Griz Game Day 082716

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E1

2016 BIG SKY CONFERENCE PREVIEW • SATURDAY, AUG. 27, 2016

THE HUNT IS ON Montana among many in chase of Big Sky crown

KURT WILSON, Missoulian

CONFERENCE: PREVIEW CAPSULES • GRIZ: DEPTH CHART • NUMBERS: FINAL 2015 GRIZ & BIG SKY STATS

! z i r G Go

E2 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | BIG SKY PREVIEW

Southern Utah quarterback Ammon Olsen looks to pass against Montana State last season. The Thunderbirds made a surprise run to the Big Sky Conference championship, but Olsen is among the many stars who departed in the offseason.

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ, Associated Press

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title. Secondly, it perhaps ushered in a new era of parity for the country’s largest FCS football conference.

For the first time since Clinton was he Big Sky Conference’s mad in office — that’s Bill, not Hillary mind dash to the finish line in 2015 accomplished a number of impor- you — the Big Sky crown was not worn or shared by any among the traditional tant things.

Firstly, it gave validation to the league’s league powers of Montana, Montana State or Eastern Washington. monster football expansion in 2012, The Thunderbirds’ championship when the conference swelled from nine institutions to 13 overnight, as newcomer along with the resurgence of Portland State, which finished as high as it has Southern Utah captured its first Big Sky

T

AJ MAZZOLINI ajmazzolini@missoulian.com

in a decade in a tie for second (with the ol’ boys from Montana), have programs around the league dreaming now. From the Rose City to Big Sky Country, half the conference has a legitimate claim to this year’s top spot in one of the most wide open competitions in recent memory.

“It’s hard to determine from one year to the next who the best teams in the league are gonna be,” said third-year North Dakota head coach Bubba Schweigert. “Do you really know until you

Wide open Big Sky race will make for entertaining season get there? You better respect all your opponents.”

North Dakota is one of five teams that drew first-place votes in the preseason Big Sky Conference media and coaches’ polls that were released in July. The newly dubbed Fighting Hawks may also be the greatest benefactor of the league’s size this year where an unbalanced eightgame conference schedule keeps See BIG SKY, Page E12

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E3

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E4 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY Northern Arizona Forecast: 1st by Big Sky media, 1st by coaches Preseason ranking: 18 Last season: 7-4 overall, 5-3 Big Sky (tied fourth) Starters returning: 12 (6 offense, 6 defense) Coach: Jerome Souers (Oregon, ‘83), 107-94 in 19th year at NAU and overall

Bottom Line This team can go as far as Case Cookus and Northern Arizona’s suddenly blazing offense can take them. The Lumberjacks have perhaps the best QB-WR combo with Cookus and junior Emmanuel Butler ready to go and a rather forgiving schedule to work with. NAU gets typical powers Montana and Eastern Washington at home and misses upstart Portland State this year. All that has the Big Sky’s coaches and media pointing to the Jacks as the team to beat and a likely candidate to give the league’s longest tenured head coach, Jerome Souers, his first Big Sky title since 2003. Prediction: 1st.

Offense Case Cookus is not only the Big Sky’s returning Freshman of the Year award winner but the nation’s. Cookus earned All-America honors by leading the country in touchdown passes with 37. He threw for 3,117 yards with a 69.0 completion percentage against just five interceptions. He’ll be aided by the return of four starting offensive linemen and his top pass catcher, Emmanuel Butler.

Defense The defense returns most of its strength up front with three starting linemen back to complement two of its top four tacklers from last year — LB Jake Thomas and S LeAndre Vaughn — who are also back. The defense will need to do a better job of creating turnovers after picking up just 14 last year though.

Notable: Northern Arizona has gone undefeated at home in two of the past three years with a 14-1 record in that span. The Griz visit NAU and Walkup Skydome on Oct. 22.

Quotable: “You don’t try to follow it

KURT WILSON, Missoulian

Northern Arizona quarterback Case Cookus led the nation in passing touchdowns with 37 last season on his way to being named STATS FCS Freshman of the Year. up. I’m not worried about my individual banner year. The Fighting Hawks have a stats. I’m worried about trying to get new nickname, have something to prove wins for my team.” — QB Case Cookus after being left out in the cold in last year’s playoff hunt, have a ton or returnNorth Dakota ing talent and a forgiving league schedule.

UND doesn’t have to play Big Sky powers Forecast: 4th by Big Sky media, 5th Montana, Eastern Washington or Portby coaches land State this year, and gets Southern Preseason Utah, Weber State and Northern Arizona ranking: 19 at home. That season-finale clash with Last season: NAU on Nov. 12 could help decide where 7-4 overall, 5-3 Big the league crown lies. Prediction: 3rd.

Sky (tied 4th) Starters Offense returning: 16 (offense 7, RB John Santiago was among the defense 9) league’s breakout players in 2015, rushCoach: Bubba Schweigert (Jamestown, ing for 1,459 yards as a true freshman ‘85), 12-11 in 3rd year at UND, 33-31 and scoring 16 TDs. If junior QB Keaton for career Studsrud can take another step forward, but more importantly remain healthy, the Bottom Line North Dakota offense could be almost as intimidating as its defense.

The stage is set for a North Dakota

Defense Nine of the 11 starters from a unit that ranked second in the league in total defense (359.9 ypg) return for 2016.

While NoDak will miss powerful MLB Will Ratelle — who now plays fullback with the Atlanta Falcons — this group is deep and full of veterans. Look for LB Brian Labat to pick up some of that production.

Notable: RB John Santiago became the first true freshman to lead the Big Sky in rushing in the 53-year history of the league in 2015, averaging 132.6 yards in 11 games.

Quotable: “I think the biggest thing is staying healthy. You’ve got to be healthy and all your guys have got to be there in the end. The more depth you have, the better chance you have in making the playoffs.” — QB Keaton Studsrud

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E5

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY Portland State

for FCS margin of victory over an FBS program last season when the Vikings beat North Texas 66-7 on the road, a 59-point win.

Quotable: “We hit every cylinder at the right time, even the Griz. I mean, what QB were they on? The third one? Good for us. It was a magical season, a priceless year.” — Coach Bruce Barnum

Forecast: 2nd by Big Sky media, tied 2nd by coaches Preseason ranking: 17 Last season: 9-3 overall, 6-2 Big Sky (tied 2nd) Starters returning: 12 (7 offense, 5 defense) Coach: Bruce Barnum (Eastern Washington, ‘87), 9-3 in 2nd year at PSU and overall

Eastern Washington

around him that need to be replaced.

Forecast: 3rd by Big Sky media, 4th by coaches Preseason ranking: 14 Last season: 6-5 overall, 5-3 Big Sky (tied 4th) Starters returning: 14 (5 offense, 9 defense) Coach: Beau Baldwin (Central Washington, ‘96), 73-30 in 9th year at EWU, 83-32 for career

Defense

Bottom Line

Gone is STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year finalist S Patrick Onwuasor and seven other starters. The Vikings will miss Onwuasor’s FCS-leading nine interceptions, but senior CB Xavier Coleman is the next DB ready to step up and lead. The unit forced 28 turnovers in 2015; if it can even come close to that in 2016 this team will still be all right.

Notable: Portland State set a record

Eastern Washington has become one of the most consistent programs in the Big Sky, finishing no worse than fourth in any of the last 10 seasons. That fourth-place finish just happened to come last year though when an explosive offense was paired with a paltry defense, which ranked 117th out of 123 FCS teams in yards allowed 476.4 ypg).

The offense should be again dangerous.

Bottom Line Portland State enjoyed a dream season in 2015 with interim head coach Bruce Barnum at the helm. Barnum led the Vikings to two wins over FBS competition and quickly ditched his interim tag on the way to being named STATS FCS Coach of the Year for the nation.

PSU returns pieces from that glory season, but its vaunted defense took a hit by graduation. Of course Portland State had no problem surprising with unheralded players last season too.

Prediction: 4th.

Offense This time last year Alex Kuresa wasn’t even solidified as the team’s starting QB. Then he ran for 90 yards and managed PSU’s Week-1 victory over Washington State and the rest was history. The Big Sky’s Newcomer of the Year is back starting behind a experienced O-line, but with some weapons

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Portland State offensive lineman Kyle Smith blocks Montana’s Kendrick Van Ackeren in the teams’ game last season in Portland.

The question remains if that defense can fix its leaks. Prediction: 5th.

Offense STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp returns for his senior season at WR and has a very realistic shot to break practically every career receiving record. He had 114 catches with 1,642 yards and 19 TDs in 2015. The Eagles still don’t know who will be delivering those passes with a three-way battle at QB still raging between senior incumbent Jordan West and sophomores Reilly Hennessey and Gage Gubrud.

