Latest / The Blue Creek Outdoors Podcast / Ep#99 Big Sky Breakdown: Preseason Picks, Surprises & Playoff Contenders

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Ep#99 Big Sky Breakdown: Preseason Picks, Surprises & Playoff Contenders · The Blue Creek Outdoors Podcast

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Welcome to the Blue Creek Outdoors podcast, where we're talking faith,
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family, sports, and the great outdoors.
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And welcome back to another episode of the Blue Creek Outdoors podcast,
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the second episode in the fourth season.
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We're on here with Les Austin and myself, and today we're talking about the
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Big Sky Conference football. Gentlemen, how are you? How was your weekend?
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I'm doing pretty good. I hope everybody is doing the same. And before we get
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too far, I also want everybody to know that we are now two days past our esteemed
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Joseph Bartlett's birthday.
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So I want everybody to go ahead and wish him a happy birthday.
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Kept us afloat, and now we can talk about probably one of my favorite conferences
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in football, which it's going to be good.
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Here's what I was trying to decide. 34th birthday, that's officially mid-30s, right?
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Not yet. No, 30 to 33 is like early 30s. 30 to 36 is mid-30s.
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I'm sorry, 34 to 36 is mid-30s.
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37 on is late 30s. Like, is that fair? Yeah, that's all right. That's fair.
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34, 35, 36 is mids. Yeah, yeah. You know, I mean, definitionally, it's mid-30s, right?
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That's one of those things you just want to say just to create a debate.
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Right. Well, you know, I'm interested to hear what other people have to say.
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I'm not sour about it either way because I have mid-30s money now, so that's fine.
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As opposed to mid-20s money, it's way better. so but,
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all right so we'll talk about the big sky conference here today but we're going
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to talk about a few other interesting things here we'll go through the top 25
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round up really quick the stats perform fcs preseason top 25 montana state's
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at number one montana's at number two
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south dakota state illinois state tarleton state uc davis at number six
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rhode island villanova youngstown and rounding out the tops 10 is North Dakota.
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At number 11, we have Lehigh, then South Dakota, then Stephen F. Austin.
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Number 14 is Tennessee Tech. 15 is Abilene Christian, followed by Southern Illinois,
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Austin Peay, Yale, Southeast Louisiana.
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Number 20 is Lamar. Number 21 is Mercer. Number 22 is Monmouth,
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UT Martin, South Carolina State. And then rounding out the top 25 At number 25 is Northern Arizona.
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Other Big Sky teams receiving votes are Idaho State and Southern Utah.
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Obviously, this is the first year without North Dakota State in that roundup there, the top 25.
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But do we have any surprises, good or bad, looking at the preseason top 25 there?
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I mean, like I said earlier, you know, I think it's good to now see the Ivy
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League start to represent kind of the top rankings in football.
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I know Harvard really crushed it towards the end of last year.
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Unfortunately, nothing happened in the playoffs, but now we have Yale.
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Monmouth is now in there, so they're starting to represent a little bit,
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which I think is exciting, at least for that side of the FCS division.
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I was a little bit surprised to see Idaho State in there, but I'm happy that they are there.
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Looking at last year, they had some good wins and some not good losses,
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which we'll have to talk about here in a second.
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But I am happy that they're moving in that direction. So just looking at the
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2025 final rankings of the Big Sky Conference, Montana State won the conference
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at 8-0 in conference play.
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Montana was number two, was 7-1. Three was UC Davis, 6-2.
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Number four was Sacramento State. Not so sorry, goodbye. at 5-3 in the conference there.
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Number 5 was Idaho State at 5-3. Northern Arizona was at 6 at 4-4.
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Eastern Washington was also 4-4 at number 7. Then we had Cal Poly,
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Idaho, Northern Colorado, and Weber State at 8, 9, 10, 11, all at 2-6 in conference
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play. And then Portland State finished last at 1-7.
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We add a team this year, so we are at 13 teams instead of 12.
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Well, total. I see what you're saying. We add two teams and lose one,
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so we add one total. I guess that's what I was getting at. We're sitting at 13 teams right now.
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The coaches poll and the media poll for the preseason are comparable,
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but not exactly the same.
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Both of them have Montana State at number one.
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Both of them have Montana at number two, and UC Davis at number three.
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The interesting thing is the media poll.
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In the media poll, Montana State had 35 first-place votes. Montana had one and
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UC Davis had two in the coaches poll.
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Montana State had 11 first place votes, and UC Davis had two.
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The University of Montana had zero first place votes in the coaches poll.
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I don't think that was the case the last three years of us conducting this podcast.
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Interesting to see there.
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Both the coach poll has Northern Arizona at four and Idaho State at five.
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The media poll has that flipped. Idaho State at four, Northern Arizona at five.
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Same thing moved to six and seven. Coaches Poll has Southern Utah at 6 and Idaho at 7.
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The Media Poll has those two flip-flopped. Both have Eastern Washington at 8.
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And the Coaches Poll, now where things get a little wonky here,
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Coaches Poll has Weber State at 9 and Northern Colorado at 10.
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The Media Poll has Cal Poly at 9, Weber State at 10.
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And then the Media Poll has Northern Colorado at 11, Portland State at 12, Utah Tech at 13.
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The coaches pull as Cal Poly, Portland State and Utah Tech at the bottom as
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well. So some comparisons there, but not exactly the correct thing.
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And with 13 teams here, kind of what I had been thinking about gauging this
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conference on this fall was, you know, a top three, a four through six,
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a seven through nine, and then a bottom four.
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That's kind of the way I'm going to judge my, my guesses on the upcoming season.
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I know that's a bit of a cop out, like we keep saying, but that's how I was going to evaluate.
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The moving forward here and my preview page has just dropped out so i'm gonna
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have to open this up again really quick let's see here yeah and i do have to
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say that with with as much you know differences in teams that we have this year and the expansion,
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i think we are going to see that much of a difference between our top teams
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and our bottom teams but one thing i am happy for is because there are now 13
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teams in the big sky they increased the conference schedule to nine games rather than eight this year
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so we'll see nine conference games and the rest will be non-conference until
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we till we get to the the playoff bracket.
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Right so we'll move it right along here and we'll go down to
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our first team that we're going to talk about it's actually one of my favorite
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teams to talk about even though it's frustrating sometimes
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northern colorado with head coach ed lamb entering his fourth season the man
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can coach football he's five and 30 overall as the head coach at UNC.
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He was the head coach of Southern Utah, where they won two Big Sky titles there.
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And he came to UNC from BYU, where he was the assistant head coach there.
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In 2025, they went four and eight, which was the most wins in,
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I believe, over a decade for the program. They went two and six in Big Sky play.
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They beat Division II Shattern State to open the season. They lost at Colorado
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State 21 to 17. And in that game, in my opinion, they won two and six in Big Sky play.
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Northern Colorado was called for pass interference in a horrendous call on a third and long.
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They would have gotten the ball back with time enough left to score,
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and they would have been in very good field position had that play not been
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called that way. So, man, who knows? That call's not made.
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They could have walked out of Fort Collins with a win. They then lost at South
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Dakota, a playoff team, 24-17 in overtime.
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They then beat Houston Christian, 26-23, in overtime.
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Time. They lost at home to Idaho State. They beat Idaho on the road in the Kibbe Dome.
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They then lost five straight to Sac State, UC Davis, Montana State,
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Northern Arizona, and Eastern Washington, and they beat Portland State to round
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the season out at four and eight.
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This season, one thing with the schedules change up is we have a lot of week
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zero games that are conference games in the big guy.
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So they open up August 28th at home against Weber State, then at home against
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South Dakota, then they go on the road to make some money at Wyoming,
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and then they play Northeastern State at home to round out the non-conference schedule.
