Montana hits the road again this weekend and they’re off to Pocatello to face the Idaho State Bengals. ISU is winless this season so far and has rapidly tumbled to the very bottom of the conference. Montana has also had some really odd games in Poky over the years (I’ve been to a few, 2003 2OT loss, 2009 last minute field goal). By all accounts this is fairly mis-matched game but Montana needs to come into this one focused on taking care of business as they’ll only face tougher conference road games after this one.
ISU plays in the Holt Arena, the oldest enclosed college stadium in the US, and apparently only the 2nd oldest in all of sports to just the Astrodome – however the Astrodome hasn’t been used since 2006, so the Holt is the oldest indoor stadium that’s still in use. ISU did approve renovations to the stadium. I think some of the seats have been replaced – with more to be replaced soon. Their field will be updated next year as well.
Idaho State Bengals 0-4
21-52 loss @ UNLV: UNLV was up 45-7 at the half, this game was never close. ISU was held to 40 total rushing yards on 50 attempts. Meanwhile UNLV ran for 150 and passed for 405. ISU appears to have played 2 QBs about the equal amount of snaps.
7-38 loss @ San Diego State: In this one SDSU put up massive rushing numbers, 380 on the ground. ISU did pass for about 260 in the game but once again were unable to rush for much at all. ISU’s mainstay at QB, Tyler Vander Waal, left the game with an injury.
16-31 loss vs Central Arkansas: ISU had a 3-0 lead in the first quarter… but that was about all they could hang their hat on. From there UCA scored 28 unanswered and then added a later field goal to keep the game from getting close. Both teams actually had pretty similar stats – UCA had 418 total while ISU had 408. Both teams had pretty solid passing numbers. ISU’s big problem was 3 costly turnovers, two inside the UCA red zone, one on their own 3 yard line.
14-35 loss @ Northern Colorado: This game was tied 14-14 at the half, and at the start of the 4th quarter. UNC scored 21 points in the 4th quarter over the span of just about 5 minutes of clock time. UNC scored a TD, then took a punt to the house, then had a scoop and score TD. ISU had almost 300 passing and actually out-gained UNC by about 30 yards in the game.
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General Stats
Passing yards per game UM (255 for UM vs 254 for ISU)
Rushing yards per game UM (152 for UM vs 98 for ISU)
Total offense UM (407 for UM vs 352 for ISU)
Passing yards allowed per game UM (133 for UM vs 252 for ISU)
Rushing yards allowed per game UM (81 for UM vs 209 for ISU)
Total defense UM (214 for UM vs 461 for ISU)
Third week in a row where Montana carries all categories, although ISU was short in passing yards by 1 yard on average.
Offense points scored UM (43.25 for UM vs 14.5 for ISU)
Defense points allowed UM (9.25 for UM vs 39 for ISU)
Turnover margin UM (+4 for UM / -2 for ISU)
Fieldgoal % ISU (40% for UM vs 50% for ISU)
Punt Returns UM (18.2 yards for UM vs -7 yards for ISU)
Kick Returns ISU (20 yards for UM vs 29 yards for ISU)
T.O.P. ISU (29:30 for UM vs 30:35 for ISU)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) UM (50% UM / 70% ISU)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) UM (67% UM / 33% ISU)
3rd down offense UM– (46% for UM / 32% for ISU)
3rd down defense UM– (23% allowed for UM vs 45% allowed for ISU)
ISU gets just 3 and those 3 are having a slightly better fieldgoal %, actually having someone kick to them on kickoffs, and a slightly better TOP. Final tally finishes up 14 for Montana, 3 for Idaho State
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Players to Watch:
#16 Sagan Gronauer, QB: Sagan is ISU’s 3rd string QB. I thought we’d see #7 Hunter Hays, but he got hurt @ UNC and ISU’s opening game starter Tyler Vander Waal hurt his shoulder 2 weeks ago. Sagan has actually been at ISU for a while now and played in 7 games last season. His career stats going back to 2019 he’s got 873 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, 5 INTs. His bio suggests he was a very good running QB in high school, his college stats only show a net of 41 yards and 1 rushing TD.
#1 Xavier Guillory, WR: Maybe ISU’s one bright spot on offense, a 6-3 WR he actually leads the whole conference in receiving yards with 377. He’s got 3 TDs as well.
