Cats, Griz back at home

It’s getting late in the 2013 Big Sky Conference football season, and both the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats have critical home games upcoming.

The No. 7 Griz (4-2, 8-2) are home for the final time in the regular season when they host struggling Weber State Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Meanwhile, the No. 8 Bobcats (5-1, 7-3) return home from a difficult loss at Eastern Washington last Saturday to host the defensive minded Southern Utah Thunderbirds Saturday evening at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.

And both games in the Treasure State have major playoff implications.

Weber State’s (0-6, 1-9) visit to Missoula doesn’t just mark the return of former Griz head coach Robin Pflugrad, now the offensive coordinator at Weber, but a win Saturday could also lock up a playoff spot for the Griz, who rallied to beat South Dakota 32-27 last Saturday in Vermillion, S.D.

However, Plfugrad’s influence on the WSU offense means Montana’s struggling defense will have its hands full, even though UM knows the system well, and the Wildcats are in the midst of a dismal season.

“I don’t think we’re going to have any problem getting up for this game,” said UM senior offensive lineman William Poehls. “It’s going to be our last regular-season home game, and it’s going against Coach Pflugrad, so that’s got to add something to a lot of the older guys.”

The Wildcats are at the bottom of the Big Sky in almost every offensive and defensive category. They average just 15 points per game and allow a whopping 48 per outing. They also start a true freshman quarterback, and have had little success running the ball this season, even with the return of senior tailback Bo Bolen, who’s seemingly played at Weber forever.

Still, the Montana defense has been beleaguered of late. In its last four games, three of them wins in the final minute or overtime, the Griz’ defense has yielded an average of 498 yards of offense. And with Weber’s hurry-up offense coming to town, the Griz’ defense will certainly need to be on its toes.

Meanwhile, the Griz will once again lean on offensive weapons like junior quarterback Jordan Johnson and sophomore wideouts Ellis Henderson and Jamaal Jones. Henderson had a career day last Saturday with four catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns, including a game-winning 98-yard kickoff return with just over a minute left against the Coyotes. But with foul weather in the forecast, the Griz will really want to get their struggling running game going. UM junior Jordan Canada has carried the load of late, while fellow backs Travon Van and Joey Counts are still out with ankle injuries.

On senior day though, Montana is a heavy favorite against the Wildcats, and a win Saturday will likely lock up an FCS playoff berth for the Griz, ahead of next Saturday’s showdown with Montana State.

Speaking of the Bobcats, Saturday is a must-win. MSU will host Southern Utah (4-2, 7-3) in a late afternoon affair, and after last Saturday’s drubbing at EWU, MSU can ill afford to slip up at home. The Bobcats are still in good shape in the Big Sky standings, alone in second place, but with three losses already, the Cats’ playoff hopes rest on a win against the up-start Thunderbirds, who have won two straight games and have playoff aspirations of their own.

Saturday’s game in what will likely be a snowy Bozeman, will be a classic game of offense against defense. Southern Utah has the best statistical defense in the Big Sky, holding opponents to a mere 19 points per game in conference play. However, Montana State has the No. 2 offense in the conference, and the Cats are as balanced as they’ve ever been. MSU rolled up over 500 yards of offense in last week’s setback at EWU, with DeNarius McGhee throwing for 300 yards and Cody Kirk rushing for 103 yards in a 52-49 loss. Kirk now has five straight 100-yard games and is third in the Big Sky in rushing. Still, the T-Birds are a stingy defense, so MSU will once again need to be balanced, and that means McGhee getting the ball to playmakers like Tanner Bleskin, Brian Floetketter, Jon Ellis and Shawn Johnson.

However, MSU’s defense was shell-shocked at EWU, where the Eagles were 8-for-8 on touchdowns Saturday. So the Bobcats, led by Buck Buchanen nominee Brad Daly, will need to bounce back against a Southern Utah offense that doesn’t score a lot of points but is efficient and takes care of the ball.

Saturday’s game between the Bobcats and Thunderbirds kicks off at 4:05 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman and can be seen statewide on Max Media. The Grizzlies’ senior day game against Weber State will kick off at 12:07 p.m. in Missoula and can also be seen on Max Media. The Griz and Bobcats meet next Saturday in Bozeman.