Returning home for their final OOC game the Griz host the Monmouth Hawks, who much like Montana, are 2-1 with their 1 loss coming to an FBS team. This game caps a fairly solid OOC booking and a Griz win will set the team up on a great trajectory into conference play. Monmouth comes in riding a 2 game winning streak and no slouch of a team. In 2017 they won the Big South and went to the playoffs (where they got smoked by UNI). Then in 2018 they 8-3 but unfortunately are in conference that only sends 1 team to the playoffs, and that team last year was Kennesaw State. The Big South is the conference North Alabama has joined as well.
Monmouth was voted to finish 2nd in the conference again this year, they’re returning 6 on offense including a very experienced QB, and returning 7 on defense including 3 of their returning DBs and 2 of their returning LBs.
Monmouth Hawks 2-1
13-48 loss @ Western Michigan: It was 31-7 at the half and WMU just kept on out-pacing the overmatched Hawks. WMU passed for nearly 370 yards in the game and held Monmouth to less than 325 yards of total offense in the game.
24-21 win vs Lafayette: Layfayette is a Patriot League school, an now 0-3 on the season. Monmouth never actually trailed in this game. They scored with 5 seconds left in the 1st half to go up 21-7, but just couldn’t put Lafayette away. Late in the game Lafayette blocks a Monmouth punt, then scores a few plays later which makes it a 3 point game, however MU from there ran the clock out and didn’t give the ball back. The stats in this game show quite the variation, Lafayette had -12 rushing yards while Monmouth had 223. Monmouth was actually -1 in turnovers on the game as well with two lost to one gained.
38-35 win vs Albany: I saw a thread on egriz that some people watched this game, it went into overtime. Monmouth scored the first 21 points of the game, Albany answered 21 of their own to tie it up. From there it would go Monmouth scores, Albany answers – throughout the 2nd half. Albany tied the game up with just 4 seconds left in regulation with a 21 yard TD pass to send the game to OT. In OT Albany missed their fieldgoal – Monmouth made theirs. Albany actually slightly outgained Monmouth, mostly on account of nearly 400 yards passing, while Monmouth had 290 passing and 190 rushing. Albany killed themselves with turnovers, 3 picks and 2 lost fumbles, interestingly Monmouth was only able to score 6 points off all of those turnovers (2 fieldgoals).
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General Stats
Passing yards per game Montana (226 for MU vs 319 for UM)
Rushing yards per game Monmouth (180 for MU vs 108 for UM)
Total offense Montana (406 for MU vs 427 for UM)
Passing yards allowed per game Montana (341 for MU vs 301 for UM)
Rushing yards allowed per game Monmouth (64 for MU vs 136 for UM)
Total defense Monmouth (405 for MU vs 439 for UM)
3 for Montana and 3 for Monmouth
Offense points scored Montana (25 for MU vs 31.7 for UM)
Defense points allowed Montana (34.7 for MU vs 23 for UM)
Turnover margin Monmouth – (+2 for MU / +1 for Montana)
Fieldgoal % Monmouth (87% for MU vs 67% for UM)
Punt Returns Montana (11.3 yards for MU vs 26 yards for UM)
Kick Returns Montana (21.4 yards for MU vs 23.7 yards for UM)
T.O.P. Monmouth (33:26 for MU vs 32:36 for UM)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) Montana (80% MU / 58% UM)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) Montana (40% MU / 56% UM)
3rd down offense Montana – (41% for MU / 49% for UM)
3rd down defense Montana – (41% allowed for MU vs 31% allowed for UM)
Montana adds 8 to take their total to 11 while Monmouth adds 3 to take theirs to 6.
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Players to Watch:
#11 Kenji Bahar, QB – a 6-3 player, in his 5th year, he’s got 29 career starts under his belt. He’s averaging about 226 yards per game passing, and has 5 TD thrown so far this year. His completion percentage is pretty close to 60%. He’s got a few rushing yards, about 76 gained total but nets 44 once sacks are backed out.
