Grizzlies hunt Bison victory for chance at championship

Bobby Hauck made no bones about it Monday: The North Dakota State Bison looked very good in their 45-17 FCS quarterfinal win last week.

“They played really well at South Dakota,” said Hauck, whose Montana Grizzlies face NDSU in a semifinal Saturday at 2:30 p.m., at sold-out Washington-Grizzly Stadium. “It was a dominating win over the No. 3-ranked team in the country. They look like the team to beat in this playoff to me, right now.”

The 11-3 Bison narrowly escaped Bozeman with a 35-34 win over Montana State two weeks ago, but got on top of the Coyotes early. By the end, junior quarterback Cam Miller, with a 75 percent completion percentage, was 13 of 15 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown. 

Meanwhile his bigger and possibly faster backup, Cole Payton, ran for two scores. The Bison, who have had their first three-loss fall season since 2009, showed the kind of explosiveness that put away the Grizzlies a year ago: NDSU turned a 21-13 halftime lead into a 49-26 victory in the quarterfinals last Dec. 3.

“But it’s all set up off their run game,” Hauck said. “They’re very multiple. And if you don’t stop their run game they’ll just keep doing it. The play-action pass, the bootleg game, all that stuff plays off the run game.

“You’ve got to get off the field. They’ve always been good on third down because they’ve always been so good on first and second down.”

The good news is the Grizzlies are also on a tear, having won nine straight, all with quarterback Clifton McDowell starting at QB. He continues to make tight throws under pressure while being a considerable dual threat.

“I think their quarterback play is significantly different,” Bison coach Matt Entz noted. “They have a guy who is confident, equally effective with his feet and his arm. I think they’re more multiple.”

Hauck acknowledged that the Griz didn’t play their best game last week in a 35-28 overtime win over Furman; it was their first close game in six weeks. Perhaps that in itself is good preparation for the Bison, who hope to win an FCS title for a 10th time, and third time when their coach (Entz is headed to USC) has accepted a job elsewhere.

The Bison are loaded, from tailback TaMerik Williams (he ran for 103 yards in last year’s game) to receiver Eli Green and return man Jayden Price, who looked plenty fast taking a punt back 82 yards against USD last week.

Montana of course counters with Eli GIllman and  Nick Ostmo at running back, and Junior Bergen not only in the return game — he took a punt and a kickoff back for a score against Furman — but on the edge, where he has a team-high 49 receptions. 

“We have to put together a plan on special teams that is just solid because they have an unbelievable return specialist,” Entz said. 

Montana hasn’t beaten NDSU since a 38-35 win to open the 2015 season. This year’s Griz seem like a different animal than seasons past.
“Coach Hauck’s team has played really well,” Entz offered. “Early in the season they had some ups and downs as well. Boy, they’ve solidified things. They’ve won some big games on the road, Idaho being one of them. I have a ton of respect for Coach Hauck and the way he does things. They play unbelievably hard and I know it’s going to be an environment second to none.”

That’s how Hauck described Miller.

“The quarterback Miller is playing at a really high level,” he said. “I think he’s the best we’ve seen by a large margin to date. He’s played great all year, and he’s playing his best right now. 

“This is a huge challenge. A huge challenge, and we have our work cut out this week. And it should be a great game Saturday afternoon.”

*****

FCS Semifinal Capsule

No. 8/7 North Dakota St. at No. 2/2 Montana

When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.: TV — ESPN2; Streaming — ESPN+; Radio —Grizzly Radio Network/Varsity Network App. 

Where: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217, SprinTurf).

Records: NDSU is 11-3. UM is 12-1.

When the Grizzlies have the ball: Clifton McDowell is now the most prolific rushing quarterback in Griz history with 734 yards this season. He gained 131 yards on the ground last week, when yards were otherwise tough to come by — Eli Gillman was held to 2 on 10 carries. Gillman still leads the team with 901 rushing yards; Nick Ostmo has 594. McDowell has thrown for 1,701 yards and 12 TDs with 3 INTs. Junior Bergen, Keelan White and Aaron Fontes have 13 combined TD catches. 

When the Bison have the ball: Tailback TaMerick Williams has 728 yards and eight TDs rushing and QBs Cam Miller (645, 13) and Cole Payton (573, 12) are right behind. Miller is completing 74.5 percent of his passes for 2,531 and 18 touchdowns, with just four INTs. Payton is a runner; he has 77 rushing attempts and 27 passes. Zach Mathis and Joe Stoffel each have six TD catches but Eli Green averages 19.5 yards on his 40 receptions.

Notable: The teams met in last year’s quarterfinals, with NDSU pulling away in the second half of a 49-26 win. … NDSU is 6-4 all-time against the Griz and 4-0 against them in the playoffs, including the Camellia Bowl wins of 1969-70. … The Griz have won all 10 of McDowell’s starts. … Both Griz starting safeties, Ryder Meyer and Nash Fouch, left last week’s win over Furman. … Meyer’s brother Tucker is NDSU’s outside linebackers coach, and was a graduate assistant at UM in 2019. … Marty Mornhinweg’s son Bobby is an offensive analyst at NDSU. … Converted LB Cole Wisniewski has eight INTs and leads the Bison with 18 tackles. … Jayden Price has two punt return TDs for NDSU this season, same as Bergen has for UM.

The Pick: Griz, 38-35.