So far I am 9 for 11 in my two prediction threads. I picked MSU over Poly and NAU over Sac.
So far no away team has won in the Sky. That changes this week.
Azusa Pacific @ Sacramento State
- Sac St surprised a lot of people last week by beating Northern Arizona at home. Ryan Mole finally broke the 100 yard mark, which is going to mean that Sac St has a chance if Mole can rush for 100, although he has yet to rush for a TD. Sac stormed back from a 10-3 halftime deficit, scoring 35 points in the second half. The telling stat for that game - 6 NAU turnovers, 1 for a TD. Azusa is a top 25 (16) NAIA team, and are currently sitting at 3-2. They are a pretty balanced team that has almost an identical amount of rushing and passing yards. But they give up a lot more yards than they put up. The last time they played a IAA team - Cal St Northridge put up 66 on them. Sac St is no gridiron great, but they should be able to win this game fairly easily and improve their season to 2-4.
What to watch : Sac St put together a complete game, and showed they have plenty of talent to win BSC games.
- 10-48
Portland State @ Boise State
- The Viks will be facing their second IA opponent this year, already losing to Oregon State 41-14 in their first game of the season. PSU was looking like they could take the Sky, but they faltered on the road to an EWU that was in a must-win situation last week. Rubin has been solid (leads the nation in rushing at 170.8 YPG), but unfortunately they can't find a QB who can match Rubins consistency. PSU's passing game will continue to improve, but there is no way the Viks will be able to keep up with BSU. The Broncs have more or less proved they we not deserving of any hype at all, but they still are a pretty good IA squad. They did lose to PSU's other IA opponent, OSU, but they will still be too much for PSU to handle, although this game might be closer than some expect it to be.
What to watch : If the Viks can find a passing game to match Rubins dominating run game, they could put up some points on a suspect Boise St defense.
- 21-42
#11 Eastern Washington @ Northern Arizona
- Eastern stormed back with a victory over PSU last weekend, but not how you would expect - Ryan Cole, the IA transfer from Oregon State, rushed for 154 yards on 25 carries and 5 TDs. Meyer threw in 68 of his own for a total of 222 yards on the ground. EWU finally put up the points we thought they would be putting up all year. If this team can't score 40 a game, they are underachieving. They travel to Flagstaff to face a demoralized NAU squad. Sac St put up 35 points on them in the second half alone, and there is no reason why EWU can't score at least that many for the game. NAU is the kind of team that is capable of having complete meltdowns at random times, via the 60-14 beating they took against MSU last year (the worst blowout I have ever seen - it was 53-0 at halftime). Murietta had an ok day at Sac, but he threw 3 picks. If NAU turns the ball over as much as they did last week, this game is going to be extremely ugly. If they can recover from last week, play solid on both sides of the ball, they might be able to put themselves in a position to win late in the 4th. But I don't see that happening.
What to watch : Ryan Cole rushed for 5 TDs and 154 yards last week, and adds one more dimension to an already stellar offensive unit.
- 44-27
#6 Montana @ Idaho State
- 3rd and long. The crowd is making as much noise as they can. The ball is throw deep to a 1on1 match up in the endzone. The WR falls backwards and the ball hits him in the hands but he can't hold on. 4th and long - sacked, game over. That is how close Weber came to pulling the upset over the Grizzlies last week in Missoula. Weber had a huge offensive day, but couldn't get on to the scoreboard as much as the stats would reflect. The Griz defense was shredded for yards (483 to be precise) at home. They face no easier task this week when they travel to a very tough ISU team in Pocatello. The Griz D did it's part, forcing 4 turnovers last week, including a TD INT return by Torry Thomas. They only game up 110 on the ground though, and ISU is a run-oriented squad led by two very talented RBs, Josh Barnett and Ken Cornist. Together, they average 188 YPG. Last week at MSU, they rushed for 153 on the ground in the first half alone, but could only muster 35 in the second half (88 total offense in the 2nd half). This game is a very tough one to call. Can ISU get its running game going? If so, I like the Bengals. Cole Berquist will get his first start at QB for the Griz in his collegiate career for the injured Jason Washington. Can he help get the Griz offense on track? I believe he will, but I believe it won't be this game. If the ISU running game gets going, and the Griz offense fails to produce, the Griz defense will be on the field a lot and will eventually tire.
What to watch : Montana gives up 72.3 yards on the ground, and Idaho State amasses 188 per.
- 20-24
#12 Montana State @ Weber State
- The Bobcats are coming off another close victory against a then-ranked team. The game looked to be in control in the 2nd quarter with a 17-3 lead, but ISU came storming back on the ground. The Cats are not real solid against running teams, and they face a very confident Weber team in Ogden with a good running game. This is the first time I have ever said this about another BSC team besides UM - The crowd may be a factor. Weber is averaging 13369 per game, although they had over 17000 in their season opener. If they can pull 12k plus, the crowd might be a factor. Ian Pizzaro lit up the Griz secondary last week for 373 yards, but only 1 TD and a costly INT. He faces a tougher task this weekend though, as they face the Bobcats, the #9 team in the country for pass efficiency defense. Weber impressed everyone when they beat NAU, but that win is looking less impressive after NAU was dismantled by a winless Sac St team. Since 2001, the Bobcats are 14-1 when scoring more than 30 points, and I believe they will be able to do so this week, and Weber is 4-28 when scoring less than 30. Weber looked impressive last week, and will hang with the Cats, but Lulay and Co. will be too tough to keep up with against the Cats much improved secondary.
What to watch : Pizzaro threw for a heap of yards against the Griz last week, completing 26 passes on 43 attempts for 373 yards. Can he get hot again?
- 34-24
Possible upset of the week: Weber over MSU
Best matchup: UM @ ISU
Worst matchup: Azusa @ Sac
