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Around FCS: Change Afoot In The Big Sky

Cfootball Betting Lines

08/12/2008 - Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the past 10 years, Montana has earned at least a share of the Big Sky Conference championship. And for 15 years, the Grizzlies have been a permanent fixture in the FCS playoffs.

But the Grizzlies face their strongest challenge in years as they try to keep those incredible streaks alive.

"I really don't know what the season will hold," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said of one of the most inexperienced Grizzly teams in several years. "But we've been here before."

In 2004, Hauck pointed out, the Grizzlies also had some experience questions, but they responded by advancing to the national championship game.

Strengths for Montana include a solid and deep offensive line, veteran senior Cole Bergquist at quarterback, and one of the country's top defenders in strong safety Colt Anderson. But the Grizzlies must replace their all-time leading rusher Lex Hilliard, Buchanan Award-winning defensive end Kroy Biermann, the leading kick scorer in FCS history in Dan Carpenter and the bulk of their receiving corps.

Of bigger concern for Montana is the fact that the Big Sky race could be more competitive than it has been in years.

Eastern Washington, after its march to the FCS quarterfinals last year, is poised to be even better in 2008 and Northern Arizona is on an upswing in recruiting that could vault it into top shelf nationally.

Teams like Weber State and Montana State have high hopes for improvement, and Sacramento State could be a surprise in the second year of coach Marshall Sperbeck. Portland State is a great unknown with an improved defense and a truckload of new players on offense, while Idaho State and Northern Colorado are hoping to make strides.

As much out of respect as anything else, coaches and media in the Big Sky voted Montana to finish first in the conference again, but maintaining those epic streaks has never been tougher.

Listed below is The Sportsbook Betting Lines's take on the conference race and is the first of 14 league previews that will be run in the days to come as we dissect the 2008 FCS season.

1. Eastern Washington (9-4 in conference, 6-2 overall, second)

For most teams, the loss of a coach the caliber of Paul Wulff would be enough to downgrade expectations. But the Eagles have had about as easy a transition as possible with the hiring of former offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin.

"It's never easy, but this has been about as easy as it could have been," said Baldwin, who was the offensive coordinator from 2003-06 at EWU and coached 2005 Payton Award quarterback Erik Meyer before moving to Central Washington as head coach. Baldwin was 10-3 last year and won a pair of Division II playoff games.

The Eagles' strength is at the offensive skill positions, with quarterback Matt Nichols (3,744 yards, 34 TDs), running back Dale Morris (930 yards, 12 TDs), fullback Alexis Alexander and All-American receiver Aaron Boyce (85 catches, 15.4 average, 10 TDs). Boyce must recover from off-season shoulder surgery and Morris needs to stay healthy following some foot woes, but EWU also has some depth at both positions.

Look for speedster Tony Davis (48 catches in 2006) to return from an injury- plagued year to possibly replace Boyce as the go-to pass catcher for Nichols, with Brynsen Brown (52 catches, 14.5 average) another big target.

The biggest concern is rebuilding an offensive line that lost stalwarts Matt Alfred and Rocky Hanna, but the Eagles always seem to be able to reload up front, and second-team All-Big Sky tackle Zach Wasielewski is someone to build around.

EWU was vastly improved on the defensive side of the ball last year, giving up nearly five less points per game. All-American defensive end Greg Peach (5.5 sacks) and talented defensive tackle Lance Witherspoon are keys in the trenches.

The Eagles lost safeties Gregor Smith and Bryan Jarrett and linebacker Jared Kuhl, but have players waiting in the wings to fill in. Overall, EWU has 27 players with starting experience returning.

2. Northern Arizona (6-5, 5-3, third)

The Lumberjacks played a brutal schedule last year that included road games at three-time national champion Appalachian State and Arizona, and home contests against playoff teams from Montana and Eastern Washington, and finished 6-5. But the lessons learned from that experience and some reinforcements may have helped NAU become a playoff team this season.

"We have pretty high expectations for ourselves this season," said coach Jerome Souers.

Northern Arizona has playmakers spread across the field on both sides of the ball. Junior Alex Henderson (908 yards, 6.0 average) is ready to take a bow as one of the top runners in FCS, while Shaun Fitzpatrick (28 catches, 12.9 average) is a top-flight tight end who can stretch defenses. Skyler Moore (39 catches, 17.6 average, nine TDs in 2006) is healthy again and should scare secondaries around the Big Sky.

