Using the adage that rivalry week starts as soon as the whistle blows on the previous game, Clifton McDowell’s first media appearance of the rivalry week was hardly smooth.
“Enjoy this win, and now Battle of the Brawl, whatever they call it,” McDowell said to MTN Sports’ Kyle Hansen on the field after leading the Griz to a 34-10 win over Portland State on Saturday, leading to a clip that’s gone mildly viral.
The nonchalance was in character for the taciturn, drawling, low-key quarterback from Houston, whose power-running, mistake-free style has keyed the Griz to six straight wins and the No. 3 ranking in the country going into the rivalry game to end all rivalry games.
After bouncing around the South – Louisiana-Lafayette, Kilgore JC in Texas, Central Arkansas – for several years, McDowell now finds himself a central figure in one of the most heated rivalries in the West – regardless of what you call it. And how he handles the pressure – from the stage, the stakes and a relentless Montana State defensive front – could decide Treasure State bragging rights, the Big Sky Conference title and the No. 2 seed in the FCS Playoffs.
“You could tell, as soon as he got the starting gig, they changed quite drastically,” Montana State linebacker Nolan Askelson said. “A lot of credit to him. He’s a great player.”
McDowell took over as Montana’s starter on Sept. 30, the week after a 28-14 loss to Northern Arizona, leading the Griz to a 28-20 win over Idaho State.
That NAU setback remains Montana’s only loss going into the Brawl, thanks in large part to McDowell. After the Idaho State game, he quarterbacked the Griz to back-to-back road wins over ranked teams UC Davis and Idaho. Montana has scored at least 34 points in each of the last three games en route to blowout wins over Northern Colorado, Sac State and Portland State.
Perhaps more importantly, turning almost exclusively to the 6-4, 225-pound dual-threat McDowell at quarterback has allowed the Griz offense to settle on an identity. Over the past month and a half, their offensive game plan has coalesced around running the ball and controlling time of possession.
After running for just 18 yards against Northern Arizona – and 84 the week before against Ferris State – Montana has run for at least 150 yards in each of McDowell’s six starts, including an average of nearly 275 yards per game on the ground in the last three games.
Alongside the breakout of redshirt freshman running back Eli Gillman, McDowell has run for at least 70 yards himself in each of those three games.
“(McDowell) brings the element of being able to design plays and the element of the quarterback run piece that we’ve had the chance to prepare for quite a bit as of late,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said.
That effective running game leads to a cascading series of advantages for Montana’s offense. Running on early downs tends to keep the Griz ahead of the sticks, which helps explain why, in the last six games, the Griz are converting 48.9% of their third downs – a figure that would be second in the conference behind only Montana State over the full season. That, in turn, has led to Montana having the time of possession advantage in five of those six games.
Plus, leaning on the run game has helped McDowell be uber-cautious with the ball. A red-zone interception against Sac State was his first in 133 pass attempts, and the Griz have turned the ball over just four times in the last six games – helping reinforce their grinding, clock-controlling style.
Against the Bobcats, those advantages will be tested in a great strength-on-strength matchup. Montana State’s front seven doesn’t have the marquee names – Troy Anderson, Daniel Hardy, etc. – it’s boasted in the last few years, but the ‘Cats have been just about as bone-crunchingly effective on defense as ever.
Willie Mack Garza’s unit ranks second in the Big Sky in run defense (behind Montana, who’s far out ahead of everybody), first in sacks and third in interceptions.
Melstone product Brody Grebe (eight sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss) leads a defensive line that’s put all four starters – a list that also includes Ben Seymour (5.5 sacks), Kenneth Eiden IV (4.5) and Sebastian Valdez (four) – in the top 15 in the conference in QB takedowns.
It’s the best pass-rushing line in the league, and one that tends to keep mobile QBs anchored to their spot. After giving up 83 rushing yards to Portland State quarterback Dante Chachere early in the conference season, the ‘Cats have stifled Sac State’s Kaiden Bennett, Idaho’s Gevani McCoy, NAU’s Angel Flores and Eastern Washington’s Kekoa Visperas, all at least decent runners.
“I looked through the last four or five games, let’s take Cal Poly out of there, and we’ve played against really good mobility at quarterback,” Vigen said. “All that said, (McDowell) is a completely different style. He’s a bigger guy than these guys we’ve faced. That’s where he’s been really effective, is his ability to be hard to bring down. The athleticism is one thing, but rarely does the first guy bring him down.”
It’s hard to believe that the ever-cool McDowell, especially playing at home, will be overwhelmed by the intensity of a rivalry he didn’t know existed six months ago.
That would leave it up to the Bobcats’ defense to put him under pressure in this matchup to watch.
“No different than a big running back, we have to really tackle him well,” Vigen said. “Obviously, limiting him in the run game will be a huge factor in our success.”
