I understand that Swifties might be at home jamming out at this moment, but for some of us might demand some power rankings even if it is days later than what makes it relevant to anyone. So why not add some more word pollution to egriz for you to root through before tomorrow’s game against Idaho State inside of the world's largest potato storage facility.
Too early to make any declarations, but because we want to jump all over Sacramento State and the awfulness that is Eastern Washington, here is our (me) power rankings for week 6 of the college football season or for week #2 of conference play.
Looking Back:
Other Odds and Ends and Inane Things:
Thanks for reading. GF24.
Too early to make any declarations, but because we want to jump all over Sacramento State and the awfulness that is Eastern Washington, here is our (me) power rankings for week 6 of the college football season or for week #2 of conference play.
| Rank | Team | Record | LW | Last Week: | This Week | Taylor Swift Album |
1 | Montana | 4-0 (1-0) | 1 | W v. #5 Idaho 41-30 | @ #7 ISU | Fearless |
2 | Montana State | 3-2 (1-0) | 3 | W v. #12 Eastern Washington 57-3 | @ #3 NAU | Red |
3 | Northern Arizona | 4-1 (1-0) | 4 | W @ #11 Portland State 31-17 | v. #2 MSU | 1989 |
4 | UC Davis | 3-1 (1-0) | 5 | W v. #10 Weber State 34-12 | @ #6 CP | Midnights |
5 | Idaho | 2-3 (0-1) | 2 | L @ #1 Montana 41-30 | Bye | Folklore |
6 | Cal Poly | 3-2 (1-0) | 8 | W @ #9 Sacramento State 32-24 | v. #4 UCD | Lover |
7 | Idaho State | 2-3 (1-0) | 9 | W v. #8 Northern Colorado 26-18 | V. #1 UM | Speak Now |
8 | Northern Colorado | 2-3 (0-1) | 7 | L v. #7 Idaho State 26-18 | Bye | Reputation |
9 | Sacramento State | 2-3 (0-1) | 6 | L v. #6 Cal Poly 32-24 | Bye | Tortured Poets Department |
10 | Weber State | 2-3 (0-1) | 11 | L @ #4 UC Davis 34-12 | Bye | Taylor Swift |
11 | Portland State | 0-5 (0-1) | 12 | L v. #3 Northern Arizona 31-17 | @ #12 EWU | Evermore |
12 | Eastern Washington | 1-4 (0-1) | 10 | L @ #2 Montana State 57-3 | v. #11 PSU | Bad Blood |
Looking Back:
- Bad to Worse: My 2019 self would have looked at the result in Bozeman and wondered what act of spaghetti monster thing happened to see Eastern Washington lose 57-3. However my 2025 self, along with the committee of me and I, were far less stunned to see EWU go into Bozeman and get boatraced. But still 57-3? EWU was non-competitive and while MSU can proudly assert they are a top 5 program in the FCS, 57-3? That win by MSU shows a lot more about how poor things have got in Cheney. Oof.
- Sacramento a-No-Go? There was a desire to place Sacramento in the 12 spot this week for their home choke job against perpetually rebuilding Cal Poly. The Hornet offense was AWOL from the start and their QB’s were 11-30 for 173 yards 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions against a defense that was giving up 34 ppg and over 400 yards of offense, 230 or so through the air. This is a game that Poly probably had no chance of winning just two years ago, that Paul Wulff has them competitive again suggests the Mustangs might be exiting their perpetual rebuild. Sacramento was an undisciplined mess in this game on both sides of the football and it cost them a winnable game.
- The Death Star: Montana may not be the evil empire to Griz fans, but they sure played the heel well on Saturday. Idaho came into the game injured but plucky and was giving the vibe they could come in and upset the Griz on national television. Yet Washington Grizzly had other ideas for the Big Sky ‘After Dark’ affair. They brought the energy and noise (up to a reported 108db) and the result was an oppressive force that crushed the Vandals. Michael Wortham was the ultimate weapon, a death ray even, that tactically carved up the Idaho defense.
- Bengals beat Bears Battlestar Galactica: This game pitted two teams that have been among the most improved programs over the past two years by using two entirely different philosophies. The Cody Hawkins Idaho State squad is all about offense and the Ed Lamb Northern Colorado is about defensive grit. Idaho State came in with one of the statistical best offenses in the league and Northern Colorado had one of the stingiest defenses coming in. The Bengals bested the Bears using the ground attack that put up 289 yards on 43 carries and ran out to a 23-7 half time lead and won 26-18. The Bengals ran 84(!) plays and overcame an abysmal passing day from newly returned Jordan Cooke (12-33) to find a way to win on the road.
- Unextreme Makeover: Portland Edition: Ty Pennington continued his CPOY year candidacy by putting up exactly what you’d expect of a player playing against the statistically worst defense in the conference. He was 15-24 for 262 and 1 TD and tacked on another 43 yards on the ground as NAU won going away from Portland State 31-17. The bye week didn’t help Portland State defensively, but at least their offense with a couple of weeks getting renovated put up 17 points and 325 yards. The defense on the other hand, not the type of reveal Bruce Barnum wanted after a frustrating non-conference that necessitated a demo job, still gave up 500 plus yards.
