Griz Game Day 112616

2016 SEASON TRIBUTE EDITION

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A1

FRESH FACES Griz thrill, stumble behind new roster in 2016

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

SENIOR FAREWELL: 2012 RECRUITING CLASS • RECAP: GAME-BY-GAME BREAKDOWN • NUMBERS: FINAL STATS

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A2 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY

YOUTH SERVED Young Griz take lumps, steps forward in 2016

AJ MAZZOLINI ajmazzolini@missoulian.com

In the aftermath of Montana’s 28-25 loss at Northern Colorado earlier this month, the shortcoming that appeared to cripple the Grizzlies as they headed into their annual rivalry game with Montana State, head coach Bob Stitt examined his team’s youth in a conversation with quarterbacks coach Andrew Selle.

The two offensive minds added up a mountain of appearances by first-year players. The Griz started nine redshirt freshmen this season. Not played – started.

Selle, once a Grizzly great himself who piloted the 2009 team to a national championship appearance, then made an observation that stuck with Stitt overnight.

How many freshmen did he remember getting significant minutes for the dominant Griz teams of the late 2000s?

One. Future NFL cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

“He made the statement that it was really rare for a freshman to even be in the two-deep (depth chart) back then,” Stitt said, replaying the conversation.

Though Selle neglected to mention true freshmen like linebacker Jordan Tripp and running back Peter Nguyen seeing the field in that ‘09 season, his remark regarding young starters stands. Montana was a team dotted by inexperience in 2016 and, accordingly, was one plagued by amateur mistakes.

Those nine freshmen combined to start 63 total games for the Grizzlies with the majority of that coming on offense and special teams.

And the Griz regressed from a 7-4 playoff contender last year to a 6-5 team left out of the bracket.

So how did this happen? What has led a group of guys fresh off the high school football field to enter the starting lineup for one of the FCS’s most recognizable programs?

It’s easy to point the finger at the

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Freshman Justin Calhoun, center, celebrates with senior teammates John Nguyen, left, and Jackson Thiebes after scoring against Southern Utah. Calhoun was one of nine freshmen who started at least one game for the Griz in 2016. major event that occurred since players of Selle’s era were suiting up – the greatest black eye in modern Montana athletics history. A U.S. Justice Department investigation into the handling of sexual assault cases by the Missoula Police Department and the University of Montana in 2012 led to the firing of head football coach Robin Pflugrad and

athletic director Jim O’Day. Montana imposed its own sanctions on the program after a concurrent NCAA probe found boosters provided impermissible benefits for players. That left the Griz short four scholarships for three seasons.

At the FCS level, where aid packages may be split among more than one

athlete, 12 scholarships equate to a ton of bodies on the depth chart.

“That’s where our program is right now and it’s the fallout of what went down. We knew that,” Stitt said. “... At some point you’re never going to have to deal with that again.”

See FRESHMEN, Page A4

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A3

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A4 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY FRESHMAN INFLUX

Freshmen

Nine freshmen started a combined 63 games for Montana Grizzlies in 2016.

Continued from A2

Between the lost scholarships – Montana returns to the usual 63 for next season – and Stitt’s coaching style, which clashed with the personnel that was in place when he was hired in December 2014, the coach needed to hit the transfer recruiting trail hard last offseason. So much so that when the Griz opened fall camp in August, media members were greeted by a lengthy list of newcomers to help familiarize themselves with the fresh faces.

The inventory covered a full page and numbered into the 40s.

Between the youth of the existing roster and the influx of more veteran talent new to Missoula, a getting-to-know you grace period was almost to be expected. And for an offense like Stitt’s, where success is predicated on quick reads and an even quicker tempo, players on different pages are quite noticeable.

The issues became most apparent when the Griz faced adversity.

“We played very well when we’re ahead and the game’s not on the line,” Stitt explained.

“When we struggled was at times when, man, we’ve got to have a play. We’ve got to help those kids and put them in those situations more often so they feel comfortable and they have the confidence.”

The air at Stitt’s post-season press conference Monday hung heavy with disappointment and desperation just two days after the Grizzlies’ season ended in a 24-17 humbling to the Bobcats.

In an earnest and compassionate tone, Stitt laid out his intentions to evaluate all aspects of the program in an endeavor to return Montana to its former glory.

He pointed to adaptations in his own coaching style, schematics and play calling even. What he doesn’t expect to change is his greater plan at work. After growing pains comes maturity.

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

Montana head coach Bob Stitt talks to his players between plays as freshman punter Eric Williams exits the field during the Cal Poly game.

Maybe not yet, but soon.

“The plan that we had was to build this thing for sustainability,” he said. “It needs to be sustainable over time where every class is really solid and when you graduate a group of seniors you’re just plugging in the new guys. “... We don’t want to be playing redshirt freshmen in key roles down the line.”

The Griz will still be young in certain places next year, its crop of suddenly experienced

freshmen only sophomores after all, and the graduation of 17 seniors doesn’t help.

The Griz will be young again across the offensive and defensive lines, with the departure of five O-linemen and three D-linemen.

But Stitt spoke highly of the signing class of 2016, the first group that he and his coaches recruited. Despite the need for talent this fall, none of the 25 true freshmen in Missoula saw a second of playing time, saving

their four years of eligibility.

Many of them are expected to play large roles come next season, though “I can’t wait to pull the redshirt off of ‘em and get ‘em out there. There’s guys that could have helped us this year, but you don’t want to do that when guys are 18, 19 years old,” Stitt said. “... It’s going to continue to be a lot of young guys and we’ve got to put them in pressure situations all the time so we feel like they can handle it when they’re

WR Justin Calhoun

11

OL Angel Villanueva

11

P Eric Williams

11

K Tim Semenza

10

WR Jerry Louie-McGee

8

DT Jesse Sims

6

WR Colin Bingham

3

S Josh Sandry

2

K Brandon Purdy

1

on the field and it is a close game or we’re behind.”

Stitt said he understands the pressures to win, and win now, with decades of Montana’s fleeting prominence breathing down his neck. As painful as a year like 2016 feels – “Patience is tough, especially in a place like this, because everyone expects a redshirt freshman to come in here and play like Marc Mariani,” he quipped – this season was a building block for the future.

The kicking game is a good example, Stitt alluded, and should help ease the anxious minds of freshmen placekickers Tim Semenza and Brandon Purdy. Many kickers get tossed into battle as freshmen – like at UM and MSU this year, Stitt said – but are then forged from the flames by their later years.

The Buffalo Bills’ Dan Carpenter, now in his ninth NFL season, made just 64 percent (32 of 50) of his field-goal attempts in his first two years kicking at Montana. Carpenter left Missoula, though, as the career scoring leader in Big Sky Conference and FCS history.

Perhaps buried in this year’s youth may be the next Carpenter or Mariani.

“They’re going to be around for a long time,” Stitt said of 2016’s freshmen. “In a few years people are going to go, ‘Gosh, Justin Calhoun, it seems like he’s been here 10 years. Jerry Louie-McGee, golly he’s been here forever.’”

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A6 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | GAME-BY-GAME RECAP

The ups and downs of the 2016 season COMPILED BY AJ MAZZOLINI ajmazzolini@missoulian.com

Montana 41, Saint Francis 31 Sept. 3, 2016 Record: 1-0 At Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the Grizzlies got off to a slow start and trailed at halftime 17-13 before a furious third quarter gave Montana the advantage in a season-opening win under the lights. It marked the team’s 13th straight victory in a home opener.

The Griz struck fast and often in the third with three touchdowns from Brady Gustafson on drives of 1 minute, 42 seconds or less. Gustafson threw for 353 yards and three scores, but the quarterback also had a pair of passes intercepted by Saint Francis standout safety Lorenzo Jerome and lost two fumbles.

