It's the next day and I'm still a little in shock over how yesterday's game ended. The Grizzlies played their ugliest game of the year and managed to escape with a win thanks to a fumbled snap and failed attempt to spike the ball. Credit Hunter Peck for seeing the EWU QB mis-manage the exchange and run through him to create a scrum that would lead the clock hitting zero.
The Montana Grizzlies cannot have a repeat performance of what we saw from essentially the 2nd quarter and on if the team goals are to beat MSU, have a deep playoff run, and return to the natty. After scoring 22 points on their first 3 possessions Montana's next 9 possessions would amass 161 total yards and 7 more points. In the 2nd half the Montana offense would have just 117 yards, and in the 4th quarter alone across 3 possessions Montana would have just 16 yards of offense.
Montana's 350 total yards of offense is their lowest output of the season and it comes at the hands of the 2nd worst statistical defense in the conference
Montana's previously top 3rd down conversion offense winds up going 1-10 on 3rd downs.
Montana would rush for 101 yards, Sac the week before had almost 400.
The Grizzly offense had the ball for just over 22:00 of clock.
Just 13 rush attempts for Eli.
On the other side the defense was hung out to dry, frustrating in a game where early it appeared the Griz would roll and our defensive guys would get some rest with some good chances for depth rotation. Instead the Montana defense was fighting for their lives the whole way and being absolutely decimated in the passing game giving up continued 3rd and long conversions. It really looked like neither man coverage, nor zone was working, the pass rush would be great on 1st or 2nd down, but then get picked up and shut down on 3rd. The Big Sky Conference has now updated the combined conference stats
Montana has the worst passing defense in the Big Sky, statistically. You don't win championships with performances like this.
Worst 3rd down offense in the conference goes 11-21 against the defense.
An RS frosh with 3 prior games under his belt, in his first start, throws for 451 yards.
An EWU WR playing in place of an injured one with 90 yards on the season goes for 133 yards and 1 TD.
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There's plenty of silver lining here, Montana played this poorly, especially on offense, for 3/4ths of a game and still won, we had some amazing early plays and performances, and even in a tough spot the defense kept battling the whole way and did just enough, barely, to hold on for the win. As discussed a bit last night on twitter, good Grizzly teams have struggled before in "ugly" wins. I was at the 2009 ISU game where an undefeated Montana had a kick a game winning field goal to beat a winless Bengal team 12-10.
Ugly games can happen, however this is a growing concern that's not just a single game issue. Montana has now shown issues in games where they cannot play consistently and cannot put their opponent away. Cal Poly needed a 2nd half surge after no points scored in the first half. Idaho State throws an incomplete pass out of the endzone to turnover on downs and lose at the end. Sacred Heart is within 8 points with 6:46 to go in the game. Weber hangs around and Montana only scores 1 time in the 2nd half against them. And then there was yesterday.
There's presumably no dramatic change that can happen, the defensive secondary is beat up, but I also don't think that if/when Loud returns all will be fixed and fine. There's broader concerns that aren't solved by 1 player. Beyond the defense though, my greatest concern is the offense and it's inability to be consistent through games. Are these guys losing focus? Are they more banged up than we possibly know? Are they just not as good as a unit as their early stats suggested? Is this a growing pain issue with so many transfers?
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End of the day, Montana's 10-0 and now going to hit the road for the trap game of the century with a brawl looming against a Cat team that is firing on all cylinders. While I'm trying to avoid the sense of doom rising within me, let's focus on some points from yesterday that goes beyond all of the concerns stated above.
- What a catch by Hendrix, maybe one of the better/best ones I've ever seen in that stadium Brooks Nuanez with Skyline had an amazing photo of it too. In a game where Brooks Davis was pretty severely limited it was cool to see Hendrix step up. If you haven't seen it, here it is, with the article source as well:
MISSOULA, Montana — The Griz got to 10-0 how? The last few weeks, the Montana Grizzlies looked like a team that was gaining steam and reaching new levels as the wins kept piling up. And while Saturday’s 29-24 victory against Eastern Washington moves UM to 10-0 for the first time since 2009 and...
skylinesportsmt.com
- Have a day Kellen Detrick, 3.5 TFLs / 3 sacks. I really like stories like his, battling injuries most of his career, missing a few seasons from it, and having just 1 sack before yesterday total over his time here - and he gets 3 of them! Watching him in fall camp practice I could hear him as a vocal leader with the D-line and his play has really been rewarded this year. Really happy for the guy.
- Kenzel Lawler our CB1 was battling yesterday, 1 pick, probably should've had a 2nd, 9 tackles! Our CB room is thin, even more after yesterday, but he's still out there and doing as much as he can.
- If there's one thing Aaron Best does well, it's decimate the 3-3-5 defense that Montana has had since Bobby brought it here in 2018. He just knows how to pick it apart, and I'm sure both Barnum and Vigen are going to be on the phone with him a lot in the weeks ahead.
- Solid day for Ramos with 2 sacks as well, and the Grizzly rush defense did good too - granted EWU just kind of gave up trying to run the ball - they still held EWU to an average of 1 yard per carry (thanks to those 8 sacks) - if you back out the sacks the EWU offense was still held under 4ypc.
- Gillman coming up short on a swing pass at mid-field seemed like such a pivotal moment in the game.
- How many 3rd and medium/long plays did the called play be a screen or short pass well beyond the line to gain? Didn't work yesterday at all.
- Tremendous punt return by Deck, caught by his heel or it's a house call.
- Wortham was super dangerous in the passing game, fun to see him burn up his old team, just wish we could've highlighted him more all over the field.
- Jake Mason with some great interior line disruption early in the game.
- Wing, Tolbert, Solo, and Oven have to be gassed today, those guys were tasked with so much blitzing / pursuit / aggressive plays at the line.
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Here's my hope for the upcoming week - a return to better consistency on offense. That will go a long ways in putting my mind at ease. Let's start there because we have seen and know they can do that. Griz are 10-0, the best record they can have at this point, they're solidly IN the playoffs, and they're 1 more win away from a round 1 bye. Lots to focus on, lots to clean up. Their best game is hopefully still in front of them - let's keep it rolling!
Go Griz
--the first turbulence, " We're going to die, crash and burn, we're all crispy critters !!! "
nailed it.
