"Perhaps the most shocking part of Montana’s uncharacteristic defensive play in the first half Saturday was that Indiana State running back Justin Dinka went untouched on his 54-yard touchdown run on the first snap of ISU’s third drive.
That run accounted for nearly half of the 110 yards Indiana State gained on the ground in the first quarter. Subtract the yardage of two rushes for loss and two sacks, and the Sycamores netted 88 yards on 15 carries.
Even that was an astounding number given that the Griz had held their opponents to 109 total rushing yards in the first two games combined. The defense rebounded and gave up just 13 yards on 25 carries the rest of the day for a total of 101 yards on 40 rushes (2.5 yards per carry).
“It’s a little annoying to go out and give up that much rushing yards, but we got some stuff figured out and we played our butts off,” UM linebacker Pat O’Connell said after the 49-14 win. “I’m really happy to be a part of a group like this. It’s awesome to go make some adjustments and come out and put it in place.”
O’Connell noted the adjustments were holding the edge better, tackling better and communicating better.
Griz coach Bobby Hauck pointed out he didn’t get the call in to the defense on the TD, leaving part of the defense playing one call and the other part another call.
O’Connell also said Indiana State’s pre-snap hand clap was getting the Griz defenders to reveal from where they were bringing pressure. Trying not to show that was another adjustment the defense made, he noted. He increased his season sack total to five as he tallied 2.5 Saturday, including a strip sack that defensive end Kale Edwards recovered and ran back for a 20-yard TD.
On the Sycamores’ drive after the TD run, they advanced the ball to UM’s 23-yard line before a sack put them off schedule. They settled for a field goal, which they missed. They had 10 drives after that, and those ended with seven punts, two end of halves and a turnover on downs.
ISU totaled 132 yards of offense in the first quarter and had 197 by the intermission. In the final 30 minutes, UM allowed just 22 yards for a total of 219 on 67 plays (3.3 yards per play). That’s right in line with the 212 Northwestern State gained and 209 South Dakota picked up.
“I think that’s a testament to the guys and to the attitude on the team,” O’Connell said. “Obviously, that’s our job is to stop guys from scoring. Especially on a big run like that, we can’t let that happen again. The guys know that, and everyone rallies around each other no matter what happens, everyone sticks together and it’s pretty awesome to see.”
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