“Straight up, flat out did not play to the best of my ability. No nerves; I know I can play better going on,” said Gustafson, who had three turnovers in the first half versus SFU before scoring five touchdowns in the second, including two rushing.

Along with his two picks, Jerome also returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown to cut his team’s deficit to 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Of the six games in which the Griz trailed at halftime in 2016, the clash with the Red Flash was the only one that ended in a comeback victory.

Montana 20, Northern Iowa 14 Sept. 10, 2016 Record: 2-0 At Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Griz offense sputtered but an overwhelming defensive performance and a memorable debut from breakout star Jerry Louie-McGee proved to be enough in Montana’s only road victory of the season With the Griz guarding a three-point lead over the third-ranked Panthers, redshirt freshman Louie-McGee juked his way through the Northern Iowa return team for an 81-yard punt return touchdown. Up 17-7 then, the Griz defense stood tall against talented UNI quarterback Aaron Bailey’s comeback effort.

The Griz managed a season-low output of 206 yards of offense and converted on just 4 of 17 third-down plays, but a week after a four-turnover performance the Griz had no giveaways and the defense collected five sacks and stole two fumbles.

“When you play the No. 3 team in the country on the road when they just beat a Big 12 football team, you find any way to get the W,” Montana head coach Bob Stitt said, referencing UNI’s win over Iowa State the week before. “You do not care how it’s done. You find a way to allow your kids to win the ballgame.”

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Montana’s Brady Gustafson passes to Jerry Louie-McGee during Montana’s victory over Saint Francis, 41-31, to See RECAP, Page A7 start the season in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A7

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | GAME-BY-GAME RECAP

Recap Continued from A6

Cal Poly 42, Montana 41 Sept. 24, 2016 Record: 2-1 (0-1 in Big Sky) At San Luis Obispo, California, Brady Gustafson and Jerry Louie-McGee put on an offensive show, but the Griz couldn’t stop Cal Poly’s vaunted triple option running attack in a one-point loss to open Big Sky Conference play.

Gustafson broke Dave Dickenson’s school record with 47 completions in the loss — the QB was 47 of 59 passing with 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns — and Louie-McGee smashed the program record held by Josh Paffhausen with 21 catches. The latter’s feat tied the Big Sky record.

“You throw it to him, he’s a couple yards in the backfield at times and then like he did today, it turns into a plus50-yard touchdown,” Gustafson said of Louie-McGee. “The dude, they call him ‘Mr. Electric’ for good reason.”

Unfortunately the Griz defense allowed 302 rushing yards and Poly QB Dano Graves threw three touchdown passes.

The Mustangs survived a wide 48-yard field attempt in the final 2 minutes

by Griz kicker Tim Semenza to secure the victory.

Montana 43, Southern Utah 20

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

Montana’s Keenan Curran goes up for a pass in the end zone before it gets knocked loose from his hands by Cal Poly’s Jerek Rosales in September.

Oct. 1, 2016 Record: 3-1 (1-1 in Big Sky) At Washington-Grizzly Stadium, defending Big Sky champion Southern Utah was no match for Montana’s offense that was just hitting its stride. The Griz rolled to 627 yards of offense in dismantling the Thunderbirds on homecoming.

“It’s something that we expect,” said coach Bob Stitt of the first 600-yard game in his two years in Missoula (Montana would top that mark again two weeks later). “We should have had it before now and we knew it was there.”

Brady Gustafson threw for 400 yards in a second straight game, finishing with 415 and four touchdown passes to four different receivers. Jerry Louie-McGee and James Homan each broke the 100yard mark receiving.

For the second straight game running back Jeremy Calhoun scored at least two touchdowns, part of a streak that spanned four outings. He ran for 90 yards and fellow back John Nguyen added 87.

See RECAP, Page A8

A8 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | GAME-BY-GAME RECAP

Recap Continued from A7

Montana 67, Mississippi Valley State 7

Oct. 8, 2016 Record: 4-1 At Washington-Grizzly Stadium, in a game that featured one of Montana’s most dominant defensive performance in decades, the heavily favored Griz trailed 7-0 in the game’s early moments before rattling off 67 straight points in a blowout nonconference victory.

The Griz scored on eight straight possessions and crippled the Delta Devils’ offense by clamping down on the run game. Montana obliterated its program record by allowing minus-61 rush yards — as in 61 yards less than zero — while holding the visitors to 146 yards of total offense.

Brady Gustafson passed for 251 yards and four scores before being relieved by the reserve QBs, and the starter completed at least 16 straight passes for the second time on the season. He got to 17 in a row against MVSU. UM also had a pair of defensive scores, a 78-yard interception return by linebacker Connor Strahm and a fumble recovery in the end zone by defensive lineman Donald Bedell.

“It’s exactly what we wanted,” coach Bob Stitt said. “When people expect you to beat a team by 50-some points, you ought to go out and beat ‘em by 50-some points and do it the right way.”

Montana 68, Sacramento State 7 Oct. 15, 2016 Record: 5-1 (2-1 in Big Sky) At Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the Griz scored 60-plus points in back-toback games for the first time in program history while moving to 5-1 on the year with a win back in conference play.

“We’re playing at a very high level, but every week you’re trying to out-do the week before,” coach Bob Stitt said. “It’s not about trying to get so many points or so many yards — passing, rushing whatever — you’re just trying to go out and execute better than you did the week before.”

Montana’s 655 yards of offense were the most for the team in 17 years and for a third straight game, Brady Gustafson passed for four touchdowns — again to four different receivers. John Nguyen’s 116-yard outing also marked the first Griz

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Montana’s Jeremy Calhoun (8) scores over Sac State’s Anthony Payne during a 68-7 win over Sacramento State in October.

rusher to top the 100-yard plateau on the season.

Linebacker Josh Buss had a career day with 10 tackles and 4.5 stops in the backfield. Safety Justin Strong also returned an interception for a touchdown.

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Northern Arizona 45, Montana 34 Oct. 22, 2016 Record: 5-2 (2-2 in Big Sky) At Flagstaff, Arizona, in a game that marked the beginning of the end for Montana, the Grizzlies came out flat and were victimized by the big play in their first loss in a month.

The defeat was the first of four in the final five weeks of the season for Montana, with three of those losses coming on the road.

NAU quarterback Blake Kemp’s 74-yard touchdown strike on his team’s first play from scrimmage set the tone as the Griz allowed a season-worst 45 See RECAP, Page A9

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Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A9

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | GAME-BY-GAME RECAP

Recap

| GRIZ FOOTBALL RECORDS IN 2016 |

and QB Gage Gubrud passed for four scores in all.

Continued from A8

points. Kemp passed for four scores on his own, out-dueling Brady Gustafson (394 yards, four TDs again).

“We knew that’s what they were going to do and (defensive coordinator Jason) Semore said that’s what they were gonna do,” coach Bob Stitt said.

“That’s their offense, throwing it deep.

We just thought we’d match up better.”

Eastern Washington 35, Montana 16

Oct. 29, 2016 Record: 5-3 (2-3 in Big Sky) At Cheney, Washington, the Eagles’ defense locked up Montana’s recently soaring offense as the Griz managed a season-low 16 points in falling below .500 in Big Sky games at the end of October.

Montana moved the ball well with 540 total yards of offense — Gustafson threw for another 398 with 45 completions and two TDs — but the Griz left too many points on the field.

Montana entered Eastern’s territory on drives six times that didn’t register a point. EWU also forced a field goal on another possession that reached the 3-yard line.

“They’re gonna drop people very deep and it makes it tough to throw the ball down the field,” coach Bob Stitt explained. “They count on their offense, that they’re gonna score, and then they won’t give up big plays.”

