We’re taking an early look at Oregon’s opponents for the 2019 regular season. This 12-part series will feature analysis and insight from beat reporters who cover the teams Oregon will play this year.
Montana
Game date & time: Autzen Stadium, Sept. 14 at 7:45 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network
2018 record: (6-5, 4-4 Big Sky)
Coach: Bobby Hauck, 2nd year of 2nd stint at Montana and 9th overall (99-70 overall, 84-20 at Montana)
Returning starters: 10 offense, 9 defense, 3 specialists
Most important returning players: QB Dalton Sneed, RB Adam Eastwood, WR Samuel Akem, WR Jerry Louie-McGee, LB Dante Olson, CB Justin Calhoun, S Josh Sandry, S Robby Hauck
Most critical departures: WR Keenan Curran, DE Reggie Tilleman, LB Josh Buss,
Insight from KPAX sports anchor Jack Ginsburg (@jackginsburg13):
1) What does Dalton Sneed bring to the field?
Ginsburg: “I think when you watch Dalton Sneed, the first thing that jumps out at you is the decision making. In 2018, the Griz had a young, inexperienced offensive line. Although Montana went 6-5, that could have been much worse without Sneed. His ability to get out of the pocket and extend plays was on display all year. He’s also just a flat out good runner. In practice you never see flashes of it, but game time comes and he seems to have a different gear. He doesn’t look like a fast guy but he’s got breakaway speed. We saw it on a 75 yard run to the house against Sac state, the same game he broke the Griz QB rushing record with 206 yards. The guy is also a great leader and an extremely hard worker. You can tell the entire team wants to fight for him every day and he’s gonna return the favor.”
2) Will the receiving corps have a better second option behind Samuel Akem?
Ginsburg: “Samori Toure had a great 2017 and looked like he was going to break out in 2018, but instead we saw Akem do that. However, I would expect with the departure of Keenan Curran, Toure should be in a good spot to go well over 500 yards and haul in over 5 TD’s. You can also look to Jerry Louie-McGee and Gabe Sulser to provide support. McGee is a redshirt senior who has always made clutch grabs his entire career and has been great with YAC. Sulser is a sophomore who was more than impressive last season. He’s got blazing speed so you could see him involved in run packages. I also haven’t seen Mitch Roberts drop a ball all spring and coaches are taking notice, he could get some looks as well. I expect Samuel Akem to get a ton throws this year.”
3) What makes Dante Olson so effective?
Ginsburg: “I know it’s super generic to say but the dude is magnetized to the ball when he’s out there. I look through so much random B-roll for generic stories and Dante just seems to be involved in almost every tackle. He follows the ball so well and is a solid tackler. Odds are if he got in the backfield last year he was making a TFL (11) or grabbing a sack (6). He also seems to play bigger than he is listed, to me at least. He comes in at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds but he just looks bigger and stronger out there. Great hands, always wraps guys up, had three forced fumbles and two interceptions last year.”
4) Has Montana said how it’ll use the funds for this game?
Ginsburg: “Here’s a quote I got from the athletic director, Kent Haslam: ‘Funds we generate off guarantee games like any other revenue generated by athletics, goes back in to support the operations of the department. There are times when we will identify specific projects we need to get done and use this type of revenue for those. For example, the last guarantee game we played at Washington in 2017 we used the proceeds to pay for new turf at the football stadium. But, generally the revenue supports the operations of the department.’”
5) What will make this game a success for Montana?
Ginsburg: “I think if Montana can run the ball well and the defense doesn’t let the game get out of hand in the second half, they can be proud of their effort. All year they let key games (Western Illinois, Portland St., and Montana St.) get away in the second half, whether it was the defense breaking down or the offense failing to move to the ball past the 50. Pretty much, they’ll look for it to be better than they were against No. 7 Washington in 2017. They only trailed 21-7 going into the second quarter until Washington ran all over the defense for 213 yards and 42 unanswered points. The Griz ran for 31 yards on 33 attempts that game as well.”
