Football

Things to watch: Montana Grizzlies Football Football Fans Receives More Tantalizing News to Cheer About

Nero Scofield

Montana’s defense struggled early in the season, allowing 374, 288, and 364 passing yards in consecutive games against Western Carolina, Eastern Washington, and Weber State during Weeks 4-6.

However, the Grizzlies have since improved, conceding only 284 passing yards over their last two matches. They limited Northern Arizona to 131 yards and Northern Colorado to 153, completing 23 of 50 passes (46%) while securing three interceptions.

“I think we’re starting to find our identity and figuring out where we fit,” said Montana senior safety Jaxon Lee, who was named the Big Sky defensive player of the week for his performance against UNC, which included a pick and seven tackles.

“We’re just learning who we are and what it takes to prevent teams from scoring heavily on us.”

The Grizzlies have allowed only one touchdown in their last two games, which came from an 88-yard trick play involving a short toss during a jet sweep.

This is also the sole offensive play of 30 yards or more that the Grizzlies have permitted in those games, having previously allowed 16 such plays in their first six matches, including 13 against WCU, EWU, and Weber.

“I think for the most part, everyone is fulfilling their roles,” Lee commented on reducing big plays. “They understand their assignments and are executing what they’re taught effectively. We just need to continue cutting down on explosive plays.”

Montana’s defense has recently shifted to incorporating some zone coverages after primarily relying on man-to-man early in the season, which led to struggles in one-on-one matchups. They have allowed seven touchdown passes of 30 yards or more, with six of those occurring during their games against WCU, EWU, and Weber.

Lee’s interception on a deep throw came while he was in man coverage. Jace Klucewich also made a pick in zone coverage, and Caleb Otlewski intercepted a pass while dropping back into a zone.

“It always feels good to get the ball as a defender,” Lee remarked. “Our defense performed well overall. To win games, especially on the road in modern college football, that’s essential. We need to keep improving week by week.”

However, the recent strong performances came against backup quarterbacks. NAU’s PJ London was the third-string quarterback, while UNC’s Kia’i Keone began the year as the seventh on the depth chart and was the fifth QB to start this season.

Montana is set to face tougher quarterback competition on Saturday at Cal Poly, who boast the No. 4 passing offense in the Big Sky. Two weeks later, they will encounter UC Davis’s Miles Hastings, an All-Big Sky first-team quarterback.

“They have a lot of offensive playmakers,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck mentioned regarding Cal Poly.

The Griz travel to California with two defensive shutouts under their belt this season. The only points they allowed in a 59-2 win over Morehead State came from a blocked extra point returned for two points.

Montana also achieved its third consecutive shutout against Northern Colorado, marking the first time they have done so against any current or former Big Sky opponent since the conference’s inception in 1963. The last time they recorded three straight shutouts against any team was from 1933 to 1940 against Montana State during a stretch of eight consecutive shutouts.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a team shutting out a conference opponent three times in a row,” Hauck said. “It’s just another solid performance from our defense, and I was thrilled with that.”

First Look: Cal Poly enters this matchup on a three-game losing streak, with a record of 2-5 overall, 1-3 against Big Sky teams, 1-4 against FCS opponents, and 1-1 at home.

Two of their recent losses have been close, while one was a major setback: a 56-10 defeat at UC Davis on October 12. Most recently, they narrowly lost to Idaho 34-29, having led by 11 points in the second quarter before falling behind by 18 in the fourth and scoring the game’s final 13 points.

“I’ve sensed there’s some belief that they should have won their last game against Idaho,” Hauck noted. “They performed well and were just shy of victory.”

Cal Poly lost 41-38 to Idaho State on October 5 in their only home game against Big Sky opponents, with the Bengals kicking a 24-yard field goal as time expired.

The Mustangs opened their Big Sky campaign with a 28-7 victory against Northern Colorado, marking their first win over an NCAA Division I team after also beating NAIA’s Western Oregon 31-14 at home in their previous game.

Earlier in the season, Cal Poly fell 27-21 to San Diego, a team from the non-scholarship Pioneer League, and then suffered a 41-7 defeat to FBS rival Stanford to start the season 0-2.

The Mustangs have only played three non-conference games this year, even though teams were allowed to play four in the 12-game regular season. This means they have had two bye weeks, the most recent being last weekend.

“In terms of preparation time, it’s possible they have a more complex game plan across all phases because they’ve had more practice time to put it in place,” Hauck noted about facing a team coming off a bye week. “You might see a lot of new elements and a broader strategy to contend with.”

