Especially for the 10th-ranked Grizzlies, suddenly in third place in the Big Sky behind Montana State (4-0 in conference play) and Eastern Washington (5-1). The good news for the Griz is they still control their own destiny. The bad news is that nothing is going to come easy, including against an NAU team coming off its worst loss since joining the Big Sky in 1970.
"I think that Mike Kramer said it best when he called (NAU's 60-14 loss to MSU) an aberration," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. "They always have good athletes there."
But the Lumberjacks' second-leading receiver, behind Raufeem Jackson, is Robinson, with 29 catches.
"He's like (San Diego Charger) LaDanian Tomlinson, you know? He can do it all," Montana linebacker Nick Vella said. "We've got to stop him. We've been watching film and taking keys from what other teams have been able to do. He's going to get his yards - he's a great player. We'll just have to contain him as best we can."
Three of NAU's last four opponents have done that, although Robinson still leads the Big Sky in all-purpose yards, and is fourth in rushing.
"They all did it different ways, and we're going to try to pattern our plan after Eastern Washington's," Hauck said. "Not that we're going to play the same front and coverage, but we're going to attack him like they did."
Northern Arizona's offensive line is fairly young, anchored by 300-pound sophomore Jake Sanders, but it has allowed just 16 sacks. Montana led the Big Sky in defensive sacks after the Weber State game but is now sixth in the league. But sacks may be less important than containing Robinson.
"They've got good players, they've always had good skill there," Hauck said. "And I think it comes back to winning the battle up front."
Montana's offensive front has to adjust to NAU's "double-flex" look, with three down linemen and three linebackers and a safety shadowing the line of scrimmage.
"You can't really do the same thing you do week in and week out," Montana center Jay Green said. "You have to go to a different game plan, basically. Blocking schemes are a lot different, I mean, everything's different. But we went through the stuff (Tuesday), and I thought we'd be more confused than we were. We got through it well."
In the absence of injured all-conference pick Bruce Branch and fellow linebacker Ian Gunderman (suspended), the Lumberjacks have been led by a pair of Laurel products - end John Perrigo and strong side linebacker Vince Henman - plus strong safety Jeremy Thornburg.
Special teams could be key, since it was such a huge lift in Montana's 59-21 win over Northern Arizona last year, and such a weak spot last week in a 35-32 loss at Portland State. The little things, like an offsides on a kickoff or letdowns in the punting game, kept the Grizzlies from staying perfect in Big Sky play.
At NAU, whose other Big Sky loss was also lopsided - 45-14 at Eastern Washington - they're saying the same thing.
"We came off that loss against Eastern Washington and said, 'Geez, it was little things more than anything,' " Henman said. "That's kind of what happened last week again."
Next up is Montana, where NAU hasn't won since 1986.
"They have an offense that has a lot of weapons," Henman said. "It's hard to look at one game and say, 'That's what their plan is.' We're just going to have to be ready for everything. We need to play assignment football better than what we did last week."
Running backs Justin Green and Lex Hilliard continue to get good yardage when the opportunity arises - each averages 11-13 carries a game - and the Grizzlies' spread offense has picked up good yardage, with the occasional slow quarter thrown in. Craig Ochs is completing 63 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,931 yards. He's on pace to pass Brent Pease (3,655 yards) for eighth on Montana's career passing list. His main targets have been receivers Jefferson Heidelberger (16.1 yards a catch), Levander Segars (13.5), Jon Talmage (17.9) and Tate Hancock (10.0).
"We have a lot of respect for Ochs, and Montana has a power-running aspect as well," NAU coach Jerome Souers said. "If you look at how they're performing now, they're making plays.
"What we're trying to do is improve the details that we've been missing, and to play a better game than we have."
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)