Defense The 2015 defense was among the worsts in coach Baldwin’s near decade in Cheney, Washington, but came while implementing a new scheme under first-year D-coordinator Jeff Schmedding. Nine starters from that team area back and a year older, including DE Samson Ebukam on a very experienced D-line.

Notable: The Eagles feature perhaps the most brutal nonconference schedule in all of the FCS. It starts with a trip to FBS Washington State followed by a visit to preseason No. 1 North Dakota State before hosting No. 5 Northern Iowa.

Quotable: “I’m a firm believer that football is all about responding. You deal with it. Something happens, you adjust and come back. Reflect, rectify and respond.” — WR Cooper Kupp

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E6 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY Weber State Forecast: 6th by Big Sky media, 6th by coaches Preseason ranking: 39 Last season: 6-5 overall, 5-3 Big Sky (tied 4th) Starters returning: 16 (9 offense, 7 defense) Coach: Jay Hill (Utah, ‘00), 8-15 in 3rd year at WSU and overall

Bottom Line Weber State went from a 2-10 program in head coach Jay Hill’s first season to a 6-5 squad and a program to watch after his second in 2015. The Wildcats relied on a stout defense last season and could be every bit as good this fall. The difference for the Cats will be on offense, where an improved unit could take them within striking distance of the playoffs.

Prediction: 6th.

Offense Where Weber floundered was in the passing game. If QB Jadrian Clark can see some improvement from his 11-interception, 10-touchdown junior season, the Cats could be a team to watch. Both running backs Eric Wilkes and Treshawn TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian Garrett return after combining for 1,200 Weber State led the Big Sky in total defense last season, averaging just 346.9 yards allowed per game, and is hoping its offense yards and 10 TDs last year. can match its defensive output this fall.

Defense

Weber led the Big Sky in total defense a year ago at 346.9 yards allowed per game. Among its six returning starters on defense, three were all-conference. The Wildcats’ linebacking corps especially will be strong with senior Tre’von Johnson and junior Emmett Tela in the mix.

Notable: Weber State’s 24-21 overtime victory at Montana last October was the Wildcats’ first win in Missoula since 1987.

Quotable: “We believe we can win now. The past couple years we haven’t had that. We’ve recruited good players and coach Hill is doing a good job of keeping us on track. I think now we’re a rising program.” — LB Tre’von Johnson

Southern Utah Forecast: 7th by Big Sky media, tied 7th by coaches Preseason ranking: 30 Last season: 8-4 overall, 7-1 Big Sky (1st) Starters returning: 15 (8 offense, 7 defense) Coach: Demario Warren (UC Davis, ‘08), 0-0 in 1st year at SUU and for career

Bottom Line Southern Utah surged to a Big Sky championship behind a frenzied defense that led the nation in turnover margin at

plus-20. There’s lots of talent back from that team that earned its first ever Big Sky title, but the T-birds also changed head coaches in the offseason. With three defenders gone to the NFL and a QB in Ammon Olsen who got an NFL tryout, Southern Utah is bound to have some regression in 2016. The only question is how much? Prediction: 7th.

Offense The Thunderbirds have options at QB, though not as strong as the departed Olsen was. Sophomore McCoy Hill will begin the year as the starter and he’ll have the top WR from 2015 back to throw to in Mike Sharp as well as top RB in Malik Brown.

Defense

Gone are NFL drafte picks S Miles Killebrew and CB LeShaun Sims as well as DE James Cowser, the FCS’s all-time sack leader. SUU is far from strapped for defensive talent though. LB Mike Needham could be the next NFL prospect from Southern Utah if he has junior and senior campaigns like his sophomore year: 94 tackles, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and three defensive TDs. Notable: First-year head coach Demario Warren has spent his entire coaching career with Southern Utah, rising from DBs coach (2008-13) to D-coordinator (2014-15) before taking over when Ed Lamb left for BYU. Quotable: “We’ve got a lot of talent back. It’s crazy that people would think we would drop off as much.” — Coach Demario Warren

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E7

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E8 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY Montana State

Cal Poly

Forecast: 8th by Big Sky media, tied 7th by coaches Preseason ranking: 44 Last season: 5-6 overall, 3-5 Big Sky (tied 8th) Starters returning: 12 (4 offense, 8 defense) Coach: Jeff Choate (Montana-Western, ‘94), 0-0 at MSU and for career

Forecast: 9th

by Big Sky media, 9th by coaches Preseason ranking: none Last season: 4-7 overall, 3-5 Big Sky (tied 8th) Starters returning: 14 (7 offense, 7 defense) Coach: Tim Walsh (UC Riverside, ‘77), 43-37 in 8th year at Cal Poly, 120-129 for career

Bottom Line

Bottom Line

The Bobcats are hoping to forget about a disastrous 2015, and to do so they’ve wiped the slate clean. Head coach Rob Ash was fired in the offseason and replaced by Jeff Choate, a former Washington assistant who is stepping into his first head coaching position. He’ll be tasked with revamping one of the league’s worst defenses without the help of last year’s dynamic playmaker Dakota Prukop. It’ll be a rebuilding season in Bozeman. Prediction: 8th.

Cal Poly plays a bear of a schedule, opening with two FBS schools before visiting FCS power South Dakota State.

Conference play isn’t any easier with road games against North Dakota, Portland State and Weber State mashed around hosting duties with Montana and Eastern Washington. Cal Poly and its triple-option attack should be improved over 2015, but its record might not show it. Prediction: 9th.

Offense

Offense

Prukop, the team’s two-year starting QB, transferred to Oregon during the winter but even without that change the Cats offense will look remarkably different. Four starters return and RBs Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke will be the focus of a new ground-andpound attack.

The option is Poly’s bread and butter and although the sharpest knife is gone, QB Chris Brown, there’s a whole drawer full of tools left to make this thing work.

Senior Dano Graves takes over at QB with some starting experience and backs Kori Garcia and Joe Protheroe, who combined for 1,800 rushing yards in 2015, also return.

Defense

Defense

There’s lots of starters back from 2015’s under-performing unit, but the coaching staff brought in six transfers on that side of the ball as well. Junior LB Mac Bignell will be the leader of the defense again after a solid sophomore season that featured a team-leading 101 tackles, including 20 for loss.

Notable: Montana State was picked to win the Big Sky last season by the league’s coaches before suffering the program’s first losing season since 2001 and the first in Rob Ash’s nine years with the school.

Quotable: “A culture change can be painful and take some time. You’ve just got to be really consistent and steady with it. Be consistent and persistent.” — Coach Jeff Choate

Cal Poly is transitioning to a 3-4 formation this fall and has a wealth of D-line experience. Three players started all 11 games there last year — DE Kelly Shepard, DT Marcus Paige-Allen and DT Augustino Elisaia — but the rest of the defense will be younger. LB Joe Gigantino is the exception, a senior who notched 75 tackles in 2015.

Notable: Cal Poly led the FCS in rushing in each of the past three seasons, including an average of 387.3 yards per game last season. That’s impressive but remains far short of the NCAA record set

by Oklahoma (472.4) in 1971.

Quotable: “If we’re rushing the ball for 390 yards per game, we should be JAMES RIDLE, BMGphotos.com winning a lot more than four games.” — The Bobcats’ Chad Newell runs in for a touchdown against Montana last season.

Coach Tim Walsh

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E9

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY Northern Colorado

Sacramento State

Idaho State

Bottom Line

Bottom Line

Bottom Line

The Bears are coming off their first winning season since jumping to the FCS and the Big Sky from Division II in 2006 and first overall since 2003. UNC finished in a tie for eighth in league play with its 3-5 record there so there’s still a long way to go. Northern Colorado ranked last in the Big Sky in total defense (493.5) and near the bottom in most every other defensive category.

Prediction: 10th.

Sacramento State has among the most returning starting talent in the league, but that massive group needs to have improved over the offseason for the Hornets to climb out of the Big Sky basement. Sac was in shambles offensively last season, ranking last in points per game (19.6) and rushing offense (107.5) as well as second-to-last in total offense (360.2).

Those numbers will likely improve, but by how much? Prediction: 11th.

2015 was a worst-case scenario for Idaho State. After a surge in 2014 to reach eight wins, the Bengals dealt with injuries, under-performance and a porous defense to drop back to the cellar. The team returns some talented pieces for 2016, including some that missed the ‘15 campaign, but Idaho State is still searching for consistency. Prediction: 12th.

Offense

Offense

Two of the team’s most dynamic receivers do most of their damage on special teams. Juniors Ellis Onic II and Hakeem Deggs combined for four TDs on 29 total punt and kick returns.