#5 Hunter Raiden, RB: The main RB for ISU so far. Hunter is 5-10, 196 pounds. He’s got a team high 262 rushing yards so far, he also has 66 receiving yards
#10 Benjamin Omaybeu, WR: This guy does a little bit of everything, 70 rushing yards, 77 receiving yards, 87 return yards. Seems to be a guy they want to get the ball to a bunch.
#30 Charles Ike, LB: Ike is a JuCo transfer that’s been at ISU for a few years now. Last year he had 44 tackles and 1 forced fumble. This season he leads the team in tackles with 31, he’s also got 1 sack.
#52 Spencer Tatafu, DE: A 272 pound D-end, he has just 9 tackles this season… but 5 TFLS and he leads the team with 2 sacks. He played a bit last year, forced a few fumbles over the season.
#9 Quantraill Morris-Walker, S: 2nd on the team in tackles with 25, he’s forced 1 fumble this season as well. He’s a 3rd year starter – had a pick last year and the year before.
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Keys to a Grizzly victory
1. Don’t get complacent. I can’t imagine this Griz team will and I sure don’t think the coaching staff will let them. On paper this is a very lop-sided matchup, but you still need to go out and win the game. The 2009 undefeated Griz almost lost to the winless Bengals that year in a game where Griz continually shot themselves in the foot. Stick to the plan, execute, and put them away.
2. 200+ on the ground. I want a big ground game and I want our backs to really pile it on. If the Griz do their thing they should be able to take game over, run the clock, and grind it out – finishing drives with TDs. A strong ground game will limit ISU’s opportunities to try to catch up.
3. Expect the unexpected. For an 0-4 ISU team that’s already beat to hell, you’d wonder if we’ll see some crazy trickery from them. Would they come out and try some option offense? Lots of trick plays? I’m going to think they’ll have some things to test out against us to see what they can do.
4. A positive turnover margin. So far no ISU QB has good numbers suggesting they keep the ball safe. Keep at that, force some errors.
5. Don’t let Guillory cook you too much. I’m just going to bet he has a few nice catches, let’s not let him go off though please.
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The Grizzlies should win this one in convincing fashion if they’re the team we’re all expecting them to be. Weird stuff can happen on the road, especially in conference games, but this ISU team really seems to be reeling already. Could they rally and fight like hell against us? Sure. If Montana plays sloppy and lets them hang around, anything could happen. With a bye week on the horizon after this game my hope is the players and staff don’t let too many little errors burn us. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem, and as long as it isn’t, Griz should win big. I’ll say 58-7 Griz win.
ISU plays in the Holt Arena, the oldest enclosed college stadium in the US, and apparently only the 2nd oldest in all of sports to just the Astrodome – however the Astrodome hasn’t been used since 2006, so the Holt is the oldest indoor stadium that’s still in use. ISU did approve renovations to the stadium. I think some of the seats have been replaced – with more to be replaced soon. Their field will be updated next year as well.
Idaho State Bengals 0-4
21-52 loss @ UNLV: UNLV was up 45-7 at the half, this game was never close. ISU was held to 40 total rushing yards on 50 attempts. Meanwhile UNLV ran for 150 and passed for 405. ISU appears to have played 2 QBs about the equal amount of snaps.
7-38 loss @ San Diego State: In this one SDSU put up massive rushing numbers, 380 on the ground. ISU did pass for about 260 in the game but once again were unable to rush for much at all. ISU’s mainstay at QB, Tyler Vander Waal, left the game with an injury.
16-31 loss vs Central Arkansas: ISU had a 3-0 lead in the first quarter… but that was about all they could hang their hat on. From there UCA scored 28 unanswered and then added a later field goal to keep the game from getting close. Both teams actually had pretty similar stats – UCA had 418 total while ISU had 408. Both teams had pretty solid passing numbers. ISU’s big problem was 3 costly turnovers, two inside the UCA red zone, one on their own 3 yard line.
14-35 loss @ Northern Colorado: This game was tied 14-14 at the half, and at the start of the 4th quarter. UNC scored 21 points in the 4th quarter over the span of just about 5 minutes of clock time. UNC scored a TD, then took a punt to the house, then had a scoop and score TD. ISU had almost 300 passing and actually out-gained UNC by about 30 yards in the game.
-------------
General Stats
Passing yards per game UM (255 for UM vs 254 for ISU)
Rushing yards per game UM (152 for UM vs 98 for ISU)
Total offense UM (407 for UM vs 352 for ISU)
Passing yards allowed per game UM (133 for UM vs 252 for ISU)
Rushing yards allowed per game UM (81 for UM vs 209 for ISU)
Total defense UM (214 for UM vs 461 for ISU)
Third week in a row where Montana carries all categories, although ISU was short in passing yards by 1 yard on average.
