2016 Season Preview
Head Coach: mraston (85-12); 7th season at NAU;
Last Season’s Record: 15-1 (9-0); Conference Champs
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 115; 2nd Round
Key Matchup(s): Week 2 - @ #14 Alabama A&M, Week 4 - @ #22 Sacred Heart, Week 5 - @ #4 Tennessee Tech, Week 11 - @ #20 Texas State, Week 13 - #25 Sam Houston State
Star Power: TE Robert Norman, TE Roger Barron, OL Brent Phelps,
Notable Additions: #45 Class – RB Timothy Hagan, LB Nathan Peck, LB Patrick Ortiz, P Gordon Nolan
Notable Subtractions: QB Donald Robinson, RB Marvin Whitehead, DL Eugene Salinas, LB Jose Winter, DB William Delaney, K Barry Johnson, P Peter Carlson
Notable Returnees: RB Bryan Sanchez, 834 yards receiving, 7 TD’s;
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will have a winning season if their young QB can limit mistakes. As Steven Davis goes, so goes the Lumberjacks season. They should be competitive in the Big Sky, but the conference continues to improve and it is no cakewalk just to get to the conference championship game. What kind of shape will the Lumberjacks be in when they start nonconference play? The Lumberjacks lost a number of key contributers from last season. Is this a program that reloads or are they rebuilding? Based on the recruiting class, they just get lucky.
Head Coach: eblake (21-9); 3nd season at Cal Poly
Last Season’s Record: 10-5 (7-2); North Divison Champs
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 115; 1st Round
Star Power: WR Paul Newsome, TE John Miller, TE Ernest Bryant, OL Gregory Schneider, LB John Norris,
Notable Additions: #21 Class - OL John Roberson, K Stephen Hamm
Notable Subtractions: QB Jacob Aguirre, DL George Grant, K Phillip Johnston,
Notable Returnees: RB Sean Ivey, 899 yards rushing, 9 rushing TD’s, 118 receptions, 2 receiving TD’s; LB John Norris, 82 Tackles, LB Richard Williams, 82 Tackles; DB Steve Phillips, 4 interceptions
Cal Poly Mustangs will have a winning season if they play up to their capabilities. QB James Taylor is ready to step in and lead the team although questions remain about his knowledge of the offense. The lack of depth at LB and on the defense as a whole is also a concern as there are only 3 seniors on defense. Their schedule is favorable to have a solid season. Cal Poly has a favorable schedule which should allow them to win the Big Sky North but the lack of defensive depth is concerning if they intend to be Big Sky champs.
Head Coach: phimutau (41-17); 5th season at Texas St.
Last Season’s Record: 11-3 (7-1)
Last Playoff Appearance: 115; 1st Round
Key Matchup(s): Week 2 - @ #3 Coastal Carolina, Week 4 - #4 Tennessee Tech, Week 5 - #7 Northeastern, Week 11 - #6 Northern Arizona, Week 12 - @ #25 Sam Houston State
Star Power: QB Joseph Hackett, OL Anthony Griffin,
Notable Additions: #15 class – DL Shane Hagan
Notable Subtractions: TE Jason McKenna, DL James Richardson,
Notable Returnees: QB Joseph Hackett, 3123 yards passing, 16 TD’s; RB William Porter, 1234 yards rushing, 12 TD’s; DB Ernest Newton, 60 tackles, 5 Interceptions
The Texas St Bobcats return most of their key contributors on both sides of the ball as they only graduated 7 seniors. This team will contend for the Big Sky South. The defense will be tough as 19 seniors and juniors make up the roster. The offense is young and QB Joseph Hackett lost his favorite target from a year ago. The Bobcats defense should keep them in games. Are Hackett and Porter enough on offense to bring them wins in their key matchups? Did they schedule themselves out of the playoffs in a crowded IAA world?
Head Coach: bama2448 (32-10); 4th season at Sam Houston St.
Last Season’s Record: 9-5 (6-2)
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 115; 1st Round
Key Matchup(s): Week 2 - @ #7 Northeastern, Week 3 - #11 Columbia, Week 7 - #20 Cal Poly, Week 12 - #20 Texas State, Week 13 - @ #6 Northern Arizona
Star Power: WR Juan Freeman
Notable Additions: #11 class – RB Ramon Cobb, WR Timothy Long, DB Clifford Vaughan, DB Marcus Hunt, QB William Richard, P David Sawyer
Notable Subtractions: RB Earl Day, P William Hale
Notable Returnees: QB Clyde Henson, 2594 yards passing, 23 TD’s; RB Norman Owen, 336 yards rushing, 6 TD’s; WR Joshua Farmer, 1046 yards receiving, 8 TD’s; LB Stephen Sanchez, 96 tackles; DL Timothy McCarthy, 7 sacks; LB Daniel David, 2 interceptions
The Sam Houston St. Bearkats return all of the team leaders in every statistical category from last season. This depth means the Big Sky South should go through Texas this year with the Bearkats being an early favorite. Coach bama2448 finally has all of his own players and should take a major step forward this year. If they can dial in their gameplanning look for the Bearkats to bring the Big Sky title back to Huntsville, TX. The one disadvantage that Sam Houston State has in the journey to the division championship is they play Cal Poly in Week 7 while the other main contenders in the South do not.