That helps offset an offense that is still young behind sophomore starting QB Jacob Knipp.

In a situation Montana fans can appreciate, Sac State went through three starting QBs last season because of injuries.

Sophomore Nate Ketteringham appears to be the one who stuck after throwing for 1,400 yards and 11 TDs in just six games as a freshman. The Hornets have three O-linemen back who started all 11 games to help protect Ketteringham from another injury-plagued year.

Forecast: 10th Forecast: 13th

by Big Sky media,

by Big Sky media, 10th by coaches 11th by coaches Preseason Preseason ranking: none ranking: none Last season: Last season: 6-5 overall, 3-5 2-9 overall, 1-7 Big Big Sky (tied 8th) Sky (tied 12th) Starters returning: 17 (10 offense, Starters 7 defense) returning: 19 (offense 8, defense 11) Coach: Earnest Collins Jr. (Northern Coach: Jody Sears (Washington State, Colorado, ‘96), 15-41 in 6th year at UNC, ‘91), 9-14 in 3rd year at Sac St., 13-33 23-53 for career for career

Defense The Bears couldn’t stop the run in 2015, but their pass defense could be more suspect this year. UNC lost three starters from the defensive secondary off a unit that already ranked 10th in the league in passing yards against (266.2 ypg). CB Thomas Singleton is the team’s leading returning tackler with 77 stops.

Notable: 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the first of back-to-back D-II national titles for Northern Colorado under the guidance of coach Joe Glenn, who also led Montana to a championship in 2001.

Quotable: “We were young and now its time for those kids to get off the roller coaster, so to speak, and it’s time for a steady climb now.” — Coach Earnest Collins Jr.

Forecast: 11th

by Big Sky media, 12th by coaches Preseason ranking: none Last season: 2-9 overall, 1-7 Big Sky (tied 12th) Starters returning: 10 (4 offense, 6 defense) Coach: Mike Kramer (Idaho, ‘77), 16-43 in 7th year at ISU, 93-116 for career

Offense QB Tanner Gueller was thrown to the wolves as a redshirt freshman last season. He managed well enough — 855 passing yards and five TDs in three starts — but will need more support this year. The graduation of ISU’s all-time leading rusher Xavier Finney certainly doesn’t help.

Defense

ISU couldn’t even make it out of fall camp in one piece in 2015, losing LB Mario Jenkins and SS Taison Manu for Defense the year to injuries. Manu had 110 tackles two years ago while Jenkins made 120 Eleven Hornets are back who saw stops to lead the team back when he was at least five starts in 2015, though that doesn’t include LB Darnell Sankey, a grad- just a freshman. The return of this duo uate who led the Big Sky with 153 tackles. should help a unit that ranked last in scoring defense (40.9 ppg).

Anthony Payne is the veteran now, a Notable: Idaho State began last seasenior CB with 30 starts to his name. son ranked 22nd in the STATS FCS poll, Notable: Sac State was among the Big Sky’s worst in takeaways in 2015 with just but a four-game losing streak following a season-opening win over a Division 13, but ranked third in turnover margin.

The Hornets were second-best in limiting II program quickly knocked the Bengals from the top 25. giveaways with 13.

Quotable: “He staggered a bit in the Quotable: “We’ve got a ton of young kids that played last year, got thrown right spring game because he’s still a young pup. He’s got some dark moments still under the bus. Hopefully they’ve scarred ahead of him, but by and large he’s over and callused these last eight months the hump.” — Coach Mike Kramer on and they’re ready to take another step sophomore QB Tanner Gueller forward.” — Coach Jody Sears

UC Davis

Forecast: 12th

by Big Sky media, 13th by coaches Preseason ranking: none Last season: 2-9 overall, 2-6 Big Sky (11th) Starters returning: 18 (10 offense, 8 defense) Coach: Ron Gould (Oregon, ‘88), 9-25 in 4th year at Davis and overall

Bottom Line The Aggies return a tremendous amount of starting talent from last season. That includes four juniors or seniors on the offensive line blocking, which should theoretically help Davis’ leagueworst total offense generate a few more yards. The Aggies were second-to-last in rushing output (121.8 yards per game) and will need to do better in 2016. They will, but not by a whole lot. Prediction: 13th.

Offense Senior Ben Scott is the presumptive leader at QB after starting eight games last season, but sophomore C.J. Spencer gained some momentum at the end of last year starting the final three games in place of the injured Scott. That included one of the team’s only two wins on the year.

Defense Despite returning eight starters on defense, the team’s top two tacklers were among those graduated. CB Patrick Wells and LB Russell Reeder are UC Davis’ leading returning tacklers with only a modest 45 stops apiece. The Aggies’ defense wasn’t the problem last year, though. Davis ranked sixth in the league in total defense and seventh in scoring defense.

Notable: After winning 20 straight Division II Northern California Athletic Conference titles in a row from 1971-90 and two Great West titles since moving to FCS, the Aggies remain on the hunt for their first Big Sky crown since joining the league in 2012.

Quotable: “The word is emblematic.

Who we say we are is who we are.” — Coach Ron Gould

E10 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

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Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Treshawn Favors RB 5-9 194 Markell Sanders CB 6-2 185 Gresch Jensen QB 6-2 215 Ryan McKinley CB 6-1 199 Brady Gustafson QB 6-7 235 Mick Delaney S 6-0 195 James Homan WR 6-2 177 Holden Ryan LB 6-3 225 Kobey Eaton WR 6-3 185 Justin Strong S 5-11 185 Kennan Curran WR 6-2 201 Lamarriel Taylor WR 6-2 195 Jeremy Calhoun RB 6-0 203 Justin Calhoun WR 5-10 168 Yamen Sanders S 6-4 216 Brandon Bea QB 6-3 211 Connor Strahm LB 6-0 241 Chad Chalich QB 6-0 201 TJ Reynard CB 5-10 176 Korey Alexander DB 5-11 198 Reese Phillips QB 6-2 206 Lane Hovey WR 6-4 201 Josh Sandry S 6-1 200 Connor Kaegi QB 6-7 205 RETIRED IN HONOR OF DAVE DICKENSON Jerry Louie-McGee WR 5-9 168 Makena Simis QB 6-2 215 JR Nelson CB 6-2 171 Mike Ralston 6-5 266 Samuel Akem WR 6-4 195 John Nguyen RB 5-7 184 Joey Counts RB 5-9 207 RETIRED IN HONOR OF TERRY DILLON Caleb Lyons WR 5-9 177 Rey Green RB 5-11 190 Shane Moody CB 5-8 165 Josh Egbo DB 6-2 185 Lewis Cowans CB 6-1 187 Jerrin Williams S 6-2 205 Brody Martinez RB 5-10 192 Evan Epperly S 5-10 186 Trase LeTexier LB 6-2 240 Gavin Crow S 6-1 191 Dante Olson LB 6-3 223 Jace Lewis LB 6-1 213 Eric Williams P 5-11 183 James Banks LB 6-1 215 Caleb Kidder DT 6-5 259 Cody McCombs RB 5-9 188 Brandon Purdy K/P 5-10 168 Cy Sirmon LB 6-3 236 Josh Buss LB 6-2 204 Nate Bradley DT 5-10 270 Tucker Schye DE 6-4 240 David Fa’atuiese LB 6-3 220 Trace Bradshaw DL 6-3 254 Cole Rosling DL 6-4 225 Donald Bedell DE 6-4 240 Jesse Sims DE 6-4 254 Aaron Held Snaps 6-1 190 Caleb Mitchell LS 6-1 185 Gage Smith LB 6-3 206 Kyle Davis DT 6-1 259 Alex Thomas LB 6-0 211 Shayne Cochran LB 6-1 221 Jackson Thiebes OL 6-5 301 Dylan Eickmeyer OG 6-4 299 Cody Meyer OL 6-3 285 Ashton Torres OT 6-4 315 Thayne Jackson OL 6-5 312 McCauley Todd OL 6-7 304 Randy Rodriguez DT 6-4 244 Ben Weyer OL 6-4 301 Devon Dietrich OL 6-4 309 Cooper Sprunk C 6-4 293 Brandon Scott OT 6-7 320 Angel Villanueva OL 6-5 314 Robert Luke C 6-4 316 David Reese OL 6-7 298 Dallas Hart OL 6-5 312 Max Kelly OL 6-7 301 Josh Horner WR 6-5 220 Mitch McLaughlin WR 5-9 175 Samori Toure WR 6-3 172 Brennan Corbin WR 6-5 222 Jed Nagler WR 6-4 208 Ben Hardy WR 6-6 225 Dareon Nash WR 6-2 170 Colin Bingham WR 6-3 226 Tim Semenza K 5-7 167 Brandt Davidson DT 6-3 294 Myles McKee-Osibodu DT 6-3 264 Zach Peevey DT 6-3 274 Devin Maua DE 6-3 240 Andrew Harris DE 6-4 215 Ryan Johnson DE 6-3 245 Esai Longoria DT 6-3 314 Reggie Tilleman DE 6-4 266

Year R-Jr. R-So. Fr. R-So. R-Jr. R-Jr. Jr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Jr. So. R-Fr. So. R-Fr. R-Sr. Fr. R-Jr. Sr. R-Sr. Jr. R-Jr. R-Sr. R-Fr. So.