Offense points scored UM (43.25 for UM vs 14.5 for ISU)
Defense points allowed UM (9.25 for UM vs 39 for ISU)
Turnover margin UM (+4 for UM / -2 for ISU)
Fieldgoal % ISU (40% for UM vs 50% for ISU)
Punt Returns UM (18.2 yards for UM vs -7 yards for ISU)
Kick Returns ISU (20 yards for UM vs 29 yards for ISU)
T.O.P. ISU (29:30 for UM vs 30:35 for ISU)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) UM (50% UM / 70% ISU)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) UM (67% UM / 33% ISU)
3rd down offense UM– (46% for UM / 32% for ISU)
3rd down defense UM– (23% allowed for UM vs 45% allowed for ISU)
ISU gets just 3 and those 3 are having a slightly better fieldgoal %, actually having someone kick to them on kickoffs, and a slightly better TOP. Final tally finishes up 14 for Montana, 3 for Idaho State
--------------------
Players to Watch:
#16 Sagan Gronauer, QB: Sagan is ISU’s 3rd string QB. I thought we’d see #7 Hunter Hays, but he got hurt @ UNC and ISU’s opening game starter Tyler Vander Waal hurt his shoulder 2 weeks ago. Sagan has actually been at ISU for a while now and played in 7 games last season. His career stats going back to 2019 he’s got 873 passing yards, 4 passing TDs, 5 INTs. His bio suggests he was a very good running QB in high school, his college stats only show a net of 41 yards and 1 rushing TD.
#1 Xavier Guillory, WR: Maybe ISU’s one bright spot on offense, a 6-3 WR he actually leads the whole conference in receiving yards with 377. He’s got 3 TDs as well.
#5 Hunter Raiden, RB: The main RB for ISU so far. Hunter is 5-10, 196 pounds. He’s got a team high 262 rushing yards so far, he also has 66 receiving yards
#10 Benjamin Omaybeu, WR: This guy does a little bit of everything, 70 rushing yards, 77 receiving yards, 87 return yards. Seems to be a guy they want to get the ball to a bunch.
#30 Charles Ike, LB: Ike is a JuCo transfer that’s been at ISU for a few years now. Last year he had 44 tackles and 1 forced fumble. This season he leads the team in tackles with 31, he’s also got 1 sack.
#52 Spencer Tatafu, DE: A 272 pound D-end, he has just 9 tackles this season… but 5 TFLS and he leads the team with 2 sacks. He played a bit last year, forced a few fumbles over the season.
#9 Quantraill Morris-Walker, S: 2nd on the team in tackles with 25, he’s forced 1 fumble this season as well. He’s a 3rd year starter – had a pick last year and the year before.
-------------------------------
Keys to a Grizzly victory
1. Don’t get complacent. I can’t imagine this Griz team will and I sure don’t think the coaching staff will let them. On paper this is a very lop-sided matchup, but you still need to go out and win the game. The 2009 undefeated Griz almost lost to the winless Bengals that year in a game where Griz continually shot themselves in the foot. Stick to the plan, execute, and put them away.
2. 200+ on the ground. I want a big ground game and I want our backs to really pile it on. If the Griz do their thing they should be able to take game over, run the clock, and grind it out – finishing drives with TDs. A strong ground game will limit ISU’s opportunities to try to catch up.
3. Expect the unexpected. For an 0-4 ISU team that’s already beat to hell, you’d wonder if we’ll see some crazy trickery from them. Would they come out and try some option offense? Lots of trick plays? I’m going to think they’ll have some things to test out against us to see what they can do.
4. A positive turnover margin. So far no ISU QB has good numbers suggesting they keep the ball safe. Keep at that, force some errors.
5. Don’t let Guillory cook you too much. I’m just going to bet he has a few nice catches, let’s not let him go off though please.
----------------------------
The Grizzlies should win this one in convincing fashion if they’re the team we’re all expecting them to be. Weird stuff can happen on the road, especially in conference games, but this ISU team really seems to be reeling already. Could they rally and fight like hell against us? Sure. If Montana plays sloppy and lets them hang around, anything could happen. With a bye week on the horizon after this game my hope is the players and staff don’t let too many little errors burn us. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem, and as long as it isn’t, Griz should win big. I’ll say 58-7 Griz win.