Paul Wulff is in his second year as head coach, holding a 5-13 overall record and a 2-10 mark in Big Sky games since taking the helm. Previously, he coached Eastern Washington to a 53-40 record, earning a share of two Big Sky titles and three FCS playoff appearances from 2000-2007, during which he was named Big Sky coach of the year three times.

Series History: The Griz lead the all-time series 18-5 since their first matchup in 1969. They hold a 13-2 record at home, including 12-2 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, and 5-3 in road games.

Montana has won the last three encounters from 2018 to 2022 after Cal Poly had a three-game winning streak from 2014 to 2016. The Griz are 4-3 since Cal Poly joined the Big Sky.

Bobby Hauck boasts an 8-1 record against Cal Poly over his two tenures as head coach at UM, going 5-1 from 2003-2009 and winning all three matchups since returning in 2018.

This will mark Montana’s first trip to San Luis Obispo since 2018, due to the league’s unbalanced scheduling and the necessity to readjust conference schedules as teams have changed affiliations and rivalries have shifted.

Standings

Team | Big Sky | Overall

  • Montana State: 4-0 | 8-0
  • UC Davis: 4-0 | 7-1
  • Montana: 3-1 | 6-2
  • Idaho: 3-2 | 6-3
  • Northern Arizona: 2-2 | 4-4
  • Weber State: 2-2 | 3-5
  • Idaho State: 2-3 | 4-5
  • Sacramento State: 1-3 | 3-5
  • Cal Poly: 1-3 | 2-5
  • Eastern Washington: 1-3 | 2-6
  • Portland State: 1-3 | 1-6
  • Northern Colorado: 1-3 | 1-7

FCS Top 25 Poll

Rank | Team | Records | Points (1st-place votes)

  1. North Dakota State: (8-1, 5-0 MVFC) | 1,387 points (43)
  2. Montana State: (8-0, 4-0 Big Sky) | 1,350 (13)
  3. South Dakota State: (6-2, 3-1 MVFC) | 1,290
  4. UC Davis: (7-1, 4-0 Big Sky) | 1,196
  5. South Dakota: (6-2, 4-1 MVFC) | 1,174
  6. Southeast Missouri: (8-1, 5-0 Big South-OVC) | 1,106
  7. Tarleton State: (7-1, 4-0 UAC) | 1,012
  8. Montana: (6-2, 3-1 Big Sky) | 941
  9. UIW: (6-2, 3-0 Southland) | 904
  10. Idaho: (6-3, 3-2 Big Sky) | 860
  11. Central Arkansas: (6-2, 3-1 UAC) | 794
  12. Mercer: (7-1, 4-1 SoCon) | 777
  13. Villanova: (6-2, 3-1 CAA) | 708
  14. Rhode Island: (7-1, 4-0 CAA) | 705
  15. North Dakota: (5-3, 2-2 MVFC) | 645
  16. Richmond: (6-2, 4-0 CAA) | 566
  17. Abilene Christian: (5-3, 4-1 UAC) | 512
  18. Chattanooga: (5-3, 4-1 SoCon) | 452
  19. North Carolina Central: (6-2, 2-0 MEAC) | 263
  20. Stony Brook: (6-2, 3-1 CAA) | 259
  21. Illinois State: (5-3, 2-2 MVFC) | 241
  22. Dartmouth: (6-0, 3-0 Ivy) | 227
  23. ETSU: (5-3, 3-1 SoCon) | 199
  24. William & Mary: (5-3, 3-2 CAA) | 170
  25. Tennessee State: (6-2, 3-1 Big South-OVC) | 137

Dropped Out: Western Carolina (24)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots):

  • UT Martin (5-3, 2-1 Big South-OVC) | 119
  • Duquesne (5-2, 3-0 NEC) | 47
  • Harvard (5-1, 2-1 Ivy) | 37
  • Northern Arizona (4-4, 2-2 Big Sky) | 27
  • Jackson State (6-2, 4-0 SWAC) | 25
  • Western Carolina (4-4, 3-1 SoCon) | 21
  • Lamar (5-3, 2-1 Southland) | 9
  • Drake (5-1, 4-0 Pioneer) | 8
  • Stephen F. Austin (5-3, 3-2 Southland) | 8
  • Southern Utah (4-4, 3-1 UAC) | 7
  • Florida A&M (4-3, 2-1 SWAC) | 4

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