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I believe Northeastern State's a Division II team. So they then continue conference
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play at home against Utah Tech, at Montana, at Eastern Washington,
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at home against Cal Poly, at UC Davis, then they have a bye,
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then they're on the road at Southern Utah at home against Montana state and
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at Northern Arizona to finish out the season.
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Those last three games are brutal.
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But that being said, I, I think they beat Weber state at home to begin the season.
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100%. I think a little bit is they have a little bit of newfound energy, which is fantastic.
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Their highest win total, like you said, in the last 10 years,
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going from 1-30 overall, starting, you know, at that program with Ed Lamb to
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now, you know, 5-30 with those four games last year.
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And with that energy and coming in and getting some new recruits,
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I think there's a lot of upside here with the Bears.
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And I think it's going to be exciting seeing them play. And getting a conference
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win first week at home under the new lights is going to be very exciting for them and give them,
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some momentum, especially against South Dakota, who they almost beat in overtime last year.
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I think Les froze up on us a little bit there, but he's on the road to travel, and he'll chime in.
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Now, do we think, are we seeing five wins for the Northern Colorado Bears this season?
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So, right off the bat, Weber State, maybe South Dakota. I say they win it.
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Okay. I say they win it. They beat Weber State and South Dakota?
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No, I say they beat Weber State.
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I'm just going to say the ones that I'm confident that they're going to win
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in. I think they beat Weber State.
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I'm not going to say Wyoming or South Dakota. I think they beat Northeastern
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State. I think they beat Utah Tech.
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I don't think they beat Montana. They could potentially beat Eastern Washington,
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but that's a road game. That's a road game.
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And they beat Cal Poly at home, lose to UC Davis on the road,
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have a bye week. They have a potential to beat Southern Utah,
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but Southern Utah is okay. They're a bad average. They're a good football team.
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I think five wins is the ceiling here, and that's beating Weber State,
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Northeastern State, Utah Tech, Eastern Washington, and Cal Poly. Yeah.
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And I hope they do it. I hope they increase by one. I think that's going to be a good thing for them.
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They don't play Portland State because they don't play everybody in the conference,
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but I'm going to put it right now.
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I think UNC finishes in the 8 through 10, not the bottom four. That's fair.
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I might be eating my words here. That happens frequently on this show from the
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beginning to the end of the season.
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You know, I think we've gotten pretty good at becoming armchair quarterbacks.
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So I would feel confident on some of that.
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Honestly, give us five more years. Give us ten seasons of doing this show.
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We could be considered the authorities on all of these. Pretty cool to not ESPN coming up.
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Absolutely. They'll call us for references. Yeah.
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So I've got them in the 8-10 realm. Cal Poly, head coach Tim Skipper,
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entering his first season.
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He was the interim head coach at UCLA after an 0-3 start last season.
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And as interim head coach, they were 3-6 after that with wins over Penn State,
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Michigan State, and Maryland.
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They were 4-8 last year, 2-6 in the Big Sky.
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They beat San Diego to open the season. They lost at Utah. They beat Division II Western Oregon.
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They then lost at Stephen F. Austin. They beat Sacramento State on the road.
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And then they lost six straight, UC Davis, Montana, Montana State,
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Portland State, Idaho State, and Northern Arizona.
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And they beat Eastern Washington to finish out the season.
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This coming season, they open up conference play August 28th versus Idaho.
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Then they are at home against Division II Central Washington and on the road
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for a money game at San Jose State.
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They're at home against San Diego to round out non-conference play.
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They're then at Eastern Washington, at home against Weber State,
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at Idaho State, at Northern Colorado, at home against Utah Tech,
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at Montana State, at home against Northern Arizona, followed by a bye week.
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Their bye week is right before their very last game of the season at UC Davis
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for the Battle of the Golden Horseshoe.
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I don't know about this schedule. I think that they beat Central Washington.
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I think they beat San Diego.
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But other than that, I think they probably beat Utah Tech.
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But is three wins good enough to bump them to the top of the,
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or above the bottom four?
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And that I don't know, but I'm going to say Cal Poly finishes in the bottom four.
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That's a tough schedule with a new head coach.
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Yeah, what's funny is looking at some of the scores from last year,
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they lost a lot of one or two possession games. So it's hard to get a gauge
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on a football team that's of that nature where they can keep it close, but they can't finish.
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Well, this year, unless they've made a ton of progress, it is a first-year head
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coach here with this program, so it's expected to have a large transfer and signee class.
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They have a crowded quarterback room, and the only thing that's really truly,
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returning is their linebacking crew. So whether or not that translates to anything,
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I don't think it's going to get them over that three- or four-game hump.
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Right. Yeah, I don't know.
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And this is totally a vibe. Just totally a vibe. I don't know that Cal Poly
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has a great season this fall.
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I think for a few reasons, I think Idaho is going to turn some things around.
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So I think starting the season against Idaho, Idaho has some stuff to prove
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this fall, more so than Cal Poly, I believe.
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Beat a Division II team, sure. And then at San Jose, I don't think they'll beat San Jose.
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And then at home against San Diego, you know, San Diego surprised a couple people
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last year, so we'll see what goes on with the Toreros down there.
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But after that, I think Eastern Washington's got a lot to prove.
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Weber State has a lot to prove with a new head coach, especially when I talk
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about Weber State here in a minute, too. But yeah, I don't know.
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I don't think it's going to be a great season for the Mustangs,
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and I can't really even justify why I feel that way.
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I just don't think it's going to be a great season in the big sky for them.
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Yeah, unfortunately, historically, they have not been average,
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if anything, just below average, at least in the last 10 years.
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And in kind of seeing this, you know, this wall of getting close to 500,
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but not breaking that, it's I don't think it's going to happen this year.
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Hopefully it happens in the next couple of years just to bring in a little bit more competition.
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But they just can't they can't seem to do it. Right. Right.
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Well, we'll move on to another team that struggled last year in Portland State.
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New head coach Chris Fisk entering his first season as the head coach of Central
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Washington. He was 48 and 22 in seven seasons and four playoffs appearances.
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Shout out to Jared Gallatin, Poulsen native here in Montana,
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who is the special teams coordinator and a position coach too,
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I believe, on the Viking staff as well.
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In 2025, they went 1-11, 1-7 in the Big Sky.
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They lost, let me see here, it is eight straight to open the season.
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Tarleton State, BYU, North Dakota, they lost to North Dakota,
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Hawaii, Northern Arizona, Eastern Washington, Weber State, and Idaho.
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They did not score a touchdown until the fifth game of the season against Northern Arizona.
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They did not score until the fourth game of the season against Hawaii where
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they did get a field goal in, but they did not score a touchdown until the fifth game.
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They did score touchdowns, multiple touchdowns in every game after that.
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So you could make the case that they did get a little bit better as the season went on.
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They beat Cal Poly 40 to 35 and then lost their last three, Sacramento State,
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Montana, and Northern Colorado.
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2026, they start the season August 29th versus UC Davis. That's a tough one.
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Then at San Diego State in a money game. They then host North Dakota.
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And then they're at Oregon for another money game. Three non-conference games.
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The athletic director either loves money or he hates his football team.
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One of the two, I'm not exactly sure. But you got two money games at FBS programs that are both good.
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One of them could be a national championship contender. And then you host North
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Dakota for your lone FCS non-conference matchup, a very good football team,
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starting conference or getting back into conference play. And that's after hosting
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UC Davis to open your season in conference play.
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They're then at Weber State, which could be a great time for a bye.
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And we're going to talk about Weber State again here. I don't think they're
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going to win against Weber State, but you're going 0-5 there into your bye week.
