How odd is it to say the Griz and the UNC bears are tied in the conference after 2 games? Both teams are 0-2 in conference and 2-3 overall while UNC is 1-3. UNC’s had 2 weeks to prepare so they’ll be well rested and ready to go. So here we go:
Record 1-3:
0-41 loss to Utah: It was ugly for the Bears, Utah rolled up 200 rushing yards and 220 passing while UNC had just 124 for the game. UNC put the ball on the ground 5 times, they were fortunate to only lose just 1 fumble.
40-2 win vs Colorado Mesa: UNC was up just 10-3 until 7:00 left in the 3rd qtr and then they went off with a TD and a scoop and score TD 30 seconds later on a fumble. UNC ran for 150 and passed for 260. They picked up a lot of first downs passing but really hit CMU with a balanced attack, 39 rushes and 35 passes. UNC grabbed 3 picks and had a fumble recovery.
17-28 loss to Sac St: It was back and forth in the first half but in the 2nd Sac rattled off 21 in a row to secure the game. UNC had some chances to make it a game late, with the score at 28-17 the Bears went down to Sac’s 25 but Lobato was intercepted. Their next drive they did the same, getting to Sac’s 23 but time ran out. Sac ran for 164 on the bears and passed for 176 – however the Bears found their passing game throwing for 324 yards but had 3 picks and 1 lost fumble in the game. UNC out-gained Sac in the game but was just 5-14 on 3rd down. Additionally while putting up good yards one of UNC’s two TDs came on a Dominic Gunn punt return TD – so their offense had nearly 400 yards and just 10 points to show for it.
16-41 loss to MSU: This one was over quickly, MSU was up 21-0 before the start of the 2nd qtr. UNC ran for just 34 yards and passed for 214, while MSU put up 177 rushing and 387 passing for a total of 564 yards. MSU shredded the UNC defense and held the ball for 40:00 of the game. MSU hit them with a real balanced attack, 44 pass attempts and 46 rush attempts and had 31 of their 41 points on the board before halftime.
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Players to watch:
#9 Seth Lobato: The 6-5 QB, Lobato is a guy that looks to pass and isn’t a very mobile dude. He’s averaging about 220 yards per game, has 4 ints and 2 TDs so far. No real rushing stats and he’s been sacked 8 times this season.
#16 Dominic Gunn: A shorter WR Gunn is one of the better returners in the Big Sky, he’s got a punt return TD and is averaging a whopping 22 yards per punt return this season, although that’s aided by a 74 yard return. Take that one out and he’s averaging 16 yards per return, still pretty solid. He’s also 2nd on the team in receiving with 159 yards.
#25 Jace Davis: a 6 foot WR, Davis is the main go-to guy for Lobato, he’s got 17 catches and 203 yards this year. He’s missed a game though but played against MSU so I presume we’ll see him.
#3 Dimitri Stimphil: A shorter 5-8 WR Dimitri has Lobato’s 2 TDs. He’s got 156 yards this season.
#1 Will Jefferson: The 4th target that Lobato will look for, Jefferson splits kick return duty with Gunn and has 108 yards receiving this year so far.
#31 Tromaine Dennis: The main running back for the Bears, Dennis is a big 6-1 guy, 210 pounds, he’s got 215 rushing yards and 4 TDs this year. He’s also got 42 receiving yards.
#33 Quinten Hildreth: Shorter than Dennis but just as heavy – so a load to tackle. He’s got 127 rushing and 42 receiving this year.
#56 Clarence Bumpas: A 6-2 linebacker, one of the best in the Big Sky. Bumpas finished with a whopping 145 tackles last season and has 41 this season so far. He’s got 3 TFLs and 1 sack.
#32 Marcel Gibbons: 2nd on the team with 21 tackles (notice the drop-off between him and Bumpas). He finished with 90 last year. Last year he had 2 picks and a forced fumble. No forced turnovers this year for the starting safety.
#52 Herve Tonye-Tonye: An Alcorn State transfer LB, sat out in 2011. He’s tied for 2nd on the team in tackles with 21 as well, he’s also got a forced fumble.
#30 Jordan Bible: Starting alongside Gibbons as a safety as well Bible has 2 picks this year but just 8 tackles.