In his last game against the Griz, future pro WR Cooper Kupp scored three TDs with 140 receiving yards,

Montana 62, Idaho State 44 Nov. 5, 2016 Record: 6-3 (3-3 in Big Sky) At Washington-Grizzly Stadium, backup quarterback Chad Chalich enjoyed the greatest passing performance in Griz history, but Montana’s defense again showed signs of strain in a skid-snapping victory.

Chalich set Griz records for passing touchdowns (7) and total touchdowns (8) in relief of an injured Brady Gustafson. Four of his passing TDs went to receiver Keenan Curran, tying another program mark.

“He started last year and he put up numbers last year,” Curran said of Chalich. “It doesn’t phase us if there’s a new quarterback in there because our system works. ... Chad’s the man.

Chad’s the man.”

The Griz eclipsed 500 yards of offense for the sixth time in nine games in 2016, but the defense also allowed a season-worst 520 yards as Idaho State QBs Tanner Gueller and Trae Pilster combined for 348 yards and four touchdowns.

Northern Colorado 28, Montana 25

Nov. 12, 2016 Record: 6-4 (3-4 in Big Sky) At Greeley, Colorado, the Grizzlies’ good times didn’t last as Montana fell to 1-4 on the road for the year with its first loss against Northern Colorado See RECAP, Page A14

SINGLE GAME TOUCHDOWN PASSES 1. Chad Chalich (2016)

7

2.Four tied

6

PASS COMPLETIONS 1. Brady Gustafson (2016)

47

2. Brady Gustafson (2016)

45

3. Dave Dickenson (1995)

43

PASS ATTEMPTS 72 MOST FIRST DOWNS (team) 34 63 1. vs. South Dakota (2012) 2. vs. Sacramento State (2016) 33

1. Dave Dickenson (1995) 2. Brady Gustafson (2016)

RECEPTIONS 1. Jerry Louie-McGee (2016)

21

2. Josh Paffhausen (1997)

15

SINGLE SEASON RECEPTIONS

1. Joe Douglass (1996)

TOUCHDOWN RECEPTIONS

82

...

t-1. Keenan Curran (2016)

4 6. Jerry Louie-McGee (2016) 4

t-1. Five others tied

LONGEST TOUCHDOWN RUN (SINCE 1968) 1. John Nguyen (2016) 2. Six tied

73

RECEPTIONS PER GAME 1. Jerry Louie-McGee (2016) 9.125 81 (8 games) 7.45 80 2. Joe Douglass (1996) (11 games)

CAREER

PUNTS t-1. Five tied

11

t-6. Eric Williams (2016)

10

FEWEST RUSH YARDS ALLOWED (TEAM)

RUSHING YARDS 1. Yohance Humphery (1998-01) 4,070 ...

1. vs. Miss.Valley State (2016)

-61 6. John Nguyen (2013-16)

2. vs. Idaho State (2011)

-26

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C

From the

From awful lows 2012 signing class exp

aleb Kidder’s phone buzzed.

What was his mother, Kathy, doing texting him in the middle of the day? The hulking high school senior checked the blinking message from his chemistry classroom at Helena’s Capital High School.

That’s how one of Montana’s prized recruits of the signing class of 2012 found out his football coach had been fired.

“I was pretty upset,” recalled Kidder earlier this month, now an even more hulking fifth-year senior Griz defensive lineman.

“I really liked (Robin) Pflugrad as a person and as a coach. He’s a great guy, and in that moment I was confused on the circumstances.”

Confusion for his coach’s future and his own. Less than eight weeks before the move that rocked the Montana football program, Pflugrad stood in front the Missoula media and debuted the signing class of 2012.

It was just Pflugrad’s second full recruiting class after being named head coach on New Year’s Eve 2009, and he felt the Griz beginning to take to his vision.

Instead Montana was left in the lurch, along with the freshmen Pflugrad convinced to come to UM. Nineteen highschoolers joined the Griz in the fall of 2012 after being recruited by a suddenly absent head coach.

Five seasons later, 12 of them have exhausted their Seniors Brady Gustafson (3) and Zach Peevey (93) lead their teammates in the singing of the sc eligibility while trying to natives were part of UM’s signing class of 2012 which endured some of the darkest days in the help a once prestigious

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A11

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Banking that actually gives back. missoulafcu.org

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football program return to glory.

“We came in at a turning point for this program.

It could have went either way,” Kidder said. “I feel like we’ve done our part in bringing this program back in the direction where it needs to be.”

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

chool fight song after the Grizzlies’ win over Southern Utah earlier this season. The Montana program’s recent history.

There was excitement in the football offices.

The winter of 2011 had spilled into 2012 and the Grizzlies, a team that played in four FCS national title games from 2000-09, were riding the high from a recent return to the semifinals.

Pflugrad’s second season as head coach in Missoula, following one year as Griz receivers coach and many more as an assistant at the FBS level, had just ended.

There was also apprehension. The university was investigating several alleged sexual assaults involving players on the football team. One, running back Beau Donaldson, would be convicted less than a year later.

With star quarterback Jordan Johnson among the accused – Johnson would be found not guilty of sexual intercourse without consent in March 2013 – Montana’s administration severed ties with both Pflugrad and athletic director Jim O’Day on March 29, 2012, with the football team just finding its legs in spring camp.

A week later, a former Griz associate head coach – the recently retired Mick Delaney – agreed to head the program as it entered its darkest days.

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A12 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STATS

BIG SKY CONFERENCE STATISTICS TEAM STATISTICS

SCORING OFFENSE G TD XP 2XP DXP FG Saf Pts Avg E. Wash.

11 67 61 1 0 7 0 486 44.2 Montana 11 57 45 1 0 15 0 434 39.5 Cal Poly 11 54 51 1 0 6 0 395 35.9 N. Colo.

11 51 48 1 0 7 0 377 34.3 Portland St. 11 49 48 1 0 7 0 365 33.2 NAU 11 46 44 1 0 13 0 361 32.8 N. Dakota 11 41 38 0 0 15 1 331 30.1 S. Utah 11 44 40 0 1 5 0 321 29.2 UC Davis 11 40 33 1 0 11 1 310 28.2 Weber St. 11 40 31 2 0 7 1 298 27.1 Montana St. 11 36 33 0 0 11 0 282 25.6 Sac State 11 35 27 2 0 8 1 267 24.3 Idaho St. 11 37 32 1 0 3 1 267 24.3 RUSHING OFFENSE G Att Yds Avg TD Yds/G Cal Poly 11 669 3967 5.9 37 360.6 Portland St. 11 505 2680 5.3 35 243.6 N. Dakota 11 509 2388 4.7 21 217.1 Montana St. 11 456 2332 5.1 23 212.0 Sac State 11 431 1890 4.4 20 171.8 S. Utah 11 393 1816 4.6 19 165.1 N. Colo.

11 379 1796 4.7 19 163.3 NAU 11 392 1723 4.4 11 156.6 Montana 11 387 1713 4.4 19 155.7 UC Davis 11 359 1708 4.8 17 155.3 Weber St. 11 387 1513 3.9 15 137.5 E. Wash.

11 354 1479 4.2 19 134.5 Idaho St. 11 312 1360 4.4 14 123.6 SCORING DEFENSE G TD XP 2XP DXP FG Saf Pts Avg N. Dakota 11 31 24 0 0 9 0 237 21.5 Montana St. 11 34 33 0 0 13 0 276 25.1 Montana 11 41 39 0 0 4 0 297 27.0 S. Utah 11 41 35 1 0 9 1 312 28.4 NAU 11 41 33 2 0 10 0 313 28.5 Weber St. 11 40 36 2 1 11 0 315 28.6 E. Wash.

