George Ferguson
Well-known member
I do this every year once the Big Sky is done. So, tonight's the night. Here's my much too early, not taking into account transfer, injuries, attrition or recruiting classes, and in some cases, even full schedules Power Poll for 2017. Feel free to tear it apart. But, if the Big Sky kickoff was this week, this is how I would vote in the Media Poll.
1. North Dakota (Lose a couple of key defenders, but offensively, the Hawks return as good a running game as there might be in all of FCS. Have a lot of program momentum right now. Schedule isn't too brutal, and they get EWU at home for their last game.)
2. Eastern Washington (Losing the WR trio, and Ebukam will hurt big. But, Grubrud is a record-setter, the offense itself will be the same attack with Beau staying. They may start slow but they'll figure it out by conference play.)
3. Northern Arizona (I wanted to push NAU ahead of EWU, but, they let me down this past season when I picked em to win the league. Still, with a healthy Cookus and boat loads of skill players, Andy Thompson being a really good DC, they'll at least compete for a title next year)
T4. Montana (I know, I know, Stitt is the worst head coach in the entire world and I'm picking the Griz ahead of half the teams that stomped them this year. But, if the QB situation is resolved, I think the offense will be good and I think the D will be VERY good. I also think that the schedule favors the Griz IF those two things come true, because IF they do, they'll win at least three of their four matchups between EWU, NAU, Northern Colorado and UND. Now, if the Griz can't find a GOOD QB, this changes everything).
T4. Montana State (Basically the same for the Cats. It all depends on QB play, but unlike the Griz, it also depends on winning on the road. For the Cats to contend, they would have to at least win 2-of-3 in trips to EWU, UND and NAU. That will be tough. BUT, if Murray becomes a real passer, their offense should be decent, and I think their defense will be very strong this coming season. But, like the Griz, It's all on QB play. IF Murray can't complete meaningful passes in key moments, then, the Cats finish way down this list. Sorry MSU fans, but there is no way the offense against the Griz is sustainable over the course of the entire Big Sky campaign.)
6. Southern Utah (T-Birds could be dangerous. Defense will be strong and Tyler and Brown are a very dangerous QB/RB duo. SUU could end up a lot higher than sixth.)
7. Cal Poly (I get roasted every year for not picking Cal Poly as a title contender. Well roast me again. I don't care that they beat the Griz or made the playoffs. They lost to SAN DIEGO. They lost Dano Graves and they always lose somewhere to Big Sky teams they shouldn't. I don't think this coming season will play out much differently. But hey, I picked them eighth for 2016, so I'm moving them up one spot in 2017.)
8. Weber State (Great 2016 for Weber, and people are probably wondering why I didn't pick them higher. Their fantastic dual threat QB graduated. I think they'll be the 2015 version of Portland State.)
9. Northern Colorado (Everybody will roast me on this one too. It's OK. Sloter graduates, key defenders graduate. UNC will probably finish a little higher, but, sorry, the Bears still aren't a top Big Sky team, even if they beat the Griz once every 40 years. On the other hand, Collins is doing a darn good job, so, I could end up being way off on this one.)
10. Portland State (Rough 2016 for the Vikes and now they lose Kureca, running backs and key secondary players. Barnie Ball may have been a one-year deal.)
11. Idaho State (Gosh I want to pick the Bengals higher for a change, but I'm not going to)
T12. UC Davis (Hawkins needs time to get "his guys" lol)
T12. Sacramento State (They've earned their nickname on this board. Enuff said.)
Final Note: When working on this the last few days, one thing is glaring to me, I don't think the Big Sky has a semifinal or finalist team in it in 2017. I just don't see a Top 5 FCS team in the Big Sky, like EWU was this year. UND, maybe? Maybe if EWU fixes its defense and finds more than Splendorio at WR. But from top to bottom, including those two, there are a lot of teams in this league with a lot of issues, and quite frankly, a lot of weaknesses as it would pertain to really competing for a national title, or even making a deep playoff run.
1. North Dakota (Lose a couple of key defenders, but offensively, the Hawks return as good a running game as there might be in all of FCS. Have a lot of program momentum right now. Schedule isn't too brutal, and they get EWU at home for their last game.)
2. Eastern Washington (Losing the WR trio, and Ebukam will hurt big. But, Grubrud is a record-setter, the offense itself will be the same attack with Beau staying. They may start slow but they'll figure it out by conference play.)
3. Northern Arizona (I wanted to push NAU ahead of EWU, but, they let me down this past season when I picked em to win the league. Still, with a healthy Cookus and boat loads of skill players, Andy Thompson being a really good DC, they'll at least compete for a title next year)
T4. Montana (I know, I know, Stitt is the worst head coach in the entire world and I'm picking the Griz ahead of half the teams that stomped them this year. But, if the QB situation is resolved, I think the offense will be good and I think the D will be VERY good. I also think that the schedule favors the Griz IF those two things come true, because IF they do, they'll win at least three of their four matchups between EWU, NAU, Northern Colorado and UND. Now, if the Griz can't find a GOOD QB, this changes everything).
T4. Montana State (Basically the same for the Cats. It all depends on QB play, but unlike the Griz, it also depends on winning on the road. For the Cats to contend, they would have to at least win 2-of-3 in trips to EWU, UND and NAU. That will be tough. BUT, if Murray becomes a real passer, their offense should be decent, and I think their defense will be very strong this coming season. But, like the Griz, It's all on QB play. IF Murray can't complete meaningful passes in key moments, then, the Cats finish way down this list. Sorry MSU fans, but there is no way the offense against the Griz is sustainable over the course of the entire Big Sky campaign.)
6. Southern Utah (T-Birds could be dangerous. Defense will be strong and Tyler and Brown are a very dangerous QB/RB duo. SUU could end up a lot higher than sixth.)
7. Cal Poly (I get roasted every year for not picking Cal Poly as a title contender. Well roast me again. I don't care that they beat the Griz or made the playoffs. They lost to SAN DIEGO. They lost Dano Graves and they always lose somewhere to Big Sky teams they shouldn't. I don't think this coming season will play out much differently. But hey, I picked them eighth for 2016, so I'm moving them up one spot in 2017.)
8. Weber State (Great 2016 for Weber, and people are probably wondering why I didn't pick them higher. Their fantastic dual threat QB graduated. I think they'll be the 2015 version of Portland State.)
9. Northern Colorado (Everybody will roast me on this one too. It's OK. Sloter graduates, key defenders graduate. UNC will probably finish a little higher, but, sorry, the Bears still aren't a top Big Sky team, even if they beat the Griz once every 40 years. On the other hand, Collins is doing a darn good job, so, I could end up being way off on this one.)
10. Portland State (Rough 2016 for the Vikes and now they lose Kureca, running backs and key secondary players. Barnie Ball may have been a one-year deal.)
11. Idaho State (Gosh I want to pick the Bengals higher for a change, but I'm not going to)
T12. UC Davis (Hawkins needs time to get "his guys" lol)
T12. Sacramento State (They've earned their nickname on this board. Enuff said.)
Final Note: When working on this the last few days, one thing is glaring to me, I don't think the Big Sky has a semifinal or finalist team in it in 2017. I just don't see a Top 5 FCS team in the Big Sky, like EWU was this year. UND, maybe? Maybe if EWU fixes its defense and finds more than Splendorio at WR. But from top to bottom, including those two, there are a lot of teams in this league with a lot of issues, and quite frankly, a lot of weaknesses as it would pertain to really competing for a national title, or even making a deep playoff run.
arty: 
