Alright BigSkyBears we've made it. It's UNC week! For us Griz posters let me try and get us all up to speed on da Bears. UNC has had the longest layoff of any Big Sky team (Sac State and the cats made the playoffs and had 2 additional weeks) and in that time a lot has changed. Ed McCaffrey has made the jump from high school head coach to D1 FCS head coach. He's brought in several dropdowns including his son who will QB da Bears after transferring from Michigan along with many others. Let's dive in!
September 3 @ Colorado - L. Tough opponent to open the season with. I expect Colorado to be in the top half of the PAC 12 this year and it'll be a long day for UNC.
September 11 @ Houston Baptist - L. This feels like a 50-50 game. If Bailey Zappe were still the QB at HBU then this would be a for sure loss but the huskies still have some good players and I think HBU pulls it out at home.
September 18 vs. Lamar - W. Lamar is terrible. They will likely be one of if not the worst team in the WAC this year. UNC is at home so I like the bears in this one.
September 25 vs. Northern Arizona- L. I don't care what BigSkyBears says I have no reason to believe right now that UNC is a better team than NAU. I like the Jacks on the road.
October 2 @ Montana State - L. This will be UNC's toughest conference road game and they have not fared well against the cats. msu rolls in this one.
October 9 vs. Eastern Washington - L. Barriere's gonna have a monster day om that Bear defense. Eastern wins big.
October 16 @ UC Davis - L. Tough place to play. Should be an improved UC Davis team that should win easily at home.
October 23 @ Southern Utah - L. Another 50-50 game but I'll be honest, I like SUU at home. This is a T-Birds team that seems to be significantly improving and I think they pull out a close one at home.
October 30 vs. Sacramento State - L. Another tough home game. I like the Hornets.
November 6 vs. Montana - L. Boy this is a brutal home slate for UNC. Griz win easily over an exhausted Bears team.
November 13 BYE. Talk about getting shafted on the bye week. 10 straight weeks of games before they finally get to the bye. This has the potential for massive injuries to pile up by not having this earlier. Tough break for UNC.
November 20 @ Weber State - L. An opportunity for Weber to fine tune their game for the playoffs against what will likely be a very injured and defeated bears team. Weber takes it at home.
Boy the Big Sky schedule makers were not kind to UNC this year. That's the most brutal slate of conference games I've seen so far. I got them going 1-10, and to be honest I think the ceiling is only 3-8 if they can win those road games against HBU and SUU. Maybe UNC will be significantly improved under Ed McCaffrey, but for now it's hard to predict that since we haven't seen them in so long and with the brutal conference schedule they have. Thoughts?
September 3 @ Colorado - L. Tough opponent to open the season with. I expect Colorado to be in the top half of the PAC 12 this year and it'll be a long day for UNC.
September 11 @ Houston Baptist - L. This feels like a 50-50 game. If Bailey Zappe were still the QB at HBU then this would be a for sure loss but the huskies still have some good players and I think HBU pulls it out at home.
September 18 vs. Lamar - W. Lamar is terrible. They will likely be one of if not the worst team in the WAC this year. UNC is at home so I like the bears in this one.
September 25 vs. Northern Arizona- L. I don't care what BigSkyBears says I have no reason to believe right now that UNC is a better team than NAU. I like the Jacks on the road.
October 2 @ Montana State - L. This will be UNC's toughest conference road game and they have not fared well against the cats. msu rolls in this one.
October 9 vs. Eastern Washington - L. Barriere's gonna have a monster day om that Bear defense. Eastern wins big.
October 16 @ UC Davis - L. Tough place to play. Should be an improved UC Davis team that should win easily at home.
October 23 @ Southern Utah - L. Another 50-50 game but I'll be honest, I like SUU at home. This is a T-Birds team that seems to be significantly improving and I think they pull out a close one at home.
October 30 vs. Sacramento State - L. Another tough home game. I like the Hornets.
November 6 vs. Montana - L. Boy this is a brutal home slate for UNC. Griz win easily over an exhausted Bears team.
November 13 BYE. Talk about getting shafted on the bye week. 10 straight weeks of games before they finally get to the bye. This has the potential for massive injuries to pile up by not having this earlier. Tough break for UNC.
November 20 @ Weber State - L. An opportunity for Weber to fine tune their game for the playoffs against what will likely be a very injured and defeated bears team. Weber takes it at home.
Boy the Big Sky schedule makers were not kind to UNC this year. That's the most brutal slate of conference games I've seen so far. I got them going 1-10, and to be honest I think the ceiling is only 3-8 if they can win those road games against HBU and SUU. Maybe UNC will be significantly improved under Ed McCaffrey, but for now it's hard to predict that since we haven't seen them in so long and with the brutal conference schedule they have. Thoughts?