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You then host Utah Tech. You could win that football game. You're at Northern
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Arizona, at Idaho State, at home against Idaho, at Montana, at home against
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Southern Utah, and then at Eastern Washington.
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I think two wins is the ceiling for Portland State unless we see some massive turnaround.
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I know Central Washington was a very competitive, good Division II team,
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and a bunch of that roster and staff followed Coach Fist to Portland State.
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However, I just think Portland State's schedule does them absolutely zero favors.
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They don't play in Northern Colorado.
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They don't play themselves, but they play Weber State. They play,
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which I don't think it's going to be where they are projected at.
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I think two wins is the ceiling for Portland State.
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Yeah this is this is hard but at the end of the day somebody has to take that
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bottom slot and they they have it written all over them they were terrible in
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all aspects of the game last year which which sucks
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because you you want to see some sort of an improvement unfortunately it's just
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not there what is working in their favor though they got seven offensive starters
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returning so hopefully they develop a little bit more consistency at least score early
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in those games, but only having one true returner returning on defense,
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that's going to hurt a lot.
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Two wins is a big maybe, unfortunately, but once again, I think they'll drop to 1-11 again.
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Yeah, Les, we were thinking two wins. Yeah, we got you there.
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We were thinking two wins is the ceiling for Portland State. What are your thoughts?
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Yeah, that would be the ceiling. Until they do something with their facilities,
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they're just going to struggle.
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That may or may not be recording on Les' end, but we're not exactly sure.
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We got you back there, Les? There we go. All right, so Weber State.
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We're at Weber State with an interesting move here at head coach. Head coach Eric Kerr.
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I had to look it up. It's spelled K-J-A-R, but it's pronounced Eric Kerr,
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entering his first season as head coach.
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Now, here's where this hire gets interesting.
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Eric Kerr spent the previous nine seasons as the head coach at Corner Canyon High School in Utah.
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In nine seasons, he was 112-10 overall with six state championships.
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So here's how Weber State did last year. They were 4-8 with 2-6 at the Big Sky.
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They lost a money game at James Madison. They lost a money game at Arizona.
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They won at McNeese State and at home against Butler. They lost to UC Davis
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and lost to Sacramento State. They beat Portland State.
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They lost four in a row to Eastern Washington, Montana, Montana State,
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and Idaho State. And then they beat Northern Arizona in a little bit of an upset
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there to end the season and keep Northern Arizona out of the playoffs.
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In 2026, here's what we're looking at for the Weber State Wildcats.
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August 28th at Northern Colorado, at Southern Utah, at Colorado in a money game,
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at home against Northwestern State, at home against Portland State,
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at Cal Poly, at home against Idaho, at home against Idaho State for the Battle
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of the Train Bill, at Montana State, at home against UC Davis, followed by a bye.
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Their last two games are at Northern Arizona for the Red Rock rivalry,
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and at home against Utah Tech. So like I already said, I don't think they beat
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Northern Colorado, but I think that's a wake-up call for the team.
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I think they beat Northwestern State, Portland State, Cal Poly, Idaho, and Utah Tech.
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So I think five wins is expectation for the Weber State Wildcats,
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and I'm going to put them in that 8 through 10 ranking as well with Northern Colorado.
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Yeah, overall, I think making that jump from high school to even the FCS level
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is going to be a hard transition, and I'm not saying that he can't do it.
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I'm just thinking historically coaches that have made that jump have not been the most successful.
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So I think a lot is riding on the talent of Weber State, and their talent is well.
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I think they have what it takes to at least hit that five-game mark.
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What are your thoughts on Weber State? Yeah. Yeah, I would say another thing
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that they lost was their line coach who went to Montana.
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And if you think about Weber State and you think about how tough they've been
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in the past, it's those guys up front.
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And yes, they have a transitional staff. I do think they lose that first game.
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But man, if they could get, I really think winning the next three games.
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Is a possibility. And if they can do that, I think Weber State is,
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I think they're going to win five games, probably tops, maybe six,
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but that really sets them up for the following year.
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Right. I think that, I think you're correct in that.
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I think they have a rough year, but I don't know.
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For something about Coach Kerr's pedigree, I think he might have long-term success,
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even if that does not manifest in the first one or two seasons.
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I can, I can think of a lot of coaches that that's happened to in the past.
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So, yeah, I definitely am very, very, they're my most intriguing team for the
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year in the big sky at Weber State. They are the biggest question mark in my
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mind, and I'm excited to see what it is that they do.
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Another somewhat of a question mark. I'll tell you this. Go ahead.
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I would say this. I would say this. For a bunch of high school coaches,
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I think we're pulling for the guy to have a good career.
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I think this year will be average, but hopefully it works out for him.
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Absolutely. I definitely, I'm rooting for him.
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And I think it's, you know, I think he'll get Weber State back to the.
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I would never have considered them like a top-tier team in the last several,
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you know, several years ago when they were really making playoff runs.
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But they were like knocking on that door of being a very, very perennial powerhouse,
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but they just kind of fell off.
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They lost a coach and a new one came in and didn't do the greatest because the
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coach before was not at Weber State for very long. He was only there for one
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or two seasons, if I remember correctly.
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And so we'll see what Coach Kerr is able to pull off there.
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Talking of coaches that this one's been around for quite a while is Aaron Best
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at Eastern Washington. He's entering his 10th season as the head coach.
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And the 30th season in the program, he played at Eastern Washington,
23:35
began his coaching career at Eastern Washington, spent one season as an offensive
23:40
line coach in the Canadian Football League, and was right back to Eastern Washington.
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So in the last 31 years, he's been there for 30 of them.
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2025, they were 5-7, 4-4 in the Big Sky.
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They lost at Incarnate Word, at Boise State, and at Northern Iowa to begin the
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season before beating Western Illinois at home.
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They then lost at Montana State.
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They won three in a row against Portland State, Idaho, and Weber State.
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They lost to Sacramento State, Montana. They beat Northern Colorado and then
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lost at Cal Poly to finish out the season.
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And this season, they are opening August 29th at Northern Arizona,
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at home against Northern Iowa, at South Dakota, and at Washington for a money game the next week.
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Then they are at home against Cal Poly, at UC Davis, at home against Northern Colorado, and.
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At home against Montana State, followed by a bye week before their last four
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games, which is at home against Montana, at Idaho, at Utah Tech,
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and at home against Portland State.
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I don't know. I know they lost a decent amount in the transfer portal.
24:43
I don't know. I think a lot of other teams' trends lines, I don't know if you
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beat Northern Arizona on the road to begin the season.
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You lost Northern Iowa. I hope you beat Northern Iowa at home.
24:54
I don't think they beat South Dakota or Washington. So I think they're 1-3 to start the season.
24:59
I don't think they beat Cal Poly or UC Davis. By that time in the season,
25:03
I think Northern Colorado is cooking something up this season.
25:07
So that's a toss-up. I don't think you beat Montana State or Montana.
25:10
I think Idaho is going to be on the upswing this year.
25:14
I'm seeing maybe three games here that I'm like, yes, you might win.
25:19
But I think Eastern Washington is
25:20
going to be in the bottom four of the conference, to be honest with you.
25:24
Yeah, it's going to be close, honestly. I don't think they're as bad on paper
25:28
as the bottom four because I personally think that they can at least pull out
25:33
five wins if everything works to their liking.
25:37
And that means limiting all the explosive plays that they gave up last year.
25:40
They're closing that gap between the offense and defense when it comes to points
25:44
per game because they gave up a ton, man. I mean, they probably averaged 30-plus
25:48
points a game that they gave up.
