Clay DeBord does not hold back when speaking about playing the Montana Grizzlies.
Eastern Washington’s senior captain left tackle and the Eagles play at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula on Saturday afternoon. The game is filled with playoff and Big Sky Conference title implications. Circumstances aside, it means a little more to the visiting Eagles.
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“This is kind of like the Montana State game but everything matters a little bit more,” said DeBord, who had his consecutive starts streak snapped at 45 games earlier this season but has only missed one start in his four years as a starter. “It’s Griz week. We take this week very seriously. In the four years I’ve been playing, this will be my fifth time playing the Griz and we’ve never lost. Everything means more now that it’s November. We are playing at Wa-Griz. It will be a fun environment to play in. We are looking forward to it.”
Montana and Eastern Washington have squared off 42 times in a rivalry dating back to 1938. Although EWU has claimed victory just 15 times, the Eagles have dominated the rivalry as of late. Eastern has won four straight dating back to 2011, including beating the Griz two times last season. EWU ended Montana’s season in the second round of the FCS playoffs with a 37-20 win over UM in Cheney, Washington. Saturday will mark the 15th time in the last 20 seasons that each team is nationally ranked entering the game. Each has won seven times in ranked clashes.
“This is our rivalry game,” EWU junior All-America wide receiver Cooper Kupp said. “We love being able to go into that rivalry atmosphere at Washington-Grizzly and play. We embrace that. It’s always exciting and I think the guys at Montana say the same thing. We look forward to this all year.”
No. 22 Montana enters the game in a must-win situation. UM pulled out a 33-27 win over Idaho State in overtime last week thanks to a botched field goal snap by the Bengals that Montana senior safety Eric Johnson recovered and returned 40 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The win moved UM to 4-2 in Big Sky play, 5-4 overall. Wins over Eastern Washington and Montana State to end the season would likely put the Grizzlies squarely on the bubble for the FCS playoffs.
“I’m not from Montana so I can kind of get the Montana State-Montana rivalry but for me, Eastern is more of a rivalry because I actually respect these guys,” said Montana junior cornerback J.R. Nelson, the reigning Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week after returning an interception for a touchdown against ISU. “The mutual respect for the type of game they play is there. It’s a big-time rivalry game. We always circle this game. The two games we don’t have to have motivation for is Eastern and the ‘Cats.”
Eastern Washington enters the game with an all of a sudden uncertain position. The Eagles fell from the ranks of the Big Sky’s unbeaten by losing 52-30 to Northern Arizona at home last weekend. EWU is 5-1 in Big Sky play and 6-3 overall. With wins over Montana and Portland State, Eastern could still claim a fourth straight league title. Eastern will certainly need one win in its next two outings to sew up a sixth playoff berth in Beau Baldwin’s eight seasons at the helm.
“We are in a position in November where every game feels like playoffs if you are fortunate enough to have five, six wins going into November,” Baldwin said. “The difference for us is nothing. We are going to Missoula, playing Montana and it’s an opportunity to play a game. You only get 11 guaranteed Saturdays. This is an incredible game we get to play. If we get to play more than 11, great but right now we are focused on Game No. 10.”
Each team enters the matchup with a somewhat mysterious situation at quarterback. For Montana, third-string signal caller Makena Simis will likely start for a fourth straight week but starter Brady Gustafson practiced for the third straight week. Gustafson suffered a lower leg injury before Big Sky play began.
“We are hoping with Brady,” UM head coach Bob Stitt said on Wednesday. “We continue to get him a ton of reps. He has to feel comfortable with it. Physically, if he can’t do it, we will keep preparing like we have. Makena is 2-1 and you have to keep it rolling. The run game has been good for us with Makena.”
For Eastern Washington, junior Jordan West has been the starter since the beginning of the season. He’s thrown for 2,883 yards and 30 touchdowns this season. He threw for at least 300 yards in six of his first seven starts, surpassing 400 in two. But he threw for just 121 yards in a 14-13 win over Weber State and for 244 yards in last week’s loss to NAU.
During EWU’s first two games — losses at Oregon and Northern Iowa — Baldwin let redshirt freshman Reilly Hennessey take several series in each game. Hennessey attempted 39 passes and threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns in limited action. The 2013 Washington Gatorade Player of the Year sprained his ankle against UNI and did not play until last week. He completed 8-of-13 passes for 123 yards against NAU. Baldwin said he could see time again this week.
“It’s interesting because at the beginning of the year, we were in the same boat,” Baldwin said. “We thought both coming out of fall camp were ready to play and deserved to play.”
Baldwin has done this before. Vernon Adams, the two-time reigning Big Sky Offensive MVP who transferred to Oregon in the off-season, split time with Kyle Padron as a redshirt freshman in 2012. EWU has been able to continue its winning ways despite having multiple weapons at quarterback.
“It’s a credit to the guys who have been doing it,” said Kupp, who became the Big Sky’s all-time leader in catches, yards and touchdowns in a career this fall. “The last time, it was Kyle Padron and Vernon Adams, two players who are very talented. You talk to any football mind and traditionally; you don’t see a whole lot of teams doing the dual quarterback thing. But we’ve been able to make it work. I’m excited to see how things work out this week. We just know we have to do our jobs every where else.”
Montana’s main task defensively will be to do the nearly impossible: stop Kupp. The 6-foot-2 junior enters the game with 100 catches for 1,388 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has been held under 150 yards just twice this season.
“Cooper is not just a receiver, it doesn’t get better than that guy,” Nelson said. “They have Kendrick Bourne. They always come out for the Griz game. They know how important it is. It will be a test. They have weapons. The quarterback is good. It will be a challenge for us.”
Bourne has 63 catches for 872 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
Montana counters with a pass defense that is giving up the second-least yards (172) per game in the conference. The Griz lead the Big Sky with 30 sacks, led by senior Tyrone Holmes’ Big Sky-best 11 quarterback takedowns. EWU has allowed 13 sacks this season, third in the league. The unit gets Kendrick Van Ackeren, its leading tackler, back from suspension. Senior left tackle John Schmaing also returns for the offense.
“It’s a challenge facing that defense in general,” Baldwin said. “They are an extremely good defense and I’ve thought that since the beginning of the year. The defensive end is as good as anyone in this conference and is up there nationally and they have a linebacker crew that I’ve been extremely impressed with for a couple of years. They are very good.”
Saturday will likely serve as the final game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium for 2015. Seventeen Grizzlies will celebrate Senior Day in front of what is sure to be a sellout crowd.
“It’s Senior day, the last time these guys are going to play at Washington-Griz and none of the guys on our team have ever beaten Eastern Washington,” Stitt said. “That would be something that would be great for their careers to finish off at home for a victory. With the wild year in the Big Sky, you are not out of it yet. If you can take care of business this week, you will have a big one next week to get to seven wins. We have a lot to play for right now.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
