MISSOULA, Montana — Bob Stitt gets the local newspaper every day. Throughout his first season as the head coach of the Montana Grizzlies, he has been sure to save each issue from the season.
It’s possible that Stitt wants to remember his UM coaching debut, a 38-35 last-season victory over four-time defending national champion North Dakota State. Or maybe he wants to relive his first conference win, a 23-14 victory over Northern Arizona spurred on by All-Big Sky Conference defensive end Tyrone Holmes’ four sacks.
On Tuesday, Stitt said he saves the news clippings much more to remember the trying times of Montana’s 2015 season than the ones filled with glory.
“I get the newspaper every morning and I take it in and put it in a box. My wife is like, ‘Why are you saving those?’,” Stitt said during his weekly press conference at the Adams Center on Tuesday afternoon. “I said I want to look back on when it was all good and remember how much of a struggle this was and how we overcame this.”
Montana is suddenly surging, one of the hottest teams in the country entering the first round of the FCS playoffs. The Grizzlies will host South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m.) in Missoula. Less than a month ago, the Griz had already begin fighting for their playoff lives.
Following the NDSU win, Montana lost two straight, including a 31-21 loss at Liberty in which starting quarterback Brady Gustafson suffered a severe lower leg injury that would cost him eight weeks.
Backup quarterback Chad Chalich started in a pair of Big Sky wins for which most of the credit goes to the Grizzlies’ defense before suffering a leg injury of his own in the first half against Weber State. Third-string quarterback Makena Simis came off the bench but a fumble in overtime helped Weber secure its first in in Missoula since 1987, 24-21.
Two weeks later, Simis threw three first-quarter interceptions and Montana could not recover in a 35-16 loss at Portland State on Halloween. The loss dropped Montana to 4-4. Following the loss, starting senior left tackle John Schmaing and starting senior outside linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren, each second-team All-Big Sky selections, were arrested and initially charged with felonies. The charges were reduced but the duo along with junior running back Joey Counts were suspended for UM’s game at Idaho State.
In a must-win situation in Pocatello, the Griz needed an errant snap on a game-winning overtime field goal attempt by Idaho State to escape Holt Arena. Senior safety Eric Johnson recovered the wild snap and sprinted 40 yards for a game-winning touchdown in UM’s 33-27 victory.
Against Eastern Washington, Gustafson made his galvanizing return, the Montana defense forced seven turnovers and UM avalanched Big Sky rival Eastern Washington 57-16. Last week, Gustafson threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns as Montana stayed red hot with a 54-35 win over rival Montana State in Bozeman to sew up a 21st playoff berth since 1993.
“The team has come together because we’ve dealt with a lot of adversity. A LOT,” Stitt said. “Everyone has dealt with it. It will bring you together. It either gets really bad or it gets good. It’s gotten good over the last few weeks. We’ve become closer. It makes you feel better when you go through a little bit of adversity when you finally have some success and things are going good and you really appreciate it. You don’t take it for granted. We had some rough times.”
Many of the Grizzlies have been through a coaching transition before. In the off-season leading up to the 2012 campaign, UM fired athletic director Jim O’Day and head coach Robin Pflugrad. Mick Delaney took over under an interim tag at first. That fall, Montana went 5-6, the first losing season for the proud program since 1985. The transition in Stitt’s first season has been more successful.
“When a coach first comes in, a lot of times it might be a rebuilding year and it will be a struggle,” UM senior captain wide receiver Jamaal Jones said on Tuesday. “There has been a lot of struggle in our program but what Coach Stitt has done better than other coaches is manage it very well and keep the faith within the players and let us know there’s still more to go, still more to accomplish. He was right: we are in playoffs now and it’s a brand new season.”
Montana’s rash of injuries at quarterback could’ve derailed the season but now the Grizzlies are almost 100 percent healthy entering the playoffs. All 11 opening-day starters defensively along with a handful of key backups should be at full strength. On offense, the presence of senior wide receiver Ben Roberts and the elevated role of freshman running back Jeremy Calhoun are different from the initial UM starting lineup but are changes based on performance rather than injury.
Stitt brought strength and conditioning coach Matt Nicholson with him from Colorado School of Mines when he was hired at Montana. In the off-season, Nicholson revamped the UM training program to emphasize leaner, stronger players who would be more resistant to serious or nagging injuries.
“Our players were skeptical about it last spring but by the end of the summer, the had completely bought into it, loved it and we were in the best shape of our lives,” Stitt said on Tuesday morning on the Big Sky postseason coaches’ conference call. “We were strong and powerful and lean and our body fat went down. We were putting on weight. Now they are seeing the benefits of that late in the season. You go through an 11 week season and we have all the same starters that started the first game.”
The health and the recent momentum have put Montana in position to make a run. But the Griz will have to take care of South Dakota State, a Missouri Valley Conference foe that would have likely earned a first-round bye and a top-8 seed if not for a season-ending upset loss to Western Illinois. The winner will take on North Dakota State in Fargo on December 5.
“When I saw the draw, I was excited,” UM junior defensive tackle Caleb Kidder, a first-team All-Big Sky selection from Helena, said during Tuesday’s press conference. “I obviously saw South Dakota State was first but I obviously saw who was next. It’s exciting because if we handle business this week, we get a second shot at showing the world that we can do it again.”
