In 2003, no other conference made as much of an improvement in conference strength than the Big Sky, as evident by the move to #2 in the final Pete's Conference Poll. This year, the other I-AA conferences could easily find themselves taking a "back seat" to the BSC in our poll. With expected great showings by NAU, EWU, ISU, and last year's sleeper ... Weber St., the conference has much to prove. Now factor in Montana and a Montana St. club that will to have put some emphasis on defense. Then look at Idaho St., with what we feel is a very underrated 5th in the coaches poll. This will be the most exciting conference to watch in 2004. Some very interesting schedules are certainly a plus:

Games of Interest: 11-Sep SSU at Nevada; 18-Sep ISU at Northern Colorado; 25-Sep McNeese State at PSU; 6-Nov N Dakota St. at Weber St.; 2-Sep EWU at Nicholls State; 20-Nov Northern Iowa at NAU; 4-Sep Maine at Montana; 20-Nov Montana State at Montana

1. Sacramento St.: The Hornets look to improve in 2004, but certainly have a tough schedule ahead, as they are rated the most difficult slate in the Big Sky. An extra week of practice for coach Mooshagian's club, as their opener at Nevada has been moved to 9/11, before the Hornets will play 3 of their first 4 "on-the-road". The 2004 slate includes 6 road matches that will see Nevada, UC-Davis, NAU, ISU, EWU and Montana away from "friendly territory". Home contests including Southern Utah, PSU, Weber, Montana St., and a very tough Cal-Poly will bring fans some very exciting home dates as well. That 9/20 match with the Mustangs will be a very crucial game, as Poly should be in line for a post-season bid, and maybe even the Hornets could be playing for a spot.
   
   4-Sep OPEN
   11-Sep at Nevada
   18-Sep Southern Utah
   25-Sep at UC Davis
   2-Oct at Northern Arizona*
   9-Oct Portland St.*
   16-Oct Weber St.*
   23-Oct at Idaho St.*
   30-Oct at E. Washington*
   6-Nov Montana St.*
   13-Nov at Montana*
   20-Nov Cal Poly
   
   
   
   
   
2. Idaho State: Despite last season's performance (#2 in the conference), many prognosticators do not expect to see much from ISU in 2004. Although we certainly think these people are very wrong, this very difficult schedule is not in favor of the Begals. Coach Lewis' club will see 6 road games ... against San Diego St., Northern Colorado, EWU, Montana, PSU and Southern Utah. The home slate is equally difficult ... if not more ... featuring Cal-Poly, MSU, and NAU. Coach Lewis seems to have turned a corner in Pocatello; will the Bengals see another 8+ win season?
   
   4-Sep at San Diego State
   11-Sep Cal Poly
   18-Sep at Northern Colorado
   25-Sep at E. Washington*
   2-Oct Montana State
   9-Oct at Montana*
   16-Oct OPEN
   23-Oct Sacramento State*
   30-Oct Weber State*
   6-Nov at Portland State*
   13-Nov Northern Arizona*
   20-Nov at Southern Utah
   
   
   
   
   
3. Portland State: Last season, Pete's was very high on the Vikings. With opening wins against DII power A&M-Kingsville and a solid Nicholls St., things looked right. However, it was not to be the case, as various items saw coach Walsh's club lose 7 of it's last 9 ... many by large margins. However, we remain positive on the Vikings in 2004, even though the schedule may not. All though PSU has 6 home games; they include OOC bouts with super-power McNeese and a rising star in Davis ... along with Montana, MSU, ISU, and EWU. A road tilt with Fresno St. is timed perfectly after a DII opener and an idle week.
   
   2-Sep Western State (CO)
   11-Sep OPEN
   18-Sep at Fresno State
   25-Sep McNeese State
   2-Oct E Washington*
   9-Oct at Sacramento St.*
   16-Oct at Montana State*
   23-Oct at Northern Arizona*
   30-Oct Montana*
   6-Nov Idaho State*
   13-Nov at Weber State*
   20-Nov UC Davis
   
   
   
   
4. Weber State: Another of our very intelligent schedules is the trademark of the 2004 Weber St. schedule. A home opener with Southern Utah is followed by what should be a very good game at UTEP. The conference slate of contests is very well mixed ... home vs. away. They move into the new GWFC contests twice, and add an interesting match with N. Dakota St., as opposed to the more traditional OOC foe (for BSC members) in Cal-Poly. I really love this schedule.
   