25:50
So as long as they can limit that and close the gap between the great teams
25:53
and the terrible teams in the conference.
25:55
I think they have five games in the win column this year, if they hold true
26:00
to that at least, especially with a dual-threat quarterback like Nate Bell coming back.
26:06
They're an enigma to me because they have, I think, 15 kids from the transfer.
26:12
I think they lost 15, gained 15 out of the portal.
26:17
They lost the defensive coordinator to Montana, which I don't know if that's
26:20
good because they give up a lot of points.
26:22
But I don't know in terms of the talent, you know, on both sides of the ball.
26:26
These guys are really interesting to me because I think COVID just,
26:31
COVID was not good to Eastern Washington in terms of the program, in terms of the money.
26:39
I'm inclined to, I don't know. This might be, if they don't go 500 or a little
26:45
bit better, this might be Coach Best's last year.
26:50
They can always beat anybody But they always get beat by anybody too That's a good way for that Yeah,
26:58
I'm pulling for them But you're right, I am worried that if it's not a marked
27:03
improvement It might be Coach Best last year as well So we'll have to see what
27:07
happens in Chaney this fall,
27:11
Go for it Yeah, just think of Northern Colorado's facilities versus EWU's now.
27:19
Right. And I'll recruit.
27:22
Yeah, I definitely can see that being the factor there.
27:27
But another program that I think is going to take a massive step forward this
27:33
fall is Idaho State. I'm so excited to talk about this team.
27:36
You're so excited to talk about Idaho State. We need to go watch Idaho State this year.
27:41
Head coach Cody Hawkins entering his fourth season, 14-21 overall, 6-6 last year.
27:48
I did not know this. allowed the fewest sacks in FCS last season.
27:53
Out of every team, they allowed the fewest sacks. They were 6-6 last year, 5-3 in the big sky.
27:58
They went 0-3 to start the season. They lost at UNLV in a money game.
28:02
They lost at Southern Utah, and they lost at New Mexico in another money game.
28:07
They then beat Lincoln 90-0, which I'm not even sure that program is playing
28:11
football this fall again.
28:13
They won on the road at Northern Colorado. They lost to Montana,
28:16
lost at Montana State, and lost at Northern Arizona.
28:19
We were sitting here at two and six last year thinking that this was another
28:25
season in Pocatello that, you know, what is going to be forgettable.
28:29
In the last four games of the season, they win at UC Davis.
28:33
They win at home against Cal Poly. They win at home against Weber State and
28:37
they go on the road and they beat Idaho in the Potato State rivalry and they
28:42
find themselves receiving votes in the top 25 poll this year.
28:47
This season, 2026, they begin August 29th at home against VMI.
28:52
They will beat the VMI. Then they're at Utah State for a money game.
28:56
I don't think they'll beat Utah State, but it's a game that I wouldn't just
29:01
put in the don't even watch that game category. I think I'm going to watch the
29:05
first half anyways. I don't know.
29:08
That could be a game. I think they'll beat San Diego. Then they have a bye week.
29:15
They're at Southern Utah, which will be a dogfight, at home against Northern
29:19
Arizona, which will be a dogfight, at home against Cal Poly,
29:22
which I think they'll win.
29:23
They're at Weber State for the Battle of the Train Bell. I think they will thump
29:26
the Wildcats in that game. I think they'll thump Portland State,
29:29
and they'll beat Utah Tech.
29:31
I don't think they'll beat Montana State or Montana, but I think they'll beat Idaho.
29:36
I think Idaho State finishes in the 4-7 ranks of the conference and is fighting
29:43
for a playoff spot for that last game against Idaho.
29:48
Yeah, man. I'm pretty pumped about the Bengals this year because,
29:52
you know, obviously last year they gave up a ton of points in some games that
29:57
could have been a little bit closer.
29:58
But this is now the D.C.'s second year. They've settled in a little bit with
30:01
the schemes, but their offense is so strong this year.
30:04
They're returning a ton of core players, their quarterback, their running back,
30:09
a couple of wide receivers, and the entire offensive line.
30:12
So they gave up the fewest sacks last year. I expect them to do much of the
30:15
same on top of having a strong running game. I know they're pretty pass heavy,
30:20
more of an air raid style.
30:21
They'll probably hold true to that, but still be able to run the football in those key moments.
30:26
But overall, man, it's nice seeing their schedule work in their favor.
30:31
Obviously, you know, starting the season, you got your money game.
30:34
But as the season progresses, a lot of their opponents get a little bit stronger,
30:38
especially with Montana State, Montana, Idaho.
30:41
You know, you are pretty far removed from the bye week, but there is enough
30:45
time to really get dialed in. And hopefully, with a strong showing,
30:49
they have a potential to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1983.
30:54
I think their season hinges on that bye week and going to Southern Utah.
31:00
Whether it's a treat with Eastern Washington, probably on the losing side.
31:05
And if Idaho State can beat Southern Utah after a bye, then I think their season takes off.
31:15
If they lose that game, then they're probably going to drop maybe one,
31:19
maybe two of those games. Maybe they should be. They should win.
31:24
And then they have to beat somebody that they should and so who is that?
31:29
Is that going to be at Montana State of Montana or in Idaho?
31:34
Because it's one thing they do is they have Idaho at home.
31:38
Right. That might be a game to go to at that point in the season. That might be it.
31:44
If we're free that Saturday we might need to zip down to Moscow and watch that
31:48
game. That'd be a cool one. It's in Pocatello.
31:51
Oh, it's in Pocatello. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Never mind. We'll have to zip down
31:54
to Pocatello. That'd be a fun one. So, yeah, I'm excited to watch Idaho State
31:58
this fall. I think it'll be a fun season, like you said, hinging on that week five right there.
32:02
We'll see what happens there. But that being said, we'll talk about Southern Utah now.
32:07
Head coach Delane Fitzgerald entering his fifth season, 25-21 overall.
32:12
Last season, they were in the United Athletics Conference, and they were 7-5,
32:16
6-2 in the conference play.
32:18
They beat Idaho State at Idaho State last fall to open the season, 46-24.
32:25
They then lost at San Diego, which is a bit of a head-scratcher.
32:28
They lost Northern Arizona. They lost to UC Davis. They knew they were coming
32:31
big skies, so they're non-conference.
32:33
UDEM and Utah Tech both played heavy big sky non-conference slates there.
32:37
They then lost to West Georgia. They lost at Tarleton State,
32:41
so they were 1-5 to begin the season before winning their last six football
32:45
games against Abilene Christian, Utah Tech, Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky,
32:50
Central Arkansas, and North Alabama.
32:52
Fun fact, when I was in Arkansas for five weeks earlier, I went up and I just
32:58
took a look at Central Arkansas Stadium with their purple and gray field.
33:02
It's kind of a cool venue.
33:04
But now they're receiving votes.
33:08
They open their season August 29th at Montana. I don't think they win that one.
33:11
I think they beat Weber State at home.
33:14
They lose to Colorado State. I think they beat St. Thomas at home,
33:18
sitting at 2-2 with Idaho State coming to town.
33:21
I don't think they'll win. I think Idaho State pulls that one off.
33:24
I think they'll beat Utah Tech. They then have a bye week. They host UC Davis
33:28
at Idaho. I don't think they'll beat the Aggies, but I think they'll beat Idaho.
33:32
So Northern Arizona, that'll be a fantastic football game.
33:36
And then they host Northern Colorado
33:37
at Portland State and at home against Chicago State to end the season.
33:41
But I also have Southern Utah in that 4-7 range of the conference, 4-5-6-7.
33:50
I think that's how it'll shake out at the end of the season.
33:53
Yeah, I think it's exciting to see Southern Utah back in the big sky overall,
33:58
historically being in the conference and now where it is now,
34:02
I think it's a good addition.
