Backs to the wall, it’s time for the Griz to win out and clinch a playoff berth. It starts this week with a home game against ISU.
Sorry it took all week to get this together, it was a busy one for me.
Idaho State Bengals 2-6
47-3 win vs Simon Fraiser – SFU, based out of Vancouver, BC, was the Bengals opening game. Kind of odd to see a team that plays in Canada on a schedule. SFU was pretty much over matched in the game. ISU had almost 550 total yards of offense, 380 of which through the air. While SFU had 255 passing and -22 rushing.
7-56 loss @ Colorado – The first of two “pay the bills” bodybag games for ISU. Colorado held ISU to 96 total yards while they amassed nearly 600 in the game.
7-37 loss @ Oregon State – Not nearly as bad of a blowout loss. OSU ran for 250 and passed for about 180 while forcing 5 ISU turnovers.
42-34 win vs Sac State – Sac scored 17 4th quarter points to make this one look a little closer. Sac was pretty balanced in this win, rushing for 220 and passing for 340 but they had 2 costly turnovers while ISU played a clean game – one of the turnovers ISU turned into a pick-6. ISU also had 3 touchdowns on plays that were 61, 63, and 91 yards.
20-45 loss @ Portland State – PSU had 0 passing yards (0-5 passing) but ran for 531 yards and held ISU to a total of 370 yards in the game. PSU scored on 7 of their 10 first possessions – ISU just couldn’t keep up.
7-52 loss @ NAU – NAU totally buried ISU with almost 400 yards passing and 4 forced turnovers. ISU had a horrid opening go of it, their first 7 possessions went interception, punt, interception, fumble, missed fieldgoal, punt, fumble – and on those 3 punts they had no first downs.
21-28 loss vs UND – Surprisingly close ISU held with league leader UND, however they did score to get within 7 with just 1:23 left in the game. UND’s defense kept ISU under wraps, allowing just 290 total yards ISU had a rough 2nd half though, with the score tied 14-14 at the half they only had 2 first downs in the whole 2nd half until their final drive to get the score within 7. UND ran for 206 and passed for 170 and held the ball for nearly 40:00 of clock – preventing ISU from doing too much.
27-52 loss vs SUU – SUU just gradually out-paced ISU and with a 21 point 3rd quarter put the game out of reach. SUU had quite the day on offense, 610 total yards (360 passing / 250 rushing). Meanwhile ISU had another so-so day on offense, 115 rushing and 230 passing.
General Stats
Major categories
Pass YPG: Montana 355 ypg - ISU 230 ypg
Rush YPG: Montana 146 ypg - ISU 120 ypg
Total YPG: Montana 501 ypg - ISU 350 ypg
Offense PPG: Montana 41.2 ppg - ISU 22.2 ppg
Defense PPG: Montana 25.1 ppg - ISU 38.4 ppg
Turnover Margin: Montana -1 - ISU -7
Additional categories
TOP: Montana 30:44 - ISU 27:22
Offense Red Zone TD%: Montana 68% - ISU 80%
Defense Red Zone TD%: Montana 60% - ISU 71%
Offense 3rd down %: Montana 44% - ISU 36%
Defense 3rd down %: Montana 27% - ISU 42%
Total Plays per game: Montana 81 - ISU 70
Total statistical advantage Montana 11 to ISU 1.
Players to Watch
#4 Tanner Gueller – a 6’2”, 235 pound QB, Gueller is a sophomore and still finding his stride, he’s got 14 TDs and 10 picks this season. He’s averaging about 220 per game passing and is a bit of a rusher, mostly on scrambles it would seem.
#28 Jakori Ford – A smaller 5’8” running back, Ford is finally a senior. Seems like we’ve heard this guys name for years. He’s the leading rusher, averaging about 60 yards per game and he’s got a team best 5 rushing TDs. He’s also got 100 receiving yards this year.
#15 KW Williams – ISU’s main receiving threat, Williams leads the team in catches (58) yards (553) and TDs (8). Watch for him and JR Nelson to match up this week.
#20 Michael Dean – ISU likes their running backs short, Dean is 5’6” and listed at just 155 pounds. He’s got 4 rushing TDs and 208 yards on the ground. He’s also got 118 receiving yards this season.
#11 Josh Cook – Holy crap, a TE… Cook is 2nd best on the team in receiving yards with 353 and the only other player with more than 1 TD reception (he’s got 2). He’s 6’3” and 220 pounds.
#47 Mario Jenkins – Jenkins has 82 tackles this season, 19 more than the next guy. A 6-1, 220 pound linebacker, he’s also got a team best 9.5 TFLs and 3 sacks, 1 INT, and 1 forced fumble.