   4-Sep Southern Utah
   11-Sep at Texas-El Paso
   18-Sep UC Davis
   25-Sep at Northern Arizona*
   2-Oct Montana*
   9-Oct at Montana State*
   16-Oct at Sacramento St.*
   23-Oct E. Washington*
   30-Oct at Idaho State*
   6-Nov N Dakota St.
   13-Nov Portland State*
   20-Nov OPEN
   
   
   
   
5. Eastern Washington: Don't let the #5 ranking fool you ... this is a very rough schedule of the Eagles. The opener in Thibodaux is a most difficult task; just ask any coach in the Southland. Then EWU travels to Air Force to face that massive IA option attack. What makes this schedule some what under-rated is the fact that "folks from Cheney" will see their beloved birds 4 times in a one month period from 9/18 through 10/16. In that period they will luxury (if we can call it that) to host ISU, NAU and Montana ... all in the confines of Woodward Stadium.
   
   2-Sep at Nicholls State
   11-Sep at Air Force
   18-Sep Central Washington
   25-Sep *Idaho State
   2-Oct at *Portland State
   9-Oct *Northern Arizona
   16-Oct *Montana
   23-Oct at *Weber State
   30-Oct *#Sacramento State
   6-Nov Cal Poly
   13-Nov at *Montana State
   20-Nov OPEN
   
   
   
6. Northern Arizona: The "boys from Flagstaff" look to 'set the I-AA world aflame' in 2004, and this schedule has everything they need to accomplish this. As with the #5 EWU, the Lumberjack schedule strength is hidden by many factors. Although Arizona has been struggling for quite some time now, they are still a very respected IA club, but things are not expected to improve in 2004. This year, in a battle of "Northern's", the 'Jacks will host national power Panthers of UNI and also face Stephen F. Austin of the Southland. SFA is a club that saw massive improvement in 2003 & should be even better in '04. What starts out at #5 in the preseason schedule rankings, could end up being the most powerful by season's end. This is a great schedule, despite the "money game" in week-1 (that will be closer than most think) ... and the mid-season sub-IAA "warm-up".
   
   4-Sep at Arizona
   11-Sep at Stephen F. Austin
   18-Sep OPEN
   25-Sep Weber State*
   2-Oct Sacramento State*
   9-Oct at E. Washington*
   16-Oct Western New Mexico
   23-Oct Portland State*
   30-Oct Montana State*
   6-Nov at Montana*
   13-Nov at Idaho State*
   20-Nov Northern Iowa
   
   
   
   
7. Montana State : The Bobcats have a very good chance to finish at, or near, the top of the Big Sky and see an invite to the "dance" in 2004. Although very rough at points, this schedule is definitely an asset. The opening week idle will afford coach Kramer's club a chance to prepare for the season, with another week to worry about a sub-IAA warm-up to see the results. Reality breaks quickly in weeks 3 and 4, as consecutive road tilts against Colorado St. and Idaho St. follow. The Bobcats must win one of those two games ... ISU the more likely. A nice 3-game home stance follows with Weber, PSU and an unknown in S. Dakota St.. As has been the case in the past couple of years ... the finally against the Grizzlies should determine the conference outcome. The difficulty of this schedule is that the Bozeman face all 3 conference powers (NAU, Montana & ISU) on-the-road.
   
   4-Sep OPEN
   11-Sep Adams St.
   18-Sep Cal Poly
   25-Sep at Colorado St.
   2-Oct at Idaho St.*
   9-Oct Weber St.*
   16-Oct Portland St.*
   23-Oct S. Dakota St.
   30-Oct at Northern Arizona*
   6-Nov at Sacramento St.*
   13-Nov E. Washington*
   20-Nov at Montana*
   
   
   
   
8. Montana: Is the term "manna" too strong? I had 3 people check this schedule and yes, the Grizzlies have 7 home games in 2004. These seven games include all of the conference powers. In addition, OOC matches with Maine and Hofstra are also on friendly soil. Road games include BSC games in Weber, EWU, and PSU ... along with Southland basement-dwellar Sam Houston. This is not to say there are no tough teams (especially with Maine looking to compete in the A-10 in 2004) on the Grizzlies slate ... but it sure is nice to know they are almost all coming to see you.
   
   4-Sep Maine
   11-Sep Hofstra
   18-Sep @ Sam Houston State
   25-Sep Northern Colorado
   2-Oct @ Weber State *
   9-Oct Idaho State *
   16-Oct @ Eastern Washington *
   23-Oct OPEN
   30-Oct @ Portland State *
   6-Nov Northern Arizona *
   13-Nov Sacramento State *
   20-Nov Montana State*