2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Montana State

The bright lights will definitely be on the Montana State Bobcats in 2012.  After their disappointing end to the 2011 season against eventual FCS finalist Sam Houston State, they'll be preparing for what could be another big season.  They'll be opening their regular season with their first-ever night game at home against Chadron State, after lights were installed at Sonny Holland Field late in the 2011 season, but were never used in a game--not even in their playoff win over New Hampshire.

Before fall camp began, the Bobcats were picked to finish on top of the Big Sky by both the coaches and the media, proof the Bobcats should be in the conversation for an FCS championship in 2012.  Head coach Rob Ash has done a phenomenal job in charge of the Bobcats, after taking over that program after former head coach Mike Kramer was abruptly fired in 2007.  And they bring back a lot of great talent heading into the start of their season.

Let's start on offense.  Despite the Bobcats losing top receiver Elvis Akpla to graduation, their more dangerous threats are back.  Quarterback Denarius McGhee (#9) and running back Cody Kirk (#25) are both back for their junior seasons, with McGhee being named to the Walter Payton Award's preseason watch list.  The stats McGhee put up last season (3,283 total yards and 29 total touchdowns in 2011) are definitely worthy enough to be considered for that award if he has another big season.  Kirk ran for 1,351 yards and 14 touchdowns last season but may have some competition for his carries and yards as senior Orenzo Davis returns, after he was academically ineligible for the 2011 season.

On defense, the Bobcats bring back most of their star players.  Senior linebacker Jody Owens dominated in the tackles department, with 107 total stops (58 solo) and 17 of tackles were for loss of yardage, which led the Big Sky.  Also back is last year's league leader in sacks, junior defensive end Brad Daly (12.5 sacks), as well as the team's leader in interceptions in junior linebacker Na'a Moeakiola (3 interceptions for 15 yards).

MY THOUGHTS: These Bobcats are a scary good bunch of football players, and I'd expect them to be dominant again this season.  But there's always that other school in Missoula that could throw a monkey wrench into their national title plans, like they did in Bozeman last season when the Bobcats entered the 2011 Brawl of the Wild ranked #1 in the nation.  This year's installment of the Brawl is in Missoula this year, and the last time the two met there the Bobcats prevailed on a very cold Saturday afternoon, which remains coach Ash's only win against the Grizzlies to this point.

UP NEXT: Eastern Washington

Image credit: Jon Kasper/Big Sky Conference

2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Idaho State

The 2011 season was not kind to the Idaho State Bengals.  They finished the 2011 season with a 2-9 record, not what you would expect out of a team coached by one of the real characters of the Big Sky in head coach Mike Kramer.  But they can only go up from here.

As stated with my Weber State write-up, Kramer is one of two head coaches in the Big Sky that calls their own defensive plays.  And Kramer has been mostly successful wherever he's gone, including at Eastern Washington and Montana State.

The Bengals' passing game was one of the bright spots in an otherwise forgettable season.  Quarterback Kevin Yost is back for his senior season, after just missing out on a 3,000 yard campaign in 2011.  The junior college transfer from Peoria, Arizona had the second-most passing attempts for a season in school history with 493 attempts.  Senior wide receiver Rodrick Rumble is also back, as he had 112 receptions for 1,348 yards and nine touchdowns.

If there's one side of the ball that needs serious work, it's the defense, especially against the run.  The Bengals gave up 250 yards/game against the run (as opposed to giving up a respectable 203 yards/game against the pass).  The team does bring back their leaders in sacks and interceptions, as both defensive lineman Jake Rouser (3.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss) and defensive back Donovan Henley (4 interceptions) are both back for their senior seasons

MY THOUGHTS: The Bengals are young (only 14 seniors on the roster), but the team has a bright future ahead with 43 freshmen on the roster (33 of them true freshmen).  But you can't really win games if you can't run the ball, much less stop it on defense.  Either way, the Bengals have a long way to go, but given Mike Kramer's success as a head coach, they should improve in 2012.

NEXT UP: Montana State

Photo credit: U.S. Presswire

2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Weber State

What a strange offseason this has been for Weber State.

It was already academic the Wildcats would have a new head coach after Ron McBride retired at the conclusion of the 2011 season.  Initially, veteran coach John L. Smith, a one-time graduate assistant at Weber State, was hired to lead the Wildcats program after serving as special teams coach at Arkansas.  But when Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino was fired for his own off-field shenanigans stemming from a motorcycle accident, Smith went back to Fayetteville to keep the Razorback program afloat.