#87 Chance Salutregui – A tall, 6-5, 230 pound defensive end Chance appears to be one of ISU’s better pass rushers. He’s got 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks and leads the team in QB hits.
#25 Joe Martin – A 6 foot tall, 205 pound linebacker Martin has 63 tackles this season, 4 TFLS, and a team best 2 INTs.
Keys to a Grizzly Victory
- QB hits. This ISU offense tries to be pass-heavy, hitting and pressuring the QB will be important to disrupting their game. The last two weeks the D-line has been held in check with max-protect efforts by NAU and EWU. Break that with blitzes or winning individual battles.
- Get the offense back into the endzone. The last two weeks on the road the offense had no trouble with yards, improving many of their key stats, but having a hard time finding the endzone. Against a porous ISU defense it’ll be good for the Grizzly offense to get back to basics and start scoring in bunches again.
- Improved execution on offense. Fewer drops, fewer bad passes, fewer missed blocks. Time to start cleaning up these execution errors that young teams put on display. For this team to win out and try to make noise in the post season these RS-frosh and Sophomores on offense need to start playing more like veteran players.
- Prevent the big play. While ISU’s offense has been stuck in the mud a bit they do have a tendancy to score on big plays, passing or running plays.
- +2 or better in turnovers. ISU has a bad tendency to turn it over and the Griz need to force a few and hopefully (finally) get into a positive turnover margin on the year. A key thing will be less 2-hand batted passes by the DBs and more INTs on those plays.
- 175+ rushing. I’d really like to see the ground game get going more. I assume Calhoun is out (don’t players have to sit 1 game after a concussion) so lots of Nguyen and Counts. This team needs to have a running dimension develop better down the stretch.
- No big returns on kicks or punts. Too many deep returns given up on punts and kicks in the last two games. Let’s clean that up.
- Make every PAT. Please.
-------------------
While ISU appears to be a for sure beat down they’ve improved their play the last two weeks and I expect them to come in and be ready to try to give the Griz a game. Back at home and with the focus to start building and setting up a 3-game streak I expect a pissed off and very focused Griz team. Playing with a chip on their shoulder after so much fan disrespect and two tough road losses I say the Griz come out, start a little slow, but get rolling and put this one away in the 3rd. Winning 59-0.
GO GRIZ!
Sorry it took all week to get this together, it was a busy one for me.
Idaho State Bengals 2-6
47-3 win vs Simon Fraiser – SFU, based out of Vancouver, BC, was the Bengals opening game. Kind of odd to see a team that plays in Canada on a schedule. SFU was pretty much over matched in the game. ISU had almost 550 total yards of offense, 380 of which through the air. While SFU had 255 passing and -22 rushing.
7-56 loss @ Colorado – The first of two “pay the bills” bodybag games for ISU. Colorado held ISU to 96 total yards while they amassed nearly 600 in the game.
7-37 loss @ Oregon State – Not nearly as bad of a blowout loss. OSU ran for 250 and passed for about 180 while forcing 5 ISU turnovers.
42-34 win vs Sac State – Sac scored 17 4th quarter points to make this one look a little closer. Sac was pretty balanced in this win, rushing for 220 and passing for 340 but they had 2 costly turnovers while ISU played a clean game – one of the turnovers ISU turned into a pick-6. ISU also had 3 touchdowns on plays that were 61, 63, and 91 yards.
20-45 loss @ Portland State – PSU had 0 passing yards (0-5 passing) but ran for 531 yards and held ISU to a total of 370 yards in the game. PSU scored on 7 of their 10 first possessions – ISU just couldn’t keep up.
7-52 loss @ NAU – NAU totally buried ISU with almost 400 yards passing and 4 forced turnovers. ISU had a horrid opening go of it, their first 7 possessions went interception, punt, interception, fumble, missed fieldgoal, punt, fumble – and on those 3 punts they had no first downs.
21-28 loss vs UND – Surprisingly close ISU held with league leader UND, however they did score to get within 7 with just 1:23 left in the game. UND’s defense kept ISU under wraps, allowing just 290 total yards ISU had a rough 2nd half though, with the score tied 14-14 at the half they only had 2 first downs in the whole 2nd half until their final drive to get the score within 7. UND ran for 206 and passed for 170 and held the ball for nearly 40:00 of clock – preventing ISU from doing too much.
27-52 loss vs SUU – SUU just gradually out-paced ISU and with a 21 point 3rd quarter put the game out of reach. SUU had quite the day on offense, 610 total yards (360 passing / 250 rushing). Meanwhile ISU had another so-so day on offense, 115 rushing and 230 passing.