11 42 39 0 0 8 1 317 28.8 Cal Poly 11 48 41 0 0 10 0 359 32.6 N. Colo.

11 50 43 2 0 17 0 398 36.2 UC Davis 11 52 46 4 0 14 0 408 37.1 Portland St. 11 60 50 2 0 5 0 429 39.0 Sac State 11 60 56 0 0 8 0 440 40.0 Idaho St. 11 60 57 1 0 10 1 451 41.0 RUSHING DEFENSE G Rushes Yards Avg. TD Yds/G N. Dakota 11 337 1007 3.0 6 91.5 Cal Poly 11 313 1438 4.6 12 130.7 Montana St. 11 374 1605 4.3 16 145.9 Montana 11 426 1650 3.9 16 150.0 NAU 11 403 1687 4.2 21 153.4 S. Utah 11 408 1694 4.2 14 154.0 Weber St. 11 441 2113 4.8 19 192.1 UC Davis 11 466 2194 4.7 30 199.5 E. Wash.

11 465 2287 4.9 21 207.9 Idaho St. 11 488 2525 5.2 31 229.5 N. Colo.

11 529 2632 5.0 30 239.3 Portland St. 11 451 2740 6.1 31 249.1 Sac State 11 472 3205 6.8 32 291.4 PASS OFFENSE G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD Yds/G E. Wash. 11 485 332 11 68.5 4490 9.3 45 408.2 Montana 11 493 322 10 65.3 3591 7.3 34 326.5 NAU 11 443 278 9 62.8 3507 7.9 34 318.8 N. Colo.

11 336 210 10 62.5 2867 8.5 31 260.6 Weber St. 11 398 247 12 62.1 2831 7.1 23 257.4 Idaho St. 11 471 266 11 56.5 2666 5.7 22 242.4 UC Davis 11 386 218 7 56.5 2620 6.8 19 238.2 S. Utah 11 388 222 10 57.2 2411 6.2 23 219.2 Portland St. 11 264 150 11 56.8 2316 8.8 13 210.5 Sac State 11 392 186 13 47.4 2217 5.7 13 201.5 N. Dakota 11 267 151 3 56.6 1922 7.2 15 174.7 Montana St. 11 276 127 14 46.0 1715 6.2 13 155.9 Cal Poly 11 145 93 4 64.1 1494 10.3 17 135.8 TOTAL OFFENSE G Rush Pass Plays Yards Avg/P TD Yds/G E. Wash. 11 1479 4490 839 5969 7.1 64 542.6 Cal Poly 11 3967 1494 814 5461 6.7 54 496.5 Montana 11 1713 3591 880 5304 6.0 53 482.2 NAU 11 1723 3507 835 5230 6.3 45 475.5 Portland St. 11 2680 2316 769 4996 6.5 48 454.2 N. Colo.

11 1796 2867 715 4663 6.5 50 423.9 Weber St. 11 1513 2831 785 4344 5.5 38 394.9 UC Davis 11 1708 2620 745 4328 5.8 36 393.5

N. Dakota 11 S. Utah 11 Sac State 11 Montana St.11 Idaho St. 11

2388 1922 776 4310 5.6 36 391.8 1816 2411 781 4227 5.4 42 384.3 1890 2217 823 4107 5.0 33 373.4 2332 1715 732 4047 5.5 36 367.9 1360 2666 783 4026 5.1 36 366.0 PASS DEFENSE G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD Yds/G Weber St. 11 331 184 5 55.6 2168 6.5 19 197.1 Montana 11 318 147 8 46.2 2198 6.9 23 199.8 Portland St. 11 321 179 8 55.8 2521 7.9 28 229.2 Sac State 11 325 199 4 61.2 2589 8.0 25 235.4 E. Wash. 11 386 238 15 61.7 2608 6.8 20 237.1 UC Davis 11 307 189 7 61.6 2617 8.5 20 237.9 Montana St. 11 414 248 10 59.9 2670 6.4 18 242.7 N. Colo.

11 352 231 2 65.6 2685 7.6 19 244.1 NAU 11 415 238 8 57.3 2857 6.9 19 259.7 N. Dakota 11 430 238 20 55.3 2878 6.7 23 261.6 Cal Poly 11 373 247 6 66.2 2955 7.9 33 268.6 Idaho St. 11 365 219 10 60.0 2999 8.2 26 272.6 S. Utah 11 438 253 20 57.8 3311 7.6 27 301.0 TOTAL DEFENSE G Rush Pass Plys Yards Avg TD Yds/G Montana 11 1650 2198 744 3848 5.2 39 349.8 N. Dakota 11 1007 2878 767 3885 5.1 29 353.2 Montana St. 11 1605 2670 788 4275 5.4 34 388.6 Weber St. 11 2113 2168 772 4281 5.5 38 389.2 Cal Poly 11 1438 2955 686 4393 6.4 45 399.4 NAU 11 1687 2857 818 4544 5.6 40 413.1 UC Davis 11 2194 2617 773 4811 6.2 50 437.4 E. Wash.

11 2287 2608 851 4895 5.8 41 445.0 S. Utah 11 1694 3311 846 5005 5.9 41 455.0 Portland St. 11 2740 2521 772 5261 6.8 59 478.3 N. Colo.

11 2632 2685 881 5317 6.0 49 483.4 Idaho St. 11 2525 2999 853 5524 6.5 57 502.2 Sac State 11 3205 2589 797 5794 7.3 57 526.7 TURNOVER MARGIN Gained Lost G Fum Int Tot Fum Int Tot Mar Per/G N. Dakota 11 9 20 29 9 3 12 +17 1.55 S. Utah 11 6 20 26 4 10 14 +12 1.09 E. Wash. 11 8 15 23 5 11 16 +7 0.64 NAU 11 11 8 19 7 9 16 +3 0.27 Montana 11 13 8 21 10 10 20 +1 0.09 UC Davis 11 6 7 13 6 7 13 +0 0.00 Sac State 11 11 4 15 5 13 18 -3 -0.27 N. Colo.

11 11 2 13 6 10 16 -3 -0.27 Cal Poly 11 4 6 10 9 4 13 -3 -0.27 Weber St. 11 7 5 12 5 12 17 -5 -0.45 Portland St. 11 6 8 14 9 11 20 -6 -0.55 Idaho St. 11 5 10 15 11 11 22 -7 -0.64 Montana St.11 8 10 18 11 14 25 -7 -0.64 3RD-DN CONVERSIONS G Conv Att Pct Cal Poly 11 91 166 54.8 E. Wash.

11 81 150 54.0 Portland St. 11 74 149 49.7 Montana 11 78 181 43.1 Weber St. 11 67 169 39.6 NAU 11 68 180 37.8 N. Colo.

11 49 132 37.1 Idaho St. 11 61 174 35.1 Sac State 11 63 180 35.0 UC Davis 11 53 152 34.9 S. Utah 11 55 166 33.1 Montana St. 11 50 156 32.1 N. Dakota 11 51 163 31.3 OPP 3RD-DN CONVERT G Conv Att Pct Montana 11 44 162 27.2 N. Dakota 11 60 173 34.7 Montana St. 11 57 160 35.6 S. Utah 11 66 172 38.4 E. Wash.

11 69 172 40.1 NAU 11 74 184 40.2 Sac State 11 61 150 40.7 Weber St. 11 73 174 42.0 Portland St. 11 63 145 43.4 UC Davis 11 70 154 45.5 Idaho St. 11 80 173 46.2 N. Colo.

11 83 178 46.6 Cal Poly 11 64 137 46.7 SACKS BY G Sacks Yards Montana 11 28 218 E. Wash.

