Is… is the Big Sky

[Prodigal Cat]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

[TomCat88]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

[mslacatfan]

It’s not as strong overall as it’s been in years past…. But there have actually been teams that are better than expected.

Northern Colorado for example- should have beat Colorado state (f’d by the refs), and took South Dakota to overtime…. Who saw that coming?!

It’s still pretty top heavy though-

Tier 1- cats/griz. I think it’s just these two at this point, far above everyone else. Griz should continue to improve throughout the season with more game experience (hate to say it, but they are good this year, a lot of talent both sides of the ball).

Tier 2- Idaho, uc Davis, sac st…. I’m really not sure what to think of these teams yet…. But they are talented.

Tier 3- everyone else

[MSU01]

How good is the MVFC outside of NDSU and SDSU? I'm not seeing too many impressive results from that conference either other than the two traditional powers. Now that the Covid year guys are pretty much all done playing I think we're now really seeing the results of the FCS division being turned into basically a feeder league for richer FBS programs. When they can swoop in every year and poach most of the best FCS players through the portal, it's going to be really hard to maintain a consistently good FCS program these days unless you have massive facility advantages like the teams at the top do. It's not a coincidence that the Top 5 teams are who they are and the gap is only going to get wider.

[technoCat]

I was just saying the same thing to my brother yesterday. I think the whole big sky is down. Including us. I've only watched our games and the NAU one last night and I think we have the potential to get back to where we were by the end of the year, I don't see it in the other teams. NAU was like swiss cheese last night. They pulled out a win but didn't SUU just lose to USD? UCD hasn't looked super impressive. SSU just doesn't seem to have put all those pieces together. Maybe they'll get on a hot streak. Griz do what they do so if they win out and get home games through the playoffs maybe they make a push? Weber and EWU seem to still be down. ISU might have been good until they lost their QB. NCU actually looking surprisingly solid but still not enough to get over the top.

[SparkCat]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

I don’t know, Tarleton is playing damn well.

I had nothing better yesterday to do but flip between lots of games, what I saw was a lot of sloppy football. Maybe this is a byproduct of teams reloading with the portal, however, there are more teams not meeting expectations than teams matching or exceeding expectations.

SDSU looked like a different team against Drake, MSU hangover? I was worried about the NAU game, now anything can happen in flagstaff, but I do think our defense is dynamic enough to shut them down, and NAU’s defense is a mess.

Maybe a hot take, but Mercyhurst may be our next most challenging game until UC Davis.

[SparkCat]

It’s not as strong overall as it’s been in years past…. But there have actually been teams that are better than expected.

Northern Colorado for example- should have beat Colorado state (f’d by the refs), and took South Dakota to overtime…. Who saw that coming?!

It’s still pretty top heavy though-

Tier 1- cats/griz. I think it’s just these two at this point, far above everyone else. Griz should continue to improve throughout the season with more game experience (hate to say it, but they are good this year, a lot of talent both sides of the ball).

Tier 2- Idaho, uc Davis, sac st…. I’m really not sure what to think of these teams yet…. But they are talented.

Tier 3- everyone else

I’d agree with all these takes, I think the griz will improve, however, they have the same problem, absolutely no o-line and Ah Yat can at times magic but more times than not doesn’t.

I would say the two teams with the highest ceilings are SDSU and the Cats. So far any team that’s using the portal for an overhaul or crutch lacks consistency.

Cat/griz will be a great game this year with the winner probably getting home games until at least semis

[MSU01]

It’s not as strong overall as it’s been in years past…. But there have actually been teams that are better than expected.

Northern Colorado for example- should have beat Colorado state (f’d by the refs), and took South Dakota to overtime…. Who saw that coming?!

It’s still pretty top heavy though-

Tier 1- cats/griz. I think it’s just these two at this point, far above everyone else. Griz should continue to improve throughout the season with more game experience (hate to say it, but they are good this year, a lot of talent both sides of the ball).

Tier 2- Idaho, uc Davis, sac st…. I’m really not sure what to think of these teams yet…. But they are talented.

Tier 3- everyone else

I’d agree with all these takes, I think the griz will improve, however, they have the same problem, absolutely no o-line and Ah Yat can at times magic but more times than not doesn’t.

I would say the two teams with the highest ceilings are SDSU and the Cats. So far any team that’s using the portal for an overhaul or crutch lacks consistency.

Cat/griz will be a great game this year with the winner probably getting home games until at least semis

That certainly seems to be the way we're heading, at this point I really only see UC Davis as a team that might be good enough right now to challenge MSU and UM. Maybe Idaho sneaks in there but I was not impressed at all with Sac State from watching them last night. I suppose we'll have a great opportunity to compare ourselves next weekend playing the same opponent they just struggled with.