34:04
Now moving forward, man, I truly think they might be in that six or seven slot
34:11
when it comes to just strength of schedule and the strength of the teams in the big sky this year.
34:18
So in terms of Southern Utah and then it's Appalachian, And I think that game is huge for both teams.
34:24
If you look at Southern Utah's offensive output, even though they lost a lot
34:30
of games, look at their offensive output. They score points.
34:35
And then you're going, yes, you're going up Montana. You're going with a new
34:39
defensive coordinator that hasn't, you know, he was at Eastern Washington.
34:43
And I guess I think they're going to be good. I think it's going to be good
34:47
for Montana and he's going to be good for Montana.
34:50
But I'm just saying that's the first game Against an opponent That scores a
34:55
lot of points Right, that's going to be a good game Yeah That might be the week
35:01
one game of the Big Sky Right there, that's a pretty good one.
35:05
Huge for both of them, you know? Right, absolutely.
35:08
Well, we'll go down to the team that I think is going to finish dead last in
35:13
the conference this year. Utah
35:14
Tech, head coach Lance Anderson entering a third season of 3-21 overall.
35:19
In 2025, they were 2-10, 1-7 in the UAC.
35:23
They lost at home to UC Davis, lost at Northern Arizona, lost at Idaho.
35:28
They beat Northern Iowa at home.
35:30
They then lost at Austin Peay to Central Arkansas, Tarleton State,
35:34
Southern Utah. They beat North Alabama in overtime at home.
35:38
They then lost to Abilene Christian, West Georgia, and Eastern Kentucky to finish out their season.
35:43
I think they're going to have a rough go this fall. They open August 29th at
35:46
home against Montana State. They're at BYU for a money game.
35:49
At Montana, at home against Northern Arizona. At Northern Colorado,
35:54
they host Southern Utah in the battle for the axe. They're then at Portland
35:57
State, followed by a bye week.
35:59
At Cal Poly at Idaho or at home against Idaho State at UC Davis versus at home
36:05
against Washington Eastern Washington and then at Weber State,
36:08
I think it is highly possible that this team goes 0-12.
36:16
Wow that's that's bold because right now I kind of you know after after reading
36:21
through all the articles I could find with between you know who's returning
36:26
what did their signee class look like and.
36:30
It was hard for me to decipher if it was going to be Portland State or Utah Tech.
36:35
But I think Utah Tech will be second to last, only because they have 13 returning
36:40
starters. So you have a little bit of experience. Yes, it is a transition into
36:44
a really tough conference.
36:46
But as long as they score points on the offensive side of the ball,
36:50
I think they can squeak that one against Portland State out this year, even on the road.
36:55
Yeah, I'm just thinking of their place. We were down there, and it's a beautiful place.
37:01
I think it's a great location to recruit to in terms of weather and all of that
37:07
kind of stuff. I just don't know the commitment the university has made to football.
37:11
It's the facilities, the location of the football field.
37:15
It's great, but I just don't know about the weight room. I would say this.
37:19
In terms of Utah Tech, you see where they're by? They play Portland State.
37:23
They're at Portland State, and then they have a by.
37:27
Their bye is Cal Poly, Idaho State, UC Davis, Eastern Washington, and Weber State.
37:34
If they don't beat Cal Poly coming off the bye, they're probably not going to
37:38
win any of those games to finish up the season. Right.
37:42
Yeah, that'll be a big one. A game that is gettable at Cal Poly after a bye
37:47
week, especially if you beat Portland State.
37:49
Go into the bye week with some momentum, get rested up, get healed up,
37:52
and then go into Cal Poly.
37:54
I think two wins is kind of the ceiling here, But I I'm a I'm an underdog fan.
37:58
So I'm rooting for the Trailblazers this season. I hope they pull a couple of
38:01
wins out and improve that win total from last year and have a good first season
38:06
in the front in the Big Sky Conference.
38:07
I just like this Big Sky Conference, adding more Utah to the mix and getting rid of some California.
38:14
You know, I just think it makes it a better conference overall,
38:17
the vibe wise, and I'm happy for it. So but.
38:20
I do still have them at the bottom of the pile, which hopefully they will improve upon.
38:24
And Northern Arizona, I'm putting them in the 4-7 racket as well with Idaho
38:28
State, Southern Utah, Idaho, and Northern Arizona.
38:31
Coach Brian Wright enters his third season at 15-10 overall.
38:34
He was the head coach of Division II Pittsburgh State for four seasons,
38:37
going 23-3 in the last two seasons.
38:40
They were 7-5 last year, 4-4 in Big Sky play, not making the playoffs due to a couple of bad losses.
38:47
They lost to Arizona State. They beat Utah Tech.
38:50
They won at Southern Utah at home against Incarnate Word. They beat Portland
38:54
State. They lost to Montana State, then UC Davis.
38:57
They beat Idaho State on the road. They lost against Idaho, which they should not have done at home.
39:02
They beat Northern Colorado and Cal Poly and then lost at Weber State to end the season.
39:06
This year, they begin August 29th at home against Eastern Washington.
39:10
I think they win that game.
39:11
They're then at Arizona and then at home against Incarnate Word.
39:14
I think you're 2-1 in that situation.
39:17
Then at Utah Tech, at Montana State, at Idaho State, at home against Montana,
39:22
at home against Portland State, followed by a bye week.
39:25
Then at Southern Utah for the Battle of the Grand Canyon, at Cal Poly,
39:29
and the last two games are at home against Weber State for the Red Rock Rivalry
39:33
and at home against Northern Colorado.
39:35
I think they beat Northern Colorado, Weber State, Cal Poly, Portland State for sure.
39:40
The Utah Tech, Incarnate Word, and Eastern Washington, I think we're looking
39:43
7-5 here as the, I think 6-6 should be the floor, and I think anything is possible
39:50
with Northern Arizona in the third season under Coach Wright.
39:54
Yeah, I think there hasn't been any real market improvement with the team,
39:59
but they 100% have not taken a step back.
40:02
So it's kind of maintaining status quo.
40:05
But a funny thing to look at is the five games they lost last year,
40:09
they gave up an average of 40 points.
40:11
So if you can change that script a little bit when it comes to the hard football
40:16
games, then they can breach an eight-win season, I think, and make the playoffs
40:22
this year. But without doing that, they're going to maintain the same.
40:26
Yeah, they have to play better defense. They gave up a lot of points.
40:30
The one thing, you're picking them over in Carnot Word? Yes, I am. Yep.
40:37
That's a huge game. And if they...
40:41
That's a 50-50 game in my world with those guys.
40:44
If they can beat Incarnate Word, then to me, they have to beat a Montana State,
40:52
an Idaho State, or a Montana. They can't go 0-3 against those teams.
40:57
That's a good point. Yeah, that's interesting. That is very interesting.
41:03
I don't know. I think, yeah, go for it.
41:08
Yeah, I'm just saying in terms of If you're going to take,
41:13
The next step Which they lost They had some terrible losses They had different
41:18
times last year But if you're going to take the next step You have to beat a
41:21
Montana State and Idaho State And a Montana One of those you have to beat them.
41:27
Yeah, I'll be I'm not as high on Northern Arizona As I am a couple other teams
41:32
I just feel like their standard has been raised By Coach Wright and I think
41:36
they'll fit in that four through seven place, but I think they will be sitting
41:40
just outside the playoff hunt.
41:42
And I'll kind of give a little bit of a recap here at the end,
41:44
I guess, but I've got the Bobcats, the Grizz, UC Davis, all going to the playoffs.