11 27 161 NAU 11 27 199

S. Utah N. Dakota Idaho St. Sac State UC Davis N. Colo.

Portland St. Montana St. Cal Poly Weber St. Cal Poly NAU UC Davis Montana St. E. Wash.

S. Utah Weber St. Portland St. N. Dakota N. Colo.

Montana Idaho St. Sac State Montana St. Cal Poly Idaho St. Sac State Weber St. E. Wash.

UC Davis N. Dakota Portland St. NAU S. Utah Montana N. Colo.

Weber St. N. Dakota S. Utah Cal Poly Sac State N. Colo.

Montana St. Idaho St. E. Wash.

UC Davis Portland St. Montana NAU Cal Poly N. Dakota Weber St. Portland St. Montana UC Davis Montana St. NAU Sac State E. Wash.

Idaho St. S. Utah N. Colo.

NAU Montana Sac State S. Utah Weber St. N. Dakota Montana St. E. Wash.

UC Davis N. Colo.

Idaho St. Portland St. Cal Poly

11 26 11 24 11 22 11 19 11 18 11 18 11 17 11 15 11 15 11 11 SACKS AGAINST G Sacks 11 7 11 8 11 16 11 16 11 18 11 18 11 21 11 21 11 22 11 23 11 24 11 33 11 35 PENALTIES G No Yds 11 61 510 11 58 547 11 65 564 11 61 582 11 65 583 11 66 586 11 72 589 11 68 612 11 68 665 11 79 694 11 70 715 11 79 719 11 87 805 4TH-DN CONVERSIONS G Conv Att 11 14 18 11 11 15 11 12 17 11 19 28 11 10 17 11 10 17 11 11 19 11 18 32 11 10 19 11 8 16 11 9 18 11 11 24 11 14 31 TIME OF POSSESSION G Total Time 11 390:43 11 370:36 11 350:18 11 345:50 11 341:25 11 333:08 11 327:08 11 321:54 11 317:38 11 306:36 11 299:19 11 292:43 11 287:52 OPP 4TH-DN CONVERT G Conv Att 11 10 24 11 8 19 11 6 14 11 11 24 11 11 21 11 11 20 11 11 20 11 16 25 11 9 14 11 16 24 11 13 19 11 17 23 11 9 10

178 136 130 115 135 106 83 84 86 77 Yards 36 50 102 130 123 140 132 129 139 147 99 164 224 Avg/G 46.4 49.7 51.3 52.9 53.0 53.3 53.5 55.6 60.5 63.1 65.0 65.4 73.2 Pct 77.8 73.3 70.6 67.9 58.8 58.8 57.9 56.2 52.6 50.0 50.0 45.8 45.2 Avg/G 35:31 33:41 31:50 31:26 31:02 30:17 29:44 29:15 28:52 27:52 27:12 26:36 26:10 Pct 41.7 42.1 42.9 45.8 52.4 55.0 55.0 64.0 64.3 66.7 68.4 73.9 90.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING G Att Yds Avg TD Long Yds/G 10 226 1212 5.4 11 76 121.2 11 213 1077 5.1 11 90 97.9 11 182 1027 5.6 7 87 93.4 11 164 996 6.1 13 75 90.5 11 165 924 5.6 7 38 84.0 9 128 741 5.8 3 53 82.3 9 115 726 6.3 5 72 80.7 11 138 860 6.2 12 70 78.2 9 148 703 4.8 8 29 78.1 11 147 858 5.8 10 69 78.0 PASSING Team Cl G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds TD Avg/G Gubrud EWU SO 11 441 300 11 68.0 4086 40 371.5 Gustafson UM SR 9 396 260 8 65.7 2785 25 309.4 Clark WSU SR 11 393 245 12 62.3 2818 22 256.2 Sloter UNCO SR 11 317 197 10 62.1 2665 29 242.3 Kemp NAU SR 9 312 191 8 61.2 2157 17 239.7 Gueller ISU SO 10 404 235 10 58.2 2328 20 232.8 Scott UCD SR 10 313 182 6 58.1 2266 16 226.6 Tyler SUU FR 11 356 212 7 59.6 2294 23 208.5 Kuresa PSU SR 11 257 145 11 56.4 2137 12 194.3 Studsrud UND JR 10 242 137 2 56.6 1816 12 181.6 TOTAL OFFENSE Team Cl G Rush Pass Plays Total Yds/G Gubrud EWU SO 11 463 4086 548 4549 413.5 Gustafson UM SR 9 11 2785 436 2796 310.7 Clark WSU SR 11 265 2818 488 3083 280.3 Kuresa PSU SR 11 858 2137 404 2995 272.3 Gueller ISU SO 10 157 2328 466 2485 248.5 Kemp NAU SR 9 61 2157 339 2218 246.4 Sloter UNCO SR 11 19 2665 389 2684 244.0 Scott UCD SR 10 2 2266 341 2268 226.8 Tyler SUU FR 11 63 2294 417 2357 214.3 Studsrud UND JR 10 188 1816 327 2004 200.4 RECEIVING Team Cl G Rec Yds TD Long Avg/C Yds/G Kupp EWU SR 10 91 1297 12 75 14.3 129.7 Hill EWU SR 11 65 1014 15 84 15.6 92.2 Miller UNCO SR 11 56 1007 5 45 18.0 91.5 Butler NAU JR 11 69 1003 9 51 14.5 91.2 Bourne EWU SR 11 61 930 6 40 15.2 84.5 Doss UCD SO 11 66 911 10 58 13.8 82.8 Sharp SUU FR 11 75 898 12 90 12.0 81.6 Marks NAU JR 10 43 770 7 87 17.9 77.0 Vollert WSU JR 11 57 757 6 46 13.3 68.8 Williams ISU SR 11 64 694 11 63 10.8 63.1 TACKLES Player Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Total Avg/G Sack Newsom UNCO SR 11 LB 59 62 121 11.0 3.5 Anderson SAC SO 11 DB 55 52 107 9.7 1.0 Jenkins ISU JR 10 LB 33 60 93 9.3 3.0 Meteer SAC JR 11 LB 44 56 100 9.1 2.5 Bignell MSU JR 11 LB 61 36 97 8.8 3.5 Stice WSU SO 11 LB 47 50 97 8.8 0.5 Bruce EWU SR 11 DB 55 40 95 8.6 0.0 Kacmarcik EWU SO 9 LB 38 39 77 8.6 1.0 Santini CP SR 11 57 36 93 8.5 2.5 Zamora EWU SR 10 LB 36 48 84 8.4 2.5 Singleton UNCO SR 11 DB 39 50 89 8.1 2.0 Martin ISU SO 11 LB 33 55 88 8.0 0.0 Johnson WSU SR 11 LB 43 45 88 8.0 3.5 Thomas NAU SR 10 38 42 80 8.0 0.0 Stout ISU SR 10 LB 31 47 78 7.8 2.0 SACKS Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Yds Total Avg/G Anau NAU SR 11 DL 7 3 66 8.5 0.77 Ebukam EWU SR 11 DL 6 1 50 6.5 0.59 Johnson UM SR 11 DE 5 2 44 6.0 0.55 Buss UM SO 11 LB 5 1 60 5.5 0.50 Obinna SAC SO 9 DL 5 1 39 5.5 0.61 Kidder UM SR 11 DE 5 1 35 5.5 0.50 Torgerso SUU FR 11 5 0 38 5.0 0.45 Razor ISU SO 9 DL 4 1 34 4.5 0.50 Strahm UM JR 11 LB 4 1 33 4.5 0.41 Pili SUU FR 11 4 1 25 4.5 0.41 Team Protheroe CP Luuga UCD Brown SUU Robinson SAC Santiago UND Riek UNCO Logan NAU Murray MSU Newell MSU Kuresa PSU