#2 Lonnie Moore, WR – a smaller 5-10, 170 WR Lonnie Moore leads the team in receptions (18), yards (239), and is tied for most receiving TDs with 2. He’s got 20 rushing yards this year to his name as well and he’s a damn good kick returner with a 25.1 yard per return average
#25 Pete Guerrero, RB – a 5-10, 190 running back this guy leads the team as their feature running back. He’s got 393 yards and 3 TDs on the season so far on the ground, and adds another 50 receiving yards as well.
#6 Anothony Budd, DB – He’s already got 3 interceptions this season, wow. He’s got 14 tackles, 1 TFL, and has team high 4 PBU’s as well.
#50 Da’Quan Grimes, LB – A senior linebacker he leads the team with 20 tackles in 3 games, he has 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles.
#20 Justin Terry, DB – He’s got 16 starts already his career, he’s 2nd best on the team with 15 tackles, he’s got an interception and 3 pass break ups as well.
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Keys to a Grizzly Victory
1. Keep their running game in check. It seems Monmouth’s best success is when they’re running the ball well. If the Grizzly defense can keep Monmouth from running the ball well then we’ll take away a big part of their game.
2. Take advantage of red zone opportunities. Monmouth statistically has an issue with getting into the endzone once they reach the red zone while defensively they have issues making a stop. If the Griz can trade touchdowns for fieldgoals they’ll be able to pull away.
3. Cash in on special teams. Once again we’ve got a team that’s statistically shown some coverage issues. If Monmouth scores a TD, answer with a sold return. If Monmouth punts, have Jerry flip the field.
4. Don’t let them get rolling. Monmouth seems to really tack on the points into the 2nd quarter, it accounts for almost 40% of their points scored this season. Keep their offense from getting rolling into the game.
5. Limit turnovers. Monmouth seems to have a bit of a ball-hawking defense, not sure if it’s by nature of the opponents they’ve faced or their skill, but we’ll find out soon. Don’t let them snag some easy turnovers in the game.
6. Keep the pressure off Sneed so he can operate. Monmouth, much like Montana, has given up a lot of pass yards 3 games into the season. Let Sneed sit back and run the offense with limited pressure and we’ll have a good day.
Coming back after a tough mis-match but a solid showing I’m a little worried the Griz will get caught a little flat footed. It seems to me that the Griz should win this one going away, but I wouldn’t be totally surprised if it’s a little close and sluggish from Montana for a while. As long as there isn’t a giant meltdown and if the Griz stick to focusing on one game at a time, I’m seeing something like a 45-13 win for Montana.
GO GRIZ!!
Monmouth was voted to finish 2nd in the conference again this year, they’re returning 6 on offense including a very experienced QB, and returning 7 on defense including 3 of their returning DBs and 2 of their returning LBs.
Monmouth Hawks 2-1
13-48 loss @ Western Michigan: It was 31-7 at the half and WMU just kept on out-pacing the overmatched Hawks. WMU passed for nearly 370 yards in the game and held Monmouth to less than 325 yards of total offense in the game.
24-21 win vs Lafayette: Layfayette is a Patriot League school, an now 0-3 on the season. Monmouth never actually trailed in this game. They scored with 5 seconds left in the 1st half to go up 21-7, but just couldn’t put Lafayette away. Late in the game Lafayette blocks a Monmouth punt, then scores a few plays later which makes it a 3 point game, however MU from there ran the clock out and didn’t give the ball back. The stats in this game show quite the variation, Lafayette had -12 rushing yards while Monmouth had 223. Monmouth was actually -1 in turnovers on the game as well with two lost to one gained.
38-35 win vs Albany: I saw a thread on egriz that some people watched this game, it went into overtime. Monmouth scored the first 21 points of the game, Albany answered 21 of their own to tie it up. From there it would go Monmouth scores, Albany answers – throughout the 2nd half. Albany tied the game up with just 4 seconds left in regulation with a 21 yard TD pass to send the game to OT. In OT Albany missed their fieldgoal – Monmouth made theirs. Albany actually slightly outgained Monmouth, mostly on account of nearly 400 yards passing, while Monmouth had 290 passing and 190 rushing. Albany killed themselves with turnovers, 3 picks and 2 lost fumbles, interestingly Monmouth was only able to score 6 points off all of those turnovers (2 fieldgoals).