[Prodigal Cat]

The narrative that everyone is hot garbage except a few teams I’m not buying. Yes USD is looking bad, but SIU, Ill St, UND, SDSU, NDSU are all performing as expected. Winning games they are supposed to easily, even competing in a few games they shouldn’t. BSC not so much. The 2nd tier teams in this conference are to a man all looking very shaky against bad teams and the griz should have lost yesterday to a second tier MVFC team.

[TomCat88]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

I don’t know, Tarleton is playing damn well.

I had nothing better yesterday to do but flip between lots of games, what I saw was a lot of sloppy football. Maybe this is a byproduct of teams reloading with the portal, however, there are more teams not meeting expectations than teams matching or exceeding expectations.

SDSU looked like a different team against Drake, MSU hangover? I was worried about the NAU game, now anything can happen in flagstaff, but I do think our defense is dynamic enough to shut them down, and NAU’s defense is a mess.

Maybe a hot take, but Mercyhurst may be our next most challenging game until UC Davis.

Were it not for MSU, SDSU and NDSU, the entire FCS would look exactly like it has always looked in terms of competitiveness. Take out MSU from the BSC and the DSUs from the MVFC, and those are two competitive conferences with fans anticipating a highly contested battle between 4-5 teams for the league titles.

But that's not where we're at three weeks into this season if we're being honest. Sure, maybe Tarleton will rise up. A few teams will. When the playoffs roll around there will be 3-4 other teams that some people will be wondering if they'll "make a run" in the playoffs. One team besides MSU, SDSU and NDSU will be in the semifinals. That's guaranteed. I think the likelihood that at least two of those three aren't in the semis is highly unlikely.

[webdav]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

Tarleton should be mentioned.

[onceacat]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

Not to be that guy, but if it’s all terrible other than 3 teams…maybe it’s not terrible, it’s just…FCS football?

[TomCat88]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

Not to be that guy, but if it’s all terrible other than 3 teams…maybe it’s not terrible, it’s just…FCS football?

Yeah, I kinda said that in my second post. Mostly just having fun with it. Right now if I had to predict the final four I’d say add Tarleton and whoever plays them wins and the other game is a coin toss.

[RickRund]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

Not to be that guy, but if it’s all terrible other than 3 teams…maybe it’s not terrible, it’s just…FCS football?

Yeah, I kinda said that in my second post. Mostly just having fun with it. Right now if I had to predict the final four I’d say add Tarleton and whoever plays them wins and the other game is a coin toss.

I don’t really think the word parity can be used as much now, to me there used to be a little parity. I am guessing the NIL mess/the portal, has caused the FCS to be more watered down. Would that be true?

[TomCat88]

Hot garbage this year??

Maybe that’s a bit harsh but 3 weeks in and there is starting to be a trend that’s tough to ignore. You have presumably top half of the conference teams struggling versus Utah Tech. Tech might be better than the past but if Idaho, Davis, or NAU see themselves as top 15 teams should they be struggling to put the trailblazers away? 0-2 Sac was very close to being down double digits at the half vs Mercyhurst. EWU lost to the worst MVFC team not named Murray St. Griz pulled it out but they were outgained by 100 yards, only mustered 68 yds on the ground, UND left 7 points off the board in the first half on missed Pat and going for it instead of kicking FGs. They deserved to lose but in typical griz fashion won. It’s almost safe to say UNC is the only team playing above expectations.

Big Sky might still be the second best conference but the gap between the best one is wider than it’s been in recent history. Only the Cats really look like top 10 team.

I expect this to change as the year goes but as of right now:

The BSC is hot garbage outside of MSU.
The MVFC is hot garbage outside of NDSU and SDSU.
The rest of the FCS is hot garbage.

Not to be that guy, but if it’s all terrible other than 3 teams…maybe it’s not terrible, it’s just…FCS football?

Yeah, I kinda said that in my second post. Mostly just having fun with it. Right now if I had to predict the final four I’d say add Tarleton and whoever plays them wins and the other game is a coin toss.

I don’t really think the word parity can be used as much now, to me there used to be a little parity. I am guessing the NIL mess/the portal, has caused the FCS to be more watered down. Would that be true?

I think it's good teams moving up, but mostly its NDSU getting so good and then very few teams copying them. The only two teams that are copying them are SDSU around 2016 and then MSU after 2022. Unless someone comes up with an equally good or better plan then it's going to basically stay like this. And maybe someone has, and we just haven't seen it yet this year. Someone could gel between now and the middle of the season. Who knows? But as of right now, it is the way it is.