. Southern Utah comes to Portland riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest in program history. SUU is 6-0 in league play and a win would sew up at least a share of the first Big Sky title in program history.
“The guys are so excited,” SUU assistant head coach and 10th-year defensive line coach Ryan Hunt said. “There’s a lot of things out in front of us but (Portland State’s) backs are against the wall and we are going to get their best punch. They are going to be home and fired up. They’ve had a remarkable season.”
Saturday’s game will pit the two most physical teams in the league against one another. Southern Utah’s success has been built on a +21 turnover margin, a defense that leads the country in interceptions (17) and has scored six times and a pass rush led by All-America James Cowser that has put consistent pressure on opposing passing games.
“Their defense is strong,” Barnum said. “They play through the whistle, they are aggressive, they are intimidating. They forced (Montana State quarterback Dakota) Prukop into turnovers (in a 34-23 SUU win). Nobody forces that kid into turnovers. We will put something together. But it’s hard to silence the Lamb.”
Portland State answers with an aggressive defense of its own that has notched 13 interceptions, led by senior safety Patrick Onwuasor’s FCS-best seven picks. PSU is also bolstered by a potent, physical rushing attack that averages 265.7 yards per outing and 5.3 yards per carry. PSU has scored 30 of its 42 touchdowns on the ground as senior running back David Jones, junior quarterback Alex Kuresa, and junior tailbacks Steven Long and Nate Tago have each scored at least five rushing TDs.
“Every year we’ve played them, they’ve always been so physical,” Cowser said. “They have an extremely physical, tough offensive line and runners that run really hard and a defense that can stop anyone. That’s exactly how they are this year. It’s going to be a fight.”
Northern Colorado at North Dakota — In Grand Forks, two of the upstart teams in the Big Sky led by some of the most talented young rosters will go toe to toe in a game very few pointed to as a crucial one before the season.
Northern Colorado is coming off arguably its best win in program history after beating No. 10 Portland State. The Bears’ starting lineup includes a pair of true freshmen, four redshirt freshmen and five redshirt sophomores, a group that helped UNC notch its first win over a Top 10 FCS team since joining the Big Sky in 2006.
“It was a great win for our program because we face ranked teams every year in our conference and we’ve never been able to get over the hump,” UNC head coach Earnest Collins said. “Our kids refused to lose on Saturday and found a way to get it done.”
UNC plays at North Dakota, a team fresh off its bye that is still clinging to playoff hopes. North Dakota has an FBS win over Wyoming, a win over Portland State and a win over a previously ranked Montana State team on its playoff resume. UND is 3-3 in Big Sky play, 5-4 overall, meaning North Dakota will need to defeat UNC this weekend and win at Cal Poly next week to secure seven Division I wins and play itself onto the playoff bubble.
“Do our guys know and do we feel like we have an opportunity for post season? You bet we do,” UND second-year head coach Bubba Schweigert said. “You get to seven wins, you have an opportunity. But it’s so far down the road, if we get distracted by that, we won’t take care of business.”
North Dakota also saw an infusion of energy into the program off the field last week as the school opened its state of the art High Performance Center. Earlier this fall, UND became the first Big Sky school to approve full cost of attendance. North Dakota will pay its full scholarship athletes $3,400 a year beginning next year.
“The performance center already had an impact in recruiting and it will have a huge impact in our year-round player development,” Schweigert said. “And it’s all through privately raised dollars. That indicates that we have great support here at the University of North Dakota.”
In Collins’ previous four seasons, UNC won a total of six Big Sky games, including posting a 4-4 record in 2012. The Bears have seen a few seasons go by this decade without posting a Division I win. Northern Colorado enters Saturday’s game with a chance to sew up the program’s first winning record of the Division I era thanks to a stellar core of young players led by redshirt freshmen quarterback Jacob Knipp, running back Trae Riek and defensive end Keifer Morris.
“It’s just huge for our program period,” said Collins, a UNC alum. “We got to five wins in our last game in 2012 and just having a winning season has eluded us since. We have a great chance of getting that done this year. That’s our focus this game because this game can help us reach that mark. It would be a huge accomplishment for our players to understand that we can get back to what Bear football used to be.”
Sacramento State at Northern Arizona —Following last week’s 52-30 win at Eastern Washington, the formula for Northern Arizona remains simple: win and the Lumberjacks stay alive.