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General Stats
Passing yards per game Montana (226 for MU vs 319 for UM)
Rushing yards per game Monmouth (180 for MU vs 108 for UM)
Total offense Montana (406 for MU vs 427 for UM)
Passing yards allowed per game Montana (341 for MU vs 301 for UM)
Rushing yards allowed per game Monmouth (64 for MU vs 136 for UM)
Total defense Monmouth (405 for MU vs 439 for UM)
3 for Montana and 3 for Monmouth
Offense points scored Montana (25 for MU vs 31.7 for UM)
Defense points allowed Montana (34.7 for MU vs 23 for UM)
Turnover margin Monmouth – (+2 for MU / +1 for Montana)
Fieldgoal % Monmouth (87% for MU vs 67% for UM)
Punt Returns Montana (11.3 yards for MU vs 26 yards for UM)
Kick Returns Montana (21.4 yards for MU vs 23.7 yards for UM)
T.O.P. Monmouth (33:26 for MU vs 32:36 for UM)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) Montana (80% MU / 58% UM)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) Montana (40% MU / 56% UM)
3rd down offense Montana – (41% for MU / 49% for UM)
3rd down defense Montana – (41% allowed for MU vs 31% allowed for UM)
Montana adds 8 to take their total to 11 while Monmouth adds 3 to take theirs to 6.
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Players to Watch:
#11 Kenji Bahar, QB – a 6-3 player, in his 5th year, he’s got 29 career starts under his belt. He’s averaging about 226 yards per game passing, and has 5 TD thrown so far this year. His completion percentage is pretty close to 60%. He’s got a few rushing yards, about 76 gained total but nets 44 once sacks are backed out.
#2 Lonnie Moore, WR – a smaller 5-10, 170 WR Lonnie Moore leads the team in receptions (18), yards (239), and is tied for most receiving TDs with 2. He’s got 20 rushing yards this year to his name as well and he’s a damn good kick returner with a 25.1 yard per return average
#25 Pete Guerrero, RB – a 5-10, 190 running back this guy leads the team as their feature running back. He’s got 393 yards and 3 TDs on the season so far on the ground, and adds another 50 receiving yards as well.
#6 Anothony Budd, DB – He’s already got 3 interceptions this season, wow. He’s got 14 tackles, 1 TFL, and has team high 4 PBU’s as well.
#50 Da’Quan Grimes, LB – A senior linebacker he leads the team with 20 tackles in 3 games, he has 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles.
#20 Justin Terry, DB – He’s got 16 starts already his career, he’s 2nd best on the team with 15 tackles, he’s got an interception and 3 pass break ups as well.
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Keys to a Grizzly Victory
1. Keep their running game in check. It seems Monmouth’s best success is when they’re running the ball well. If the Grizzly defense can keep Monmouth from running the ball well then we’ll take away a big part of their game.
2. Take advantage of red zone opportunities. Monmouth statistically has an issue with getting into the endzone once they reach the red zone while defensively they have issues making a stop. If the Griz can trade touchdowns for fieldgoals they’ll be able to pull away.
3. Cash in on special teams. Once again we’ve got a team that’s statistically shown some coverage issues. If Monmouth scores a TD, answer with a sold return. If Monmouth punts, have Jerry flip the field.
4. Don’t let them get rolling. Monmouth seems to really tack on the points into the 2nd quarter, it accounts for almost 40% of their points scored this season. Keep their offense from getting rolling into the game.
5. Limit turnovers. Monmouth seems to have a bit of a ball-hawking defense, not sure if it’s by nature of the opponents they’ve faced or their skill, but we’ll find out soon. Don’t let them snag some easy turnovers in the game.
6. Keep the pressure off Sneed so he can operate. Monmouth, much like Montana, has given up a lot of pass yards 3 games into the season. Let Sneed sit back and run the offense with limited pressure and we’ll have a good day.
Coming back after a tough mis-match but a solid showing I’m a little worried the Griz will get caught a little flat footed. It seems to me that the Griz should win this one going away, but I wouldn’t be totally surprised if it’s a little close and sluggish from Montana for a while. As long as there isn’t a giant meltdown and if the Griz stick to focusing on one game at a time, I’m seeing something like a 45-13 win for Montana.
GO GRIZ!!
also...did you post a post-game report for Oregon? Or do you have any general thoughts?
