Either Hofstra is better than advertised, or the No. 2-ranked Griz have a long, long way to go. Either Division I-AA is stronger, more balanced than ever, or it's a tad weaker than anyone suspected. Go figure. Try a little of both.
Montana rolled up 473 yards of offense, the third-highest total in Coach Bobby Hauck's 15-game tenure, and at 2-0 could well be ranked No. 1 come Monday, thanks to top-ranked Southern Illinois' 23-22 loss to Division I-A Northern Illinois.
But forget the deceptive margin of victory. Montana had a dickens of a time subduing an unranked Hofstra team picked to finish last in its division of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Griz might well be smarting from a loss today had they not taken to the house three spectacular touchdowns: a 38-yard interception return by Kevin Edwards, a 75-yard catch-and-run by Levander Segars, and a 96-yard kickoff return by Jefferson Heidelberger.
Scoring TDs on defense and special teams isn't something Montana can count on every week. But as a young secondary matures, and an unseasoned offensive line develops, the Griz better keep trying.
"It's a three-faceted game, and we want to be aggressive in those other two areas, as well as on offense," Hauck said. "It was great to get six out of our defense and six out of our kicking game. It's kind of always there. There are some weeks when we don't do it, but the two big ones today were good to us."
Hofstra's 45-0 season-opening victory over hapless Albany, N.Y., just didn't have the cachet of Montana's 27-20 verdict over then No. 11 Maine, an Atlantic 10 favorite.
Some recalibration may be in order. The Pride had no trouble moving the ball against Montana, finishing with 471 total yards while averaging 5.9 per snap. In perhaps the day's most stunning statistic, pass-happy Hofstra came close to matching Montana in rushing yardage from scrimmage (118-106). Quarterback Bobby Seck wasn't sacked in the three and a half quarters he played, and even when hurried usually managed to make something happen, finishing with 300 yards passing.
The Griz tried zone blitzes. They swapped three- and four-man fronts. They tried nickel and dime packages, bringing in extra coverage people.
"And, shoot, none of it was real effective," Hauck admitted.
The saving grace was that UM had more lightning in its bottle, even after Seck found Devale Ellis on a 69-yard streak just before halftime, and linebacker Gian Villante's 42-yard interception return early in the third quarter canceled out Edwards' score, knotting things at 20-20.
That's when Segars and Heidelberger turned percussive.
Segars took a short pass from Craig Ochs and transformed it into performance art, braking, cutting, dodging and twisting through six would-be tacklers en route to the end zone. Roughly 35 yards from the end zone, Segars was caught in a jumble of bodies, yet somehow managed to spin 360 degrees and wrench himself from the hold of linebacker Bill Hambrecht. After that, it was clear sailing.
"I started busting down there (to block)," said Heidelberger, "because with LV you never know."
It was still just 27-23, Montana, when Heidelberger took what Gardi called "a perfect kickoff" in the corner of the field, at the 4-yard line. But the Griz, through their scouting reports, had anticipated a kick to just that spot, and they were ready.
Colt Palmer and Alan Saenz pancaked a couple of defenders, while Kerry Mullan and Chris Orwig cleared out a couple more. Heidelberger sprinted up the sideline, cut to the middle and was gone for the second 96-yard kickoff return of his career.
"Those guys are so good," Heidelberger said of his blocking wedge. "I always joke that I run at them as fast as I can, and pretty soon there's nothing there."
Montana quarterback Craig Ochs matched Seck pitch-for-pitch, passing for a career-high 364 yards that could've been even more had he not underthrown a couple of open receivers. Then again, maybe his senses were still ringing from a couple of shots that not only knocked off his helmet, but probably cleared his head of earwax too.
Who knows? In beating Maine and Hofstra, the Griz may have already hurdled their toughest back-to-back hurdles of the regular season.
"If they're last in the Atlantic 10, that's gotta be one of the better leagues in all of college football," Hauck said.
We will see.
Rial Cummings can be reached at 523-5255 or rcummings@missoulian.com. His column appears Sundays.
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