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General Stats:
- UNC has the 2nd worst scoring offense in the Big Sky averaging just 18.2 points per game, while the UM defense is allowing 29.2 points per game.
- UNCs defense is about the same as the Griz D, allowing 28.2 points, meanwhile UM’s offense is averaging 30.6 points per game.
- The Bears average 75 rushing yards per game and 220 passing yards per game, while the Griz allow 120 rushing yards per game and 248 passing yards per game.
- The Bears defense allows 166 rushing yards per game and 214 passing yards per game while the Grizzly defense averages 247 rushing yards per game and 205 passing yards per game.
- UNC is a highly penalized team, averaging 85 penalty yards per game.
- UNC does not get to the QB much, only 3 sacks (compare to UM who has 14)
- By quarter UNC starts slow and allows a lot of points in the first half and then goes about score for score in the 2nd half.
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Keys to a Grizzly victory:
- Run that ball. Get Peter, Jordan, Brett, and Joey rolling. The EWU defense was supposedly good agains the run, UNC’s is not – statistically. Lets just keep the ball rolling on the ground and prevent UNC from having a lot of time throwing the ball.
- Get after Lobato. UNC’s allowed a few sacks, giving him time would allow him to air it out, he’s shown that he can pass for 300+ in games and giving him pressure might throw his game off.
- Kick away from Gunn, he’s a great returner, and with a few key ST guys out he could take a few punts back for long gains.
- Stretch the field a bit when the offense is rolling, with UNC’s defense showing they can’t stop much so far this year this could be a good game to help Trent gain confidence passing in more mid-range situations.
- Keep your foot on the gas the whole game. We’ve seen a 24-7 lead early or a 9 point lead late doesn’t mean much. Keep it aggressive until the game ends.
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The weather could play a factor, cool and rainy/snowy, should help our ground game but could also make the fumblitis spring up as well. Gotta hang onto the rock on Saturday. Also this is our only game this year (I think) on natural grass. While I don’t think it provides much of a difference it might slow a few of our guys down and make the shifty/cutting runners not as effective.
I see a Griz victory here, I'm not sure if it'll be a huge one though. They might open sluggish, shaking off the hangover of losing 2 games in a row and not having your emotional leader in Dan Moore on the field. I think with some bigger plays they'll loosen up and get in gear as the day goes on.
Record 1-3:
0-41 loss to Utah: It was ugly for the Bears, Utah rolled up 200 rushing yards and 220 passing while UNC had just 124 for the game. UNC put the ball on the ground 5 times, they were fortunate to only lose just 1 fumble.
40-2 win vs Colorado Mesa: UNC was up just 10-3 until 7:00 left in the 3rd qtr and then they went off with a TD and a scoop and score TD 30 seconds later on a fumble. UNC ran for 150 and passed for 260. They picked up a lot of first downs passing but really hit CMU with a balanced attack, 39 rushes and 35 passes. UNC grabbed 3 picks and had a fumble recovery.
17-28 loss to Sac St: It was back and forth in the first half but in the 2nd Sac rattled off 21 in a row to secure the game. UNC had some chances to make it a game late, with the score at 28-17 the Bears went down to Sac’s 25 but Lobato was intercepted. Their next drive they did the same, getting to Sac’s 23 but time ran out. Sac ran for 164 on the bears and passed for 176 – however the Bears found their passing game throwing for 324 yards but had 3 picks and 1 lost fumble in the game. UNC out-gained Sac in the game but was just 5-14 on 3rd down. Additionally while putting up good yards one of UNC’s two TDs came on a Dominic Gunn punt return TD – so their offense had nearly 400 yards and just 10 points to show for it.
16-41 loss to MSU: This one was over quickly, MSU was up 21-0 before the start of the 2nd qtr. UNC ran for just 34 yards and passed for 214, while MSU put up 177 rushing and 387 passing for a total of 564 yards. MSU shredded the UNC defense and held the ball for 40:00 of the game. MSU hit them with a real balanced attack, 44 pass attempts and 46 rush attempts and had 31 of their 41 points on the board before halftime.
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Players to watch:
#9 Seth Lobato: The 6-5 QB, Lobato is a guy that looks to pass and isn’t a very mobile dude. He’s averaging about 220 yards per game, has 4 ints and 2 TDs so far. No real rushing stats and he’s been sacked 8 times this season.
