Savannah State Tigers Scouting Report

[BWahlberg]

It’s time to head back home for one final out of conference game for the Griz. This matchup against Savannah State has many fans bemoaning this year’s weak OOC, however I’m glad that the UM was able to plug in another FCS school instead of a D2 school. This was supposed to be a matchup against McNeese State, but that home and home agreement was cancelled and left the UM scrambling to get another team in. Savannah State has played just 1 game this year so far, let’s take a look at them

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

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General Stats from 2016 - going to use both teams total stats from ’16 still

Passing yards per game Montana (326 pass ypg vs 99 pass ypg)
Rushing yards per game Montana (198 rush ypg vs 128 rush ypg)
Total offense Montana (481 for the Griz vs 227 for Savannah)
Passing yards allowed per game Montana (200 ypg allowed vs 209 ypg allowed)
Rushing yards allowed per game Montana (134 ypg allowed vs 200 ypg allowed)
Total defense Montana (350 ypg allowed vs 409 ypg allowed)

Clean sweep for the Griz

Offense points scored Montana (39.5 vs 14.3)
Defense points allowed Montana (17.7 vs 30.8)
Turnover margin Savannah State (Griz are +1 while SSU is +6)
Fieldgoal % Montana (Griz hit 79% last year, SSU 70%)
Punt Returns Montana (11.2 YPR vs 6.2 YPR)
Kick Returns Montana (19 ypr vs 16.9 ypr)
T.O.P. Montana (31:02 for UM and 25:06 for SSU)
Red Zone defense (touchdowns) Montana (allows TDs 64% while SSU allows 65%)
Red Zone offense (touchdowns) Montana (scores 66% while SSU scores 57%)
3rd down offense Montana (converts 44% of the time so 22% for SSU)
3rd down defense Montana (allows 27% conversions, SSU allows 43% conversions)

Montana almost grabs every category except SSU did force more turnovers, they had 14 picks and 7 fumble recoveries last season.

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Players to Watch:

#20 Uriah Oliver, RB: Oliver is a junior but didn’t record any stats last season. Of all the guys with carries last week he had the most with 11. A 5-11 back and 187 pounds.
#11 TJ Bell, QB: Bell split some time last season and started against App this year. Last year he passed for an average of about 75 yards per game and had 5 passing TDs to 6 INTs. He also ran for 307 yards and 3 TDs.

#7 Tino Smith, III, QB/WR: That’s right, at least per the stats. He’s listed as a QB on their roster but appears to have no stats there. He was the leading receiver last year in catches with 28 for 310 yards and 1 TD. He’s 6-2 and 215 pounds.

#1 Derek Kirkland, WR: Another 6-2 guy, he had 1 less catch last year than Smith but 7 more yards (317) and 2 total TDs.

#6 Rashad Saxton, RB: Looks to be another one of their running backs we’ll see (stats suggest we’ll see quite a few). He had 5 carries against App, 3rd most. Last year he had just 67 rushing yards.

#27 Juwuan Tolbert, DB: A 5-10, 180 pound member of the secondary. Tolbert lead the team in tackles against App and had a scoop and score TD. Last year he had 38 tackles, 2 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries

#58 Stefen Banks, DE: A good sized dude for his spot, 6-3, 265. Last season he was 3rd on the team in tackles with 67, he had 7.5 sacks, 1 INT, and 7 QB hits. He’s their most experienced pass rusher returning this year.


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Keys to a Grizzly victory

1. Run the ball with excellent efficiency. The O-line will be bouncing back from their daunting task against UW and will be facing a defense and D-line that statistically gives up a ton of yards. This is the game to lock it in and have the ground game going for conference play.

2. Play smart and capitalize on turnovers. The one thing it appears SSU does well is force turnovers, especially interceptions. The offense will be looking to get thing rolling again and can’t fall into a trap of thinking they’ll not see some challenges out there. Additionally against Valpo we had 2 pick-6’s dropped by DBs and a fumble kicked out of bounds by a D-end. Let’s grab those if the opportunity presents itself.

3. Watch for the deep shots. It would appear that SSU is more of a run-option team like we may see against PSU or had seen in the past against Poly. They’ll test our defense with deep verticals just like Valpo did.

4. Keep up the intensity. I have a feeling the fans are going to be ho-hum and the stands after the half will look very much like they did 2 weeks ago. However the Griz are going to need to keep things clicking so they can be prepared for conference play.

5. Stay on assignment. SSU will probably challenge some of our D-ends, linebackers, and safeties with their run game. Staying on their man and not losing containment will be key for continued stops on defense. Also UW used Dissly to sneak away on some pass plays, showing block first and then going into the flat. That’ll be something teams will look to exploit if we continue to leave coverage.

