BWahlberg said:
It's funny Saints fans say they've got nothing to prove, etc but get all butt-hurt as soon as it's projected they'll get stomped by a Big Sky team.
Hey BW, Do you remember the last time you tried to pick an NAIA vs. Big Sky game! Maybe this little gem will remind you at how poor you are at picking games!
Big Sky picks, week 1
by BWahlberg » Thu Sep 01, 2011 4:42 pm
Lets do this.
MSU @ Utah: MSU is looking to start off their season with a bang and coud do so if they can knock off one of the Pac12's brand new members in Utah. We all know that Denarius McGhee has leauge MVP written all over him and he's going to be looking to prove that this year. However MSU is without their main running back from last year and their defense was a real big question mark, especially when it was steamrolled in the playoffs. Utah is coming into this game with a lot of question marks of its own, a QB coming off shoulder surgery, a new OC (Norm Chow), unknowns in their secondary, a suspened linebacker stemming from a DUI, and a report that suggests they're not entirely sure how well their D line will look. If the cats had a more legit rushing attack that was a known quantity... I'd put them right in this game. However I think Utah's got the edge here and will win it, but it probably won't be a blowout. I'll say 35-17 Utah wins.
Lindenwood vs N. Colorado: Well gosh, this is tough one. Haha, since I know very little about Lindenwood other than that they are a first year D2 moveup from the NAIA. UNC should roll... I'll say 52-0.
Sac St vs Oregon St: A VERY interesting matchup, if you ask me. Sac has been dubbed the dark-horse that could upset the "usual 3" of UM, MSU, EWU. OSU is without their main rusher Jaquizz Rogers as he went into the NFL and is looking to rely more on their quarterback now. OSU is starting a true freshman at running back now and has some unknowns headed into this season. Meanwhile Sac returns a potentially potent offense but a defense that showed lots of inability to make needed stops last year. Considering it's week 1, I'm going to be this game is a little sloppy but plays in favor of Sac, OSU still wins it though, 27-13.
SOU vs PSU: PSU has an NAIA school coming to town, which marks one of TWO games they have booked against lower-tier schools this season. (Boy season ticket holders must not be too happy, PSU plays S. Oregon and Willamette @ home, that means only 3 other regular season games probably worth watching). Heck I don't know, PSU will win... uh... 75 - 0. There you go. horray Portland.
Idaho St vs Washington St: One of FCS's worst against one of FBS's worst (of recent years). Even a bad WSU has to be better than ISU. I don't think it'll be a fun one to watch. Lets say 36-6 WSU wins.
EWU vs UW: It's crazy to think that UW has never played an FCS team before, and what I'm reading on UW has me thinking an EWU upset is in the making. UW's stud running back had his knee scoped two weeks ago, he's probably not going to be back or certainly won't be full speed. They're also breaking in a new QB, and their top CB sprained his ankle in fall camp and hasn't returned to practice yet. Meanwhile EWU is riding on top of the world coming off a national title and returning most of their offense with the exception I believe of 1 Olineman, Taiwan Jones, and 1 or 2 WRs. They'll be poised to make this a ballgame and I'm going to go out on a limb here and say EWU pulls off the upset, winning the game 32-30.
Weber St vs Wyoming: The last time these two teams met Weber's Cam Higgins fumbled away the ball on a would-be game winning drive (if I recall that correctly). This time Weber doesn't have Higgins but they've got quite the powerful rushing attack. Wyoming returns a lot of dudes from last year, 8 starters on defense and 7 on offense. They should be improved... one would hope, BUT they're starting a true freshman at QB... ouch. This one could be close and low scoring. I'll say once again Wyo wins it, but just by a narrow margin. 16-13.
NAU vs Arizona: NAU is in a funky situation, they've got a lot of seniors returning, but most are up front on the Dline and it looks like their secondary is pretty fresh, esepcially at cornerback. Arizona is an air-it-out team, that should spell disaster for NAU. I think their Dline will keep this close for a while but Arizona will open it up late and win 42-14.
UM @ Tennessee: I've been throwing out a 31-9 prediction in favor of UT all week but I'm going to amend that. As the game gets closer I have a feeling that our offense will be able to get into the endzone at least once and could add some more points on the board. It's a big test for whoever our starting QB is going to be and whoever our RBs are going to be. The Griz will need to play clean and effeciently and have the D have their best game ever. Unfortunately the Griz I just don't see being able to hang with UT the whole game. I'll say in the end Tennessee wins this, but the Griz show a solid game. Tennessee wins 31-19.
Also some quick picks for our soon-to-be members.
UND beats Drake 23-20
UCD loses to Arizona St 56-6
USD loses to Air Force 61-13
SUU beats SDSU 38-26
CPSLO loses to SDSU 34-28 (could be a heck of a game, although this SDSU team isn't the weak one that CPSLO has beat in the past).Griz practice and news updates http://twitter.com/Bwahlberg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Brint Wahlberg - Realtor, Windermere Real Estate
The egriz poster formerly known as Re/maxGriz
You are quite the prognosticator!