#16 Dominic Gunn: A shorter WR Gunn is one of the better returners in the Big Sky, he’s got a punt return TD and is averaging a whopping 22 yards per punt return this season, although that’s aided by a 74 yard return. Take that one out and he’s averaging 16 yards per return, still pretty solid. He’s also 2nd on the team in receiving with 159 yards.
#25 Jace Davis: a 6 foot WR, Davis is the main go-to guy for Lobato, he’s got 17 catches and 203 yards this year. He’s missed a game though but played against MSU so I presume we’ll see him.
#3 Dimitri Stimphil: A shorter 5-8 WR Dimitri has Lobato’s 2 TDs. He’s got 156 yards this season.
#1 Will Jefferson: The 4th target that Lobato will look for, Jefferson splits kick return duty with Gunn and has 108 yards receiving this year so far.
#31 Tromaine Dennis: The main running back for the Bears, Dennis is a big 6-1 guy, 210 pounds, he’s got 215 rushing yards and 4 TDs this year. He’s also got 42 receiving yards.
#33 Quinten Hildreth: Shorter than Dennis but just as heavy – so a load to tackle. He’s got 127 rushing and 42 receiving this year.
#56 Clarence Bumpas: A 6-2 linebacker, one of the best in the Big Sky. Bumpas finished with a whopping 145 tackles last season and has 41 this season so far. He’s got 3 TFLs and 1 sack.
#32 Marcel Gibbons: 2nd on the team with 21 tackles (notice the drop-off between him and Bumpas). He finished with 90 last year. Last year he had 2 picks and a forced fumble. No forced turnovers this year for the starting safety.
#52 Herve Tonye-Tonye: An Alcorn State transfer LB, sat out in 2011. He’s tied for 2nd on the team in tackles with 21 as well, he’s also got a forced fumble.
#30 Jordan Bible: Starting alongside Gibbons as a safety as well Bible has 2 picks this year but just 8 tackles.
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General Stats:
- UNC has the 2nd worst scoring offense in the Big Sky averaging just 18.2 points per game, while the UM defense is allowing 29.2 points per game.
- UNCs defense is about the same as the Griz D, allowing 28.2 points, meanwhile UM’s offense is averaging 30.6 points per game.
- The Bears average 75 rushing yards per game and 220 passing yards per game, while the Griz allow 120 rushing yards per game and 248 passing yards per game.
- The Bears defense allows 166 rushing yards per game and 214 passing yards per game while the Grizzly defense averages 247 rushing yards per game and 205 passing yards per game.
- UNC is a highly penalized team, averaging 85 penalty yards per game.
- UNC does not get to the QB much, only 3 sacks (compare to UM who has 14)
- By quarter UNC starts slow and allows a lot of points in the first half and then goes about score for score in the 2nd half.
-------------------------------
Keys to a Grizzly victory:
- Run that ball. Get Peter, Jordan, Brett, and Joey rolling. The EWU defense was supposedly good agains the run, UNC’s is not – statistically. Lets just keep the ball rolling on the ground and prevent UNC from having a lot of time throwing the ball.
- Get after Lobato. UNC’s allowed a few sacks, giving him time would allow him to air it out, he’s shown that he can pass for 300+ in games and giving him pressure might throw his game off.
- Kick away from Gunn, he’s a great returner, and with a few key ST guys out he could take a few punts back for long gains.
- Stretch the field a bit when the offense is rolling, with UNC’s defense showing they can’t stop much so far this year this could be a good game to help Trent gain confidence passing in more mid-range situations.
- Keep your foot on the gas the whole game. We’ve seen a 24-7 lead early or a 9 point lead late doesn’t mean much. Keep it aggressive until the game ends.
----------------------
The weather could play a factor, cool and rainy/snowy, should help our ground game but could also make the fumblitis spring up as well. Gotta hang onto the rock on Saturday. Also this is our only game this year (I think) on natural grass. While I don’t think it provides much of a difference it might slow a few of our guys down and make the shifty/cutting runners not as effective.
I see a Griz victory here, I'm not sure if it'll be a huge one though. They might open sluggish, shaking off the hangover of losing 2 games in a row and not having your emotional leader in Dan Moore on the field. I think with some bigger plays they'll loosen up and get in gear as the day goes on.
