Cats, Griz in national showdowns

If the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats have ever played two bigger games on the same day, at almost the exact same time, than it’s been a while.

But that’s exactly what will go down Saturday when the No. 4 Grizzlies and No. 14 Bobcats are faced with two huge FCS challenges. Montana will travel to Fargo, North Dakota, to take on the No. 1-ranked and three-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State Bison in a game that has been nearly four years in the making. Meanwhile, in Bozeman, the Bobcats are set to do battle with No. 2-ranked and defending Big Sky champion Eastern Washington.

For the Bobcats (2-1), who held off Central Arkansas last Saturday, the tilt with the Eagles (2-1) will be a rare nonconference game, but it won’t diminish what is a heated and storied rivalry. MSU and EWU don’t meet on the Big Sky’s unbalanced conference slate again until 2016, but the two teams agreed on a home-and-home series for the next two seasons, and the first salvo is Saturday in front of what is expected to be a record crowd at Bobcat Stadium.

But as big and loud as MSU’s crowd will be, the Cats know they have their work cut out for them. EWU is coming off a bye week, following its 52-50 near upset loss at the University of Washington. So the Eagles and star quarterback Vernon Adams, who’s on pace to shatter every Big Sky passing record in the books, will be rested and ready.

“As we saw last year, we know what they can do,” said MSU defensive end Taylor Dees. “They do their same stuff they've always been doing, but it's hard to stop. We know what Vernon Adams is capable of and, like I said, out of the pocket he makes plays on his feet or extends the play and throws a long pass. It's hard to stop.”

Last year, EWU beat MSU 52-29 in Cheney, Washington, in a game where Adams threw for nearly 400 yards and Eastern ran for 200 more. The Eagles didn’t punt once and scored points every single time they held the ball. And the Eagles might just be better on offense this season. EWU leads the FCS in scoring, total offense, passing, and is actually in the Top 20 in rushing. Adams has a host of weapons around him, like fellow Payton Award nominee Cooper Kupp at wide receiver, and running back Quincy Forte.

And while it’s no secret that stopping EWU’s offense is a tall task for a young MSU defense, led by linebacker Alex Singleton and cornerback Deonte Flowers, Eastern coach Beau Baldwin’s defense needs to be equally as concerned with MSU’s re-vamped offense. Sophomore QB Dakota Prukop is quickly becoming one of the most dynamic signal callers in the FCS, with his combination of size and speed. He’s perfect for MSU’s up-tempo offense, which also features a healthy Shawn Johnson back at tailback, and plenty of speed. And that spells trouble for an Eastern defense which is surrendering nearly 500 yards of offense and 35 points per game.

So, defense is the key to Saturday’s clash. If Montana State can somehow slow down Adams, Kupp and Co., the Cats will be right in the thick of the contest. On the other hand, if Adams, who has thrown for over 600 yards and nine touchdowns in two games against the Bobcats, has his way like he has against so many defense already, then Saturday’s game will shift to MSU having to score a lot of points to keep up.

But no matter which way the game turns, MSU head coach Rob Ash is just happy the two teams are still playing each other, despite the fact it won’t have any impact on the Big Sky standings.

“We have to play Eastern Washington,” said Ash. “I mean, it's a no brainer.”

Another no brainer is the fact that despite being ranked No. 4 in the latest TSN FCS Poll, the Montana Grizzlies are huge underdogs inside the famed Fargo Dome. The home and away series with NDSU was scheduled four years ago, and in that time, the Bison have won three national championships, have beaten four FBS schools on the road, and are currently on a 27-game winning streak, the longest such streak in FCS history. On the other side of the coin, in the last four years, Montana was rocked by several scandals, put on NCAA probation and has went through a coaching change. So Saturday’s matchup might not be as even as it was planned to be when the game was scheduled.

Still, the Griz, who beat South Dakota 28-20 last Saturday night in Missoula, are going to Fargo with nothing else but a win on their mind. They certainly have a healthy respect for the Bison and all they’ve accomplished, but a win is the only thing that’s acceptable for the Grizzlies.

“They’re going to lose a game at some point in time,” Montana coach Mick Delaney said of the Bison. “I’m telling the guys, ‘Why not this week?’”

In order for that to happen, the Griz will have to be much better than they have been so far on offense. But they have the talent to do it. Jordan Johnson is just getting back to full strength after suffering a concussion at Wyoming last month, while star receiver Ellis Henderson is in the same boat, as he continues to recover from a viral infection. However, running back Travon Van and wide receiver Jamal Jones have picked up the slack, while senior back Jordan Canada is coming off two straight 100-yard games, and the Grizzly defense is leading the Big Sky in almost every defensive category.

Still, NDSU is a different animal all together. And even though the Bison lost 21 seniors from last year’s national championship team, and head coach Craig Bohl to Wyoming, they haven’t skipped a beat. They’re defense is as stingy as ever, allowing just 21 points per game and less than 300 yards of total offense. Defensive end Kyle Emanuel is NDSU’s version of Zack Wagenmann and one of those two players will likely win the Buck Buchanen Award this season. Linebacker Carlton Littlejohn is also a beast, while the Bison secondary has been nearly impossible to throw on. On the other side, NDSU hasn’t changed on offense. Running back John Crockett likes to chew up time of possession behind a huge offensive line, while sophomore quarterback Carson Wentz has already made Bison fans forget about four-year star Brock Jensen.

In other words, the Bison the Griz are facing Saturday appear to be the exact same machine that has churned out 27 straight wins, three national championships, and who has knocked off Big 12 stalwarts Kansas State and Iowa State the last two years.

“We’ll go there with our guns loaded and they’ll obviously do what they do at home and on the road and that is embarrass people,” Delaney said. “Every time they get an opportunity they’re going to put 40 or 50 (points) on you if they can. We’re going to try to keep them from doing that.”

Saturday’s game in Fargo kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Montana last played NDSU in 2003, when the Bison beat the Griz on a last-second field goal. The game is televised statewide on ABC-Fox. Saturday’s game between MSU and EWU kicks off at 1 p.m. in Bozeman. The game is nationally televised on Root Sports.