Hometown Glendale, Ariz.

Renton, Wash.

Auburn, Wash.

Anthem, Ariz.

Billings, Mont.

Bozeman, Mont.

Brenham Texas Billings, Mont.

Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Rialto, Calif.

Federal Way, Wash.

Chula Vista, Calif.

Long Beach, Calif.

Long Beach, Calif.

Inglewood, Calif.

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Eugene, Ore. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Virginia Beach. Va. Pittsburg, Calif.

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Adel, Iowa Bigfork, Mont.

Ashland, Ore.

R-Fr. R-Jr. R-Sr. R-Jr. Fr. Sr. R-Sr.

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Boise, Idaho Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Eugene, Ore. Broken Arrow, Okla.

Bellevue, Wash.

Mesa, Ariz.

R-So. Fr. R-Jr. Fr. Fr. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-So. Fr. Fr. R-Fr. Fr. So. Jr. R-Sr. So. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-So. R-Jr. R-Jr. R-Fr. Fr. Fr. R-So. R-Fr. R-Sr. Fr. R-So. R-So. R-So. R-So. R-Sr. Fr. R-Fr. Fr. Fr. R-Sr. Fr. R-Sr. R-Sr. R-Jo. Fr. R-Fr. Jr. Jr. R-Fr. R-Sr. Jr. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Jr. Jr. R-Sr. Fr. R-Fr. R-Sr. Fr. R-So.

Lakewood, Wash.

Vancouver, Wash.

Parker, Colo.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Mission Viejo, Calif.

Vancouver, Wash.

Federal Way, Wash.

Kalispell, Mont.

Boulder, Mont.

Kennewick, Wash.

Medford, Ore. Townsend, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Junction City, Ore. Helena, Mont.

Billings, Mont.

Kalispell, Mont.

Wenatchee, Wash.

Boise, Idaho Billings, Mont.

Malta, Mont.

Vista, Calif.

Bozeman, Mont.

Helena, Mont.

Fair Haven, N.J. Stevensville, Mont.

Sacramento, Calif.

North Bend, Wash.

Whitefish, Mont.

San Diego, Calif.

Great Falls, Mont.

Culbertson, Mont.

Kalispell, Mont.

Tucson, Ariz.

San Marcos, Calif.

Aurora, Calif.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Peoria, Ariz.

Bozeman, Mont.

Woodinville, Wash.

Tigard Ore. Owasso, Okla.

Duarte, Calif.

Tacoma, Wash.

Happy Valley, Ore. Cypress, Calif.

Spokane, Wash.

Great Falls, Mont.

Riverside, Calif.

Portland, Ore. Anaheim, Calif.

Whitefish, Mont.

Fairview, Mont.

Covina, Calif.

Missoula, Mont.

San Diego, Calif.

Tucson, Ariz.

Sana Ana, Calif.

Missoula, Mont.

Billings, Mont.

Kalispell, Mont.

Vancouver, Wash.

Caldwell, Idaho Genesee, Idaho

MONTANA STARTING OFFENSE H WR 80 Josh Horner, Jr. RB 20 John Nguyen, Sr.

QB 3 Brady Gustafson, Sr.

WR 6 Keenan Curran, So.

LT 76 David Reese, Jr.

LG 74 Angel Villanueva, R-Fr. C 70 Ben Weyer, Sr.

RG 71 Devon Dietrich, Sr WR 13 Lane Hovey, Sr. K 89 Tim Semenza, R-Fr.

RT 60 Jackson Thiebes, Sr. Z WR 16 Jerry LouieMcGee, R-Fr.

MONTANA BACKUP OFFENSE H WR 88 Colin Bingham, R-Fr.

QB 11 Chad Chalich, Sr. RB 1 Treshawn Favors, Jr.

WR 5 Kobey Eaton, R-Fr.

LT 68 McCauley Todd, Sr. LG 79 Max Kelly, Sr. C 75 Robert Luke, Jr. RG 77 Dallas Hart, R-Fr.

WR 4 James Homan, Jr.

RT 67 Thayne Jackson, Fr.

Z WR 23 Caleb Lyons, So.

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E11

DAY MATCHUPS

,

r.

Banking that actually gives back. missoulafcu.org

Montana

MONTANA STARTING DEFENSE CB 1 Markell Sanders, So. OLB 42 Josh Buss, So. DE 37 Caleb Kidder, Sr.

SS 9 Yamen Sanders, Sr.

MLB 10 Connor Strahm, Jr.

DT 91 Brandt Davidson, Jr. DT 93 Zach Peevey, Sr. DE 97 Ryan Johnson, Sr.

FS 13 Josh Sandry, R-Fr.

OLB 36 James Banks, Jr.

Forecast: 2nd by Big Sky media, tied 2nd by coaches Preseason ranking: 13 Last season: 8-5 overall, 6-2 Big Sky (tied 2nd) Starters returning: 10 (7 offense, 3 defense) Coach: Bob Stitt (Doane, ‘87), 8-5 in 2nd year at UM, 116-67 for career

Bottom Line The offseason turnover has been immense in Missoula, especially on the defensive side of the ball where eight starters and a coordinator left last winter. But head coach Bob Stitt and staff went to work building a team for this season, utilizing transfers from both the FBS and juniorcollege ranks to fill their holes. As always, expectations are high for the Grizzlies in 2016 with a manageable conference schedule. With a returning senior QB and veteran O-line, the Griz have their eyes set on a deep playoff run and a shot at a Big Sky title in Stitt’s second season. Prediction: 2nd.

QB Brady Gustafson started seven games in 2015 and passed for nearly 2,000 yards. Most of his receivers from last year are gone, but a young and talented group is ready to step into their place. Behind a line that has seven players with starting experience, the Griz hope to do even more with coach Stitt’s quick and complex offense.

If they can avoid the kind of injuries that nearly derailed the ‘15 campaign, 2016 should be even better.

P 35 Eric Williams, So.

erving all of Western Montana.

Missoula/Bitterroot, Bigfork,Whitefish 406.541.7020 GlacierSIR.com

MCQUIRK TEAM

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Offense

CB 11 TJ Reynard, Sr.

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Defense

MONTANA BACKUP DEFENSE CB 2 Ryan McKinley, Jr. OLB 33 Dante Olson, R-Fr. DE 44 Tucker Schye, Jr. DT 49 Jesse Sims, R-Fr. DT 92 Myles McKeeOsibodu, Jr. DE 48 Donald Bedell, So.

CB 12 Korey Alexander, Jr.

MLB 45 Vika Fa’atuiese, R-Fr.

OLB 40 Cy Sirmon, R-Fr.

SS 28 Jerrin Williams, R-Fr.

FS 5 Justin Strong, Jr.

Senior Caleb Kidder has shifted from DT to DE and is primed for a landmark season. Despite losing STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year Tyrone Holmes to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Griz D-line may be even better than the 2015 version. Young players have filled in at LB and transfers helped piece together a secondary of a defense that ranked near the top of the Big Sky in total D (380.0 ypg) and led the league in sacks (43) in 2015.

Notable: Tyrone Holmes was the second Griz player to win the FCS national defensive MVP award, formerly the Buck Buchanan Award, joining 2007 winner Kroy Biermann.

Quotable: “As a unit I think we can be the best D-line in the Big Sky, if not the nation, if we show up and produce the way that we think we can.” — DE Caleb Kidder

Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19

Schedule

Saint Francis, 7 p.m. @ No. 5 Northern Iowa, 3 p.m. (MT) Bye @ Cal Poly, 1 p.m. (MT) Southern Utah, 2:30 p.m.

Mississippi Valley St., 2:30 p.m.

Sacramento St., 2:30 p.m. @ No. 18 Northern Arizona, 5 p.m. (MT) @ No. 14 Eastern Washington, 1:30 p.m. (MT) Idaho St.,5 p.m. @ Northern Colorado, noon Montana State, noon (preseason rankings)

www.BHHSMT.com

E12 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | FROM PAGE E2

Big Sky Continued

them from playing some of the other top contenders.

