Cats, Griz on the road

For the second straight week, the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are coming off two very different games, and their upcoming opponents are very different as well.

The No. 5 Bobcats (4-0, 6-2) are surging heading into Saturday's road game at last-place Northern Colorado. Meanwhile, the No. 12 Grizzlies (3-2, 6-2) are looking to regroup after a tremendous battle for a second straight Saturday inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Montana heads to up-start Sacramento State (3-1, 4-4) Saturday afternoon for a critical road showdown. The Grizzlies took a beating last Saturday against Eastern Washington, and at one point trailed 42-17, allowing EWU quarterback Vernon Adams to thrown for nearly 500 yards and six touchdowns. Montana did rally, scoring three times in the final 10 minutes, cutting the deficit to 42-37, but EWU recovered an onside kick with just over a minute left to seal the Griz' fate.

Montana's last two games have left the Griz tired and injured. Montana starting running back Travon Van is still nursing an ankle sprain, while the Griz have likely lost backup RB Joey Counts for the season. Against EWU, UM was also without starting corner Anthony Goodwin, as well as wide receivers Taylor Walcott and Mitch Saylor.

And now come the Hornets, who only have one win in 17 tries against UM. That win however, came when Montana last went to Sacramento in 2011, and was Jordan Johnson's worst outing as a Griz. Johnson is still one of the most efficient QB's in the Big Sky Conference, having thrown for 20 touchdowns against just one interception this season. However, the last two weeks have seen Montana's powerful running game snuffed out, and junior Jordan Canada has had to shoulder more carries than he normally does.

On defense, the Griz are still one of the best in the Big Sky against the run, but pass defense has been exploited. Montana is now 12th in the Big Sky against the pass, and the Griz have to contend with Sac. State junior Garrett Saffron, a good pocket passer who can also make big plays with his feet. The Hornets aren't a strong running team per say, but their offense is very diverse and very similar to what the Griz faced against EWU last Saturday. So there is no question, Montana's defense is up against a huge challenge for the third straight week, and as a team, the Griz are in a bind, virtually needing to win their last four games, three of which are on the road, in order to be certain of an FCS playoff berth.

"We don't have to tell them how urgent it is," Montana coach Mick Delaney said Tuesday. "If you do, we're in deep trouble anyway. They understand where it's at."

Things are urgent for the Bobcats too, but in a much different way. MSU has won four straight conference games and the Cats are tied with EWU for first place in the Big Sky, just one week away from the huge showdown in Cheney.

But the Cats, who are closing in on another Big Sky title, certainly won't look past lowly Northern Colorado (0-4, 1-7) Saturday in Greeley, Colo. Despite MSU beating up on UC Davis last Saturday in Bozeman, the Cats have always gotten the best from the Golden Bears and MSU head coach Rob Ash expects nothing less this time around.

"The first thing is, they've played us tough down there. It's been a tough place for us to play," Ash said. "I will never forget 2007, when we went down there and lost. That game is still vivid in my memory. They're tough, they play well at home, they're strong. I think physically their strength has always been a difficult matchup for us. I think when Scott Downing was there he brought in a good weight program from the University of Nebraska. They put that in place and really developed some great strength in their football team. That's made them difficult to match up against as we've played them over the years down there."

But as touch as NCU has played the Cats in the past, MSU is rolling right now. DeNarius McGhee is getting much more healthy, as he threw three more TD passes last week. Meanwhile, the Cats' ground game, behind senior Cody Kirk is in full gear, and the Bobcat defense has been much-improved in recent weeks. MSU is tops in the Big Sky in scoring defense and second against both the run and the pass.

And those numbers don't bode well for a NCU squad which is near the bottom of the Big Sky in both total offense and scoring offense. The Bears do have a shifty QB in Seth Lobato, but they've been unable to maintain any consistency in the running game, and that has limited what Lobato can do. And against a rabid MSU pass rush, led by senior Brad Daly, who leads the FCS in both sacks and tackles for loss, Lobato will need to be at his very best.

Saturday's game between the Bobcats and Golden Bears will kick off at 1:35 p.m. at Nottingham Field in Greeley, Colo. The game can be seen nationally on Root Sports NW. The Montana Grizzlies and Sacramento State Hornets will get underway at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. That game can be seen locally on Max Media.