It's Cal Poly time for Griz Nation
The Daily Inter Lake
It's the game Griz Nation has been waiting for since the 2006 schedule was announced: Cal Poly at the Montana Grizzlies.
Kickoff is Saturday an hour earlier than normal, at 12:05 p.m., in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Mustangs are 1-10 against the Grizzlies. But that one victory was a doozy for the Griz.
Just five weeks after UM beat the Mustangs in Missoula, 37-27, the Mustangs came back for the first round of the playoffs and beat the Griz, 35-21, to end Montana's season.
"This should be a great football game with two highly-ranked football teams going at it," UM coach Bobby Hauck said. "If the history of the series over the past couple of years means anything, this should be a down-to-the-wire slugfest."
The Mustangs are 6-2 on the season with losses to South Dakota State, 29-28, and I-A's San Jose State, 17-7. The Griz beat SDS, 36-7, on Sept. 9. Although the Mustangs are ranked sixth in the nation, they are in third place in the Great West behind SDS and fifth-ranked North Dakota State (7-1). But they are coming off a 16-14 victory over I-A's San Diego State.
"We aren't a juggernaut (on offense) and we weren't a juggernaut on defense against San Diego State," Cal Poly coach Rich Ellerson said. "We were just good enough."
The biggest strength of the Mustangs is its double-eagle flex defense. They are third in the nation in total defense, fourth in sacks, fifth in pass defense, sixth in scoring defense and 10th in rushing defense.
"They are a veteran, talented group on defense and their scheme is hard to handle," Hauck said. "They certainly have one of the best defenses in the country."
Ellerson has made a name for himself as not only a head coach, but defensive coordinator. His first stint at that position was in 1984 with the British Columbia Lions. That team finished second in the CFL in scoring defense and set a CFL sack record. Then he went to Hawaii and led the Rainbow Warriors as Western Athletic Conference's best scoring, total and rushing defense for a few years. In the late 1990s, he led the Arizona Wildcats to two bowl game victories.
Senior middle linebacker Kyle Shotwell is the cog in Ellerson's double-eagle flex. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior has 87 tackles with 16 for losses and could be the Mustangs' third straight Buck Buchanan Award winner. Along with cornerback Courtney Brown, the two are NFL prospects.
It wasn't until the fifth week of the season that a I-AA opponent scored more than one touchdown against the Mustangs, who opened the season with two shutouts.
On offense, with quarterback Matt Brennan completing 43 percent of his passes with six interceptions and seven touchdowns, Cal Poly likes to run with running back James Noble.
The 5-6, 180-pound speedster ran for 144 and 188 yards in the two games against the Grizzlies last year with a 5.2 yard per carry average.
"Noble is a really good running back," Hauck said. "His stature belies his power. He's not just a fast, quick kid but he's also a powerful running back. We've had a hard time tackling him in the past - along with everybody else they've played."
Noble missed the San Jose State loss with a sprained ankle, but has still ran for 769 yards and five touchdowns in seven games. The Walter Payton Award candidate is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Brennan has also accounted for 342 rushing yards and two TDs, but he's got an awesome weapon at receiver. Ramses Barden is 6-6, 227 pounds and has 33 catches for 651 yards and five TDs. Barden scord three TDs against UM last year.
"Barden is their go-to guy and is a tremendous talent," Hauck said. "The problem is that they have another big receiver in 6-5 Justin Belcher and a speed guy in Tredale Tolver."
All in all, Josh Swogger, Kyle Ryan, Tyle Joyce, Loren Utterback and the rest of the Griz will be in for a dogfight.
"They are an excellent football team," Hauck said about Cal Poly. "They are a pain in the neck to prepare for in every facet of the game, because they are different than almost any team we will see on offense, defense and in the kicking game."