Cl JR SR FR SR SO SO FR FR SR SR

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A13

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STATS

BIG SKY CONFERENCE STATISTICS Final team comparisons for the 11-game 2016 season SCORING

POINTS ALLOWED

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

331 321 310 298 282 267 267

395 377 365 361

434

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

1,479 1,713 1,723 1,796 1,513 1,708

2,680

2,388 1,816 1,890 2,332 1,360

4,490 3,967 1,494 3,591 3,507 2,316 2,867 2,831 2,620 1,922 2,411 2,217 1,715 2,666

486

Total 5,969 5,461 5,304 5,230 4,996 4,663 4,344 4,328 4,310 4,227 4,107 4,047 4,026

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

237

276 297 312 313 315 317

359

398 408 429 440 451

RUSHING/PASSING YARDS ALLOWED

YARDS Rushing Passing

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

1,650

2,198 1,007 2,878 1,605 2,670 2,113 2,168 1,438 2,955 1,687 2,857 2,194 2,617 2,287 2,608 1,694 3,311 2,740 2,521 2,632 2,685 2,525 2,999 3,205 2,589

Total 3,848 3,885 4,275 4,281 4,393 4,544 4,811 4,895 5,005 5,261 5,317 5,524 5,794

MISSOULIAN STAFF

MONTANA (6-5)

Griz Opp Scoring average 39.5 27.0 First downs 266 186 Rushing yards 1713 1650 Avg./Rush 4.4 3.9 Passing 322-493-10 147-318-8 Passing yards 3591 2198 Average per pass 7.3 6.9 Total offense 5304 3848 Plays per game 80.0 67.6 Average per play 6.0 5.2 Kick returns 29-19.0 55-22.5 Punt returns 23-11.2 24-9.4 Fumbles-lost 20-10 27-13 Penalties 79-65.4 73-63.8 Punting 51-40.0 74-39.0 Time of possession 31:02 28:58 3rd-down conv.

78-181 44-162 4th-down conv.

11-24 8-19 Sacks-yards 28-218 24-99 Red zone scoring 45-50 29-42 Red zone TDs 33-50 27-42 Montana 97 149 78 110 – 434 Opponents 84 90 62 61 – 297

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Rushing John Nguyen 149-679 (4.6 ypc), long 81, 1 TDs Jeremy Calhoun 77-555 (7.2), long 65, 9 TDs Joey Counts 42-183 (4.4), long 19, 4 TDs Chad Chalich 42-137 (3.3), long 20, 3 TDs Treshawn Favors 23-112 (4.9), long 21, 0 TDs Jerry Louie-McGee 5-23 (4.6), long 11, 0 TDs Reese Phillips 3-12 (4.0), long 8, 0 TDs Brady Gustafson 40-11 (0.3), long 20, 2 TDs James Homan 2-6 (3.0), long 10, 0 TDs Team 4-(-5), long 0, 0 TDs Passing Gustafson 260-396-8, 2785 yards, long 75, 25 TDs Chalich 54-81-2, 756 yards, long 61, 9 TDs

Phillips 8-15-0, 50 yards, long 13, 0 TDs Keenan Curran 0-1-0, 0 yards, long 0, 0 TDs Receiving Louie-McGee 73-651 (8.9 ypc), long 61, 3 TDs Justin Calhoun 42-625 (14.9), long 61, 6 TDs Curran 40-601 (15.0), long 75, 10 TD James Homan 36-450 (12.5), long 58, 3 TDs Nguyen 26-266 (10.2), long 35, 1 TD Caleb Lyons 26-114 (4.4), long 25, 1 TD Colin Bingham 24-282 (11.8), long 27, 3 TDs Josh Horner 22-241 (11.0), long 34, 4 TDs Jer. Calhoun 10-75 (7.5), long 15, 1 TD Mitch McLaughlin 7-33 (4.7), long 12, 0 TDs Lane Hovey 6-102 (17.0), long 36, 1 TD Makena Simis 4-46 (11.5), long 23, 0 TDs Favors 3-23 (7.7), long 10, 0 TDs Counts 1-60 (60.0), long 60, 1 TD Lamarriel Taylor 1-16 (16.0), long 16, 0 TDs Kobey Eaton 1-6 (6.0), long 6, 0 TDs

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

Tackles LB Josh Buss 81, 43 solo LB Connor Strahm 70, 21 solo S Justin Strong 68, 42 solo DE Ryan Johnson 57, 22 solo DE Caleb Kidder 55, 21 solo LB James Banks 54, 13 solo DT Brandt Davidson 32, 7 solo S Yamen Sanders 32, 13 solo S Josh Sandry 30, 13 solo LB Dante Olson 29, 7 solo DE Tucker Schye 28, 10 solo DT Jesse Sims 26, 6 solo CB Markell Sanders 25, 19 solo CB Ryan McKinley 24, 16 solo CB JR Nelson 23, 17 solo DT Zach Peevey 20, 7 solo CB TJ Reynard 19, 12 solo LB Cy Sirmon 14, 2 solo LB Vika Fa’atuiese 14, 2 solo DT Myles McKee-Osibodu 11, 3 solo CB Korey Alexander 10, 4 solo

S Jerrin Williams 10, 3 solo LB Shayne Cochran 8, 3 solo DT Kyle Davis 8, 0 solo DE Donald Bedell 6, 1 solo S Evan Epperly 6, 4 solo S Mick Delaney 5, 3 solo CB Shance Moody 4, 2 solo DE Reggie Tilleman 2, 0 solo RB Joey Counts 2, 2 solo WR Lamarriel Taylor 2, 1 solo P Eric Williams 2, 2 solo WR Colin Bingham 2, 1 solo WR Lane Hovey 2, 1 solo OL Jackson Thiebes 2, 1 solo OL Angel Villanueva 1, 1 solo WR Justin Calhoun 1, 1 solo RB Jeremy Calhoun 1, 1 solo LS Aaron Held 1, 0 solo WR Jerry Louie-McGee 1, 1 solo RB Treshawn Favors 1, 1 solo WR Kobey Eaton 1, 1 solo WR James Homan 1, 1 solo LB Gage Smith 1, 0 solo K Tim Semenza 1, 1 solo WR Keenan Curran 1, 0 solo Tackles for loss (90-371) LB Buss 20.0-96 DE Johnson 13.0-64 DE Kidder 11.0-45 LB Strahm 8.0-39 DE Schye 7.0-23 DT Zach Peevey 6.0-15 DT Sims 4.0-11 S Strong 3.0-12 S Sandry 2.5-22 LB Olson 2.0-6 LB Banks 2.0-4 DE Bedell 2.0-4 DT McKee-Osibodu 1.5-2 DT Davidson 1.5-2 LB Cocrhan 1.0-8 CB Reynard 1.0-5

S Sanders 1.0-4 S Epperly 1.0-3 CB McKinley 0.5-2 LB Sirmon 0.5-1 S Williams 0.5-2 LB Fa’atuiese 0.5-1 DE Tilleman 0.5-0 Sacks (28-218) DE Johnson 6.0-44 LB Buss 5.5-60 DE Kidder 5.5-35 LB Strahm 4.5-33 S Sandry 1.5-16 LB Cochran 1.0-8 DE Schye 1.0-7 DT Sims 1.0-6 LB Olson 1.0-3 DT Peevey 0.5-4 S Sanders 0.5-2 Interceptions (8) S Strong 3-86 CB McKinley 2-2 LB Strahm 1-78 DE Johnson 1-40 S Sanders 1-0 Fumbles forced-recovered (10-13) LB Strahm 3-1 DE Johnson 3-0 DT Davidson 1-1 LB Buss 1-0 CB McKinley 1-0 CB Nelson 1-0 DE Kidder 0-2 S Strong 0-1 S Sandry 0-1 DE Schye 0-1 CB Sanders 0-1 CB Reynard 0-1 DT Peevey 0-1 DE Bedell 0-1 CB Alexander 0-1 LB Fa’atuiese 0-1

