MISSOULA — North Dakota State has proven to be almost impervious to hostile environments.
The four-time reigning FCS champions have notched five straight wins over FBS schools since 2010, soundly beating teams like Kansas State, Minnesota, Colorado State and Iowa State on the road. On Saturday, NDSU came to the Garden City for a showdown with Montana within the tight, voluminous confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Bison left with their first season-opening defeat to a non-FBS program since 1998.
“Credit Montana’s crowd. They took us out of some things,” NDSU head coach Chris Klieman said following his team’s fourth loss in its last 62 outings. “I thought they had a tremendous crowd. Once again, I thought it was really two excellent football teams and it was a playoff atmosphere-type game. We’ve won some of these games in the past. But that’s what we talked about in the locker room. Especially with some of our fifth-year seniors, this is the first time we’ve had some adversity over the past five years right out of the gate to start our season. This by no means defines our season.”
NDSU offense communicating at line of scrimmage
A stadium record 26,472 fans turned out Saturday despite severely smoky conditions as the Grizzlies and the Bison kicked off the 2015 college football season live on ESPN. NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz led the Bison to a 34-17 win at Iowa State a year ago in front of 54,800 fans. On Saturday, he left as impressed with Montana’s venue following NDSU’s 38-35 loss.
“It was very similar,” Wentz said. “I thought this was just as loud as any of those. They have an awesome fan base here and we knew that coming in.”
Montana junior safety Yamen Sanders made an impromptu and fashionably late appearance at the post-game press conference. The former Arizona transfer played in front of more than 55,000 fans consistently while in Tucson. He said Washington-Grizzly was on par with any Pac 12 stadium he’d been to in the last three seasons.
“This was the best atmosphere I feel I’ve ever been a part of,” Sanders said. “This was the biggest game in my career. I’ve been a part of a lot of big games but this was for sure the biggest game, the biggest win, one of the best feelings I’ve had.”
Bob Stitt has played in a few big games — he led Colorado School of Mines to three Division II playoff appearances in 15 seasons at the helm for the Orediggers — but none could compare to his first game as a Division I head coach. The 51-year-old tried to play it cool before running out of the tunnel and onto Montana’s hallowed turf. The magnitude of the moment got to him a bit as he first stepped out of the opening and onto the Wa-Griz turf.
“It was pretty emotional. I was trying to put my tough game face on but I was tearing up a little bit,” Stitt said. “I’ve been waiting a long time for something like this.”
Brady Gustafson
Although the atmosphere lived up to all expectations as UM hosted the first college football game of 2015, the pressure behind the powerhouse matchup never seemed to get to Montana first-time starter Brady Gustafson. The 6-foot-7 fourth-year junior out of Billings West operated Stitt’s up-tempo offense at an unyielding pace. He ended his first college start with 434 yards passing and three touchdowns.
Gustafson helped Montana run 92 plays in 24:44, or a play every 16 seconds. Montana piled up 544 yards of total offense on an NDSU defense that led the country in scoring and total defense each of the last four years. Montana had as many yards at halftime than NDSU allowed per game last season. Gustafson completed 30-of-55 passes. He completed five passes of 31 yards or more.
Yet Stitt thought Gustafson could still improve. Gustafson overthrew a receiver on no less than 12 attempts. He threw an interception right to NDSU linebacker Nick DeLuca and he almost threw two other picks. DeLuca sacked him and he fumbled.
“The thing that was special about this was he had a lot of great plays, got us in the end-zone, got us down the field but he had adversity where he had some plays open and he never wavered,” Stitt said. “Brady knew he had some big opportunities. He knew he missed some. That’s what showed me he is ready to do this thing. He just turns the page and flushes it and moves on to the next play. That’s what championship quarterbacks do. It’s never going go be perfect but you have to come back with a positive play so you don’t wipe out the one you just had.”
Ellis Henderson celebrates with Griz offense
Gustafson threw a 38-yard touchdown to senior Ben Roberts in the second quarter that served as one of the day’s highlights and tied the score 21-21. His laser to junior Ellis Henderson on a slant turned into a 62-yard touchdown to tie the score 28-28. And his 31-yard rope to redshirt freshman Reece Carlson on fourth down and 11 on Montana’s final drive set the stage for junior Joey Counts’ game-sealing touchdown with two seconds to play.
“I wanted to treat the last drive like any other drive,” Gustafson said. “We got a couple of quick passes to get a rhythm and we fed off of that and we scored at the end.”
Klieman praised Gustafson’s ability to stand tall in the pocket and deliver the ball despite heavy NDSU pressure for the entire second half. Each time the Bison thought they had Gustafson rattled, he’d rally back, Klieman said.
“That’s a part of my game and it’s football, it’s a physical game so you just have to kind of shoulder the blows and sit in there sometimes and try to deliver the ball on time,” Gustafson said. “I was not nervous. Just really, really excited to play football again. It’s been awhile. It’s the greatest game out there. It was really, really a lot of fun.”
Jamaal Jones fends off defenders downfield
Gustafson’s individual performance was one of many for the Montana offense. Henderson finished with seven catches for 133 yards. Senior captain Jamaal Jones finished with eight catches for 119 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. Junior running back John Nguyen piled up 134 yards from scrimmage on 25 touches. Carlson finished with four catches for 52 yards in his first college start. And Counts sealed the deal with his late touchdown.
It’s all a product of Stitt’s offense, an attack surrounded by myth and lore but largely a mystery to most before Saturday’s debut.
“I talked to our guys about giving ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter,” Stitt said. “We were at 46 plays offensively in the first half. I knew this was going to be a ball game because I knew we were going to get between 45 and 50 plays in the second half and if we did that, we’d have them gassed and that would give us a chance to win in the fourth quarter. We came out and we were a little slow in the third quarter and our defense kept us in it. They kept us in it, kept us in it, got us a couple of turnovers.”
Part of Stitt’s reputation coming from Mines to Montana centered upon his reluctance to punt. In his Montana debut, he went for it on fourth down six times, converting four, including two on the last drive that lifted the Grizzlies to victory.
Bob Stitt celebrates as time expries
“Everybody has got to get used to that,” Stitt said with a chuckle. “We were 4-of-6 and going for it on fourth downs gives us a chance to win. People have to understand when you convert those in the first half and you keep those drives going, that’s why we had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. Those guys had to defend 92 plays. When’s the last time North Dakota State ever had to defend 92 plays? It’s all a process. Everyone just has to stay calm and the defense has to bail us out once in awhile. But it will help us win ball games.”
Montana’s execution exceeded almost all expectations on Saturday. Now the Griz will take Stitt’s aggressive style and hope to sustain the momentum. Next week, Big Sky title contender Cal Poly comes to Missoula for a non-conference showdown. The Grizzlies’ hyperactive defense is sure to be tested, but in a different fashion as the Mustangs unveil the 2015 version of their potent triple option attack.
The Montana win surprised a great many. Vegas had the Griz as two-score underdogs. But the Griz themselves never lost faith.
“The feeling is great but I don’t think it’s surprising to us because of the work we put in for the summer,” Jones said. “Watching film so much, we really realized that we could go toe-to-toe with these guys and what they’ve done. That’s the main reason why we won.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