Now, defensive coordinator Jody Sears is serving as head coach, and will already have his hands full in coaching the team's safeties as well.  Sears is one of two Big Sky head coaches serving as their own defensive coordinator (Idaho State's Mike Kramer is the other).  He comes to the Wildcats after serving as an assistant at Washington State under former Eastern Washington head coach Paul Wulff.

The team ran a relatively balanced attack on offense in 2011, averaging 209.5 yards/game in the passing game and 205.5 yards/game on the ground.  Junior running back Josh Booker led the team in rushing last season (118 carries for 715 yards), but senior C.J. Tuckett finished 2011 strong with two huge performances in the Wildcats' last two games (47 carries, 467 yards, and 8 touchdowns).  Starting quarterback Mike Hoke is back as well, after throwing for 19 touchdowns last season.

On defense, the teams leaders in tackles, sacks, and interceptions are all back, and all hail from the state of Oklahoma.  Junior linebacker Anthony Morales led the Wildcats with 115 total tackles (10 for loss of yardage).  Senior defensive lineman Trevor Pletcher had 6.5 sacks, and shared the team lead in tackles for loss with Morales.  Sophomore cornerback Devin Pugh had amazing freshman season (after redshirting in 2010), leading the Wildcats in interceptions with three.

MY THOUGHTS: The Wildcats were picked to finish mid-pack in both coaches' and media polls, and I think that's about where they'll finish the 2012 campaign.  They traditionally have one of the most physical teams in the entire conference, as much of the players are more physically mature than other teams, in large part because some players have served LDS church missions before playing football.  With the talent they have coming back, they should be better than the 5-6 mark they ended last season with.

UP NEXT: Idaho State

Image credit: August Miller/Deseret News

2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Northern Arizona

Moving on with the countdown, it's time to take a look at the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.  If there was one team in the Big Sky that had too many tough losses, it was these young men in Flagstaff.  The team finished the 2011 season with a 4-7 record, and four of their losses were by four points or less.

Despite the disappointing season, head coach Jerome Souers is back for his 15th season as the Lumberjacks' head coach, making him the second longest-tenured head coach in the conference behind UC Davis' Bob Biggs.  During Souers' long tenure in Flagstaff, he has never had a 10-win season in his head coaching career, with his best season coming during the 2003 season as the Lumberjacks finished 9-4.

The Lumberjacks possess one of the best offenses in the conference, as they averaged 435 yards a game last season.  Leading rusher Zach Bauman is back for his senior season, after he set a school record in 2011 with 15 rushing touchdowns, and ran for more than 100 yards seven times during the 2011 season (ended the season with 1,435 yards).  Starting quarterback Cary Grossart is also back, after he threw for 2,745 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2011.

Defensively, co-leader in tackles Craig Frum is back, as he enters his sophomore season.  Frum shared the team lead in tackles with the now-graduated Scott McKeever, with 30 unassisted tackles.  Senior defensive lineman Jarret Bilbrey was number two on the team in quarterback sacks last season, with five of them.  And the team leader in interceptions is back for his senior season in safety Taylor Patton.

MY THOUGHTS: The Lumberjacks have traditionally been a very good team that have typically finished mid-pack year after year.  They just might be the team that always lurks in the weeds, waiting to pounce on anyone at any time.  But if they want to contend for the conference title, they can help their cause by winning the close games.

UP NEXT: Weber State

Photo credit: Josh Biggs/Arizona Daily Sun

2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Portland State

Continuing on with the countdown, it's time to take a look at the Portland State Vikings.  The Jerry Glanville era on the Park Blocks was a rather forgettable one, despite the publicity the Man in Black brought to the program, along with run & shoot offense patriarch Mouse Davis.  Now, the program has been in the hands of Nigel Burton since 2010, and the Pistol offense (which got its start at Nevada and almost every school in the nation is using some form of it) is all the rage in Oregon's largest city.

The Vikings concluded the 2011 season with a 7-4 record, and could very well have been considered for an FCS playoff berth had they not lost their season finale at home to Weber State.  Their biggest win of last season had to be their close 38-36 win over a Montana State team that would later be the top-ranked team in FCS football (before the Bobcats were mauled by the Grizzlies in Bozeman).  Not bad for a team that finished 2-9 in 2010.