General Stats
Major categories
Pass YPG: Montana 355 ypg - ISU 230 ypg
Rush YPG: Montana 146 ypg - ISU 120 ypg
Total YPG: Montana 501 ypg - ISU 350 ypg
Offense PPG: Montana 41.2 ppg - ISU 22.2 ppg
Defense PPG: Montana 25.1 ppg - ISU 38.4 ppg
Turnover Margin: Montana -1 - ISU -7
Additional categories
TOP: Montana 30:44 - ISU 27:22
Offense Red Zone TD%: Montana 68% - ISU 80%
Defense Red Zone TD%: Montana 60% - ISU 71%
Offense 3rd down %: Montana 44% - ISU 36%
Defense 3rd down %: Montana 27% - ISU 42%
Total Plays per game: Montana 81 - ISU 70
Total statistical advantage Montana 11 to ISU 1.
Players to Watch
#4 Tanner Gueller – a 6’2”, 235 pound QB, Gueller is a sophomore and still finding his stride, he’s got 14 TDs and 10 picks this season. He’s averaging about 220 per game passing and is a bit of a rusher, mostly on scrambles it would seem.
#28 Jakori Ford – A smaller 5’8” running back, Ford is finally a senior. Seems like we’ve heard this guys name for years. He’s the leading rusher, averaging about 60 yards per game and he’s got a team best 5 rushing TDs. He’s also got 100 receiving yards this year.
#15 KW Williams – ISU’s main receiving threat, Williams leads the team in catches (58) yards (553) and TDs (8). Watch for him and JR Nelson to match up this week.
#20 Michael Dean – ISU likes their running backs short, Dean is 5’6” and listed at just 155 pounds. He’s got 4 rushing TDs and 208 yards on the ground. He’s also got 118 receiving yards this season.
#11 Josh Cook – Holy crap, a TE… Cook is 2nd best on the team in receiving yards with 353 and the only other player with more than 1 TD reception (he’s got 2). He’s 6’3” and 220 pounds.
#47 Mario Jenkins – Jenkins has 82 tackles this season, 19 more than the next guy. A 6-1, 220 pound linebacker, he’s also got a team best 9.5 TFLs and 3 sacks, 1 INT, and 1 forced fumble.
#87 Chance Salutregui – A tall, 6-5, 230 pound defensive end Chance appears to be one of ISU’s better pass rushers. He’s got 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks and leads the team in QB hits.
#25 Joe Martin – A 6 foot tall, 205 pound linebacker Martin has 63 tackles this season, 4 TFLS, and a team best 2 INTs.
Keys to a Grizzly Victory
- QB hits. This ISU offense tries to be pass-heavy, hitting and pressuring the QB will be important to disrupting their game. The last two weeks the D-line has been held in check with max-protect efforts by NAU and EWU. Break that with blitzes or winning individual battles.
- Get the offense back into the endzone. The last two weeks on the road the offense had no trouble with yards, improving many of their key stats, but having a hard time finding the endzone. Against a porous ISU defense it’ll be good for the Grizzly offense to get back to basics and start scoring in bunches again.
- Improved execution on offense. Fewer drops, fewer bad passes, fewer missed blocks. Time to start cleaning up these execution errors that young teams put on display. For this team to win out and try to make noise in the post season these RS-frosh and Sophomores on offense need to start playing more like veteran players.
- Prevent the big play. While ISU’s offense has been stuck in the mud a bit they do have a tendancy to score on big plays, passing or running plays.
- +2 or better in turnovers. ISU has a bad tendency to turn it over and the Griz need to force a few and hopefully (finally) get into a positive turnover margin on the year. A key thing will be less 2-hand batted passes by the DBs and more INTs on those plays.
- 175+ rushing. I’d really like to see the ground game get going more. I assume Calhoun is out (don’t players have to sit 1 game after a concussion) so lots of Nguyen and Counts. This team needs to have a running dimension develop better down the stretch.
- No big returns on kicks or punts. Too many deep returns given up on punts and kicks in the last two games. Let’s clean that up.
- Make every PAT. Please.
-------------------
While ISU appears to be a for sure beat down they’ve improved their play the last two weeks and I expect them to come in and be ready to try to give the Griz a game. Back at home and with the focus to start building and setting up a 3-game streak I expect a pissed off and very focused Griz team. Playing with a chip on their shoulder after so much fan disrespect and two tough road losses I say the Griz come out, start a little slow, but get rolling and put this one away in the 3rd. Winning 59-0.
GO GRIZ!