Montana
Game date & time: Autzen Stadium, Sept. 14 at 7:45 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Network
2018 record: (6-5, 4-4 Big Sky)
Coach: Bobby Hauck, 2nd year of 2nd stint at Montana and 9th overall (99-70 overall, 84-20 at Montana)
Returning starters: 10 offense, 9 defense, 3 specialists
Most important returning players: QB Dalton Sneed, RB Adam Eastwood, WR Samuel Akem, WR Jerry Louie-McGee, LB Dante Olson, CB Justin Calhoun, S Josh Sandry, S Robby Hauck
Most critical departures: WR Keenan Curran, DE Reggie Tilleman, LB Josh Buss,
Insight from KPAX sports anchor Jack Ginsburg (@jackginsburg13):
1) What does Dalton Sneed bring to the field?
Ginsburg: “I think when you watch Dalton Sneed, the first thing that jumps out at you is the decision making. In 2018, the Griz had a young, inexperienced offensive line. Although Montana went 6-5, that could have been much worse without Sneed. His ability to get out of the pocket and extend plays was on display all year. He’s also just a flat out good runner. In practice you never see flashes of it, but game time comes and he seems to have a different gear. He doesn’t look like a fast guy but he’s got breakaway speed. We saw it on a 75 yard run to the house against Sac state, the same game he broke the Griz QB rushing record with 206 yards. The guy is also a great leader and an extremely hard worker. You can tell the entire team wants to fight for him every day and he’s gonna return the favor.”
2) Will the receiving corps have a better second option behind Samuel Akem?
Ginsburg: “Samori Toure had a great 2017 and looked like he was going to break out in 2018, but instead we saw Akem do that. However, I would expect with the departure of Keenan Curran, Toure should be in a good spot to go well over 500 yards and haul in over 5 TD’s. You can also look to Jerry Louie-McGee and Gabe Sulser to provide support. McGee is a redshirt senior who has always made clutch grabs his entire career and has been great with YAC. Sulser is a sophomore who was more than impressive last season. He’s got blazing speed so you could see him involved in run packages. I also haven’t seen Mitch Roberts drop a ball all spring and coaches are taking notice, he could get some looks as well. I expect Samuel Akem to get a ton throws this year.”
3) What makes Dante Olson so effective?
Ginsburg: “I know it’s super generic to say but the dude is magnetized to the ball when he’s out there. I look through so much random B-roll for generic stories and Dante just seems to be involved in almost every tackle. He follows the ball so well and is a solid tackler. Odds are if he got in the backfield last year he was making a TFL (11) or grabbing a sack (6). He also seems to play bigger than he is listed, to me at least. He comes in at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds but he just looks bigger and stronger out there. Great hands, always wraps guys up, had three forced fumbles and two interceptions last year.”
4) Has Montana said how it’ll use the funds for this game?
Ginsburg: “Here’s a quote I got from the athletic director, Kent Haslam: ‘Funds we generate off guarantee games like any other revenue generated by athletics, goes back in to support the operations of the department. There are times when we will identify specific projects we need to get done and use this type of revenue for those. For example, the last guarantee game we played at Washington in 2017 we used the proceeds to pay for new turf at the football stadium. But, generally the revenue supports the operations of the department.’”
5) What will make this game a success for Montana?
Ginsburg: “I think if Montana can run the ball well and the defense doesn’t let the game get out of hand in the second half, they can be proud of their effort. All year they let key games (Western Illinois, Portland St., and Montana St.) get away in the second half, whether it was the defense breaking down or the offense failing to move to the ball past the 50. Pretty much, they’ll look for it to be better than they were against No. 7 Washington in 2017. They only trailed 21-7 going into the second quarter until Washington ran all over the defense for 213 yards and 42 unanswered points. The Griz ran for 31 yards on 33 attempts that game as well.”