Pass breakups (38) CB Nelson 8 CB Sanders 7 CB McKinley 4 S Strong 3 DE Kidder 3 DE Schey 3 CB Reynard 3 LB Strahm 2 LB Buss 1 LB Banks 1 S Sanders 1 S Sandry 1 CB Alexander 1 Blocked kicks DE Kidder 2 CB Nelson 1 Safeties none Defensive touchdowns LB Strahm 1 INT DE Bedell 1 FUM S Strong 1 INT

SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS

PATs/Field goals Tim Semenza 33-41/13-16, long 47, 0 blocked, 72 points Brandon Purdy 12-13/2-3, long 38, 1 blocked, 18 points Punting Eric Williams 50-40.8, long 59, 7 inside 20, 2 touchbacks, 1 blocked Punt returns Nguyen 13-6.1, long 24, 0 TDs Louie-McGee 8-19.2, long 81, 1 TD Lyons 1-33.0, long 33, 0 TDs Kickoff returns Favors 10-17.1, long 22, 0 TDs Lyons 8-21.5, long 29, 0 TDs Louie-McGee 7-21.9, long 45, 0 TDs Nguyen 2-21.0, long 24, 0 TDs Bingham 2-7.0, long 11, 0 TDs

A14 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | GAME-BY-GAME RECAP

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Montana’s John Nguyen gets tackled by a Montana State player in the Grizzlies’ 24-17 loss to Montana State in the 116th Brawl of the Wild last Saturday in WashingtonGrizzly Stadium.

Recap Continued from A9

since the Bears’ Division II days in 1976.

In a well-worn script by this point, UNC went to the air early and beat the Griz with a 58-yard touchdown pass on its first drive. Moments later Mikhail Dubose blocked a Montana punt and returned the loose ball for a touchdown and a quick 14-0 lead.

“We continued to take turns

making mistakes,” coach Bob Stitt said. “... We’ve got to find a way to get our young guys ready to go and learn how to win a ballgame on the road.

They play completely different on the road than they do at home.”

Montana made a valiant charge behind backup QB Chad Chalich, whose encore to an eight-TD game including just one touchdown and none through the air. Running back Joey Counts scored twice on the ground as well, but the

Bears’ defense forced a turnover on downs with the Griz driving in the final 2 minutes.

Montana State 24, Montana 17

Nov. 19, 2016 Record: 6-5 (3-5 in Big Sky) At Washington-Grizzly Stadium, for the first time since 2012 the rival Bobcats escaped the Brawl of the Wild with a victory. Montana’s loss in the 116th Brawl officially ended its season at 6-5 and short of the

playoffs for the first time since that 2012 season.

The Cats held Montana to just 20 offensive plays in the first half, the only one of any significance being a 58-yard touchdown from Brady Gustafson to Justin Calhoun in the game’s opening minutes.

The Grizzlies’ other drives included five punts and an interception.

“It was a bad first half and we couldn’t give ourselves a chance with some of the things that went down,” coach Bob

Stitt said.

MSU freshman quarterback Chris Murray ran wild for 142 yards — the Cats rushed for 368 in all, the most against a Griz team since 2104 — but it was the second of only Murray’s two completions that sealed the game for Montana State. On fourth-and-1 deep in UM territory, a play-action fake left tight end Connor Sullivan wide open for a first down that helped the Bobcats run out the clock on the Grizzlies’ season.

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A15

GRIZZLY GAME DAY RECRUITING CLASS OF 2012

Seniors Continued from A11

legal system and off the team and both the NCAA and U.S. Justice Department circling UM, the Griz stumbled to their worst record in 27 years and the team’s first losing season since 1985.

At 5-6, the on-field product was a mess. Off the gridiron and with Delaney at the helm, Montana was wiping the slate clean. He preached transparency and accountability.

“With coach Delaney taking over and the mending of that time, he was the perfect man for the job,” said Justin Green, Montana’s running backs coach who was in his first year on the staff in 2012.

Green was actually hired to replace Delaney as running backs coach when the latter retired a week after signing day that February. Green, a former Griz and NFL player before returning to the school as a student assistant, was only 45 days on the job when Pflugrad’s dismissal came down.

He was as fresh to a full-time coaching gig as the incoming freshmen were to college football. What both experienced that first year was far from typical.

Animosity among coaches brewed animosity among players. They argued; they fought.

The tensions heightened as the season grew worse, culminating in a home loss to rival Montana State to cap the campaign.

“It was a dark time and it was hard to see where we were gonna go in the future and how we were going to respond to this,” said senior offensive lineman Devon Dietrich, who walked on out of Woodinville, Washington in 2012 and then became a three-year starter at tackle and guard.

“In a lot of ways I think it brought our class together closer because we knew we didn’t want to be like that.

We didn’t want to be the guys getting in trouble and being lax and not really caring.”

Montana’s signing class of 2012 featured 19 players directly out of high school. Twelve survived one of the darkest periods in Griz football history to finish their eligibility at UM. WR Ryan Burke, Billings Central *RB Joey Counts, Mesa, Ariz.

TE Hayden Craig, Dayton, Ore. *OL Devon Dietrich, Woodinville, Wash. *LB Herbert Gamboa, San Clemente, Calif.

K Harrison Greenberg, Lake Oswego, Ore. *QB Brady Gustafson, Billings West DL Bo Harris, Fairfield *DE Tyrone Holmes, Eagle Point, Ore. *DE Ryan Johnson, Vancouver, Wash. *OL Max Kelly, Spokane, Wash. *DE Caleb Kidder, Helena Capital OL Clint LaRowe, Miles City WR Chase Naccarato, Spokane, Wash. *CB JR Nelson, Hacienda Heights, Calif. *DL Zach Peevey, Missoula Hellgate *OL McCauley Todd, Cedar Rapids, Iowa WR Taylor Walcott, Eugene, Ore. *OL Ben Weyer, Bozeman * finished eligibility at Montana

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

Running back Joey Counts, left, celebrates a touchdown with teammate Sam Gratton in a game against Idaho State in 2012. Counts, a member of that year’s recruiting class under former head coach Robin Pflugrad, played as a true freshman.

Delaney’s teams churned out 10- and 9-win seasons, respectively, the next two years with a pair of trips to the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Not all of the signing class of 2012 was around to see the success though.

As tends to be the case, attrition whittled the group one by one. Some retired because of injury while others transferred or simply left the program on their own after a second coaching change and Bob Stitt’s hire as head coach in December 2014.

The ones who stayed, coach Green said, helped rebuild the

Grizzlies brick by brick and were better for it.

“These men were set up in situations that are going to prepare them for life. That has nothing to do with football,” Green said. “They’ve been through, really, three different coaching staffs. ... They were able to see a lot of different things and learn how to deal with people, how to deal with change, how to deal with opportunity and missed opportunity.”

But life isn’t always simple and stories of redemption tend to be a little messy. After three straight trips to the playoffs,

the Griz stumbled this fall to a 6-5 record. Montana was left out of the postseason as it continues to deal with remnants of the self-imposed sanctions that date back to a lack of oversight under the Pflugrad administration.

The 2016 campaign was the final season of a three-year stretch in which UM played under scholarship reductions, fielding a team with 59 aid packages instead of the FCS’s usual 63.