- Thank god we have byes: Weber State, Sacramento State, Northern Colorado, and Idaho. Each program gets to contemplate where things went wrong in Week #1 of conference play.
- Basement Bottom Feeders Brawl for Best and Barnum: Saturday in Cheney. Loser gets permanent residence in the 12 spot, not unlike the Eagles at the “Sphere” in Vegas. Only with slightly less classy digs, like the outhouse at your crazy Uncles cabin on the Bull River. Or in this case maybe the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. You get the point. This actually could be a good game. Formerly offensively allergic PSU put up 17 last week, and defensively allergic EWU (gave up 57 last week) might make for a game that is competitive.
- California I-5 Corridor Clash: Cal Poly has spent much of its early season playing teams along the I-5 corridor (San Diego, Western Oregon, Sacramento State and now Cal Davis) and is currently undefeated against said fellow I-5 teams. Poly has enough offensive skill to make this interesting. Aggies have as of yet not righted their defensive ship completely but clearly have the totality of skill to win this game.
- Offensive Onslaught inside Orange Orpheum: On paper this is the type of game that lovers of the old Big Sky Conference in the early 90’s would love where the winner would put up 52 and the loser might score 48. Montana is NOT allergic to defense, but Idaho State has put up piles of yards passing the pigskin this year. What is weird, Montana and Idaho State haven’t played much in Pocatello in recent years. Just three times since 2015 and just 4 since 2010. Those games in Holt over the past 15 years have been nothing but….weird. The last time Idaho State won, 2003 it was a 43-40 2OT affair. Doubt highly this game is played in the low to mid 20
- Anticipated Antagonistic Affair at Altitude: This, like last week's Montana-Idaho tilt, has the vibe of a prove it moment for the upstart team attempting to crash the upper tier of Big Sky Conference. Northern Arizona’s 4-1 start qualifies decidedly under the radar. Montana State trampled all over inept EWU last weekend, while Lumberjacks got some resistance from Portland State in Portland. Wright gets his first shot at his former employer inside the oxygen deprived Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff. This is easily the Fighting Felines of diminutive stature toughest road game before the yearly tussle against the Grizzlies in Missoula in mid-November. The foresters with sharp implements have Vigen and company's attention and playing at elevation has caused MSU problems in the past. MSU barely escaped in 2022 (41-38) on a Tyler Glessner FG with no time left. Grab your oxygen mask and buckle up. Should be a good one.
Other Odds and Ends and Inane Things:
- Inanity: I think we can all attest that Dr. Wood of Sacramento State might be living on his own island about where he thinks Sacramento State is heading as an athletic campus. What might also qualify as insane rather than inane, Sacramento State had a 48 million dollar budget in 2024 and its revenue sports lost money. They get nearly 40 million in state and student support and their goal is to have an FBS program in 2026 regardless of what the finances or conventional wisdom tells them. FWIW, strongly urge you to check out the GFR interview w/ Dr. Wood last night.
- Odds: Speaking of more unsustainable scenarios for Sacramento State: The Hornets are averaging 9 penalties a game. Through five games they have 340!!!! Yards of penalties. Cal Poly ‘forces’ the most penalties out of opponents (41 so far) and coaxed Sacramento State into 10 of them on Saturday.
- Ends: One of the sexiest things I saw in the Montana-Idaho game was the Montana defense come out against Idaho in a quasi 70 front when Idaho lined up in its power wing look (TE +HB). That isn’t necessarily a ‘sound’ thing to do, but it harkened back to a day where you’d see this all over HS football. As a defensive coordinator type (even a failed one) this audacious plan had the desired effect. It took Josh Wood out of the game as a runner for 3 quarters of the game. Essentially this was the defensive staff saying try to ‘zone read this.’ Idaho didn’t and was out of sequence most of the game.
- One of the inherent weaknesses of zone schemes is that there is a way by defensive alignment to force reads. Most DC’s can’t and don’t want to try to pull it off because it is anathema to sound defense and it is pretty easy to pick apart. Montana took Idaho’s strength, Wood’s ability as a runner to impact the game, and eliminate it for almost 3 quarters. Most zone read schemes start w/ pre-snap reads. Montana lined up with overhang players, and forced Idaho into a lot of forced gives where Wood didn’t really have an opportunity to keep the football. This philosophy doesn’t always work, but Montana’s interior plus LB corps dominated early. The other part of it is they forced a lot of hot pre-snap throws (swings and go’s) and there weren’t a lot of opportunities (until the second half) for Wood to play with his feet outside the pocket. Idaho was behind the sticks and turned Idaho into a pass first team for a lot of the half because of what Montana did with its alignment in the first half. Thus sexy.
Thanks for reading. GF24.
