SPORTS

Montana football: Grizzlies ready for trip to Fargodome

Mark D. Robertson

Mick Delaney has never been to the Fargodome, but the Montana Grizzlies coach remembers an incredibly cold trip to North Dakota State in the pre-dome days when he was coaching at Colorado State.

"It was really, really cold," Delaney said.

For quite some now now, as all college football fans know, the NDSU Bison have been really, really hot.

Delaney realizes how tough the task of visiting the No. 1 team in the FCS will be. And, he said, the Griz are ready.

"It's going to be difficult," he said. "They're the No. 1 team in the country. They're the three-time defending national champions. … It's a huge challenge for us, but our guys are really looking forward to it."

STARTING TAILBACK Jordan Canada will be back for the full game in Fargo after sitting out the first quarter due to disciplinary reasons.

Canada ended up as the Grizzlies' leading rusher in Saturday's win over South Dakota despite missing a quarter of the game.

"He had a nice ballgame, played three quarters and really ran the ball well," Delaney said of the senior.

THE GRIZZLIES' defense has been downright salty for most of the season. Delaney hopes that translates well to the road.

UM did allow more than 200 yards of offense to South Dakota in the latter half of Saturday's victory, though.

"That's always a concern when you break down at the end of the game," Delaney said. But we've played really good defense for three weeks, and we'll have to again this week."

PERHAPS THE biggest question mark for the Griz is the kicking game. Both Chris Lider and Harrison Greenberg missed field goals in the win against South Dakota.

The North Dakota State game will be third-stringer Dan Sullivan's time to shine.

Delaney and the Montana coaching staff want to nail down a kicker before the start of conference play next weekend.

"We can't be bouncing back and forth," Delaney said. "That's not fair to (the kickers) and not to (the coaching staff)."

He said the coaches will evaluate Sullivan's performance Saturday and make a decision early next week as to who will get the nod for the rest of the season.

NORTH DAKOTA State is riding a 27-game winning streak. That's an all-time FCS record.

The Bison have also won 14 straight at the Fargodome.

The Grizzlies are 3-3 all-time against North Dakota State in a series that dates back to 1914. But this is the first meeting between the clubs in Fargo.

In the last meeting between the teams, in Missoula in 2003, North Dakota State rallied from a 24-2 halftime deficit and defeated the Grizzlies 25-24.