41:49
And then out of the next four, which is Idaho State, NAU, Southern Utah,
41:53
and Idaho, I really only see Idaho State and Southern Utah maybe actually squeaking
41:58
into the playoffs effort with that large bids.
42:00
And I think NAU and Idaho are just going to miss it. But I think I'll be interested
42:04
to see what happens this season. and I think they could have another season
42:07
of explosive offense, and I think they do beat Incarnate Word.
42:10
But I think beating Incarnate Word doesn't translate into also beating either
42:16
the Grizz, the Bobcats, or the Bengals.
42:18
We'll have to see how that plays out because that's a rough stretch.
42:21
It's a very rough stretch between Utah Tech and Portland State there.
42:25
And I do have to say, like, since Coach Wright came on, you know,
42:28
there has been a huge improvement with the program.
42:31
They took that next step into, you know, being considered, you know,
42:35
less of a dark horse and more of like a top team.
42:38
Well, he's now hit the point in his career with the program where he has to
42:41
take another big step to finally be included and solidify himself as a top three
42:46
or top four program in this conference. And I don't think they're there yet.
42:51
But now this could be their opportunity to make that step if they can squeak
42:55
out, you know, a Montana State or an Idaho or even a win against Montana.
42:59
But until they do that, they're going to be right there on the cusp of not making the playoffs.
43:04
Right, right. And the other team I have in that bracket is Idaho with head coach
43:10
Thomas Ford Jr. entering his second season. He's four and eight overall,
43:14
was the running back coach in Oregon State 2024 and Idaho from 22 and 23.
43:18
So last year they went 4-8, 2-6 in the Big Sky. They lost at Washington State
43:23
to begin the season 13-10.
43:26
Washington State looked absolutely terrible in that football game.
43:29
But they beat St. Thomas. They beat Utah Tech. They then lost four in a row
43:34
at San Jose, at Montana, at home to Northern Colorado, and at Eastern Washington.
43:39
They then beat Portland State and then kind of a shocker at Northern Arizona in overtime.
43:44
They then lost their last three to UC Davis, Sac State, and Idaho State.
43:47
So not a good season after Idaho had spent many seasons at the top of the big
43:53
sky and going to the playoffs.
43:54
So 2026, they open up August 28th at Al Pauly and then at Utah in a money game
44:00
at home against Lamar and at home against Abilene Christian.
44:03
I would hope now Lamar is a top 25 team, but, and maybe is Abilene Christian
44:08
as well. Are they in the top 25?
44:10
Yes, they are. They're number 15 and Lamar's number 20.
44:13
So man, I don't know.
44:16
So that's going to be a tough one to decipher. You could go one and three in that regard.
44:22
I don't know what to think about Cal Poly. I think they beat Cal Poly,
44:25
but they then have a bye week.
44:27
They're then at home against Montana State, at Weber State, at Montana,
44:31
at home against Southern Utah, at Portland State, at home against Eastern Washington,
44:35
at home against UC Davis, and then at Idaho State for the Potato State rivalry.
44:40
Man, I had them in the 4-7, 4-8-ish range.
44:46
They could have another very rough year. And I guess they're my giant, I have no idea.
44:53
They could go either way for me in this one.
44:55
Yeah, 100%. I can see the same thing. You know, they were a really young team last year.
45:00
So now you have that same young team with a little bit more experience.
45:04
You know, you've now been with the head coach for a few seasons.
45:07
There can still be a lot of question marks. I think they do make some improvement
45:11
and they are looking for that bounce back, but I don't think it's going to be
45:13
the bounce back that we have seen in the past.
45:17
I'm hoping that they stay, you know, in that four to seven range like you've
45:20
been talking about, but it's going to be really easy for them to not be there
45:24
and be, you know, potentially 8 through 10 in the conference.
45:31
So at the bye, are they 1-3, 2-2, or 3-1?
45:38
I'm saying if they're 2-2, the season is still alive. But if they're 1-3,
45:43
they need to start recruiting.
45:45
If you may need to put a page...
45:48
Go for it. Sorry, Les. Well I'm just saying You know right now we'll know a
45:52
whole lot more I just don't think you're going to Weber State and winning,
45:58
No, and then you're 1-5. In the first four before the bye week,
46:04
at Cal Poly, at Utah, at home against Lamar, at home against Abilene Christian,
46:08
if you made me put a paycheck on 3-1, 2-2, or 1-3, I'm putting a paycheck on 1-3.
46:16
That's where I'm at. That's where I'm at with it. I'm hoping they go 2-2.
46:21
2-2, and I think they'll be okay. I hope they go 1-3.
46:25
Dang. Oh, no. Les is throwing some shade at the Vandals here.
46:35
Because you're right now. You're 1-3 by week. You ain't going to beat Montana State. You're 1-4.
46:41
I don't think you beat Weber State. You're 1-5. You're not going to beat Montana. You're 1-6.
46:45
You're not going to beat Southern Utah. You're 1-7.
46:48
Let's say you beat Portland State. You're 2-7.
46:51
Do you beat Eastern Washington?
46:53
Let's say you do. You're 3-7. You don't beat UC Davis, and you don't beat Idaho State.
46:58
So 3-9 is what I think the ceiling is for the Vandals in Moscow.
47:04
That's tough. Let's go. Let's go Bengals.
47:12
Well, we'll move on to some perennial powerhouses here to round out the episode.
47:18
At UC Davis, head coach Tim Plough entering his third season.
47:21
He's 20-7 overall, is a UC Davis alumni.
47:24
They were 9-4 last season, 6-2 in the Big Sky.
47:28
They beat Utah Tech. They lost to Washington in a money game,
47:32
and then they went on a big tear. They beat Southern Utah, beat Weber State,
47:35
beat Cal Poly, beat Northern Arizona, beat Northern Colorado.
47:38
They lost to Idaho State.
47:40
They beat Idaho. They lost to Montana State. And then they beat Sacramento State to end the season.
47:46
They got a first round bye. They beat Rhode Island in the second round.
47:50
And then they lost to Illinois State in the quarterfinal, who eventually went
47:53
on to, through straight road games in the playoffs, eventually get to the national
47:58
championship, which is pretty incredible. But 2026th, August 29th,
48:02
you're at Portland State.
48:04
You're then at San Diego, at SMU for a money game, and then at home against Stetson.
48:09
You're at home against Montana, at home against Eastern Washington, then you get a bye.
48:13
You're at Southern Utah, at home against Northern Colorado, at Weber State,
48:18
at home against Utah Tech, at Idaho, and then host Cal Poly for the Battle of the Golden Horseshoe.
48:23
I say you beat Portland State, you beat San Diego. They're not going to beat SMU, obviously.
48:27
They beat Stetson. They beat Eastern Washington. I say they beat Southern Utah,
48:32
they beat Northern Colorado, Weber State, Utah Tech, Idaho, and Cal Poly.
48:37
I think they go 11-1, only losing to Montana, and they go to the playoffs.
48:44
Yeah, I think it's working in their favor and not playing the Cats this year
48:47
to stay atop of the conference.
48:49
And unfortunately, last year, I think they would have been better minus all
48:52
of the injuries. And if they're able to kick that bug this year,
48:56
they're 100% in competition with Montana State.
49:00
And we're going to get into it here soon. But I have them as the number two team in the conference.
49:06
Oh, so you think the fact that they don't play the Cats, you think they'll be ranked over the Cats?
49:13
No no no no i think you know not spoiler alert i think the cats are the best
49:17
team in the conference this year,
49:19
i have like very strongly you know them at number one and then i have the aggies
49:25
at number two and the grizz at number three but it's gonna be so
49:29
i hope the grizz are solidifying themselves at number three because i think
49:33
the aggies are gonna beat the grizz only because they uc davis has montana at
49:38
home for that game okay and i misspoke i forgot they play smu so i think they're
49:42
going to go 10-2, not 11-1.
