Laying aside all the drama of Montana’s front-running, nail-biting 26-23 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday, the box score made several things very apparent about this Grizzlies team. In fact, rarely has a team’s profile been this clear-cut after just one game. Here are some things that we can say with confidence about Bobby Hauck’s Grizzlies after Week 1.
Griz can’t run the ball
Running backs Adam Eastwood and Alijah Lee combined for 19 yards on 13 carries. The longest non- Dalton Sneed carry of the night was four yards, by Eastwood on the very first play of the game. Now, leading returning rusher Jeremy Calhoun was suspended for the game, but Eastwood and Lee are talented as well, and Calhoun wouldn’t have seen much, if any, more success slamming repeatedly into a wall of defenders at the line of scrimmage. How will they get around this? We saw most of the recipe against Northern Iowa — short, quick throws, and having Sneed run 15 times a game as a scrambler, when the field is a bit more spread out and he can find creases easier. The running backs will probably have to continue to pound their heads into a wall just to establish the threat, but they should also be more active in the receiving game as well, as the Grizzlies use screens and swing passes to get the ball into their hands. Northern Iowa’s defensive line was a tough test to start the season, but if this continues, the Grizzlies will get dangerously one-dimensional.
The corners aren’t a worry
With backup Dareon Nash and converted wide receiver Justin Calhoun starting at cornerback going into the season, the inexperience of the defensive backs was a major question. Well, question answered, after the duo were two of the best players on the field Saturday. Yes, Northern Iowa quarterback Eli Dunne missed some throws, and his receivers had some drops, but when the opposing quarterback gets pulled in the third quarter after going 5-for-20, your cornerbacks have had a good night. Calhoun had the flashy stat line, breaking up three passes and forcing a fumble on a sack, but Nash was quietly good as well. Even when backup quarterback Colten Howell came in and got the UNI offense moving, he was doing it with throws to his tight end, Briley Moore, not his wide receivers. In fact, Nick Fossey had the best night of any Panther wideout with two catches for 26 yards. That’s shutdown, and it speaks to how well Nash and Calhoun held up in coverage. They’ll face bigger threats when conference play starts, but it was a great beginning for the Griz defensive backs.
In fact, the whole defense showed out — but celebrate cautiously
The Montana defense is in kind of a weird place right now. On the one hand, it looked like potentially the best unit in FCS during the first half, holding Northern Iowa to 47 yards and four first downs on 31 plays while forcing six (SIX) fumbles. Even in the second half, the Panthers only scored on three of their six possessions, and had to convert a fourth-and-17 to do that well. Nash and Calhoun were sticking to the receivers, and the linebackers and safeties were flying downhill to shut down the run game. Senior captain linebacker Josh Buss played sparingly — good news in itself — but Dante Olson looked more than capable of filling his spot, with 13 tackles, an interception, and a couple of jaw-dropping plays, including one when he chased down a stretch play from the other side of the formation.
But, I’ll offer one big problem, and one potential caveat. The problem is that there was no pressure from the defensive line. They played well against the run, but the Grizzlies got only two sacks on the night, one from Olson, a linebacker, and one from Calhoun on a corner blitz. Those were also the only two quarterback hits of the game for Montana. It’s not because the UNI quarterbacks were getting the ball out quickly, either. There were several plays where Dunne or Howell stood in the pocket for a long time, but couldn’t find anyone downfield because of the coverage. Hauck dialed up a lot of blitzes late because he couldn’t get pressure any other way, which is a real warning sign. The caveat is that, even assuming Buss’s health and admitting that Hauck rolled a lot of players Saturday, a couple of the units on the defense are very thin. Injuries will happen, and if Buss, Olson or one of the cornerbacks goes down, it could leave a huge question mark again. Indeed, the Griz already dodged one bullet after Calhoun went down and walked gingerly off the field, but he returned later in the game.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
