FCS Playoffs: UM Grizzlies play host to South Dakota State
MISSOULA – With their team once again in the national playoffs, Montana fans might be tempted to slow down and savor the success a little bit.
But that’s not how the Grizzlies look at it.
“You just have to go have fun, hit them 100 mph and see how you stack up,” said UM head coach Bob Stitt, whose Grizzlies play host to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Saturday afternoon at 1 (ESPN3 TV) in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
The 7-4 Grizzlies, ranked 16th and 17th in the FCS STATS and Coaches polls, respectively, take on the 8-3 Jackrabbits (10th, 11th) in a first-round fight before an expected crowd of 18,000 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. The winner advances to meet North Dakota State, which has a first-round bye, next Saturday in Fargo, N.D.
Montana has won three in a row, including a 54-35 triumph over Montana State a week ago. The winning streak started when the Grizzlies earned an unlikely triumph in overtime at Idaho State when the Bengals botched a chip-shot field goal that would have won the game and UM returned it for a touchdown.
“Look where we’re at, from that last play at Idaho State. It’s just unbelievable that we’re talking right now about talking South Dakota State in the playoffs from where we were,” Stitt said. “This is where we wanted to be, because we’re playing some good football.”
South Dakota State has been here before. The Jackrabbits of veteran coach John Stiegelmeier, who is 128-89 in 19 years on the job at the Brookings, S.D., school, are in the national playoffs for the fourth year in a row.
Last November, the Jackrabbits and future NFL halfback Zach Zenner defeated Montana State 47-40 in a first-round playoff game.
The Jackrabbits will face a tougher defense from the Grizzlies than was the case a year ago in Bozeman. Montana’s defense features end Tyrone Holmes, tackle Caleb Kidder and a talent-laden linebacking corps led by Kendrick Van Ackeren.
“We’ve got to stay on blocks,” Stiegelmeier said. “They are so active and so athletic and aggressive. They’re impressive. We need every guy to have a chip on their shoulder and play their best football.”
The Jackrabbits defeated Kansas in their season opener and then hammered future Big Sky Conference champion Southern Utah 55-10. Despite graduation losses that included a four-year starting quarterback and All-American halfback Zach Zenner, now of the Detroit Lions, SDSU has prospered this season.
“We have a different recipe than we’ve had in the past,” Stiegelmeier said. “The thing that’s not different, is the belief and the hard work that our program expects and is full of. I think we surprised a lot of people outside our locker room. But the guys in the locker room, they’re not surprised. There’s a baton here and it’s been passed and they’ve carried it pretty well this year.”
Junior quarterback Zach Lujan has thrown for 1,861 yards and 14 touchdowns in nine games. Halfback Brady Mengarelli averages six yards a carry and has rushed for 738 yards and six scores, while All-American receiver Jake Wieneke has 66 receptions for 1,344 yards and 11 touchdown grabs.
“Their program is good year-in and year-out,” Stitt said. “It’s a tough draw in the first round, but once you get in the tournament they’re all good. If you’re going to beat the best you’ve got to come to play each week.”
What does South Dakota State have to do in order to be successful?
“A number of things,” Stiegelmeier said. “The first is to be able to feed off rather than be in awe of the crowd. This will be our most intense environment that we’ve been in, and that should excite you as a player and a coach.”
The Jacks hope to slow down the Grizzly offense.
“You can do that in two ways, play great defense or hold the ball on offense,” Stiegelmeier said. “I don’t know if we can do either one of those to perfection, but we’ll try.”
With starting quarterback Brady Gustafson back in the lineup after missing six games with a broken leg, the Grizzly offense has hit its stride. Montana hammered Eastern Washington 57-16 on Nov. 14 and then smashed Montana State 54-35 last week in Bozeman.
Gustafson has thrown for 1,460 yards and nine touchdowns, while the swift Jamaal Jones leads a superb receiving corps with 64 receptions for 1092 yards and nine scores. Halfbacks John Nguyen and Jeremy Calhoun, who have combined for 987 yards and 11 touchdowns, keep defenses honest between the tackles in Stitt’s pass-happy offense.
Montana has never lost to South Dakota State, winning all seven previous meetings. Six of those games were in Missoula, including a 52-48 Montana victory in 1993 that marked the emergence of Great Falls native Dave Dickenson as the Grizzly starting quarterback.
The Grizzlies met six years ago in a first-round playoff game at Washington-Griz and Marc Mariani, like Dickenson a future pro football player, sparkled as the Grizzlies scored the final 40 points en route to a 61-48 victory. Mariani, who now plays for the Chicago Bears, returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and caught two TD passes as the Grizzlies rallied.
That was a stressful one for Montana fans. But it had a happy ending. On paper, it appears that Saturday’s game is a toss-up.
“We’ve got to appreciate the opportunity,” said Stitt, who led Colorado School of Mines to many NCAA Division II playoff appearances before taking the Grizzly job last December. “Just relax and have some fun with it. Once you get into the tournament you just let it go.”