Griz, Cats look to build momentum

It’s back to the road for the Montana State Bobcats and Montana Grizzlies. And both are facing tough, but winnable, games this weekend.

The Bobcats (1-0, 2-1) are riding high after an impressive 45-28 win over then No. 20 Cal Poly last Saturday in Bozeman. Now, No. 11 MSU will travel to take on arch rival Northern Arizona (0-1, 2-2) Saturday afternoon in the Walkup Skydome. And, head coach Rob Ash’s squad will have to avoid an obvious trap game on the road, in a place the Cats haven’t won in quite some time.

“They’re a great football team,” Ash said of the Lumberjacks. “They played very well in a tough environment up there (in Missoula) and had a chance to go ahead at 16-14 in the second half of the game, so I thought they played well. They’re going to be all we can handle.”

The Jacks did play well in the second half of their 23-14 loss at Montana last weekend. In particular, the connection of freshman quarterback Case Cookus and star wide receiver Emmanuel Butler, who hooked up on two long pass plays to bring the Jacks back from a 16-0 halftime deficit against the Grizzlies. So, like two weeks ago at Eastern Washington, MSU’s young secondary, led by cornerback Bryson Keeton, will be tested.

But, the MSU defense made strides against Cal Poly, and the great thing is, the Cats have an offense that appears to be impossible to stop. NAU surrendered over 400 yards of offense to the Grizzlies and now must face Dakota Prukop, Chad Newell, tight end Beau Sandland and MSU offense which is averaging close to 50 points and 500 yards of offense per game. And even though the Jacks get the Bobcats at home, at high altitude too, the task of stopping the explosive MSU offense may be too much for head coach Jerome Souers’ defense to handle this weekend in Flagstaff.

And just like the MSU defense looked significantly improved last weekend at home, the struggling UM offense did, too. Yes, in the win over NAU, the Griz had to settle for three field goals in the first half, but backup quarterback Chad Chalich played well, and Montana went over 200 yards rushing for the first time this season. And, as usual, the Griz’ defense was as stingy as ever. Montana allowed NAU just 19 yards in a first-half shutout, and for the game, the Jacks managed just 257 yards of offense.

Now however, the trick is, for the No. 12 Grizzlies (1-0, 2-2) to finally play well on the road, when they visit the UC Davis Aggies Saturday in David, California.

Montana has never lost to the Aggies, and while Davis (0-1, 0-4) is winless so far this season, the challenge the Griz face on Saturday will be anything but easy.

Davis has a returning All-Conference quarterback in senior Ben Scott, as well as one of the best pass defenses in the Big Sky Conference. The Aggies also have some positive experience this season as they played tough teams like FBS member Nevada very close.

And what makes it an even more challenging game for the Griz is, under Bob Stitt thus far, and before under Mick Delaney, Montana has been lackluster on the road. The Griz got off to a horrible start two weeks ago in a 31-21 loss at Liberty, and they certainly can’t afford to do the same against a Davis team thirsting for its first win of the season.

“They can score some points," Stitt said. "We've got to get lined up against them, that's the biggest thing. If you don't get lined up against these guys, they're gonna hurt ya."

If Montana can do that, if the Griz can avoid a slow start offensively, and play the kind of defense that Griz fans have grown accustomed to seeing so far, a defense led by the incomparable Tyrone Holmes, who had four sacks against NAU, then Montana should be a heavy favorite in this game. And with two homes games and a bye week sandwiched in between, the Griz can ill afford to let an upset happen against the upset-minded Aggies.

The game between Montana and UC Davis will kick off at 2 p.m. M.S.T. Saturday in Davis, California. The game will be televised nationally on Root Sports NW. Montana is back home Oct. 10 to host Weber State. Saturday’s game between Montana State and Northern Arizona will start at 4 p.m. M.S.T. and will be televised statewide on Cowles Media, as well as on Fox Sports Arizona. The Bobcats will also be at home on Oct. 10, to host Sacramento State.