No triple option at Cal Poly anymore. Walsh retired and former EWU coach Beau Baldwin is now the head coach at Cal Poly. Cal Poly will run a Multiple offense. Standard offense will have one back, a TE and 3 WRs.

2020-21 CAL POLY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Feb. 27 - at UC Davis
Mar. 6 - Weber State
Mar. 13 - Southern Utah
Mar. 27 - at Eastern Washington
Apr. 3 - at Northern Arizona
Apr. 10 - UC Davis

2020-21 UC DAVIS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Feb. 27 - CAL POLY
Mar. 6 - at Idaho
Mar. 13 - at Weber State
Mar. 27 - IDAHO STATE
Apr. 3 - EASTERN WASHINGTON
Apr. 10 - at Cal Poly

Don’t feel too bad about losing 2 coaches. Montana State’s head coach Jeff Choate just took the Co-Defensive Coordinator/LB coach position at Texas. The coach that was the front runner to take his place had he taken the Boise State head coaching job, Kane Ioane, is rumored to be leaving for Boise State.

I have a feeling that Cal Poly Safety coach Cody VonApen might follow Plough and Keane to Boise State. He was a Grad Assistant last year in Boise.

From footballsccoop:

Boise State: UC Davis (FCS) offensive line coach Tim Keane has joined the staff in the same capacity. He follows offensive coordinator Tim Plough, who also came from UC Davis.

Northern Colorado opts out of Big Sky Spring schedule.

It is actually better now we that they are back to an even number of teams which makes scheduling 6 games with byes after weeks 3 and 6 for each of the remaining 8 teams possible.

Weber State has been at the top of the Big Sky the last 3 years under Jay Hill. They return Josh Davis and are always one of the top defenses in the Big Sky. I think replacing Constantine might be a benefit. They have a 6’5” 230 pound QB transfer from Middle Tennessee State they are pretty high on and I was never that impressed with Constantine.

All that said my ranking is just a guess with not a lot of research. I was hoping to see what others think.

Dixie State is a member of the WAC.

Also with Southern Utah heading to the WAC in 2022 that will leave the Big Sky with 12 football playing members. I think there is a good chance the Big Sky goes to two six team divisions. Each team plays the 5 teams from their division and 3 from the other division.

My guess at Divisions:

North: EWU, PSU, UM, MSU, UI and ISU

South: UCD, CP, Sac, NAU, WSU and UNC

Another possibility:

Pacific: EWU, PSU, UCD, Sac, CP and NAU

Mountain: UM, MSU, UI, ISU, WSU and UNC

How do you ranked the 9 teams that are playing this spring?

Here is my guess (emphasis on guess):

1) Weber State
2) Eastern Washington
3) NAU
4) UC Davis
5) Idaho
6) Idaho State
7) Cal Poly
8) Northern Colorado
9) Southern Utah

DrMike where did you find the new schedule?

Looks like Cal Poly went from hosting the Aggies in week two to traveling to Davis April 3rd.

Too funny DrMike. Thanks for making me laugh.

I think player safety is a very legit concern as is playing in Montana in February. That said Montana and Montana State knew both of those issues when the conference came to each school about playing a spring season. The only thing that has changed since then is they now know they will not be able to pack their stadiums to help finance a spring season.

I actually think player safety is probably third on their list of reasons to opt out NOW. As I said financial is the primary reason. I have a sneaking suspicion that both coaches feel it gives them an advantage in the fall of 2021. The advantage would be having fresher legs and healthier players compared to the 100+ FCS teams that played 6 to 11 games in the spring. To boot is they can still play 2 games so it is kind of the best of both worlds.

Montana and Montana State can spin it as their first concern is about player safety, but everyone knows if the Griz could put 25,000 fans and the Bobcats could 18,000 fans in the stands for the 3 home games they both would be first in line to play a spring schedule. I am not saying player safety is not a legitimate concern, I am saying their PRIMARY reason for opting out is financial and player safety is a convenient excuse. If player safety is their primary reason they should have made that decision when the conference asked who was in for a 6 game spring schedule like Sac State did.

Plough is a rising star. He was a finalist for the Baylor OC. I can see him having a short stop in Boise on his way to a head coaching job or as a Power 5 OC.

From Pete Thamel:

Sources: Boise State is hiring UC Davis OC Tim Plough as offensive coordinator. Plough worked for Dan Hawkins at UC Davis, which has the most total passing yards at the FCS level the past three seasons. Plough was a finalist for Baylor OC job. Key hire for new coach Andy Avalos.

Link: https://mobile.twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1348450449112920064

With the Aggies first football game scheduled for February 27th they are probably scheduled to begin practice at the end of this month. If Yolo County does not ease restrictions the spring football season seems to be in jeopardy too.

The Mustangs and the Aggies got better and I think are very happy with the recruits they signed during a global pandemic.

That said, looking at 24/7 NAU has the best looking class on paper. They signed a large class of 21 that included 5 3 star athletes with a few of those 3 stars passing up Big 10 and PAC 12 offers.

Portland State and Idaho State did not sign any players which makes you wonder the health of those two programs.

Below is how 24/7 rated the Big Sky classes (take with a grain of salt. They are working off incomplete list and do not grade a lot of athletes in small states like Montana):

1. NAU - 125 (national ranking including FBS)
2. CP - 130
3. Idaho - 131
4. EWU - 134
5. UCD - 140
6. MSU - 145
7. Sac - 150
8. SUU - 152
9. UNC - 172
10. UM - 174
11. WSU - unranked
12/13. PSU and ISU - did not sign any players.