MISSOULA — What played out Saturday night under the Washington-Grizzly Stadium lights might’ve been nostalgic if it wasn’t such a stark reality within the present.
One might have expected a Montana Grizzlies team shrouded in mystery to march down the field on its opening drive of their opener against No. 13 Northern Iowa.
When Dalton Sneed exploded through the line, into the open field and then into the South end-zone, a student section adorned in maroon exploded like it was decade earlier. The return of Bobby Hauck was off and running.
While a scripted drive for a team with a new coaching staff is nothing new, the energy UM’s opening drive elicited from the sellout crowd here was palpable. Over the last half dozen years, the unparalleled excitement for Griz football had grown stagnant. For most of the first 30 minutes of action Saturday, it seemed the lit fuse had already ignited an entire fan base.
Montana rode a massive wave of momentum spurred on by the eager sellout crowd on a picturesque Missoula evening. While the first half of UM’s memorable 26-23 victory over UNI conjured up the domination of Hauck’s first tenure — a seven-year stretch that included 80 wins, seven Big Sky titles and three trips to the FCS national championship game — the second half showed some of Montana’s stark weaknesses.
But in the end, the Griz came up with game-sealing plays in clutch moments when they needed to, from Dante Olson’s third down sack to force an UNI punt late in the fourth quarter to Sneed’s precise dart to Samori Toure for what proved to be the game-winning first down.
“In the second half, there was no panic on our sideline, no doubt in anybody’s eyes,” Hauck said. “They just went out and played.”
The pregame atmosphere could be described as cautiously optimistic with a nationally ranked opponent in Missoula to open the second chapter of Hauck’s tenure at UM. Students who ended up packing the Southeast corner of the stadium lined up hours before kickoff, a sign of the anticipation for one of the great coaches in the history of one of college football’s storied programs returning home.
“”We’re that excited about Bobby being back and the first game of the year,” UM junior Justyn Martinko, the first student in line before the game, told Skyline Sports. “I’ve been looking forward to this since they hired Bobby.”
The renewed energy received a stimulus when the Big Sky Conference champion and NCAA Tournament-qualifying men’s basketball team raised the No. 37 flag in the Southeast corner of the stadium to begin the pageantry.
“It was really cool coming out on the field and seeing the place jumping like it was,” Hauck said.
The Griz offense certainly had secrets up its sleeve early on. The Griz defense mostly had question marks entering the action. But as the unit took the field with captain All-American senior linebacker Josh Buss leading the way, a reinvigorated priority of pursuing the ball carrier with passion was put on full display on the first two possessions of the game. And the hosts did not let up.
When the Griz forced a punt on their first defensive possession, that caution optimism turned into an eruption that echoed through the Hellgate Canyon.
By the time Montana forced a third straight punt to begin the game, helping the hosts stake themselves to a 16-0 lead before the end of the first quarter, the roar grew louder as the whispers of Hauck’s influence turned into proclamations shared across social media and across Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
When the Griz punted for the first time in the second quarter, the coverage unit tore down the turf. No less than seven UM players smothered UNI’s returner, sending the 25,000-plus observers into a frenzy.
After nine months of speculation, hype and questioning, one thing was abundantly clear on Saturday night following UM’s victory: Bobby Hauck’s return has reignited the University of Montana.
Sneed’s gumption and ability stand tough in a constantly collapsing pocket put to rest memories of Gresch Jensen’s abrupt off-season departure.
The preparation and execution exuded by the Montana defense helped make the memories of ill-advised blitzes and unsound alignments seem like a distant memory.
The attention to detail and intricate strategy on special teams helped Jerry Louie-McGee look like the All-American punt returner that his talent has always indicated that he should be as he averaged 20 yards per return on his first four.
After each Griz stop and before each UM punt return, Hauck could be seen pulling Louie-McGee in close, telling him to “trust the return”. Each time, a timely block would spring the shifty junior for 10 more yards.
Montana’s defense rolled personnel, playing at least six players not listed as starters on the depth chart significant snaps. In the first half alone, listed backups Shayne Cochran, Reid Miller, Jed Nagler, Marcus Welnel and Eli Alford all made plays as Montana’s defense partied on the pile like the Hauck teams of old.
“Our guys showed attention to detail and were ready to play,” Hauck said. “I thought it was well done by the guys on our team. Across the board, our assistant coaches did a really nice job of having this team prepared. We came out and played fast, hard and physical. We didn’t have a bunch of errors. We looked like a well-drilled football team. We needed every one of those points.”
Wins both lopsided and hard fought in Washington-Griz are nothing new. But Saturday, the attitude, energy, effort and exuberance that trademarked Hauck’s first seven-year reign at Montana returned in full force.
Questions remains as to how many hits Sneed can endure, if a shaky and unproven offensive line can hold up and what the in-game chess match might look like now that opponents have a full game film on offensive coordinator Timm Rosenbach and defensive coordinator Kent Baer’s schemes.
But for a moment in time, Bobby Hauck’s return helped most in attendance believe that Montana may someday soon return to dominance.
“The best part of the whole thing is we get to learn some great lessons and we are 1-0, just beat the 12th-ranked team in the country,” Hauck said. “I’m happy about that.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