49:46
So you think they're going to go 11-1, only losing to SMU?
49:50
Correct. Dang. All right. Yep.
49:53
They're returning seven all-conference players, right? Yeah,
49:56
you lose your star true freshman quarterback, whoop-dee-doo.
50:00
You still have a strong quarterback room.
50:02
Strong running back rotation. The only weak part of their offense right now
50:06
is their left tackle, left guard, but you have a returner in your center and
50:10
you're on the other side of the line.
50:12
And as long as the defense stays injury free or limits that their defense is fantastic.
50:19
I was going to say is that Montana game is huge.
50:24
I think every, every other than SMU, every opponent they can beat and,
50:31
and you have Montana at home.
50:33
The one thing we know is that will more than likely, I haven't seen the timing
50:37
more than likely that's going to be a night game and it should be a night game.
50:41
If it's going to be at seven o'clock or eight o'clock is a chance for that to
50:44
be 95 or 105 degrees on the field down there.
50:48
And it's it's tough to play there the last time they did play they did the Grizz
50:54
did win that is going to be a tough tough out and so,
51:00
every every team they they can beat every team other than SMU and then that
51:06
Montana is going to be a dogfight down there,
51:09
man we've we've mentioned week five a couple times now with different teams
51:12
and man week five is going to be a doozy in the in the uh big sky so that's gonna be a fun
51:16
fun week to be camped out in front of the television but that's a big game possibly
51:20
the biggest game of the season in the uh in the big sky other than cat grizz
51:23
obviously to end out the season but
51:25
that'll be a good one i'm very excited for that week and man i'm interested
51:29
i'm in i i have i have them in the top three as well cats grizz and uc davis
51:33
but i don't got them i don't know i don't know that's uh i like what you're
51:37
i like your bold assumption there, Austin.
51:40
We'll have to see here. Now, I thought Weber State was an interesting coaching hire, which it was.
51:47
Could be great in the interesting category. Here's the other interesting one,
51:50
and I didn't realize this until I was looking it up.
51:52
The University of Montana with Coach Bobby Kennedy entering his first season,
51:56
Was an FBS position coach at many different teams since 1993 through 2024.
52:05
Never a coordinator, which I'm not saying that you have to be a coordinator
52:09
to be a head coach. That's not at all the case.
52:10
But he's been an FBS position coach at different programs from 1993 to 2024.
52:17
Was then the Montana receivers coach in 2025 and is now the head coach.
52:22
The Grizz went 13-2 last year, 7-1 in Big Sky play.
52:25
They beat Central Washington, North Dakota, Indiana State, Idaho,
52:28
Idaho State, Cal Poly, Sacred Heart, Sacramento State, Weber State,
52:32
Eastern Washington, Portland State. They lost to the Cats in the Cat Grizz game to end out the season.
52:37
They got a first round bye. They beat South Dakota State in the second round.
52:41
They beat South Dakota in the quarterfinal.
52:43
They lost at Montana State in the semifinals, the eventual national champion.
52:47
And one of the most iconic third-quarter drives I think I've ever seen ever,
52:55
the Cats conducted there with that long bomb conversion and just that.
53:02
For all intents and purposes, ended the football game right there.
53:05
But an incredible football game.
53:07
I think the Grizz are pretty much intact from last season, especially offensively.
53:14
And they, not offensively?
53:17
Not anywhere brother they bring in a lot of key starters back.
53:24
We'll go over that in a second. August 29th, at home against Southern Utah.
53:29
Being at home could be the advantage in that one.
53:31
At home against Drake. At home against Utah Tech. At Oregon State in a money game.
53:35
At UC Davis week five. At home against Northern Colorado. At Northern Arizona.
53:39
At home against Idaho. Then a bye week.
53:42
And then at Eastern Washington. At home against Portland State.
53:45
At home against Idaho State. And then at Montana State for the Brawl of the
53:48
Wild. All right, Austin, tell us what we're bringing back here.
53:51
Okay, so this hurts me to my core because since moving to Northwest Montana,
53:57
I've become quite the Grizz fan.
54:00
I'm going to see a couple of games this season. I love Washington Grizzlies
54:04
Stadium. It's one of the best venues, I think, in the FCS period.
54:08
But overall, I think this is going to be a little tough for them,
54:11
albeit fantastic football team all around. I think their surrounding ensemble
54:17
is still the strong point of the program, but they have a lot of shoes to fill.
54:23
They have three returning starters. So you have your all-conference quarterback.
54:27
He threw over 3,000 yards last year, three-year starter, et cetera.
54:31
Eli Gilman, the running back, fantastic, all-American, and a returning wide
54:36
receiver, which is great. But that's it.
54:39
You don't have an old lineman that has played more than 200 snaps in a season.
54:43
Their closest is 114, but with 27 transfers and 23 true freshmen on the roster
54:50
as of a couple of weeks ago, their defense is definitely the mainstays of the
54:55
team this year, I think, with their front seven.
54:58
Being the best group on the field at any given time.
55:02
So I think if they can rest solely on their defensive play, they will have a
55:06
shot offensively to score some points.
55:09
Now with the schedule, I think it is boating in their favor.
55:12
I don't think they have, you know, they, they might be an Oregon state. I do.
55:16
But after that, man, there, there's a couple of good football teams and I don't
55:20
think they, they have what it takes to beat the cats in Bozeman.
55:24
One thing that I would say is, yeah, they lost some starters,
55:28
but they went to the portal and got some.
55:31
And then with the transition from Hauk to Kennedy,
55:35
the one thing that I would say is that would bode well for the University of
55:40
Montana when something like that happens, people are going to jump to the transfer
55:45
portal and they didn't have anybody jump.
55:48
Everybody stayed. And I also think it has something to say for the portal guys that came in.
55:55
If Gilman's staying and Iyotter's staying in the receivers, I think that says
56:01
something about the guys that they brought in.
56:04
Now, the one thing I would say is you've brought some guys in. Are you gelling?
56:08
I think the talent is there. It's going to be up to this coaching staff not
56:13
to have a little sack state happen because you brought in a bunch of guys.
56:18
They have to be team guys in order for this to work.
56:22
Talent is there, but we'll see if the team, it truly is going to come down to
56:27
the team and that defense.
56:31
Right. Yeah, I'm excited to watch the Grizz this year. I think,
56:34
again, they're in that top three category. I don't think anything changes that.
56:38
The MUC Davis and Montana State,
56:40
so we'll round out this conversation by talking about the Bobcats here.
56:43
Coach Brent Vegan entering his sixth season, 61-12 overall.
56:48
Four straight trips to the FCS playoffs, the 2025 National Championship.
56:53
He's been to the title game twice, semifinals, second round and title game.
56:57
So, I mean, obviously he's got a pedigree here of making the playoffs and going deep into them.
57:02
Last year in 2025, they went 14-2, 8-0 in the Big Sky.
57:06
They lost at Oregon to start the season. They then lost at home to South Dakota
57:10
State in a double overtime game. They started the season 0-2.
57:14
They then beat San Diego, Mercyhurst, Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona,
57:17
Idaho State, Cal Poly, Northern Colorado, Weber State, UC Davis at Montana to
57:21
round out the season at 10-2.
57:24
They then got a first round bye and beat Yale in the second round.
57:27
They beat Stephen F. Austin in the quarterfinal, beat Montana in the semifinal,
57:31
and then beat Illinois State 35-34 in an overtime absolute classic of a national championship game.
