Around the Big Sky Conference

Amber Kuehn
GameDay Kaimin

Today features a slate of conference games, and one final nonconference competition for rival Montana State. Here is a preview of today’s matchups and what you can expect to see in each. You can watch them all on www.bigskytv.org.

Sacramento State at Weber State (1:05 p.m.)

The Hornets are coming off a 38-9 victory over Northern Arizona and one of their best performances in school history. The win was Sac State’s first of the season. One player to watch in this game is Hornet linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo, who was named co-defensive player of the week after last weekend. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound junior had a game-high nine tackles and a sack against NAU, in addition to returning an interception 60 yards for a touchdown. The Hornet offense compiled 422 yards and the defense held the Lumberjacks to just 187 yards. Quarterback Jason Smith had a solid arm and was mobile, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another.
If Sac State can continue their hot play from last weekend, they should find success in Ogden, Utah. Weber State still hasn’t found a way to win this season, but gave Montana a run for its money last weekend. The Wildcats tested the Griz in Washington-Grizzly Stadium last weekend and the defense held the Griz to just one touchdown. But despite the Weber State offense jumping out to a 10-0 advantage early on, the Wildcats then allowed 18 unanswered points.
Weber State leads the series 7-4 all-time and has never lost to Sac State at home. The Hornets won last year’s game in Sacramento. If the Hornets win today, they will open the season 2-1 in Big Sky play for the second year in a row and just the second time in school history. The Hornets have yet to win a game on the road this season.
This should be a close game, and might be one of the most exciting matchups of the day.
I predict Weber State will jump out to another lead, only to let it slip away. The Hornets will get their first road win and the Wildcats will start the season 0-5 for the first time since 2004.

Northern Colorado at Idaho State (2:05 p.m.)

The Bears haven’t won a game this season and now must enter the often-hostile confines of Holt Arena (even though Idaho State has struggled at home against Big Sky opponents in the last five contests). Northern Colorado still hasn’t beaten a Big Sky team since joining the league last season.
In the series, ISU leads 17-6, and won last October 41-13.
The Bengals dropped their first two conference decisions to Eastern Washington and Montana State, and the Bears lost their 13th-straight game to Cal Poly, 56-21, last Saturday. In that game, Bears junior running back David Woods rushed for a career-high 130 yards and completed a 35-yard pass to senior receiver Andy Birkel to set up the score. That was the team’s longest pass of the season.
The Bengals are coming off a 40-20 loss to MSU in which they blew an early lead and were unable to keep the Bobcats out of the end zone in the third quarter.
ISU is switching signal callers once again, as quarterback Luke Butler suffered a concussion with nine seconds remaining in the MSU game. Butler is out for at least a week, and Russel Hill will get the start today.
Today marks homecoming festivities at ISU, and the Bengals will be naming the turf Caccia Field to honor Babe Caccia, 90, ISU’s all-time winningest football, baseball and wrestling coach, and also a former athletic director.
I will continue my trend of never picking Northern Colorado. Besides, it’s ISU’s homecoming, and no team should have to lose such a festive game. Idaho State will win, and the Bears will start considering a possible move to another conference.
You can catch this game on Altitude.

Montana State hosts Southern Utah (1:35 p.m.)

All of 2007, MSU has managed to dominate the third quarter. Last Saturday, the Bobcats scored 17 third-quarter points to come back from a three-point halftime deficit and beat Idaho State 40-20. In that game, the Bobcat defense also held the No. 2 receiver in the nation, Eddie Thompson, to just six catches for 53 yards. Montana State moved up five spots in the national polls this week to No. 13.
MSU now faces a Thunderbird squad that the Grizzlies defeated in their season-opener. Southern Utah is coming off a bye week, and fell to McNeese State, 41-20, the weekend before. Despite the defeat, SUU piled up over 400 yards. Senior running back Johnny Sanchez had a career-best 181 yards on 16 carries. Third-year starting quarterback Wes Marshall was knocked out during the McNeese game and taken to the hospital. It is uncertain whether he will start in today’s game.
The only time these two teams have faced each other, MSU edged SUU with a one-point victory.
Montana rolled over SUU and I expect Montana State to do the same, especially with home-field advantage.
Cats win.

Northern Arizona at Portland State (1:35 p.m.)

The Vikings are 2-0 in Big Sky action and are coming off a big win over Eastern Washington, handing the Eagles their first loss of the season.
NAU is coming off a 38-9 loss to Sacramento State and lost starting quarterback Lance Kriesien to an injury. Northern Arizona struggled on third down in that game, unable to convert the entire game. The Lumberjacks only had 73 yards rushing.
PSU leads the nation in passing defense. Quarterback Brian White threw for 329 yards last weekend on 29-of-37 passing with three touchdowns. He’s one of the league’s strongest arms, and has thrown for 1,100 yards in the past three contests. The Vikings also had 191 yards on the ground in the last game.
If Portland State can put forth the same effort they did last weekend, they’ll beat NAU easily.