Griz hope for a happy homecoming against PSU

The Montana Grizzlies certainly have to feel good about the first five weeks of Bobby Hauck's return to the helm in Missoula, but there's no time to get complacent, either.

While the Griz' biggest rival, the Montana State Bobcats rest with a bye this week, the Griz return home to host a struggling, but still dangerous, Portland State squad. The Grizzlies and Vikings meet Saturday at 2 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

And while the No. 14 Griz (2-0, 4-1) are off to a hot start in Big Sky Conference play, especially coming off a 48-28 thrashing of Cal Poly last Saturday, Hauck knows better than anybody that, in the Big Sky, you can't rest on your laurels.

"These conference games are huge no matter who is on the other sideline," Hauck said. "Every one of these games is huge, especially in a league where you don't play everybody."

Indeed. Even with one loss, Montana has little margin for error, especially knowing they have to make the long trip east next week to take on a much-improved North Dakota squad.

Yet the Griz certainly have to like how they're playing going into the game against the Vikings (0-2, 1-4), whose lone win came three weeks ago against Frontier Conference cellar dweller College of Idaho.

Offensively, Montana is showing some outstanding versatility of late, led by junior QB Dalton Sneed who paced the Big Sky in total offense. As always, Sneed has a plethora of receivers to choose from, including true freshman Gabe Sulser and emerging tight ends Colin Bingham, Braydon Deming and Matt Rensvold. Montana's running game is also picking up steam, with freshman Adam Eastwood recording his first 100-yard game last week.

Defensively, the Griz are also proving to be quite salty. They handled Cal Poly's triple-option attack as well as they could, and they expect to see a heavy dose of run this weekend against PSU. Dante Olson and Josh Buss have been the bell cows for Montana, with Olson leading the FCS in tackles with 77. Add in a constantly improving secondary, and the leadership of veterans Jesse Sims and David Shaw up front, and the Griz are morphing into the kind of defense that fans used to love to watch in Missoula.

Oh, and for good measure, kicker Tim Semenza is a perfect 10-for-10 on field goals thus far, which is tops in the FCS, while kick returner Malik Flowers leads the Big Sky Conference in kickoff return yards.

All of that has added up to a Griz' team that is starting to look like a real threat in the Big Sky. And still, Hauck is reserved with how far his team has come.

"We're off to a decent start. We've improved through the first five games," said Hauck. "We're doing some good things. We're a work in progress, but we're trying to become a complete football team, and I think we're making progress to that end."

The Griz would like to keep that progress going Saturday against the Vikings, in what is a tough four-game stretch for the Griz before their bye week. Montana handled the first two tests against Sacramento State and Cal Poly, and with a win over PSU on homecoming, that would set Montana up with a chance to be 4-0 in the Big Sky before their bye week, and then a huge showdown with unbeaten UC Davis Oct. 27 in Missoula.

Saturday's game between Montana and Portland State kicks off at 2 p.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The game can be viewed statewide on SWX Montana. The Bobcats (1-1, 3-2) return to action Oct. 13 when they host an old rival, the Idaho Vandals at Bobcat Stadium.