The schedule and apparent depth around the Big Sky make picking a front-runner difficult, though Northern Arizona and last year’s flame-throwing freshman quarterback Case Cookus could get the nod. It could also be Montana in head coach Bob Stitt’s second season. Or Eastern Washington. Or Portland State.

Or perhaps, like last season, a surprise challenger who could further upset the status quo.

In a season of unexpecteds, Northern Arizona had more than its fair share.

Fresh off replacing its offensive coordinator, shifting the team’s focus from the ground game to the air to keep pace with the Big Sky’s pass-happy offenses, the Lumberjacks soared to a scoring season for the ages.

“We had a new offense, new coordinator, new quarterback; a lot of times that adds up to a real tough season,” said coach Jerome Souers, now in his 19th year with NAU. “To have it turn out the way it did is nothing short of amazing.”

The Jacks rose up on the arm of Cookus, who threw for an FCS-best 37 touchdowns on his way to being named STATS FCS Freshman of the Year. The Lumberjacks had the element of surprise in Cookus last year, but Souers knows everyone in the conference and around the nation will be gunning for him in 2016.

“A lot of people didn’t know him — well, Holmes did, got to know him really, really well,” joked Souers, referring to the four sacks former Griz defensive end Tyrone Holmes tallied against NAU last season, “but I think that part will help teams be more effective in defending him. We have to anticipate what the deviations are from last year to this year.”

Another team hoping to sustain its success, and one that cashed in with a playoff berth in 2015, is Portland State.

The Vikings nearly won a piece of the Big Sky championship before Southern Utah fended off NAU on the final day of the regular season to clinch sole possession, the first without UM, EWU or MSU involved since Boise State in 1994.

The T-birds and Vikings, along with UM, advanced to the postseason.

See BIG SKY, Page E18

ABOVE: Griz defender Tyrone Holmes drags down Eastern Washington quarterback Jordan West in last season’s game in Missoula.

LEFT: Northern Arizona coach Jerome Souers watches his team in Missoula last fall. Souers is in his 19th year as Lumberjacks head coach and is the Big Sky’s alltime leader in conference victories with 72.

KURT WILSON PHOTOS, Missoulian

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E13

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E14 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STAT PACK

BIG FINALSTATISTICS STATISTICS 2015SKY BIG CONFERENCE SKY CONFERENCE Team comparisons for whole season through Dec. 5, 2015 SCORING

POINTS ALLOWED

Montana State Northern Arizona Southern Utah* Portland State* Eastern Washington Montana** Cal Poly Northern Colorado North Dakota Weber State UC Davis Idaho State Sacramento State

216

330 309

247 245 242

381 381 372

432 425 411

RUSHING/PASSING YARDS Montana State Southern Utah* Montana** Cal Poly Eastern Washington Northern Arizona Portland State* Idaho State Northern Colorado North Dakota Weber State Sacramento State UC Davis MONTANA (8-5)

Griz Scoring average 29.3 First downs 278 Rushing yards 1853 Avg./Rush 3.6 Passing 317-551-15 Passing yards 3637 Average per pass 6.6 Total offense 5490 Plays per game 82.2 Average per play 5.1 3rd-down conv.

83-235 4th-down conv.

18-36 Time of possession 26:04 Fumbles-lost 20-11 Kick returns 38-19.6 Punt returns 24-6.7 Punting 73-39.8 Sacks-yards 43-248 Penalties 74-51.2 Montana 107 127 71 70 Opponents 79 102 66 70

2,376 1,990 1,853 1,377 1,850

3,007

1,367 1,781 1,183 1,340

Opp 24.6 253 2466 3.9 184-367-12 2474 6.7 4940 76.5 5.0 66-216 21-44 33:57 33-14 54-21.9 22-4.8 83-40.4 32-193 98-61.4 6 – 381 3 – 320

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Rushing John Nguyen 184-855 (4.6 ypc), long 48, 3 TDs Jeremy Calhoun 100-291 (2.9), long 27, 9 TDs Makena Simis 65-226 (3.5), long 31, 1 TD Joey Counts 29-156 (5.4), long 45, 2 TDs Treshawn Favors 35-104 (3.0), long 17, 0 TDs Chad Chalich 46-84 (1.8), long 20, 1 TD Lorenzo Logwood 14-58 (4.1), long 15, 0 TDs Brady Gustafson 25-29 (1.2), long 15, 1 TD Tyler Lucas 3-25 (8.7), long 22, 0 TDs Chase Naccarato 3-20 (6.7), long 8, 0 TDs Caleb Lyons 1-15 (15.0), long 15, 0 TDs Jamaal Jones 2-8 (4.0), long 10, 0 TDs Herbert Gamboa 1-0, long 0, 0 TDs Team 10-(-19), long 0, 0 TDs Passing Gustafson 167-290-9, 1984 yards, long 62, 12 TDs Chalich 86-141-2, 908 yards, long 70, 6 TDs

4,260

2,001

2,625

3,008 2,449 1,550 2,065 2,779 2,606

3,342 3,350 3,637 1,003 3,886 3,329 2,021

Simis 63-115-4, 740 yards, long 74, 7 TDs Lucas 1-1-0, 5 yards, long 5, 0 TDs Team 0-4, 0 yards, 0 TDs Receiving Jones 74-1207 (16.3 ypc), long 74, 11 TD Ben Roberts 66-649 (9.8), long 62, 5 TD Ellis Henderson 49-817 (16.7), long 63, 7 TD Naccarato 41-245 (6.0), long 25, 1 TDs Nguyen 31-159 (5.1), long 19, 0 TDs Josh Horner 22-294 (13.4), long 44, 1 TD Reese Carlson 8-88 (11.0), long 31, 0 TDs Ryan Burke 7-49 (7.0), long 10, 0 TDs Calhoun 5-33 (6.6), long 15, 0 TDs Keenan Curran 4-55 (13.8), long 30, 0 TDs Lyons 4-16 (4.0), long 6, 0 TDs Logwood 2-12 (6.0), long 13, 0 TDs Counts 2-11 (5.5), long 7, 0 TDs Favors 1-4 (4.0), long 4, 0 TDs Gustafson 1-(-2), long 0, 0 TDs

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Tackles K. Van Ackeren 130, 63 solo Jeremiah Kose 123, 44 solo Tyrone Holmes 87, 32 solo Caleb Kidder 82, 23 solo Herbert Gamboa 76, 29 solo Yamen Sanders 64, 28 solo Nate Harris 54, 38 solo Derek Crittenden 53, 14 solo Jamal Wilson 52, 11 solo JR Nelson 49, 35 solo Justin Whitted 45, 21 solo Connor Lebsock 42, 18 solo Eric Johnson 38, 19 solo Ryan Johnson 33, 9 solo Nate Bradley 28, 5 solo Connor Strahm 23, 8 solo Josh Buss 18, 7 solo Manu Rasmussen 17, 6 solo Tucker Schye 14, 6 solo Markell Sanders 14, 10 solo Kyle Davis 12, 1 solo Chris Parker 10, 8 solo

461

Total Through 11 5,718 regular season 5,340 games.

5,490 *One playoff 5,263 game.

5,263 **Two playoff 5,179 games 5,028 4,375 YARDS 4,230 4,175 Rushing 4,066 3,962 Passing 3,946

Tyrel Garner 8, 2 solo Ryan McKinley 7, 4 solo Zach Peevey 5, 1 solo Curran 4, 2 solo Chris Lider 3, 1 solo Aaron Held 3, 0 solo Mike Ralston 2, 0 solo Henderson 2, 2 solo Calhoun 2, 2 solo Counts 2, 1 solo Evan Epperly 2, 0 solo Shane Moody 1, 1 solo Mick Delaney 1, 0 solo Max Kelly 1, 1 solo Horner 1, 1 solo Roberts 1, 1 solo Nguyen 1, 0 solo Jones 1, 1 solo Donald Bedel 1, 0 solo Tackles for loss Holmes 24-100 Kidder 10-52 R. Johnson 8-26 Gamboa 8-25 Kose 7-28 Crittenden 7-21 Van Ackeren 6-16 Strahm 5-26 Schye 5-16 Whitted 4-20 Wilson 4-6 Y. Sanders 3-11 Harris 3-5 Lebsock 2-12 Bradley 2-7 Nelson 2-3 Buss 1-7 M. Sanders 1-0 Sacks Holmes 18.0-93 R. Johnson 5.0-24 Kidder 3.5-33 Kose 3.0-16

Southern Utah* Portland State* Weber State North Dakota Montana** Sacramento State UC Davis Montana State Northern Colorado Northern Arizona Cal Poly Eastern Washington Idaho State