Suddenly surging NAU will have to take care of business against a rebuilding Sacramento State program in order to set up a crucial game to finish the season. A win on Saturday would put NAU at 7-3 overall, 5-2 in Big Sky play with a matchup at front-running Southern Utah left to play. Two straight wins and NAU would likely qualify for the FCS playoffs for the fifth time in head coach Jerome Souers’ 18 seasons.
“The key in November, I believe, is your ability to take it one game at a time,” said Souers, who passed Chris Ault and is now the Big Sky’s all-time leader in wins with 71. “We have peaked our season to try to be in better condition in November. We have changed our practice format, done a lot of things different this year to make sure we are playing our best football at the end of the year. We are trying to keep guys out on the field. So far, it’s been working well for us. Offensively, each week we get better. Case Cookus is a freshman quarterback playing like a veteran now. Our kids are getting more comfortable with the schemes we are running on offense. You’d like to think we can make a run at the end of the year. That’s what we are trying to do. Our last two games are tough games and we have to earn our way if we want to have eight wins at the end of the season, which I’m sure is what it’s going to take to get into the playoffs.”
Cookus’ emergence as an elite player in the Big Sky has been crucial to NAU’s success. The Thousand Oaks, California native leads the nation in passer efficiency with a rating of 190.9. He leads the Big Sky in completion percentage at 70.4 percent and he’s thrown 27 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions. His seven touchdowns in a 63-21 win over Northern Colorado tied a school record.
In NAU’s first year running offensive coordinator Tim Plough’s run-pass option offense, Cookus has engineered three straight scoring outbursts of at least 52 points. NAU is averaging 51.2 points per game at Walkup Skydome and the ‘Jacks are averaging 41.2 points per game against FCS competition.
“They might be the hottest team in the league right now,” Sac State head coach Jody Sears said. “They have a really good running game and an extremely good passing game on the edge. The young quarterback is a phenomenal player. We are going to have our hands full.”
Sac State’s offense has mustered just 17 touchdowns this season but true freshman quarterback Nate Ketteringham has engineered six of the scoring drives in two starts. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Centennial (San Diego) High product threw for four touchdowns in a 38-13 win over Idaho State in his second career start. Ketteringham threw for 335 yards and a touchdown in a 36-14 loss to Cal Poly last week.
“I was really pleased with probably 89 percent of the snaps Nate took the other night,” Sears said. “He was 33-of-42. Yeah, they were stacking the box on us (1.6 yards per carry). People are going to do that to a young quarterback. But I think he did a nice job of getting the ball out when he needed to. He’s a smart kid, a competitor.”
Cal Poly at UC Davis — The Mustangs finally earned a breakthrough with last week’s 36-14 win over in-state rival Sacramento State. Although Cal Poly is now just 3-6 and out of the playoff race, a second straight rivalry game means the Mustangs have bragging rights to play for.
“It was a much-needed win for our team,” UC Davis head coach Tim Walsh said. “Our team works extremely hard and it was great to see them get a win. Now we head to UC Davis, who is our true in-state rival. The fight for the Golden Horseshoe will be on Saturday at 2 o’clock. Both teams are out of the Big Sky championship race but I think a lot is at stake with who we recruit and how we recruit. We are two schools in this conference that prioritize academic GPAs and SATs and ACTs and the kids have to meet the minimums, the campus minimums and those are difficult things for both programs. But a lot of guys will be swaying back and forth whether they are going to go to Davis or Poly and we want them to choose Cal Poly. This game will have a lot of implications for it.”
For a third straight week, UC Davis head coach Ron Gould was mum on his quarterback situation. Junior Ben Scott has missed two straight starts due to an undisclosed injury. If Scott can’t play, CJ Spencer will get the start for a Davis team searching for its second win. UCD defeated NAU 38-24 for its lone win earlier this season.
“It’s a big rivalry for many reasons, particularly academics, recruiting, bragging rights in California, the list goes on and on and on,” UC Davis head coach Ron Gould said. “What they do on offense (triple option) is totally unconventional. All the things you teach your guys throughout the course of a regular season playing normal offenses, you throw it out the window.”
Last season, Davis won its first Big Sky game of the season and earned its second win overall in a 48-35 win over Cal Poly that ended the Mustangs’ playoff hopes.
“We do remember last year and we were playing for everything and they came out and outplayed us,” said Walsh, who is just 2-4 in his career at Cal Poly against Davis. “They out-physicalled us and out-coached us. That’s a game I don’t think in my 38 or 39 years doing this that I will forget any time soon. That was an absolute tail-whooping and they did a tremendous job.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
