Big Sky Conference

GAME PREVIEW: No. 22 Montana at Idaho State

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When Mike Kramer watches the Montana Grizzlies on offense, he feels like he is watching his Idaho State Bengals dressed in different uniforms. It makes sense then that Bob Stitt echoed the ISU head coach when it comes to the venue for this weekend’s game.

“We are looking forward to getting indoors,” said Stitt, the first-year head coach for a Montana squad that plays at Holt Arena on Saturday. “I don’t think there’s a chance of rain this week at Idaho State (laughs). We are ready to play again. It hurts when you lose. You want to just get back in the saddle and get after it.”

UM head coach Bob Stitt talks with former starting quarterback Brady Gustafson during a rainy loss vs. Cal Poly

UM head coach Bob Stitt talks with former starting quarterback Brady Gustafson during a rainy loss vs. Cal Poly

Last week, Montana played in a torrential downpour in Portland. The Grizzlies up-tempo, no-huddle spread offense struggled as Makena Simis threw three interceptions and Portland State emerged with a 35-16 win. Kramer knows how badly the style of offense each team employs deals with the elements.

“Man, I love a dome stadium,” Kramer said. “Our offense isn’t any good in the wind or the rain. As Montana found out last week in Portland, it doesn’t work. It will be great to see two teams that are pretty similar on offense wail at each other in the indoor atmosphere of Holt Arena.”

The Griz head to Pocatello 4-4 overall, meaning wins over Idaho State, No. 4 Eastern Washington and rival Montana State will be necessary for the post-season to remain in the picture. Idaho State, the preseason No. 23 team in the FCS following last season’s 8-4 finish, has won just one Big Sky game.

“If you coach this long, you will have seasons where you are at a point where you are thinking, ‘Man, we can’t do anything right.’ It’s very difficult to win a game,” Stitt said. “We have to keep talking to our guys and hope things sink in. We are still in a decent situation but we have to have a sense of urgency about this week. This week is a do or die situation where we have to win this game to enable us to get to the next one and the next one.”

The Bengals forged a fourth-quarter comeback to beat then-No. 23 North Dakota 37-31. Outside that victory, ISU’s only other win in eight games this season was a 55-0 win over Division II Black Hills State. With junior quarterback Michael Sanders on the shelf — a status that will not change Saturday — ISU fell 38-13 to Sacramento State entering its bye last week.

“The only week the bye week could’ve been good for me is if I could have used a giant eraser to erase some of those interceptions we’ve thrown,” Kramer said. “The turnovers, the interceptions are keeping us awake at night. We have got to limit free possessions that are quarterbacks are giving away. We cannot survive that.”

ISU quarterback Tanner Gueller fumbles against Portland State

ISU quarterback Tanner Gueller fumbles against Portland State

Between Sanders and redshirt freshman Tanner Gueller, Saturday’s starter, Idaho State has thrown a league-high 16 interceptions and turned the ball over an FCS-worst 24 times. Idaho State’s turnover margin of -17 is the worst in the nation.

“First things first, if you look at the numbers for both teams, it’s strange how close we are in plays, rushes, yards per game passing,” Kramer said. “The Grizzlies have done a better job in protecting the football than we’ve had. We lead the conference in turnovers given. I see two very similar teams offensively playing against each other. There’s a huge difference though between the two defenses.”

Idaho State is averaging 22.6 points, 279 yards passing, 407.5 yards of total offense and 78 plays per game. Montana is averaging 25.9 points, 290 yards passing, 423.2 yards of total offense and 82 plays per game. Kramer’s assessment is correct. The defense is the difference.

Idaho State is last in the league allowing 42.2 points per game, a stat skewed by the fact that ISU gave up 132 points in two weeks in losses to Boise State (52-0) and UNLV (80-8). The Bengals are giving up 448 yards per game, including 271.1 yards per game on the ground.

The Grizzlies’ defense is one of the Big Sky’s best. Senior defensive end Tyrone Holmes leads the league with 11 sacks as Montana has piled up a Big Sky-best 24 sacks this season. Montana is third in the league by allowing 23.5 points per game and second in the league allowing 161.6 passing yards per game.

“You are not going to beat Montana by performance, you are not going to beat them by scheme,” Kramer said. “And our defense on the other hand is just staggering to the finish, especially in the back end at corner and safety. We literally cannot punt on Saturday if we want to have a chance to win.”

Montana wide receivers Caleb Lyons (23) & Jamaal Jones (6) line up in a bunch set vs. NDSU

Montana wide receivers Caleb Lyons (23) & Jamaal Jones (6) line up in a bunch set vs. NDSU

Montana has been able to earn a few crucial wins despite having three different starting quarterbacks so far this season. Two weeks ago, Simis threw six touchdowns as Montana downed North Dakota at home, 42-16. Then Simis could stay hot in the rain.

Injured starter Brady Gustafson started practicing last week. Stitt said the Griz would continue to ease the 6-foot-7junior back into action and he would not return until he felt “comfortable and confident”.

Kramer said his team does not care who plays quarterback. He expects his defense to be ready. During the season, Kramer’s troops don’t practice against a scout team. The Bengals practice against themselves.

“Whether it’s Simis or Gustafson or Grady Bennett, it’s still going to be the same wide open offense that we play against every day,” Kramer said.

The Bengals have nothing left to play for but pride. But Kramer has always taken great joy in trying to beat Montana. Kramer accomplished the feat three times in seven seasons as the head coach at Montana State.

“I don’t think their record is an indication of how good of a team they can be if they put it together,” Stitt said. “They are very well-coached. We’ve got to respect them.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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