Had a *little* too much fun last night, what a great evening though - the vibes were strong, the drinks were strong, and the Grizzlies kicked some Vandal ass all night long. I was nervous about this game all week, and then about an hour before kickoff my nerves were all but gone. It was a perfect Missoula evening, the sun was setting, it was in the low 70's and cooling down, and the fans were ready let Idaho hear from them. At that point it really felt to me that there was no chance the dog ass Vandals could handle this atmosphere and this team.
What's funny is in some cases if you pull the stats, it looks like it was a little more evenly matched, but Idaho's two late scores and sudden life on offense really pumped up a lot of their numbers. 240 of their 370 on offense came in 3 of their last 4 drives. Meanwhile when the game was more on the line they had three 3 and outs in their first 4 possessions and two more 3 and outs to open the 2nd half. The Grizzly defense put up a tremendous effort, kept the Idaho QB off schedule all night, and really rose to the occasion.
Going into this game Idaho had (in conference) the 2nd best scoring defense, and allowed 41 points. They had the #2 rush defense (127 per game) and gave up 190 rushing yards & 4 rushing TDs. They had the #2 running offense and managed just 108 yards all night long which is just about 1/2 their typical output. They averaged 35 minutes of TOP per game, and last night they had the ball for just 26:13. Props to the players and the coaching staff, they knew exactly what needed to be done to decimate this Idaho team and they executed it well.
Met a handful of Idaho fans last night at the game, gave a few some beers - all good dudes. I know I had some fun cashing receipts on twitter but honestly their fan base are good people. I also loved that the UM clapped back from Idaho's "Stein Wars" gameday poster that had Monte as Emperor Palpatine - and if you're a Star Wars dork like me you'll probably get the title of this thread too haha.
A few more quick thoughts:
- I said the OL had to have their best game of the year, and they sure did, the pass protection was ON POINT, and the run game got going as the game went on as well. Hats off to those guys, this is the level of play the Griz need from here on out (or better) and they got it done against a very talented Idaho front.
- I wanted to see how Ah Yat would stack up against a good defense and he shined as well. Last year in a late game under the lights the Griz opened hot but fell apart after KAY getting hurt. This time, he looked like a seasoned veteran of the game and found his targets to pick apart the Vandal defense, and ran when he needed to - an played smart and safe the whole night.
- Eli Gillman's march for the Payton award continues, dude diced up a very good defense!
- The law offices of Deck, Davis, and Wortham had a great night, 5, 4, and 5 catches, 67, 63, and 55 yards. The passing game was set up really well to spread the ball out and these guys made Idaho pay.
- Really bummed to see Loud hurt, and late. Didn't look good out there. Corner is pretty thin as it is and I'm assuming he's going to miss some time.
- 3rd game in a row where Kade Boyd has been involved in a turnover if I recall correctly! This time a fumble recovery that slammed the door shut on any late hopes Idaho might've had
- Great game for Hunter Peck too, back to back plays with TFLs including a sack.
- Seeing both Diezel Wilkinson (former Vandal) and Michael Wortham (former Eag) signing the fight song and hoisting the Stein after the game was great!
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No time to rest for the Grizzlies, their first road trip to statistically one of the best passing offense in the conference at Idaho State - rest up Griz and let's keep this rolling!
Go Griz!
What's funny is in some cases if you pull the stats, it looks like it was a little more evenly matched, but Idaho's two late scores and sudden life on offense really pumped up a lot of their numbers. 240 of their 370 on offense came in 3 of their last 4 drives. Meanwhile when the game was more on the line they had three 3 and outs in their first 4 possessions and two more 3 and outs to open the 2nd half. The Grizzly defense put up a tremendous effort, kept the Idaho QB off schedule all night, and really rose to the occasion.
Going into this game Idaho had (in conference) the 2nd best scoring defense, and allowed 41 points. They had the #2 rush defense (127 per game) and gave up 190 rushing yards & 4 rushing TDs. They had the #2 running offense and managed just 108 yards all night long which is just about 1/2 their typical output. They averaged 35 minutes of TOP per game, and last night they had the ball for just 26:13. Props to the players and the coaching staff, they knew exactly what needed to be done to decimate this Idaho team and they executed it well.
Met a handful of Idaho fans last night at the game, gave a few some beers - all good dudes. I know I had some fun cashing receipts on twitter but honestly their fan base are good people. I also loved that the UM clapped back from Idaho's "Stein Wars" gameday poster that had Monte as Emperor Palpatine - and if you're a Star Wars dork like me you'll probably get the title of this thread too haha.
A few more quick thoughts:
- I said the OL had to have their best game of the year, and they sure did, the pass protection was ON POINT, and the run game got going as the game went on as well. Hats off to those guys, this is the level of play the Griz need from here on out (or better) and they got it done against a very talented Idaho front.
- I wanted to see how Ah Yat would stack up against a good defense and he shined as well. Last year in a late game under the lights the Griz opened hot but fell apart after KAY getting hurt. This time, he looked like a seasoned veteran of the game and found his targets to pick apart the Vandal defense, and ran when he needed to - an played smart and safe the whole night.
- Eli Gillman's march for the Payton award continues, dude diced up a very good defense!
- The law offices of Deck, Davis, and Wortham had a great night, 5, 4, and 5 catches, 67, 63, and 55 yards. The passing game was set up really well to spread the ball out and these guys made Idaho pay.
- Really bummed to see Loud hurt, and late. Didn't look good out there. Corner is pretty thin as it is and I'm assuming he's going to miss some time.
- 3rd game in a row where Kade Boyd has been involved in a turnover if I recall correctly! This time a fumble recovery that slammed the door shut on any late hopes Idaho might've had
- Great game for Hunter Peck too, back to back plays with TFLs including a sack.
- Seeing both Diezel Wilkinson (former Vandal) and Michael Wortham (former Eag) signing the fight song and hoisting the Stein after the game was great!
--------------
No time to rest for the Grizzlies, their first road trip to statistically one of the best passing offense in the conference at Idaho State - rest up Griz and let's keep this rolling!
Go Griz!
