Around the Big Sky Conference

Amber Kuehn
GameDay Kaimin

In today’s games, two Big Sky teams are searching for their first wins of the season, Eastern Washington tries to remain unbeaten and our Interstate 90 neighbors to the east will look to stay hot against long-time rival Idaho State.

Idaho State at Montana State (1:35 p.m.)
The Bengals are 1-2 after falling to Eastern Washington 34-7 in their conference opener last Saturday. The Bobcats, however, are 2-1, with their only loss coming to the Big 12’s Texas A&M. MSU is coming off a 21-5 road victory over Weber State.
The Bengals should be a tad worried entering Bobcat Stadium.
Not only does ISU have to be concerned about the Bobcat offense scoring touchdowns, but the Bengals should also beware of the MSU defense’s ability to put points on the board. Montana State junior strong safety Chase Gazzerro and senior cornerback Michael Beach each returned interceptions for touchdowns in the Weber State game last weekend. Bengals, take note. After all, the ISU offense struggled against EWU, turning the ball over four times in the first half alone, three of which came in the first 18 minutes.
The Bengals’ offense has to find a way to score early on if they want to have a chance in this one. Idaho State didn’t score until there were fewer than 10 minutes in the game last Saturday, and only had 104 yards of total offense in the first half.
MSU had only 283 yards against Weber State, but managed to hold the Wildcats to 340 yards and didn’t allow any touchdowns.
The Bengals will have a new face getting the starting nod at quarterback today. Earlier this week, head coach John Zamberlin named Luke Butler the starter after he threw for 264 yards in relief of Russel Hill last weekend. This will be the first start of his career. The true test will be can he handle the Bobcat D. I’m taking the Cats in this one.
The game will be televised live on Altitude Sports Network.

Northern Arizona at Sacramento State (2:05 p.m.)
The Lumberjacks are 2-2 overall and undefeated in conference action. Sacramento State, on the other hand, has yet to win a game. This is the Hornets’ first home game of the 2007 season.
NAU totaled 507 yards of offense last Saturday against Northern Colorado. The NAU defense also recovered two fumbles and intercepted a ball in the end zone.
The Hornets allowed 58 points in their loss to New Mexico last weekend. Cyrus Mulitalo saw some action at running back, compiling 11 yards on three carries and picking up two first downs.
I predict the winless Hornets will go down again. You can catch the game live on www.bigskytv.org.

Portland State at Eastern Washington (6:05 p.m.)
The Eagles are undefeated, and the Vikings are 1-3. Their lone win was over conference foe Sac State two weeks ago. PSU is now coming off a 52-17 loss to San Diego State.
Despite quarterback Brian White throwing for 283 yards in the first half, the Vikings only managed to put two scoring drives together.
White completed 36-of-53 passes for 408 yards, but was intercepted three times.
The Portland State defense held the Aztecs to just three points in the third quarter. Jordan Senn had a career-high 17 tackles. Linebacker Andy Schentz left the game early on with a knee injury and his status for today’s game is unknown.
Eastern Washington has already matched last year’s win total and hasn’t gotten off to this good of a start in a decade.
The Eagles had several impact players perform well in last weekend’s win in Pocatello. Sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols threw for 232 yards in the first half alone. Alexis Alexander finished with three rushing touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Tony Davis had six catches for 150 yards. The Eagle defense forced four first-half turnovers, and sophomore cornerback Lonnie Hosley contributed with two interceptions, two pass breakups and five tackles. Linebacker Marcus Walker led the Eagles with 10 tackles, and four different players recorded sacks. So what players should PSU look out for? I’m saying the whole team.
Last year Portland State beat EWU in a blowout, 34-0. Different season, different teams – Eagles win this one.
You can catch the game live on www.bigskytv.org.

Northern Colorado at Cal Poly (6:05 p.m.)
The Bears are entering their final non-conference game of the season and are still searching for their first win in 2007. Northern Colorado has lost 12 straight, and are now faced to play a tough Cal Poly team for their third-straight road game. Cal Poly is 2-2.
The two teams are familiar with one another, as the Bears were members of the Great West Conference with Cal Poly prior to coming into the Big Sky. The Bears are 2-5 all-time against the Mustangs, and never managed to beat them when the two were members of the same conference.
The Bears may be hurting even more now than they have been in previous games. They lost three key players to injury against Northern Arizona last weekend, and all of them are questionable for today’s game.
John Eddy suffered a right ankle injury, Korey Askew went down with an injured left leg, and Quincy Wofford hurt his right leg.
Northern Colorado junior quarterback Mike Vlahogeorge is in good shape, however, as he is just 33 yards shy of passing for 500 yards in just his first season with the Bears.
I’m saying Cal Poly wins big, and the Bears fall for the 13th time in as many games.