Head Coach: spcbuzzard (14-12); 3nd season at St. Mary’s
Last Season’s Record: 7-6 (3-5)
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 102; 1st Round
Key Matchup(s): Week 2 - #24 San Diego, Week 6 - #20 Texas State, Week 8 - @ #6 Northern Arizona, Week 11 - @ #20 Cal Poly
Star Power: OL Michael Horner
Notable Additions: #49 Class – WR Joseph Dukes, P James Edwards, QB Bradley Weaver
Notable Subtractions: LB Jeremy Kennedy, DL Shane Swan, LB Lawrence Tyson, P James Ortiz
Notable Returnees: QB Ramon Haynes, 3310 yards, 17 TD’s; RB Edward Meadows, 734 yards, 2 TD’s; WR Joshua Coffey, 62 receptions, 789 yards, 3 TD’s; LB Francis Baldwin, 6 sacks; DB William Chapman, 2 interceptions;
The St. Mary’s Spires will be looking for a playoff berth in Coach spcbuzzard’s third season and hope to challenge Cal Poly’s Big Sky North dominance. The loss of P James Ortiz has been a concern for the Spires going back to last year. With a small group of seniors, the junior class will need to develop quickly in order for this run to happen. The Spires have a more difficult road to the division championship and this may prove to be the deciding factor in the Big Sky North race.
Head Coach: jt73walsh (19-34); 5th season at Weber St
Last Season’s Record: 1-12 (0-8)
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 112; 1st round
Key Matchup(s): Week 2 - @ #22 Northern Iowa, Week 7 - #6 Northern Arizona, Week 8 - @ #20 Texas State, Week 12 - @ #20 Cal Poly
Star Power: DB Jeffrey Robinson
Notable Additions: #28 Class – OL Harold Williams
Notable Subtractions: RB Craig Salinas, RB Herbert Jones, WR Martin Rodriguez, OL Howard Laird, OL Chris Gamble, OL Melvin McCoy, LB Donald Martin, DB Steven Miller,
Notable Returnees: QB Frank Smith, 1217 yards passing, 3 TD’s; RB Clarence Holloway, 759 yards rushing, 4 TD’s; WR William Goodwin 713 yards receiving, 4 TD’s; DB Jeffrey Robinson, 121 tackles; DL David Marquez, 3 sacks; DB Michael Emery, 3 interceptions
The Weber State Wildcats want anything but a repeat of last season. It is hard to be positive about pieces that return from a 1-12 team but hopefully the experience gained and being a year wiser will allow them to be competitive in Sim AI games. Wins are important for this program to allow them to bring in better talent. If someone other than Jeffrey Robinson is making a tackle for the Wildcats that will be a sign that things are turning around.
Head Coach: kdawg0612 (0-0); 1st season at Montana St
Last Season’s Record: 8-5 (5-3)
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 96; 1st round
Key Matchup(s): Week 9 - @ #25 Sam Houston State, Week 10 - @ Northern Arizona, Week 13 - #20 Texas State
Star Power: DB Jose Ross
Notable Additions: #35 Class – WR Jason Ortiz, TE Charles Mullins, QB Ralph Wynn
Notable Subtractions: QB Richard Wood, RB Richard Smith, WR Reginald James, LB Victor Maynard, DB Dennis Abrams, P Terry Crocker
Notable Returnees: DL Cecil Jones, 8 sacks; DB Albert Morrison, 13 pass deflections;
The Montana State Bobcats have not been competitive in the Big Sky in quite some time. That won’t change this season but the addition of Coach kdawg0612 only improves the competitive landscape for the Big Sky South in seasons to come.
Head Coach: lyonzfan37 (0-0); 1st season at Portland St (Career Record 1591 Wins, 2 National Championships)
Last Season’s Record: 4-9 (2-6)
Last Playoff Appearance: Season 86; 1st round
Star Power: P William Hickman
Notable Additions: #57 Class – QB Theodore Rosales
Notable Subtractions: QB Edward White, RB John Nelson
Notable Returnees: RB Charles Grace, 1482 yards rushing; DB Earl Ortiz, 83 Tackles
The Portland State Vikings are red hot after their initial snubbing in the Season Preview. Coach lyonzfan37 returns to the Big Sky where he won a National Championship with Sam Houston State. He’s been out of action since leaving BYU after season 65. But he is a proven winner who now has a chip on his shoulder as well. Success hasn’t been recent for Portland State but expect big things over the next few seasons. When your Punter is the best player at his position on your roster, expect to see a lot of freshman on the field early. This could be a tough year, but the Vikings are coming to plunder!