On offense, the Vikings do not have a quarterback that completed a pass last season, as last year's starter Connor Kavanaugh graduated over the offseason.  With the wide-open nature of the Pistol offense, Kavanaugh led the Vikings in both passing and rushing, rushing for 1,189 yards and throwing for 1,628 more.  Leading receiver Justin Monahan (52 catches for 707 yards and 6 TDs) is back, but will be catching passes from a new quarterback.

On the defensive side of the football, the team's leaders in tackles and quarterback sacks in 2011 are gone, but the team's leader in interceptions is back.  Linebacker Joel Sisler intercepted three passes while starting 10 games for the Vikings.  The team's #2 sack person is also back, in senior linebacker Ian Sluss (also the team's leading top tackler, as he was third in total tackles).

MY THOUGHTS: The Vikings are a very good football team with a very exciting offensive system.  If they can maintain their level of play from 2011, they could easily make some noise in 2012 and should be in the conversation for a Big Sky championship and an FCS playoff berth.

NEXT UP: Northern Arizona

Image credit: AP/Michael Albans

2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Sacramento State

The 2012 countdown continues with the Sacramento State Hornets.  Last year they finished the 2011 season with a 4-7 record, but two of their four wins were upsets.  They opened the season beating an FBS school, Oregon State, in an overtime thriller.  But their biggest win of 2011 came at home against eventual FCS semifinalist Montana, which was also their first-ever win against a Grizzlies program they had never beaten before, but had come close on four separate occasions.  The most notable occasion was the infamous "PAM Game" in Missoula in 2002, where four Hornet defensive linemen sprayed PAM cooking spray on their jerseys in an attempt to make it tough for Grizzly offensive linemen to block them.
Head coach Marshall Sperbeck is back for his sixth season in charge of the Hornets football program, and has a career record of 24-32 (.429).  His best season came in 2010, where his team went 6-5.

The offense of the Hornets will be young at the skill positions.  Leading receiver Morris Norrise is back for his junior season (38 catches for 471 yards), but the team's leading passer (Jeff Fleming) and leading rusher from 2011 (Bryan Hilliard) graduated in the offseason.  The top returning quarterback is sophomore Garrett Safron and top returning running back is Sam McCowan.

Defensively, the Hornets return their three leading tacklers from 2011.  Junior linebacker Todd Davis, senior defensive back Ryan McMahon, and senior linebacker Jeff Badger (pictured above) are all back, and combined for 267 total tackles last season.

MY THOUGHTS: The Hornets have never won the conference championship in football, and if they can't win most of the close games this season, they may not even get a sniff of the top spot in the conference.

Image credit: hornetsports.com

UP NEXT: Portland State

2012 Big Sky Conference Countdown: Northern Colorado

If there is one team in the Big Sky that's got nowhere to go but up, look no further than Greeley, Colorado and the Northern Colorado Bears.  2011 was not kind to the Bears, and despite the addition of a new head coach in Earnest Cooper, Jr., they did not win a single game last season.  They couldn't even beat Lindenwood, an NAIA school (now transitioning into NCAA Division II), that came into Greeley to open the Bears' season and escaped with a 22-20 upset victory.

If the Bears want to win their first game since 2010 (won at Portland State 35-30 on November 13, 2010), they'll have to improve on both sides of the football.  Offensively, one dimension was a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season in the form of their passing game.  The Bears bring back their leading passer, junior Seth Lobato, who threw for 2488 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.  However, leading receiver Patrick Walker, who had 84 catches for 1171 yards and 10 touchdowns, graduated, leaving the Bears short on production at wide receiver.

The one side of the ball that definitely should improve is their defense.  They gave up a dreadful 35 points a game last season.  But they do return their leaders in tackles, sacks, and interceptions.  Junior linebacker Clarence Bumpas led the Bears with 145 total tackles.  Sophomore defensive end Devontae Chappel recorded a team-high 5.5 sacks.  Senior linebacker Cameron Friend picked off three passes, and was also second on the team in total tackles with 93.

MY THOUGHTS: When you go 0-11 in a season, it's tough finding anything positive with a season like that.  As I said earlier, every bad season has it share of positives, like the play of certain players who stand out.  If the Bears can play hard enough in all their games this season, they can certainly win more than one game in 2012, and snap that embarrassing losing streak that dates back to that bad loss to a now-former NAIA school.

NEXT UP: Sacramento State

Photo credit: uncbears.com