Big Sky power rankings

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CURIOSITY PIQUED — Showing tenacious vigor against Utah and Utah State, the Bengals have our attention

Today's crucial matchup and keys to success     

1. Eastern Washington
    Weber State’s Cameron Higgins is the Big Sky Conference’s career leader in touchdown passes with 98. Higgins needed 48 games to set the record.
    Eastern Washington junior Vernon Adams has tossed 91 touchdowns ... in 30 games. Adams, who has completed 68 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and one interception in three games this season, is the early favorite to win the Football Championship Subdivision’s Walter Payton Award.

2. Montana
        It’s a small sample size but Montana has the No. 1 defense in the conference. The Grizzlies, ranked fourth in the country, are holding teams to 287 yards per game.

3. Montana State
    MSU lost one of its all-time greatest quarterbacks of all time in DeNarius McGhee, but the Bobcats’ new signal caller, sophomore Dakota Prukop, showed off a different dimension last week against Black Hills State.
    Prukop went 14-for-16 for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the air, and the Austin, Texas, native ran for 176 yards and another three scores.

4. Northern Arizona
    The Lumberjacks are the first Big Sky team to win on the road this season when they held off Abilene Christian 27-21.

5. Southern Utah
    SUU lost to Nevada 28-19 and then No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana blasted the Thunderbirds 41-14. Southern Utah takes on another ranked opponent today: No. 11 South Dakota State. At least it’s home in Cedar City, Utah.

6. Sacramento State
    In his home debut, Sacramento State’s interim head coach Jody Sears gets to host Weber State, the school that fired him last November.

7. Cal Poly
    Cal Poly’s flaws were exposed in a 44-18 loss at South Dakota State. The Mustangs were gouged for 502 yards of offense, including 318 on the ground. SDSU’s Zach Zenner is one of the best backs in the country.
    The 0-2 Mustangs have a great opportunity to grind out their first win of the season at home Sept. 20 against Portland State.

8. UC Davis
    It’s impossible to tell anything about UC Davis. The Aggies lost big to Stanford and then crushed lower-level opponent Fort Lewis at home. We won’t know much going forward either. Davis is at Colorado State today and doesn’t play a Big Sky opponent until Sept. 27.

9. Weber State
    The Wildcats impressed in a 24-7 loss to No. 1 North Dakota State last week in Ogden, Utah. Weber State could only muster 66 yards rushing on 29 attempts but fighting with the Bison into the second half is no easy task.

10. Idaho State
    Idaho State had better avoid a letdown dropping down to host Division II Chadron State after traveling to two Football Bowl Subdivision teams to start the season.

11. Northern Colorado
    Northern Colorado was a four-touchdown underdog to UNLV, but the Bears nearly pulled off the upset in a 13-12 loss. UNC was particularly good at stopping the pass. The Bears picked off UNLV quarterbacks four times.

12. Portland State
    The Vikings kept it close to Oregon State in a 29-14 loss, but then struggled to hold off Division II’s Western Oregon, giving up 38 points and 413 yards passing.

13. North Dakota
    UND needed to recover three forced fumbles and block two kicks to hold off Robert Morris 16-13.