The seniors have played their final games as Grizzlies, capping careers that coincided with a time of great tumult

at their university. They also mark the first class to have not earned at least one Big Sky Conference championship during their four-to-five-year stay since UM’s graduates back in 1993.

But they were unfaltering, the broad backs on which the next generation of Grizzlies will stand. It is because of them, coach Stitt said, that others will have a chance at such success – hopefully in the near future too.

“I’ll be forever indebted to those guys for what they did over the past years and that’s what hurts so bad, that they didn’t leave with what we wanted them to have,” Stitt said. “They did so much for us and we appreciated them so much. “... That’s disappointing for me as a coach to not help those guys go out on the right foot.”

Montana graduates 17 seniors in all this offseason, 10 of whom came in with the signing class of 2012 under Pflugrad.

A16 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

1 North Dakota St. Cal Poly

2016 NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 26, 5 p.m.

San Diego

8 South Dakota St.

Villanova

Dec. 3, 1 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Nov. 26, Noon Semifinals

St. Francis (Pa.)

5 Sam Houston St.

Chattanooga

Dec. 3, 1 p.m.

Nov. 26, Noon Weber State

4 James Madison

New Hampshire

Dec. 3, noon

Quarterfinals

National Championship Game

Nov. 26, Noon Lehigh

3 Jacksonville St.

Youngstown St.

Dec. 3, noon

Jan. 7, 10 a.m.

ESPN 2

Nov. 26, 3 p.m.

Samford

6 Citadel

Wofford

Dec. 3, 4 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Nov. 26, Noon Charleston So. Richmond

Semifinals

7 North Dakota Dec. 3, 4 p.m.

Nov. 26, Noon N.C. A&T Central Ark. Nov. 26, 1 p.m.

Illinois State

*Home team on top 2 Eastern Wash.

Dec. 3, 2 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A17

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Big Sky Players of the Week Sept. 5

Offense: Gage Gubrud, Eastern Washington Defense: Cole Reyes, North Dakota Special Teams: Jordan Dascalo, Eastern Washington

Sept. 12

Offense: Kyle Sloter, Northern Colorado Defense: John Walker, Montana State Special Teams: Jerry Louie-McGee, Montana

Sept. 19

Offense: Joe Protheroe, Cal Poly Defense: Deion Harris, North Dakota Miquiyah Zamora, Eastern Washington Special Teams: Antoine Custer, Eastern Washington

Sept. 26

Offense: Brady Oliveira, North Dakota Defense: Tyler Collet, Southern Utah Special Teams: Taylor Hintze, Weber State

Oct. 3

Offense: Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington Defense: Marshaun Cameron, Northern Colorado Special Teams: Antoine Custer, Eastern Washington

Oct. 10

Offense: Gage Gubrud, Eastern Washington Defense: Siupeli Anau, Northern Arizona Special Teams: Tate Lewis, Southern Utah TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Montana’s Jerry Louie-McGee fakes out Northern Iowa’s Preston Woods. McGee ran for 162 all-purpose yards and scored on an 81-yard punt return.

Montana quarterback Chad Chalich looks to pass against Idaho State, a game in which Chalich threw for a programrecord seven touchdowns.

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Oct. 17

Offense: Keaton Studsrud, North Dakota Defense: Josh Buss, Montana Special Teams: Matt Blair, UC Davis

Oct. 24

Offense: Gage Gubrud, Eastern Washington Defense: Jake Thomas, Northern Arizona Special Teams: Roldan Alcobendas, E. Washington

Oct. 31

Offense: Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington Defense: Cole Reyes, North Dakota Special Teams: John Santiago, North Dakota

Nov. 7

Offense: Chad Chalich, Montana Defense: Mitch Dalley, Southern Utah Special Teams: Griffin Roehler, Northern Arizona

Nov. 14

Offense: Jordan Robinson, Sacramento State Defense: Deion Harris, North Dakota Special Teams: Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington

Nov. 21

Offense: Manusamoa Luuga, UC Davis Defense: Josh Hill, Montana State Special Teams: Tate Lewis, Southern Utah

A18 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STANDINGS BIG SKY CONFERENCE

STATS FCS TOP 25 POLL

FCS COACHES’ POLL

Final standings

Through end regular season

Through end regular season

*^E. Washington *North Dakota *Weber St *Cal Poly Southern Utah No. Colorado No. Arizona Montana Montana St Portland St UC Davis Sacramento St Idaho St

Conf 8-0 8-0 6-2 5-3 5-3 4-4 4-4 3-5 2-6 2-6 2-6 2-6 1-7

% 1.000 1.000 0.750 0.625 0.625 0.500 0.500 0.375 0.250 0.250 0.250 0.250 0.125

Ovr Home Away Strk 10-1 5-0 5-1 W9 9-2 5-0 4-2 W9 7-4 4-1 3-3 W2 7-4 4-1 3-3 W1 6-5 4-1 2-4 W1 6-5 4-1 2-4 L1 5-6 3-2 2-4 L2 6-5 5-1 1-4 L2 4-7 3-3 1-4 W2 3-8 2-3 1-5 L2 3-8 3-2 0-6 W1 2-9 2-3 0-6 L1 2-9 2-3 0-6 L7

* playoff qualifier ^ playoff auto bid via tiebreaker

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

School Sam Houston St (11-0) Jacksonville St (10-1) Eastern Washington (10-1) North Dakota St (10-1) James Madison (10-1) Citadel (10-1) South Dakota St (8-3) North Dakota (9-2) Villanova (8-3) Charleston Southern (7-3) Chattanooga (8-3) Richmond (8-3) Youngstown St (8-3) Central Arkansas (9-2) Coastal Carolina (9-2) Grambling St (8-1) North Carolina A&T (9-2) Lehigh (9-2) Wofford (8-3) North Carolina Central (9-2) Cal Poly (7-4) New Hampshire (7-4) Samford (7-4) San Diego (9-1) Weber St (7-4)

Pts 3676 (111) 3531 (15) 3468 (14) 3415 (10) 3185 (1) 2990 2739 2598 2270 2124 2093 2033 1938 1805 1602 1434 1328 1252 1186 1147 778 574 497 300 280

Pre 1 2 3 4 6 5 8 10 13 14 12 7 15 11 16 17 9 19 20 24 21 NR 18 NR NR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 T-12 T-12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

School Sam Houston St (22) Jacksonville St (2) North Dakota St (1) Eastern Washington (1) James Madison The Citadel South Dakota St North Dakota Chattanooga Charleston Southern Villanova Youngstown St Richmond Grambling St Lehigh Central Arkansas North Carolina A&T North Carolina Central Wofford Cal Poly New Hampshire Montana Weber St Samford San Diego

Pts 639 616 581 575 531 501 483 474 403 373 361 353 353 297 271 246 232 227 210 157 91 81 77 63 58

Pre 1 2 4 3 5 6 10 8 11 13 15 14 7 16 17 12 9 20 19 23 NR 21 NR 18 NR

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Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016 — A19

GRIZ TRIVIA 1. Redshirt-freshman Jerry Louie-McGee’s 73 receptions this season are the sixth most in one year in program history. Who holds Montana’s single-season record with 82 catches? a) Marc Mariani b) Joe Douglass c) Etu Molden d) Jamaal Jones 2. The Griz scored 60 points in three straight home games this year. How many 60-point games did the Griz score under the past three head coaches (Hauck, Pflugrad, Delaney) combined from 2003-14? a) 0 b) 2 c) 3 d) 5 3. Only once in the past 30 years before this season had the Griz lost to the Cats using the same starting quarterback who started on opening day. Which QB was that and in what year? a) Justin Roper, 2010 b) Andrew Selle, 2010 c) Craig Ochs, 2003 d) John Edwards, 2002

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A20 — Missoulian, Saturday, November 26, 2016

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