250 268 270 283

320

368 376 377 378 383 390

435 450

RUSHING/PASSING YARDS ALLOWED Weber State North Dakota Portland State* Southern Utah* UC Davis Montana** Sacramento State Idaho State Cal Poly Montana State Northern Arizona Eastern Washington Northern Colorado

1,101

1,592 2,304 2,409 2,615 2,466 1,841 2,957 1,873 2,722 1,980 2,838 2,501

Crittenden 2.5-14 Schye 1.5-12 Van Ackeren 1.5-7 Gamboa 1.5-5 Whitted 1.0-12 Lebsock 1.0-11 Strahm 1.0-7 Bradley 1.0-6 Y. Sanders 1.0-5 Interceptions JR Nelson 2-56 Van Ackeren 2-37 E. Johnson 2-0 Sanders 1-4 Kose 1-0 Y. Sanders 1-0 Kidder 1-0 R. Johnson 1-0 Harris 1-0 Fumbles forced-recovered Holmes 3-0 Harris 2-0 R. Johnson 1-2 Van Ackeren 1-2 Henderson 1-1 E. Johnson 1-1 Y. Sanders 1-0 Nelson 1-0 Wilson 1-0 Counts 1-0 M. Sanders 0-2 Kidder 0-1 Kose 0-1 Gamboa 0-1 Crittenden 0-1 Schye 0-1 Garner 0-1 Pass breakups Harris 11 Nelson 10 Kidder 6 Van Ackeren 4 Gamboa 3

2,224 2,858

Y. Sanders 3 E. Johnson 2 R. Johnson 2 Whitted 2 Wilson 1 Buss 1 McKinley 1 Curran 1 Van Ackeren 1 Schye 1 Kidder 1 Strahm 1 Peevey 1 Buss 1

2,304 2,278 2,319 2,474 3,147 2,065 3,161 2,476 3,238 2,402 2,928

Total 3,816 3,959 4,608 4,687 4,934 4,940 4,988 5,022 5,034 5,198 5,218 5,240 5,429

Missoulian staff

Blocked kicks

Safeties Crittenden 1 Team 1 Defensive touchdowns Nelson 2 INT E. Johnson 1 fumble Gamboa 1 fumble

SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS

PATs/Field goals Daniel Sullivan 39-42/20-26, long 44, 1 blocked, 99 points Punting Lider 73-39.8, long 61, 19 inside 20, 3 touchback, 0 blocked Punt returns Nguyen 16-6.7, long 16, 0 TDs Henderson 4-3.8, long 5, 0 TDs Strahm 1-18.0, long 18, 0 TDs Schye 1-13.0, long 13, 0 TDs Parker 1-8.0, long 8, 0 TDs E. Johnson 1-0, 0 TDs Kickoff returns Henderson 26-21.5, long 42, 0 TDs Horner 4-10.8, long 14, 0 TDs Curran 3-15.0, long 21, 0 TDs Jones 3-24.0, long 40, 0 TDs Counts 1-13.0, long 13, 0 TDs Nguyen 1-11.0, long 11, 0 TDs

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E15

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STAT PACK TEAM STATISTICS

SCORING OFFENSE G TD XP 2XP DXP FG Saf Pts Avg Montana St. 11 63 53 3 0 8 0 461 41.9 N. Arizona 11 57 57 0 0 11 0 432 39.3 S. Utah 12 57 45 1 0 12 0 425 35.4 E. Washington 11 53 45 3 0 4 0 381 34.6 Portland St. 12 53 50 2 0 13 0 411 34.2 Cal Poly 11 52 45 0 0 5 0 372 33.8 N. Colorado 11 45 42 0 0 6 0 330 30.0 Montana 13 46 39 1 0 20 2 381 29.3 N. Dakota 11 39 36 0 0 13 0 309 28.1 Weber St. 11 30 25 0 0 14 0 247 22.5 UC Davis 11 29 29 0 0 14 0 245 22.3 Idaho St. 11 34 23 3 0 3 0 242 22.0 Sac State 11 27 27 0 0 9 0 216 19.6 SCORING DEFENSE G TD XP 2XP DXP FG Saf Pts Avg S. Utah 12 30 28 0 2 12 1 250 20.8 Portland St. 12 35 31 0 0 9 0 268 22.3 Weber St. 11 33 33 0 0 13 0 270 24.5 Montana 13 42 34 2 0 10 0 320 24.6 N. Dakota 11 37 30 1 0 9 1 283 25.7 Sac State 11 49 44 0 0 10 0 368 33.5 UC Davis 11 50 46 0 0 10 0 376 34.2 Montana St. 11 51 45 1 0 8 0 377 34.3 N. Colorado 11 48 44 2 0 14 0 378 34.4 N. Arizona 11 52 45 3 0 6 1 383 34.8 Cal Poly 11 52 45 2 0 9 1 390 35.5 E. Washington 11 58 51 0 0 12 0 435 39.5 Idaho St. 11 59 57 0 0 13 0 450 40.9 RUSHING OFFENSE G Att Yds Avg TD Yds/G Cal Poly 11 779 4260 5.5 38 387.3 Portland St. 12 598 3007 5.0 33 250.6 N. Dakota 11 510 2625 5.1 23 238.6 Montana St. 11 458 2376 5.2 31 216.0 Weber St. 11 465 2001 4.3 15 181.9 N. Arizona 11 465 1850 4.0 16 168.2 S. Utah 12 415 1990 4.8 24 165.8 N. Colorado 11 375 1781 4.7 23 161.9 Montana 13 518 1853 3.6 17 142.5 E. Washington 11 358 1377 3.8 14 125.2 Idaho St. 11 363 1367 3.8 7 124.3 UC Davis 11 387 1340 3.5 11 121.8 Sac State 11 359 1183 3.3 6 107.5 RUSHING DEFENSE G Rushes Yards Avg. TD Yds/G N. Dakota 11 369 1101 3.0 9 100.1 Weber St. 11 410 1592 3.9 9 144.7 Sac State 11 415 1841 4.4 20 167.4 Cal Poly 11 404 1873 4.6 25 170.3 N. Arizona 11 421 1980 4.7 26 180.0 Montana 13 627 2466 3.9 17 189.7 Portland St. 12 485 2304 4.8 21 192.0 S. Utah 12 577 2409 4.2 17 200.8 N. Colorado 11 502 2501 5.0 21 227.4 UC Davis 11 444 2615 5.9 27 237.7 Montana St. 11 490 2722 5.6 25 247.5 E. Washington 11 562 2838 5.0 30 258.0 Idaho St. 11 559 2957 5.3 28 268.8 PASS OFFENSE G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD Yds/G E. Washington11 462 298 12 64.5 3886 8.4 36 353.3 Montana St. 11 380 238 11 62.6 3342 8.8 30 303.8 N. Arizona 11 353 242 7 68.6 3329 9.4 39 302.6 Montana 13 551 317 15 57.5 3637 6.6 25 279.8 S. Utah 12 495 292 8 59.0 3350 6.8 26 279.2 Idaho St. 11 498 270 19 54.2 3008 6.0 26 273.5 Sac State 11 428 249 8 58.2 2779 6.5 18 252.6 UC Davis 11 380 246 8 64.7 2606 6.9 17 236.9 N. Colorado 11 326 192 12 58.9 2449 7.5 15 222.6 Weber St. 11 337 172 14 51.0 2065 6.1 12 187.7 Portland St. 12 241 128 7 53.1 2021 8.4 19 168.4 N. Dakota 11 217 123 5 56.7 1550 7.1 15 140.9 Cal Poly 11 134 68 3 50.7 1003 7.5 14 91.2 PASS DEFENSE G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD Yds/G Idaho St. 11 300 181 8 60.3 2065 6.9 24 187.7 S. Utah 12 381 199 20 52.2 2278 6.0 12 189.8 Montana 13 367 184 12 50.1 2474 6.7 21 190.3 Portland St. 12 382 200 18 52.4 2304 6.0 11 192.0 Weber St. 11 346 194 8 56.1 2224 6.4 20 202.2 UC Davis 11 320 183 3 57.2 2319 7.2 21 210.8 E. Washington11 338 209 7 61.8 2402 7.1 22 218.4 Montana St. 11 308 174 3 56.5 2476 8.0 26 225.1 N. Dakota 11 349 218 6 62.5 2858 8.2 28 259.8 N. Colorado 11 406 269 7 66.3 2928 7.2 24 266.2

