"We gotta quit doing dumb stuff!" ~ Bobby
Montana Grizzlies start season near top of FCS in most penalties, penalty yards
AMIE JUST 406mtsports.com
Sep 9, 2018 Updated 1 min ago
MISSOULA — Through two games, Montana has racked up 19 penalties and 175 penalty yards. The Grizzlies were flagged 10 times for 88 yards against Drake and nine times for 87 yards against Northern Iowa.
Montana coach Bobby Hauck didn't mince words about penalties on Saturday.
"I'd just call it being dumb," Hauck said. "... I didn't have any sense that we didn't have focus. We gotta quit doing dumb stuff."
He added later of the sloppiness: "I attribute it to us being dumb. Starting with the head coach, we gotta get it right."
Montana's 19 flags through two games rank 102nd out of the 116 teams in the FCS. And the yards associated with those penalties rank 104th out of 116.
Teams with more penalties through this far in the season: Morgan State, N.C. Central, Southeastern Louisiana, Morehead State, McNeese, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Stony Brook, Prairie View A&M and North Carolina A&T. And the last two teams in that list have played in three games, not two.
Against Drake, Montana was flagged once for pass interference (Robby Hauck), four times for false starts (Keenan Curran, Randy Rodriguez, Angel Villanueva and team) twice for holds (Kobey Eaton, Adam Eastwood), once for roughing the passer (Josh Buss), once for a late hit (Conlan Beaver) and once for a delay of game.
There were also two declined offside penalties.
Against Northern Iowa, Montana was called for a host of different penalties: four pass interference calls (Dareon Nash, Justin Calhoun, Lewis Cowans, Reid Miller), a late hit flag (Robby Hauck), one offside penalty, two holding penalties (Samuel Akem, Samori Toure) and one false start (Beaver).
Coach Hauck knows how important playing smart football is.
"It's going to cost us down the road. That's just football," Hauck said Saturday. "You can't do dumb things and shoot yourself in the foot. It costs you games."
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On the flip side, Montana is ranked well in several positive categories among FCS teams.
Three Montana players are ranked in the top 25 in multiple categories.
Junior linebacker Dante Olson's 29 total tackles and 1½ sacks per game average are both ranked No. 3 nationwide. Olson racked up 16 tackles against Drake, which was good for the sixth-highest outing of any FCS defender so far this season.
Junior quarterback Dalton Sneed's name appears highly in four categories. His 28½ completions per game average is ranked No. 5, his total offense average of 324½ yards per game is ranked No. 10, his average of 263 passing yards per game is No. 20 and his completion percentage of 66.3 percent is ranked No. 23.
Sophomore cornerback Dareon Nash is tied for seventh with an average of two passes defended per game. He's tied for first in the FCS with an average of one interception per game. Nash is just one of 23 FCS players so far this season with an interception return touchdown.
As a team, Montana appears in the top 25 in several statistical categories as well.
Montana is one of 28 teams that haven't thrown an interception. The offense is ranked highly in several other categories too: tackles for loss allowed (No. 3) scoring offense (No. 20), completion percentage (No. 21), passing offense (No. 22).
But the defense is where Montana is going to the bank.
The Grizzly defense appears in the top 25 in five categories: passes intercepted (No. 2), passing efficiency for defense (No. 10), rushing defense (No. 17), fumbles recovered (No. 20), total defense (No. 24).
The defense contributes to Montana's fourth-ranked turnover margin and turnovers gained as well. The Grizzlies are currently plus-5 in turnover margin and have gained six turnovers (four interceptions and two recovered fumbles).
And that statistic is one Hauck really cares about.
"It's always huge," Hauck said Saturday of winning the turnover margin. "Statistics I'm not overly into, but that one I am and that one counts. When you take it away and don't give it away, you've got a chance to win for sure."
