BSC Week 10 Preview
Kris Kallem & Lance Berndt, BSC Contributors | November 05, 2015
Kris Says-
Portland State @ Northern Colorado
Portland State is the most complete team in the conference if not the entire nation. The Vikings are averaging 38 points on offense and giving up just 19 on defense. Keep in mind that’s a defense that’s faced high powered offenses in Washington State, Montana State, and Montana. They are well past the point of sneaking up on someone, and now get to experience life with a target on their backs. Northern Colorado has played better football this season and at 4-4, a winning record is still in sight.
Southern Utah @ Montana State
The Southern Utah defense came back down to earth last week a little against a potent Cal Poly rushing attack. They face another solid test this week against the Big Sky’s #1 scoring offense. Dakota Prukop is having a Payton award winning season and can dominate a game. The much maligned Bobcat defense is actually middle of the road in scoring for the Big Sky Conference, but their stats have been skewed by several weak offenses on the schedule. The Tbird’s offense appears to be clicking on all cylinders and I see them winning comfortably in a high scoring game.
Northern Arizona @ Eastern Washington
These are two very similar teams statistically, ranking 12th and 13th in the conference in total defense and 11th and 12th in scoring defense. Two stats that do stand out are the Jack’s last place ranking in sacks against and red zone defense. The Jack’s trio of Cookus, Butler, and Jahn can put up points in bunches but the defense is suspect. Eastern’s defense on the other hand has been playing better of late. I expect a good old fashioned Big Sky shootout in this one. Player to watch: NAU’s Emmanuel Butler is leading the conference in yards per catch at 22.4. He’s a legit deep threat.
Lance says-
UC-Davis @ Weber State
After a brutal 5 game stretch, Weber State returns home for the final 2 games of the season. Their playoff hopes are most likely dashed, but they do have a shot at winning out to record their first winning season since 2010. UC-Davis continues to face these types of games year after year, but this will be another shot to gain some momentum heading into next season. The Aggies lead the conference in time of possession, but I think that’s more of a result from their poor defense. Both teams struggle with taking care of the ball, so turnovers could be a big factor in deciding the winner. I think Weber State has posted a much better resume this season and should be at least a 10 point favorite to win this game.
ORV Montana @ Idaho State
When I saw this game at the start of the season, I thought it could be a crucial decision towards gaining a playoff berth. Things have definitely changed since then, but that’s what makes college football at the FCS level fun to watch. Montana comes into this game needing to win out to still have a shot at the playoffs, which is a tall task with three very strong offenses on the schedule. Idaho State is by far the weakest remaining opponent for the Griz, but they still need to play well to win. The Bengals rank last in the country in turnover margin and the Griz feed off turnovers so they will need to improve on that statistic in this game. Player to watch for Montana will be Tyrone Holmes. It’s likely Idaho State will be passing a lot, so his pass rush ability should come to be very useful for the Griz defense. For the Bengals, I’m going to say running backs Xavier Finney and Jakori Ford. Montana has struggled against the run the past few weeks, so if they can get the ground game going, ISU could pull out a rare win against Montana.
Sacramento State @ Cal Poly
On the surface, Cal Poly should be the clear favorite, but like Cal Poly, Sacramento State has not been as bad this season as their record shows. They only have one loss to a team with a losing record, and only have one FCS loss by more than 22 points. The Mustangs have been waiting for this game for a month though after facing the three teams contending for the conference title the last three games. As is the theme for most games, turnovers has been quite a problem for Cal Poly in their last two losses. Their triple option offense has clearly been effective this season, boasting the nation’s top rushing offense averaging 406.2 yards per game. They have lost 9 fumbles the last two games though and you can’t win if you can’t hang on to the ball. Still, I think Cal Poly should do pretty well against the Hornet defense and win by at least 20 points.