There is a battle underway at quarterback with returning starter Lance Kriesien (1,897 yards passing, 686 yards rushing, 18 combined TDs) fighting Mississippi transfer Michael Herrick, SMU transfer Corey Slater and highly- touted freshman Cary Grossart for playing time. If the speedy Kriesien loses his starting quarterback job, look for him to get the ball as a runner and receiver.

On defense, cornerback K.J. Gerard and safety Cyrus Igono are the best players at their positions nationally. Igono is also a special teams ace. Linebackers Stevon Thomas and Cody Dowd came on strong last year.

Robby Dehaze is a huge weapon as a punter, averaging 43.3 yards during his career. He is 40-of-54 on field goals.

3. Montana (11-1, 8-0, first)

The Grizzlies will need big performances from stars such as Bergquist and Anderson and for plenty of inexperienced performers to step up on defense and at receiver for Montana to compete for another Big Sky title and playoff berth.

Bergquist is one of the top quarterbacks in the country in clutch situations, but needs to play more consistently throughout games. Running back Thomas Brooks-Fletcher and fullback Kevin Klaboe could help give the Grizzlies a solid running game, but Marc Mariani and Rob Schulte (29 combined catches) need to develop quickly at the receiver positions.

The offensive line could be the best in FCS with center J.D. Quinn, guard Colin Dow and tackle Brent Russum potential All-Americans and plenty of depth behind them.

There are seven starters back on defense. Defensive tackle Craig Mettler and the hard-hitting Anderson - the only member of the secondary returning - are among the standouts.

Besides losing the dependable Carpenter at kicker, the Grizzlies must also replace one of the top punters in the Big Sky, Tyson Johnson.

4. Weber State (5-6, 4-4, tied for fourth)

The Wildcats could be one of the biggest surprises in the Big Sky, if they can overcome a tough early schedule that includes games at Hawaii and Utah. The Utah contest should be an emotional one for Weber State coach Rob McBride, who coached the Utes for 13 years.

Weber State should be explosive on offense with sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins throwing to a group of speedy receivers like Bryant Eteuati (53 catches, 13.6 average) and Tim Toone (32 catches, 21.8 average, 10 TDs). Eteuati is also one of the nation's most dangerous returnmen.

The Wildcats are also stacked in the running game with Trevyn Smith (1,314 yards, seven TDs) and fullback Marcus Mailei heading up the ranks. But WSU must replace a couple of linemen, David Hale and Dimitri Tsoumpas, it lost to the NFL and CFL respectively.

WSU should be greatly improved on the defensive front, with nose tackle Bryce Scanlon leading the way. Junior college J.D. Folsom and Ryan Galovic are expected to make a big impact in the linebacking corps, as should former Utah State performer Clayton Swan.

Cornerback Josh Morris leads a secondary that returns three starters.

"Everything in this league depends on being healthy," said McBride. "We should be a lot better, but you have to prove it on the field first."

5. Sacramento State (3-8, 3-5, tied for sixth)

Marshall Sperbeck freely admitted that it took some time for him to adjust from the success he had in the California junior college ranks to life in FCS. But now in his second year, Sperbeck thinks the Hornets are ready to make a move in the Big Sky.

"We have a better idea about the conference and about our team," said Sperbeck.

It doesn't take much knowledge to know that the Hornets have one of the top linebacking duos in FCS with Cyrus Mulitalo and Mike Brannon manning the middle of the defense.

Mulitalo (98 tackles, 13.5 for loss) is a serious Buchanan Award candidate as a middle linebacker. Brannon (81 tackles, 18 for loss, 9.5 sacks) takes advantage of his speed to hurt offenses with his blitzes.

Sacramento State should show its biggest improvement on offense. Quarterback Jason Smith (1,826 yards, 10 TDs) has a year of experience under his belt and sophomore Bryan Hilliard ((826 yards, 5.4 average, seven TDs) could be ready for a breakout season. Also expect big things out of receiver Tony Washington (29 catches, 14.3 average).

6. Montana State (6-5, 4-4, tied for fourth)

It was a year of highs and lows for Montana State. Former Drake coach Rob Ash replaced Mike Kramer late in the spring and it took most of the season for the new staff and the players to adjust to each other. Still, the Bobcats were ranked in the top 20 before losing three of their last four games.