6. Clean up some correctable errors shown this season. Drops, return coverage, timing on some pass plays, miscommunications/gaps in zone, running backs getting into open space/2nd level, deep coverage for vertical shots. This is a great game to keep working on these improvements.

7. Don’t worry about EWU next week. One thing I’ve heard since before the UW game was that this team wants to be ready for conference play, ready for EWU, and so on. I doubt this game is being overlooked, but the public communication leaves some possibility. I don’t see this as a “trap” game but if the total focus is set to EWU then there could be some stumbles.

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If what Phillips and Stitt said is true, that the UW game didn’t shake them at all when it comes to confidence I really think we could see some of the budding potential of this team. As long as the Griz aren’t over looking the importance of this game this should be a good win for the Griz. I’ll say 60-10 Montana.

GO GRIZ!!

 

[NorthEndZoneDan]

thanks BW, to me, not looking ahead to next week will be huge. how do you not think about ewoo coming to town?

 

[BWahlberg]

thanks BW, to me, not looking ahead to next week will be huge. how do you not think about ewoo coming to town?

Has to be challenging because it's such a huge matchup and EWU has had our number so much recently.

 

[rocklobster]

Thanks BW! Be nice to see the Griz get some confidence back, playing Savannah St. The game should slow down for them a little after last week.

 

[kemajic]

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

Sure does sound familiar. I wonder whether their HC said they played so much better than the score indicated and whether the DC said the secondary was on the same page.

 

[get'em_griz]

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

Sure does sound familiar. I wonder whether their HC said they played so much better than the score indicated and whether the DC said the secondary was on the same page.

From what I saw in attendance, I too thought the team played much better than the score showed. And the secondary did too. Last year, we saw too often the secondary get burned on deep plays. We saw it against Valpo too. Semore said it would be corrected, and it looks like it was corrected against UW.

The longest passing play for UW was only 31 yards. The longest passing touchdown was only 20 yards. Not a single deep play given up is huge. Even the Pac-12 Networks announcers commented on how good a job the secondary was keeping the deep threat closed down. To be able to correct the blown deep coverage problem against a team like UW says a lot in my opinion. The score is misleading and doesn't tell the whole story. Now, the question is can the secondary have a repeat performance?

 

[Diesel]

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

Sure does sound familiar. I wonder whether their HC said they played so much better than the score indicated and whether the DC said the secondary was on the same page.

Erik Raeburn Savannah HC after App. St. loss "We played with great effort, but our mental errors were disappointing."
He attributed mental mistakes or bad penalties extending App. St. drives and stopping some of their own scoring opportunities.

 

[Jaredkuehn]

I think it was pretty fortuitous that this game landed on the schedule right after the UW drubbing and right before EWU. One more game to rebuild confidence (if that's needed) and iron out any wrinkles before conference play. I'm hoping we see some sound football played on both sides of the ball.

Thanks as always Brint, for putting this together. I'm sure these early season scouting reports are tough.

Griz block a PAT to make it a 47-9 game.

 

[kemajic]

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

Sure does sound familiar. I wonder whether their HC said they played so much better than the score indicated and whether the DC said the secondary was on the same page.

From what I saw in attendance, I too thought the team played much better than the score showed. And the secondary did too. Last year, we saw too often the secondary get burned on deep plays. We saw it against Valpo too. Semore said it would be corrected, and it looks like it was corrected against UW.

The longest passing play for UW was only 31 yards. The longest passing touchdown was only 20 yards. Not a single deep play given up is huge. Even the Pac-12 Networks announcers commented on how good a job the secondary was keeping the deep threat closed down. To be able to correct the blown deep coverage problem against a team like UW says a lot in my opinion. The score is misleading and doesn't tell the whole story. Now, the question is can the secondary have a repeat performance?

It depends on how much you give up short to protect against long. We allowed 24 completions of 28 attempts for an average of 10.5 yards per attempt. The shorter routes appeared to be pretty uncontested. I suspect we will play much tighter against SSt because the risk is low. But question whether we can survive playing that soft against EWU.

 

[get'em_griz]

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

Sure does sound familiar. I wonder whether their HC said they played so much better than the score indicated and whether the DC said the secondary was on the same page.

From what I saw in attendance, I too thought the team played much better than the score showed. And the secondary did too. Last year, we saw too often the secondary get burned on deep plays. We saw it against Valpo too. Semore said it would be corrected, and it looks like it was corrected against UW.