Sac State Cal Poly N. Arizona

11 358 220 8 61.5 3147 8.8 25 286.1 11 382 258 7 67.5 3161 8.3 24 287.4 11 458 267 10 58.3 3238 7.1 26 294.4 TOTAL OFFENSE G Rush Pass Plays Yards Avg/P TD Yds/G Montana St. 11 2376 3342 838 5718 6.8 61 519.8 Cal Poly 11 4260 1003 913 5263 5.8 52 478.5 E. Washington11 1377 3886 820 5263 6.4 50 478.5 N. Arizona 11 1850 3329 818 5179 6.3 55 470.8 S. Utah 12 1990 3350 910 5340 5.9 50 445.0 Montana 13 1853 3637 1069 5490 5.1 42 422.3 Portland St. 12 3007 2021 839 5028 6.0 52 419.0 Idaho St. 11 1367 3008 861 4375 5.1 33 397.7 N. Colorado 11 1781 2449 701 4230 6.0 38 384.5 N. Dakota 11 2625 1550 727 4175 5.7 38 379.5 Weber St. 11 2001 2065 802 4066 5.1 27 369.6 Sac State 11 1183 2779 787 3962 5.0 24 360.2 UC Davis 11 1340 2606 767 3946 5.1 28 358.7 TOTAL DEFENSE G Rush Pass Plys Yards Avg TD Yds/G Weber St. 11 1592 2224 756 3816 5.0 29 346.9 N. Dakota 11 1101 2858 718 3959 5.5 37 359.9 Montana 13 2466 2474 994 4940 5.0 38 380.0 Portland St. 12 2304 2304 867 4608 5.3 32 384.0 S. Utah 12 2409 2278 958 4687 4.9 29 390.6 UC Davis 11 2615 2319 764 4934 6.5 48 448.5 Sac State 11 1841 3147 773 4988 6.5 45 453.5 Idaho St. 11 2957 2065 859 5022 5.8 52 456.5 Cal Poly 11 1873 3161 786 5034 6.4 49 457.6 Montana St. 11 2722 2476 798 5198 6.5 51 472.5 N. Arizona 11 1980 3238 879 5218 5.9 52 474.4 E. Washington11 2838 2402 900 5240 5.8 52 476.4 N. Colorado 11 2501 2928 908 5429 6.0 45 493.5 TURNOVER MARGIN Gained Lost G Fum Int Tot Fum Int Tot Mar Per/G S. Utah 12 11 20 31 3 8 11 +20 1.67 Portland St. 12 10 18 28 8 7 15 +13 1.08 Montana 13 14 12 26 11 15 26 +0 0.00 Sac State 11 5 8 13 5 8 13 +0 0.00 N. Colorado 11 9 7 16 5 12 17 -1 -0.09 N. Dakota 11 10 6 16 12 5 17 -1 -0.09 N. Arizona 11 4 10 14 8 7 15 -1 -0.09 Montana St. 11 10 3 13 4 11 15 -2 -0.18 Weber St. 11 6 8 14 5 14 19 -5 -0.45 UC Davis 11 8 3 11 8 8 16 -5 -0.45 Cal Poly 11 5 7 12 15 3 18 -6 -0.55 E. Washington 11 10 7 17 12 12 24 -7 -0.64 Idaho St. 11 7 8 15 11 19 30 -15 -1.36 FIRST DOWNS G Rush Pass Pen Total Cal Poly 11 237 40 7 284 Montana 13 108 147 23 278 Montana St. 11 131 125 21 277 S. Utah 12 97 147 24 268 E. Washington 11 75 168 18 261 N. Arizona 11 102 135 18 255 Portland St. 12 143 86 17 246 Idaho St. 11 82 142 20 244 Sac State 11 67 144 21 232 UC Davis 11 75 129 17 221 Weber St. 11 120 84 16 220 N. Colorado 11 99 101 17 217 N. Dakota 11 116 72 11 199 OPPONENT 1ST DOWNS G Rush Pass Pen Total N. Dakota 11 71 116 13 200 Weber St. 11 91 98 19 208 Portland St. 12 119 90 25 234 UC Davis 11 129 101 16 246 Montana St. 11 120 107 19 246 Sac State 11 102 131 17 250 S. Utah 12 131 96 24 251 Montana 13 135 108 10 253 Idaho St. 11 144 102 11 257 Cal Poly 11 92 149 22 263 N. Arizona 11 104 152 24 280 N. Colorado 11 127 143 15 285 E. Washington 11 164 113 20 297 3RD-DN CONVERSIONS G Conv Att Pct Portland St. 12 82 179 45.8 Cal Poly 11 83 183 45.4 Montana St. 11 73 163 44.8 E. Washington 11 69 155 44.5 N. Arizona 11 66 160 41.2 N. Dakota 11 61 154 39.6 N. Colorado 11 57 144 39.6

UC Davis Montana Sac State Weber St. Idaho St. S. Utah Portland St. Montana S. Utah N. Dakota Weber St. Sac State UC Davis N. Arizona Montana St. Idaho St. Cal Poly N. Colorado E. Washington Montana N. Dakota S. Utah N. Arizona Portland St. Weber St. E. Washington Montana St. Sac State N. Colorado Idaho St. Cal Poly UC Davis Cal Poly Montana St. Weber St. Idaho St. Portland St. N. Dakota UC Davis N. Colorado E. Washington Sac State S. Utah N. Arizona Montana UC Davis Idaho St. Cal Poly Portland St. N. Dakota Sac State Montana N. Colorado S. Utah E. Washington N. Arizona Weber St. Montana St. Cal Poly Montana St. N. Arizona Portland St. E. Washington UC Davis N. Colorado Montana Sac State S. Utah Weber St. Idaho St. N. Dakota Cal Poly Weber St. N. Arizona Montana UC Davis

11 63 165 13 83 235 11 57 163 11 58 168 11 56 175 12 60 188 OPP 3RD-DN CONVERT G Conv Att 12 56 185 13 66 216 12 74 221 11 57 157 11 63 168 11 58 152 11 53 134 11 73 178 11 68 163 11 74 176 11 67 147 11 85 183 11 84 169 SACKS BY G Sacks 13 43 11 29 12 27 11 27 12 27 11 24 11 24 11 22 11 21 11 20 11 18 11 16 11 14 SACKS AGAINST G Sacks 11 11 11 12 11 17 11 20 12 21 11 21 11 22 11 23 11 23 11 26 12 28 11 30 13 32 PENALTIES G No Yds 11 45 382 11 54 439 11 57 523 12 66 588 11 63 550 11 58 553 13 74 665 11 68 575 12 78 732 11 81 692 11 68 702 11 69 709 11 82 722 4TH-DN CONVERSIONS G Conv Att 11 37 51 11 24 38 11 10 17 12 7 12 11 16 28 11 11 20 11 8 16 13 18 38 11 8 17 12 13 28 11 10 23 11 15 36 11 4 11 OPP 4TH-DN CONVERT G Conv Att 11 8 20 11 8 19 11 16 34 13 21 44 11 11 23

38.2 35.3 35.0 34.5 32.0 31.9 Pct 30.3 30.6 33.5 36.3 37.5 38.2 39.6 41.0 41.7 42.0 45.6 46.4 49.7 Yards 248 195 156 178 138 156 148 149 121 120 123 111 84 Yards 48 77 88 116 137 141 162 153 111 190 177 162 193 Avg/G 34.7 39.9 47.5 49.0 50.0 50.3 51.2 52.3 61.0 62.9 63.8 64.5 65.6 Pct 72.5 63.2 58.8 58.3 57.1 55.0 50.0 47.4 47.1 46.4 43.5 41.7 36.4 Pct 40.0 42.1 47.1 47.7 47.8

Sac State Idaho St. Montana St. Portland St. S. Utah N. Colorado N. Dakota E. Washington

11 12 11 14 11 15 12 24 12 15 11 17 11 12 11 20 TIME OF POSSESSION G Total Time UC Davis 11 380:49 Cal Poly 11 358:46 N. Dakota 11 350:55 Weber St. 11 350:13 Portland St. 12 381:46 Montana St. 11 343:28 Sac State 11 343:24 N. Arizona 11 323:11 E. Washington 11 308:19 Idaho St. 11 297:02 S. Utah 12 313:34 Montana 13 338:57 N. Colorado 11 271:16

25 27 26 40 24 27 19 28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

48.0 51.9 57.7 60.0 62.5 63.0 63.2 71.4 Avg/G 34:37 32:36 31:54 31:50 31:48 31:13 31:13 29:22 28:01 27:00 26:07 26:04 24:39