"I feel a whole lot better than a year ago," said Ash. "The relationships (between coaches and players) are vastly improved, not that we didn't like each other, we didn't know each other."

The defense will be the centerpiece of this team, with linebacker Bobby Daly (135 tackles, 15.5 for loss, five sacks) as the key. Daly placed sixth in the Buchanan Award voting last season and is one of the most difficult players in FCS to block. Defensive end Dane Fletcher (19 tackles for loss) is another important defender for a squad that returns only five starters.

The Bobcats lost quarterbacks Jack Rolovich and Cory Carpenter to graduation, but Oregon transfer Cody Kempt or JC transfer Mark Iddins should provide a talented replacement.

There shouldn't be many questions at running back, with Demetrius Crawford (868 yards, 4.9 average, five TDs) and Aaron Mason (645 yards, 4.2 average, nine TDs in 2006) ready to get the call. Guard Jeff Hansen is one of the nation's best linemen and will open up holes for Crawford and Mason.

7. Portland State (3-8, 3-5, tied for sixth)

With the hiring of Jerry Glanville last year, many observers picked Portland State as a potential playoff team. But the Vikings collapsed behind a porous defense and injuries.

Glanville is still trying to bring in players that fit his system and a host of new athletes make it difficult to predict where the Vikings will finish this season.

"We'll be full of surprises," said Glanville. "We'll have a lot of 17 and 18 year olds in the lineup and 17 and 18-year olds are full of surprises."

The Vikings gave up 38 points per game last season (110th in FCS), but the defense has every chance to be vastly improved this year after a year of learning the blitz-oriented 3-4 formation.

Middle linebacker Andy Shantz (85 tackles in nine games) could be the first FCS linebacker taken in next year's NFL draft. He is surrounded by good talent in fellow linebackers K.J. McCrae and Ryan Pederson.

The offense will be incredibly young, but it does have one of the top fullbacks in FCS, Bobby McClintock, and two talented quarterbacks, Tygue Howland and Drew Hubel, returning.

Howland won the job last fall before being sidelined by a broken foot. Hubel came on as a freshman and threw for 1,470 yards in four starts and tied an NCAA record with nine TD passes against Weber State. Raymond Fry and Tracy Ford transferred in from Idaho to bolster the receiving corps.

One of the biggest losses for Portland State is All-American Brennen Carlvalho, the 2007 Rimington Award winner (top center below the FBS level).

8. Idaho State (3-8, 2-6, eighth)

John Zamberlin was more worried about building for the future than with wins last year, his first with the Bengals.

"A foundation and attitude is in place," said Zamberlin, who learned from Bill Parcells as an NFL player. "Now we need to become closer as a team."

There are components for success in the Idaho State program. Eddie Thompson (83 catches, six TDs) is one the nation's top receivers and punt returners (11.0 per return), while cornerback D.J. Clark and linebacker Ryan Phipps (116 tackles) are key defensive performers.

There were growing pains with Russel Hill (2,313 yards, 14 TDs) starting as a freshman at quarterback, but Hill should be ready to make major contributions this season in the Bengals' second year of the spread.

One major loss is graduated running back Josh Barnett (1,055 yards, 5.0 average), who was the third leading rusher in the Big Sky last year and second in 2006. Fullback Clint Knickrehm (260 yards, 5.1 average) is the top returning runner.

9. Northern Colorado (1-11, 1-7, ninth)

The Bears cast off a huge albatross last season when they beat Montana State for their first Big Sky victory.

"We gained some momentum our last four games," said coach Scott Downing, who enters his third year. "We could see it in our confidence."

Northern Colorado still faces a big deficit in talent, but hopes that some key additions will lead to improvement, particularly on defense.

The Bears ranked last in the Big Sky and 99th in FCS last year in defense, but they can build around solid linebackers in Cristian Sarmento (131 tackles) and Joe Kenney (86 tackles) and Asa Matthews. Defensive end John Eddy had seven sacks last year and will be helped by the return from injury of Ethan Davis and the addition of JC transfer Tony Kolone on the line. The secondary needs a substantial upgrade, however.

Florida transfer Brian Wagner will take over at quarterback and could spark an offense that averaged just 11.3 points per game (113th in FCS) last year. Tight end Ryan Chesla, one of the best in FCS, should be Wagner's main target. David Woods (715 yards, 4.0 average, five TDs) leads the running game.