This is true of both the Big Sky Conference race and the in-house competition between the Missoulian’s college football prognosticators. In the conference, the Montana Grizzlies somehow remain undefeated and have wrestled sole possession of the lead away from the competition, at least for the moment. In terms of picking the Big Sky, my dominance over my peers becomes more apparent with each passing week.
I seized a one-game lead over the other stiffs in the office last Saturday, after Fritz Neighbor and Bill Speltz both decided at the last minute to take Montana State over Eastern Washington at home.
My most foolhardy pick of the season remains incorrectly tabbing Northern Colorado against UC Davis the first week of the year. That was just dumb.
None of us will make that mistake again, as support for the Grizzlies over the winless Bears is unanimous this week.
We’re split, though, over Northern Arizona at Weber State. Fritz and Bill are taking the home Wildcats. Nick and I like Jerome Sauers and the Lumberjacks on the road.
Season record: Fritz 30-7, Bill 30-7, Nick 30-7, Chad 31-6
The Picks
• Northern Colorado at Montana: Northern Colorado comes in riding a 14-game losing skid dating back to last season. Montana is 18-1 over a comperable period - give or take a week or two - with postseason play accounting for the extra games. It doesn’t take a complex algorythm to figure out what ought to happen here.
Nick: Montana 31, UNC 6. Fritz: Montana 34, UNC 0. Chad: Montana 28, UNC 10. Bill: Montana 31, UNC 3.
• Northern Arizona at Weber St.: NAU quarterback Lance Kriesien was named BSC offensive player of the week after the Jacks beat Idaho State last Saturday. Weber’s started to put it together after an atrocious start.
Nick: NAU 34, Weber 26. Fritz: Weber 27, NAU 21. Chad: NAU 35, Weber 13. Bill: Weber 28, NAU 21.
• Sacramento St. at Montana St.: The Cats lost to Eastern Washington at home last week, but was MSU exposed in the process? The Griz made Sac State look awfully good, so this game could tell us a lot about who’s contending and who’s pretending.
Nick: Montana St. 28, Sac St. 17. Fritz: Montana St. 23, Sac State 17. Chad: Montana St. 17, Sac St. 14. Bill: Montana St. 17, Sac St. 7.
• Portland St. at Idaho St.: The Flying Glanvilles get better every week, while the 1-3 Bengals are still searching for an identity. A win here officially puts PSU in the hunt for the conference crown.
Nick: Portland St. 40, Idaho St. 24. Fritz: Portland St. 35, Idaho St. 16. Chad: Portland St. 28, Idaho St. 14. Bill: Portland St. 24, Idaho St. 21.
• Eastern Washington at BYU: Wha? Count on the Eagles to toss out a curve ball in the middle of conference play, stepping up to battle 3-2 BYU. Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall was on staff at Northern Arizona in 1993-94, the same time as UM’s Bobby Hauck. Truly, it’s hard to pick against a guy named Bronco.
Nick: BYU 35, Eastern Washington 23. Fritz: BYU 48, Eastern Washington 24. Chad: BYU 28, Eastern Washington 14. Bill: BYU 35, Eastern Washington 24.
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