57:38
This season, 2026, they start August 29th at Utah Tech at home against Butler
57:44
at Nevada, which we'll talk about that here in a second at home against.
57:48
Central Connecticut State University, at home against Northern Arizona at Idaho.
57:53
They got a bye week there.
57:54
They beat Eastern. They are at Eastern Washington. They're at home against Weber
57:58
State, at home against Cal Poly, at Idaho State, at Northern Colorado,
58:02
and then at home against Montana in the Brawl of the Wild.
58:06
And I think we have a 12-0 season brewing here, fellas.
58:10
Yeah. Yeah. They, you know, to long story short, they have the most complete
58:16
football team, in my opinion, you know, between who they have returning,
58:19
you now have the experience of a national championship team,
58:23
albeit you cannot have, you know,
58:26
the national championship hangover.
58:28
They do have to take a step forward. They just can't beat people upon reputation.
58:33
So as much talent as they do have returning, you know, 11 offensive contributors,
58:37
15 defensive contributors most of the receivers you know obviously a huge huge
58:43
quarterback talent running back talent.
58:46
It's going to be hard to beat them, and what's going to be their biggest enemy is themselves, truly.
58:53
And I think that it's like that for most of the great teams,
58:57
especially when we think of the University of Alabama.
59:00
They could shoot themselves in the foot, and everybody would be happy for it.
59:02
And I think it's the same thing for the Cats, albeit they are going to be the
59:05
best team in the conference and making a bid for another national championship.
59:11
We lost there, Les there for a second. We'll wait for him to hop back on.
59:14
But I, yeah, I don't want Mountain West teams to lose to FCS programs.
59:19
I don't want that to happen. However, I'm worried that it's going to happen.
59:25
Yeah. I think as much as I want Nevada to win football games,
59:29
and I know we're going to talk about it here, here in about a week.
59:32
I think Nevada is going to, you know, be, be markedly more improved and,
59:37
and win more football games than they did last year. But we're talking,
59:41
these cats are good, man.
59:42
And I don't know what is truly standing in their way besides themselves.
59:49
All right, so now, same question as last week.
59:52
I know who I'm picking for both these answers, but which big Sky team exceeds
59:57
expectations and which big Sky team does not meet expectations?
1:00:04
I think the Vandals do not meet expectations. That's who I was going to say
1:00:08
Idaho as well. I say Idaho does not meet expectations.
1:00:11
Yeah, and I feel like there is a lot of hype behind this team,
1:00:16
but I do think that there is going to be good improvement, and I think the Bengals
1:00:21
are going to be the most improved.
1:00:23
Dang. You think they exceed expectations?
1:00:25
Yes, I do. Sweet. I'm pretty high on my Bishop Kelly alumni and Cody Hawkins,
1:00:31
their head football coach. There you go.
1:00:33
Les, who do you think does not meet expectations, and who do you think exceeds expectations?
1:00:40
I'm not sure Eastern Washington meets expectations. Right.
1:00:46
This is a huge season for them, I think. And yeah, I don't think they're going
1:00:51
to. And then I would say Northern Colorado.
1:00:56
Might be the surprise team. Right, right.
1:01:01
So for my not meeting expectations, I picked, I say Idaho, but I was also Eastern
1:01:06
Washington made my short list there.
1:01:08
And I was torn with exceeding expectations between Northern Colorado and Weber State.
1:01:14
I think both of them exceed expectations. I don't know which one does so more than the other.
1:01:18
And I don't know what that means record-wise, how that translates.
1:01:24
You could probably make the case that Weber State exceeds expectations more record-wise.
1:01:29
I just think Northern Colorado is going to play very good football this year, or better football.
1:01:33
Even if they're not sitting here with a massively better record,
1:01:36
we're going to sit here and go, man, 2027, Northern Colorado is coming.
1:01:41
I just feel like we're going to have one of those seasons out of Greeley there
1:01:45
that, you know, I don't know what 2026 looks like other than the end result.
1:01:49
I think is we're sitting here going, dang, like 2027, Northern Colorado is playing football.
1:01:58
I hope I hope Northern Colorado does what Northern Arizona did three years ago.
1:02:04
Yeah, all of a sudden they come out and they're winning eight football games
1:02:08
a season. And it's, you know, it kind of comes out of nowhere.
1:02:10
Where you knew they were kind of right there on the cusp, and then it actually
1:02:13
happens, and it's a shocker, and it's cool to see, and I hope that happens.
1:02:18
Well, in Coach Wright's first season, they made the playoffs at Northern Arizona.
1:02:22
I don't know that UNC makes the playoffs this year, but.
1:02:29
I do hope we're sitting here going, I hope that we're sitting here mid-season,
1:02:34
week six, and I hope that mathematically, Quickly, Northern Colorado can finish
1:02:42
in the upper half of the conference.
1:02:45
Do you think there's a potential of them being ranked in the top 25 if that happens?
1:02:50
I don't think so. I don't think so. And I'm not saying they will be ranked in
1:02:53
the top half of the conference.
1:02:54
I'm hoping that after week six, it's mathematically possible. Okay.
1:03:01
I like it. I like it. If you look at Northern Colorado scores from last year,
1:03:07
yes, they lost to Colorado State tight. South Dakota State, they lost tight.
1:03:13
Houston Christian was close. Idaho State, 26-18. Idaho, 49-33.
1:03:19
Sac State, 40-35. UC Davis, 27-16.
1:03:24
It wasn't until they played Montana State where they actually got blown out.
1:03:28
Even though that Eastern Washington score, 27-7, 24-14, they played a lot of
1:03:34
relatively close games.
1:03:36
Yeah. And that's one of those things where if you're making progress,
1:03:41
SU you maybe lose big lose lose small then maybe win small and then maybe win big,
1:03:48
maybe they will transition into the win small category versus lose small category,
1:03:55
right right absolutely well,
1:03:57
gentlemen I've been waiting to say this for a long time but we play college
1:04:01
football this week I'm pumped about it I I'm excited for Friday be checking
1:04:06
in on these scores watching them at the office a little bit,
1:04:08
and I'm excited for Saturday.
1:04:11
For a slate of Week 0 games.
1:04:13
Well, I like Week 0 because there's not so many games that you can't pop in on each game.
1:04:19
You know what I mean? You have time to do so on Week 0, which is kind of cool.
1:04:22
So we will be sitting here next weekend talking about next Sunday evening,
1:04:27
talking about the Mountain West.
1:04:28
We'll also talk about Boise State and Fresno State, which are near and dear to our heart.
1:04:33
We'll throw those into our roundups this season and go from there.
1:04:37
I'm so happy you said that because I was going to do it anyways Yeah, yeah Right Well,
1:04:44
we'll do it And we'll be sitting here with a week zero under our belt And that'll
1:04:48
factor in To our conversation next week About these teams Gentlemen,
1:04:54
after that, other than that, have a great week We'll be here Go ahead, Les,
1:04:58
I got two things before you hang up Go Wolfpack Week two.
1:05:05
Go to vada wolf pack and then it's going to be really hard,
1:05:10
it's going to be really hard to keep jolynn out of montana to out of butte this thursday,
1:05:14
when they open the season it's gonna be hard to right hard to keep her from
1:05:17
going to that game so yeah that'd be pretty sweet that would be a heck of a
1:05:21
game to go to that'd be a good one to go see i that's not a bad idea that's
1:05:26
not a bad butte's a hop skip and a jump away so,
1:05:29
all right yeah appreciate you gentlemen We'll be back here next week for the,
1:05:33
last preseason episode after week zero, and we'll get right into it after that.
1:05:36
Our regular show starts in week one.
1:05:39
All right, gentlemen. We'll see you later. I'm excited. Let's see you here. See you guys.