The longest passing play for UW was only 31 yards. The longest passing touchdown was only 20 yards. Not a single deep play given up is huge. Even the Pac-12 Networks announcers commented on how good a job the secondary was keeping the deep threat closed down. To be able to correct the blown deep coverage problem against a team like UW says a lot in my opinion. The score is misleading and doesn't tell the whole story. Now, the question is can the secondary have a repeat performance?

It depends on much you give up short to protect against long. We allowed 24 completions of 28 attempts for an average of 10.5 yards per attempt. The shorter routes appeared to be pretty uncontested. I suspect we will play much tighter against SSt because the risk is low. But question whether we can survive playing that soft against EWU.

Yeah, those shorter routes were very open for UW. I'm hoping that we can find a balance in the middle to continue protecting against the deep pass while also limiting the shorter routes.

 

[Diesel]

Savannah State Tigers 0-1

7-54 loss @ App State: App State ran for 275 and passed for almost 350 in this blowout win. The Tigers had just about 115 total yards and only about 35 yards passing. They only converted one 3rd down the whole game and their only points was on a defensive score (sound familiar?).

Sure does sound familiar. I wonder whether their HC said they played so much better than the score indicated and whether the DC said the secondary was on the same page.

From what I saw in attendance, I too thought the team played much better than the score showed. And the secondary did too. Last year, we saw too often the secondary get burned on deep plays. We saw it against Valpo too. Semore said it would be corrected, and it looks like it was corrected against UW.

The longest passing play for UW was only 31 yards. The longest passing touchdown was only 20 yards. Not a single deep play given up is huge. Even the Pac-12 Networks announcers commented on how good a job the secondary was keeping the deep threat closed down. To be able to correct the blown deep coverage problem against a team like UW says a lot in my opinion. The score is misleading and doesn't tell the whole story. Now, the question is can the secondary have a repeat performance?

It depends on much you give up short to protect against long. We allowed 24 completions of 28 attempts for an average of 10.5 yards per attempt. The shorter routes appeared to be pretty uncontested. I suspect we will play much tighter against SSt because the risk is low. But question whether we can survive playing that soft against EWU.

Should help D line not having to go against a top FBS O line. QB pressure should clean up some of the short dump off 2nd and 3rd reads. UW speed helped raise those averages also.

 

[Gaeilge1]

I did not see the UW game but I have seen UW play a lot the last few years and it is an offense that you have to pick your poison with. No one can, (possible exception is Alabama), shut them down completely. From what I've read the defense played an overall pretty good game. However, I thought the offense might have fared better and at least scored, but it is what it is.

This week will be a good gauge on just what improvement has been made on both sides of the ball and hopefully also with special teams.

 

[BWahlberg]

I did not see the UW game but I have seen UW play a lot the last few years and it is an offense that you have to pick your poison with. No one can, (possible exception is Alabama), shut them down completely. From what I've read the defense played an overall pretty good game. However, I thought the offense might have fared better and at least scored, but it is what it is.

This week will be a good gauge on just what improvement has been made on both sides of the ball and hopefully also with special teams.

Stitt told QB Club today that probably the only two other teams that they'd rather not play than UW was Alabama and Clemson.

 

[krammer]

thanks for you hard work b/w....

 

[grizcountry420]

I did not see the UW game but I have seen UW play a lot the last few years and it is an offense that you have to pick your poison with. No one can, (possible exception is Alabama), shut them down completely. From what I've read the defense played an overall pretty good game. However, I thought the offense might have fared better and at least scored, but it is what it is.

This week will be a good gauge on just what improvement has been made on both sides of the ball and hopefully also with special teams.

Stitt told QB Club today that probably the only two other teams that they'd rather not play than UW was Alabama and Clemson.

He forgot Louisville.. Jackson would have a 1000 total yards, if he played against our defense..

:lol:

 

[griznative24]

I did not see the UW game but I have seen UW play a lot the last few years and it is an offense that you have to pick your poison with. No one can, (possible exception is Alabama), shut them down completely. From what I've read the defense played an overall pretty good game. However, I thought the offense might have fared better and at least scored, but it is what it is.

This week will be a good gauge on just what improvement has been made on both sides of the ball and hopefully also with special teams.

Stitt told QB Club today that probably the only two other teams that they'd rather not play than UW was Alabama and Clemson.

He forgot Louisville.. Jackson would have a 1000 total yards, if he played against our defense..

:lol:

True, Jackson is the man. I think the outcome from playing any of the top 25 would be the same as against UW.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

I sure hope we run the ball well, but not so well that I feel obligated to complain about the lack of passing yards and question the future of the athletic department as a whole.