Struggling Griz, Cats search for redemption

It's been a difficult week for both the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats. And both teams will be happy just to get back on the football field this Saturday.

However, it is a question as to what kind of team each will be when they do play.

The No. 23 Grizzlies (3-2, 4-4) once again find themselves broiled in controversy heading into Saturday's road game at lowly Idaho State. Montana is coming off a devastating road loss at Portland State last week, and if that weren't bad enough, the Griz will likely be without starting All-American linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren and left tackle John Schmaing, two of three Griz players who were arrested last Saturday night for trespassing.

Add to that the Griz still don't have a true starting quarterback. and the Bengals (1-4, 2-6) are playing for nothing more than pride at this point, and Saturday's first visit to Pocatello in years, and the Griz' first game against a Mike Kramer coached ISU squad appears to be a rocky one.

Oh, and Montana can't afford to lose one more game this season to have any chance to make the FCS playoffs. And Montana doesn't care if it's inside the Holt Arena in Pocatello, or anywhere else, the Griz just need to win.

"I don't really know if road game vs. home game is that big of a factor," said Griz defensive end Derek Crittenden, a Rhodes Scholar finalist. "The truth is we need to get a win. We need to get a win and then we need to get three wins."

Winning will be easier said than done. Despite a horrific game in the rain in Portland last Saturday, a 36-16 Griz' loss, it looks as though sophomore Makena Simis will make his third straight start. Already the third starter this season for the Griz, who are averaging just 23 points per game on offense, it doesn't appear that first starter Brady Gustafson is ready to go yet, though he has practiced and was in uniform at PSU last week.

"He's still very questionable, because we're not gonna put him in there unless he's feeling 100 percent," Griz head man Bob Stitt said. "You don't want to rush that situation to where he doesn't feel great and his confidence level goes down because he's not as successful as he wants to be 'cause you pushed him into it."

So, it's likely Simis who will get the nod in Pocatello, against an ISU defense which surrenders a Big Sky worst 43 points per game. Hopefully, that porous defense will give Montana's struggling offense a chance to get on track, as playmakers Jamaal Jones, Ellis Henderson, Ben Roberts, John Nyguen and freshman running back Jeremy Calhoun will look to play more like they did two weeks ago against UND, than they did last week in Portland.

However, as bad as ISU's defense has been, Montana's once-proud defense has been humbled as of late. The Vikings barreled over the Griz for almost 400 yards rushing last week, and now UM must stand up to perhaps the best running back in the Big Sky in ISU's Xavier Finney. Madison Mangum is also one of the best receivers in the league, and the Bengals have been impressive on offense at home. Add to that no Van Ackeren and the Griz' defense will have its hands full in a game Montana absolutely can't lose if it has any hope of making the playoffs.

In fact, the only way Montana can make the playoffs is if it finishes the season by beating ISU, Eastern Washington and Montana State. A tall order indeed for a team that doesn't seem to look anything like the squad that opened the season by knocking off four-time FCS champion North Dakota State back in August.

Speaking of the Bobcats, they don't look much like the team they hoped to be either, and a loss at North Dakota last Saturday, MSU's second straight, and fourth on the road this season, isn't making things any easier.

Now, No. 24 MSU (2-3, 4-4) comes home to face the other rising star of the Big Sky, No. 18 Southern Utah (5-1, 6-2), and in no way shape or form is Saturday's game at Bobcat Stadium going to be easy.

The Thunderbirds have one of the best defenses in all of FCS football, led by star defensive end James Cowser. And while MSU has one of the best offenses in the FCS, led by star quarterback Dakota Prukop, nothing for the Cats seems to be a given at this point. Even head coach Rob Ash's job is in question, at least on the Internet message boards. However, Ash, isn't worried about anything except finding a way to get past the T-Birds at home, and keep MSU's chance at a winning season alive.

"The only pressure I'm feeling is I want these guys to enjoy the game again," Ash said when asked about the future of his job. "We'll enjoy the game when we play better and when we win. I want to see those guys smile again. I want to see my team, after a game in that locker room, smiling. That's my definition of fun, and that's the only pressure I feel, to try to somehow make this happen for these guys."

For the Cats to win again, it means stopping the SUU offense this weekend. While everybody is raving about the SUU defense, the T-Birds have quietly been very good on offense. Ammon Olsen has been unflappable at quarterback this season, and with a defense that allows just 15 points per game, SUU has been able to execute on offense without a lot of pressure.

Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount on the Cats' beleaguered defense. MSU allows 491 yards of total offense, and it just surrendered another 200-yard rushing performance, this time to UND's John Santiago. Young standouts like Mac Bignell and veteran tackle Taylor Sheridan have done all they can to lead the MSU defense, but it just hasn't come together, and now, with hopes of making the playoffs all but gone, the Cats are trying to finish off the season the best they can, and a home win over the surging Thunderbirds, who are trying to make the playoffs for the second time in three years, would go a long way towards MSU doing just that.

Though the season hasn't panned out the way anyone at MSU thought it would, Ash insists, it's by the slimmest of margins that the Cats have went from being picked to win the Big Sky to falling completely out of the FCS playoff hunt.

"The margin between winning and losing is about this big," Ash said during a news conference on Tuesday, holding his two fingers close together. "And we're just on the wrong side of that little, tiny fraction right now. A couple plays go differently (and) we're 6-2, 7-1 without any trouble at all. We just needed to win a couple close games. Get a couple stops, make a play, and we're talking a whole different language right now. I don't think we're that far off."

The Bobcat's home game with Southern Utah will kick off at 1:40 p.m. Saturday in Bozeman. The game will be televised nationally on Root Sports Northwest. Saturday's game between the Grizzlies and Bengals will start at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised local on Cowles Media affiliates.