RUSHING G Att Yds Avg TD Long Yds/G 11 223 1459 6.5 16 81 132.6 10 203 1084 5.3 13 60 108.4 10 187 1035 5.5 7 56 103.5 12 180 1127 6.3 9 79 93.9 9 137 796 5.8 7 64 88.4 PASSING AVG/GAME Team Cl G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds TD Avg/G J. West EWU JR 10 356 230 8 64.6 3002 30 300.2 C.Cookus NAU FR 11 322 222 5 68.9 3111 37 282.8 A. Olsen SUU SR 12 489 291 8 59.5 3344 26 278.7 D. Prukop MSU JR 11 344 216 10 62.8 3025 28 275.0 M.Sanders ISU JR 9 319 175 10 54.9 2131 21 236.8 RECEIVE YDS/GAME Team Cl G Rec Yds TD Long Avg/C Yds/G C. Kupp EWU JR 11 114 1642 19 78 14.4 149.3 E. Butler NAU SO 11 64 1208 15 62 18.9 109.8 J. Jones UM SR 13 74 1207 11 74 16.3 92.8 K. Bourne EWU JR 11 73 998 8 98 13.7 90.7 S. Harrison SAC SR 11 71 903 8 61 12.7 82.1 TOTAL OFFENSE Team Cl G Rush Pass Plays Total Yds/G D. Prukop MSU JR 11 797 3025 502 3822 347.5 J. West EWU JR 10 25 3002 394 3027 302.7 C. Cookus NAU FR 11 209 3111 412 3320 301.8 A. Olsen SUU SR 12 -70 3344 548 3274 272.8 M. Sanders ISU JR 9 -63 2131 330 2068 229.8 INTERCEPTIONS Team Cl G Int Yds TD Long Int/G P. Onwuasor PSU SR 12 9 157 0 61 0.75 X. Coleman PSU JR 12 5 33 0 33 0.42 K. Hannemann SUU SO 10 4 68 0 52 0.40 E. Horn NAU SR 11 4 76 1 32 0.36 M. Alford NAU SR 11 3 80 1 70 0.27 B.J. Nard CP JR 11 3 40 0 40 0.27 TACKLES (All positions) Player Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Total Avg/G Sack D.Sankey SAC SR 11 LB 57 96 153 13.9 3.5 K. Van Ackeren UM SR 11 LB 63 67 130 11.8 1.5 M. Killebrew SUU SR 12 DB 75 58 133 11.1 0.0 H. Stout ISU JR 11 LB 52 61 113 10.3 2.0 W. Ratelle UND JR 11 LB 63 47 110 10.0 4.0 T. Risner UNCO 11 SS 38 71 109 9.9 0.0 T. Inoke CP SR 10 LB 54 43 97 9.7 1.0 M.Holley SUU SR 12 LB 62 53 115 9.6 0.0 J. Kose UM SR 13 LB 44 79 123 9.5 3.0 M.Bignell MSU SO 11 LB 70 31 101 9.2 2.0 M. Zamora EWU JR 11 LB 43 58 101 9.2 2.5 SACKS Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Yds Total Avg/G T. Holmes UM SR 13 DE 16 4 93 18.0 1.38 J. Cowser SUU JR 12 DE 13 0 55 13.0 1.08 J. Clark MSU JR 11 DL 5 1 48 5.5 0.50 G. Obinna SAC FR 11 DL 5 1 36 5.5 0.50 D. Dade PSU SO 12 6 0 30 6.0 0.50 TACKLES FOR LOSS Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Yds Total Avg/G M. Bignell MSU SO 11 LB 20 1 69 20.5 1.86 T. Holmes UM SR 13 DE 19 5 100 21.5 .65 J. Cowser SUU JR 12 DE 16 6 73 19.0 1.58 11 3 64 12.5 1.14 W. Ratelle UND JR 11 LB S. SulleymanPSU SR 12 12 3 31 13.5 1.12 Team J.Santiago UND C. Brown CP C. Jahn NAU D. Jones PSU T.Riek UNCO

Cl FR SR SR SR

E16 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

Montana football players celebrate their 38-35 victory over North Dakota State last August. The Grizzlies came from behind to win against the soon-to-be-five-time national champion Bison with only seconds left in front of a record stadium crowd and a national audience broadcast on ESPN.

Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E17

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E18 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | FROM PAGE E12

Big Sky

BIG SKY CONFERENCE OUTLOOK

Continued

For Portland, which was tabbed 12th in the 2015 preseason media poll, all the good feelings from last season have to be packed away, QB Alex Kuresa said. Last year’s results can’t help the Vikings now. “I love what’s going on. Last year we turned things around for Portland State,� the senior said. “... We’re focused on building around what we have this year and not being content. We all remember it wasn’t too long ago when we were 3-9 and not 9-3. We’ve seen how quickly it can tilt, especially in this conference.�

Southern Utah is hoping fate doesn’t bend back on it this fall after losing three defenders to the NFL and a head coach to BYU from its 8-4 squad. Teams around the league saw what worked for the T-birds — namely a suffocating defense and a propensity for forcing turnovers — and hope to emulate.

First-year Grizzly defensive coordinator Jason Semore has preached takeaways throughout Montana’s fall camp. He isn’t the only one. “SUU did that last year and that’s why they jumped from being one of the

1 t-2 t-2 4 5 6 t-7 t-7 9 10 11 12 13

Preseason Coaches’ Poll Northern Arizona (8) Portland State (2) Montana Eastern Washington (2) North Dakota (1) Weber State Southern Utah Montana State Cal Poly Northern Colorado Sacramento State Idaho State UC Davis

132 121 121 112 105 83 73 73 66 43 24 24 23

bottom teams to the top team,� explained Tre’von Johnson, a senior linebacker with Weber State, another team looking to strike it rich in 2015. “That’s the step our defense needs to take.�

As long as Stitt is around Missoula, Montana’s identity will be its offense.

It’s as true this fall under the guidance of senior quarterback Brady Gustafson as it was last year, when the FCS defensive MVP belonged to the Griz in Holmes.

Stitt feels his Grizzlies are in an even better position to challenge for a Big

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Preseason Media Poll Northern Arizona (8) 287 Montana (7) 283 Eastern Washington (5) 269 North Dakota (2) 262 Portland State (3) 252 Weber State 174 Southern Utah 162 Montana State 157 Cal Poly 153 Northern Colorado 111 Idaho State 58 UC Davis 56 Sacramento State 50 (first-place votes in parenthesis)

Sky title in his second season. Montana surged down the stretch, winning its last three regular-season games to sneak into the 2015 playoffs before winning one more there at home.

That was a wave of momentum broken both by the long offseason and the fivetime national champion North Dakota State Bison, who eliminated the Griz in the second round of the playoffs. Montana is another year more experienced on the playing field and its head coach, a veteran of 16 seasons in the college game, has one more year of fine-tuning his

Final 2015 Standings Conf. Ovr PF 1 So. Utah 7-1 8-4 425 t-2 Portland St. 6-2 9-3 411 t-2 Montana 6-2 8-5 281 t-4 No. Dakota 5-3 7-4 309 t-4 No. Arizona 5-3 7-4 432 t-4E. Washington 5-3 6-5 381 t-4 Weber St. 5-3 6-5 247 t-8 No. Colorado 3-5 6-5 330 t-8 Montana St. 3-5 5-6 461 t-8 Cal Poly 3-5 4-7 372 11 UC Davis 2-6 2-9 245 t-12 Idaho St. 1-7 2-9 242 t-12 Sac St. 1-7 2-9 216

strategies to draw from. “I think I have more excitement (now) because I have a year under my belt.

You couldn’t really even get nervous last year because you didn’t even know,�

Stitt said. “We were at the D-II level and you come in here, we were a pretty good team at (Colorado School of) Mines and you look at the talent level compared to where you were and you don’t know how it’ll stack up against the best of the FCS. “We got into the first game and turns out we were OK. I think we’ve given ourselves a chance to be very good now.�

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Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016 — E19

GRIZ TRIVIA 3. Northern Arizona coach Jerome Souers 1. The last time none of Montana, Montana State or Eastern Washington held a share of the has 107 career wins as a Big Sky head coach, Big Sky Conference title before 2015 was back four behind the league’s all-time record of 111 held by whom? in 1994. Which team was champion that year? a) Nevada b) Weber State c) Boise State d) Idaho 2. North Dakota running back John Santiago led the Big Sky in rushing with 1,459 yards as a true freshman last season. When was the league’s last true freshman rushing champion? a) 2009 b) 1997 c) 1981 d) never

a) Chris Ault, Nevada b) Don Read, Montana c) Tim Walsh, Cal Poly/Portland State d) Beau Baldwin, Eastern Washington 4. The Big Sky has sent at least three teams to the FCS playoffs in each of the past four seasons. Which team has not been included in that run? a) Southern Utah b) Northern Arizona c) Weber State d) Cal Poly

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E20 — Missoulian, Saturday, August 27, 2016

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