Football Notes - Sept. 6
PDF of Notes
THIS WEEK’S SKY HIGHLIGHTS
Eight Big Sky teams are in action in Week 2, and Saturday features three matchups of Big Sky teams against future Big Sky teams. UC Davis, Southern Utah and Cal Poly all join the Big Sky in 2012. No. 6 Montana State plays its home opener against UC Davis, while No. 15 Montana is at home against Cal Poly. No. 12 Sacramento State, fresh off an upset of Oregon State, travels to Southern Utah. Northern Arizona and Idaho State also play home openers. The Lumberjacks return to the renovated Skydome to take on Fort Lewis, while Idaho State welcomes Western State College to its new turf at Holt Arena...Top-ranked Eastern Washington is at South Dakota of the Great West Conference. Northern Colorado travels to Colorado State. Weber State is at Utah State...Portland State, a 52-0 winner in its opener, has the week off.
THIS WEEK’S SKY SCHEDULE
Saturday, Sept. 10 Time
Northern Colorado (0-1) at Colorado State (1-0) 12:05
Series: CSU leads 16-1. Last Meeting: CSU won 46-14 in 1986
Series Streak: CSU has won 16. TV: the mtn.
UC Davis (0-1) at #6 Montana State (0-1) 1:05
Series: UCD leads 1-0. Last Meeting: UCD won 45-0 in 2006.
Series Streak: UCD has won 1. TV: Max Media (Montana)
Internet: Big Sky TV.
Cal Poly (0-1) at #15 Montana (0-1) 1:05
Series: UM leads 13-2. Last Meeting: CP won 35-33 in 2010.
Series Streak: CP has won one. TV: Montana News Stations (Montana), KSBY (California) Internet: Big Sky TV.
#12 Sacramento State (1-0) at Southern Utah (0-1) 1:05
Series: SUU leads 6-5. Last Meeting: SAC won 23-17 in 2004.
Series Streak: SAC has won three.
TV: KMYU (Utah.) Internet: Big Sky TV.
Fort Lewis (1-0) at Northern Arizona (0-1) 3:05
Series: NAU leads 1-0. Last Meeting: NAU won 41-14 in 1965.
Series Streak: NAU has won 1. TV: NAU TV, Fox College Sports.
Internet: Big Sky TV.
Western State College (0-1) at Idaho State (0-1) 4:05
Series: ISU leads 18-7-1. Last Meeting: WSC won 17-16 in 1962.
Series Streak: WSC has won 1. Internet: Big Sky TV.
#1 Eastern Washington (0-1) at South Dakota (0-1) 4:05
Series: First Meeting. TV: Mid-Co Sports Network
Weber State (0-1) at Utah State (0-1) 6:05
Series: USU leads 11-1. Last Meeting: USU won 56-43 in 2001.
Series Streak: USU has won five.
TIMES LOCAL TO SITE/SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Around the Big Sky
BEAVERS STUNG: The Sacramento State Hornets notched the biggest win in program history last Saturday, stunning Oregon State 29-28 in overtime in Corvallis. Quarterback Jeff Fleming and wide receiver Brandyn Reed connected on the game-winning 2-point conversion just after connecting for a 6-yard touchdown to cut the Beavers’ lead to 28-27. It marked Sacramento State’s first win over an FBS opponent in 11 tries. The victory snapped a 49-game losing streak by Big Sky teams to FBS opponents. The first week of the 2006 season, Montana State beat Colorado, and Portland State beat New Mexico. This also marked the first Big Sky win over a Pac-12 team since Montana opened the 1996 season with a 35-14 win over Oregon State. The Big Sky had lost 29 straight to Pac-12 teams. Sacramento State entered the season ranked 24th in the Sports Network/Fathead.com Preseason Poll, the first time the Hornets had been ranked since early in the 2000 season. The victory catapulted The Hornets to 12th in this week’s poll, the highest ranking in school history. Sacramento State also received three first-place votes. Fleming completed 22-of-35 passes for 257 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Reed and Chase Deadder each caught two touchdown passes. Morris Norrise caught six passes for 89 yards, and also threw a 39-yard touchdown to Reed. Fleming was named the National Player of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards.
CLOSE CALLS: Defending national champion Eastern Washington and Weber State both fell just short of knocking off FBS teams over the weekend. Eastern Washington lost 30-27 to Washington despite outgaining the Pac-12 Huskies 504 to 250. Senior QB Bo Levi Mitchell was intercepted in the end zone with 25 seconds to play. Mitchell completed 39-of-69 passes for 473 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The passes and completions were the second-most in school history, as were the passing yards. Nicholas Edwards hauled in a career-high 12 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. All-American Brandon Kaufman had 10 catches for 140 yards. EWU lost the turnover battle 4-0, and the Huskies scored 17 points off of turnovers….Weber State led Wyoming late, but the Cowboys scored the game-winning touchdown to win 32-28 with 22 seconds to play. Despite the loss, Eastern Washington maintained is No. 1 ranking. Weber State’s 53-yard field goal as time expired was short. Still, it was a solid debut for junior quarterback Mike Hoke, who was making his first start. Hoke shredded the Cowboys defense for 314 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Xavian Johnson caught seven passes for 118 yards with two touchdowns. He was named the National Freshman of the Week by the Sports Network. Sophomore running back Josh Booker rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown…Montana State also competed well against a Pac-12 team. The Bobcats fell 27-10 to Utah on Thursday in Salt Lake City. Utah jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead. The teams each scored 10 points over the final three quarters.
PLAYING UP: The Big Sky went 1-6 in its games against FBS teams over the weekend. Sacramento State was one of two FCS teams to beat an FBS team. Richmond of the CAA beat Duke of the ACC 23-21. The Big Sky and CAA had as many victories over FBS teams as the WAC and Sun Belt, both FBS conferences. The Sun Belt went 0-7 in non-conference games with its only Division I victory coming in a conference matchup. The WAC went 1-6 in non-conference Division I games.