I don't see either team scoring 40 points, at least without OT points. If UM wins, then they can't give up 40 points. A win will have to include a strong defensive performance by the Griz, and not giving up close to 40 points. I'm not sure the Griz offense can score 40 points against EWU. I still think the Griz have a good chance of winning. This is based on EWU not being nearly as good as it was, near coach, new receivers, etc., and the Griz having good potential on both sides of the ball and a talented new qb who will be more than credible.
Before Phillips went down, I was fairly confident the Griz would win. EWU played better against Fordham than I thought they would, except for the 5 turnovers. Perhaps Fordham isn't as good as I thought they were.
My take. O-line has been playing well, and 1st team line has given up only 1 sack this season. Lee is running well and adding good dept. Hopefully, he has cleaned up his pass blocking after his mistakes at UW. I hope the d-line can apply some pressure, but I assume we'll bring some heat too. The d-line, and backers, have been stopping the run. Think secondary has been getting its act together and the return of Strong helps. There is some depth in the secondary now too. The return of Strahm helps. The receivers are good and deep, but they needs to catch all balls. ST have stepped it up this year. Kupp and Bourne are gone.
Jensen needs to avoid mistakes, but while he is not Phillips, I am hoping he will play well and will improve quickly over the season. My impression is that the kid has a lot of confidence, to go with his smarts and physical abilities. Good luck to him in particular.
UM held EWU to 7 short drives last year, but gave up 5 big plays, of which 4 were TD's--or something like that. Drives of 19, 4, 3, 14 (in 40 of first 6 drives), the 3 TD's in a row, and then drives of 0, 21 and 13 and a pick after a longer drive. EWU's 5 TD's were on drives with 2,5, 8, 7 and 4 plays. Obviously, UM can't give up a bunch of big plays.