The big sigh of relief coming from Colorado last Saturday had nothing to do with the Montana Grizzlies getting their offense rolling in a 53-21 victory over the Bears.A few hundred miles to the northeast in Fargo, N.D., North Dakota State was mopping the turf with Cal Poly in a matchup of the two top dogs in the Great West Conference.
The Bison proved it is possible to score against Cal Poly (6-4) with a 51-14 victory, likely eliminating the Mustangs from the postseason. That had to be great news for No. 2 Montana, which struggled to beat Cal Poly 10-9 two Saturdays ago in Missoula.
Quite frankly, that would not have been great news for the Griz. The Mustangs eliminated UM in the first round last season, and but for a critical turnover two weeks ago, had another victory in hand.
An even bigger sigh of relief echoing around I-AA football is that no one will have to face fourth-ranked North Dakota State in the playoffs. A former Division II mainstay, the 9-1 Bison are transitioning to I-AA quite nicely but won't be eligible for the postseason until 2008.
The only loss by North Dakota State this year is a 10-9 decision to Big 10 member Minnesota. The Bison, who by all rights should be ranked higher than Montana, boast wins over Georgia Southern, Stephen F. Austin, UC Davis and Division I-A Ball State - all on the road.
Considering Montana coach Bobby Hauck touted Cal Poly as possibly the finest defense in I-AA, it's frightening to consider what kind of damage the Bison could have wrought had they been turned loose this postseason.
Which brings us to the topic at hand: the 2006 playoff picture.
Regardless of what happens Saturday against Montana State, the 9-1 Grizzlies will be hosting a first-round game next weekend. It's an astounding 14th straight trip for the gold standard of I-AA programs.
Hauck, his coaching staff and the players deserve a great deal of credit for continuing the tradition that started in 1993 with Don Read and has been highlighted by five trips to the national championship game, including titles in 1995 and 2001.
Of course, the Griz have much bigger concerns Saturday than who they will be playing next weekend.
That's why we're here.
Keeping in mind that a victory over Montana State is far from a sure thing - the Bobcats have won three of the past four - here are some likely opponents for the Grizzlies in the first round should they beat the Cats.
Montana has kicked off the postseason against either a Gateway or Southland team eight of the past 10 years, so it's always a good bet to start there.
The current front-runner to face UM is Southern Illinois, which has its eye on a third-place finish in the Gateway behind Youngstown State and Illinois State. If the Salukis beat Southern Utah at home Saturday to finish 8-3 and Northern Iowa loses to Illinois State, the pieces would be in place.
If Northern Iowa upsets No. 6 Illinois State, however, the Panthers would finish third in the Gateway ahead of Southern Illinois - despite losing to the Salukis. Northern Iowa would be one of several four-loss candidates, including Cal Poly (hello again), to make the playoffs with an at-large berth. That hasn't happened since 1995 with Idaho.
The Southland, meanwhile, is a mess and will definitely be sending a four-loss team to the playoffs. McNeese State and Sam Houston State are tied for the league lead at 6-4 overall. Neither team is currently ranked, but both host games they should win to close the season. If that happens, McNeese would capture the conference title and automatic berth having beaten Sam Houston earlier in the season.
Regardless, only one team will advance to the postseason, and the bet here is that the I-AA playoff committee would send the Southland "winner" to top-ranked Appalachian State as first-round fodder.
An intriguing wild card for Montana is San Diego, the undefeated champion of the lightly regarded Pioneer League, which does not get an automatic bid. The 10-0 Toreros are ranked 14th. Considering the Great West may not land a team in this year's tournament, the committee may decide to throw a bone to San Diego, which has won 18 straight games.
If that happens, Griz fans could get a chance to see former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who coaches the Toreros, as well as the I-AA leader in total offense, quarterback Josh Johnson.
Should those meddlesome Kitties prove too much for the Griz one more time, Montana is probably still looking at hosting a Gateway team. Regardless of how things shake out in the Midwest on Saturday, if UM loses to MSU, look for Southern Illinois or Illinois State to be headed this way.
• Last week's column on booing brought a flurry of responses from Montana fans, most in favor of being allowed to boo.
Mark wrote, "Loyalty to the offensive coordinator should only go so far! The Grizzlies have the skill players, so the lack of offense is mainly the fault of the offensive coordinator and head coach. As for getting booed, anyone who has played high school or college football can handle it or should not be playing."
Larry agreed. "I understand Coach Hauck's concern on morale, but he needs to remember that there may be many reasons for booing besides poor player performance. Those include referee calls and non-calls, or, as was partly the case in point, poor play calling. ... Coach Hauck and his offensive play caller need to step up and take responsibility for the boos on themselves, (and) not try to make the fans feel guilty for hurting the players' feelings."
Tyler, however, felt booing was unfair and unnecessary. "I don't think that the booers realized that the Griz are undefeated against I-AA opponents this year. I guarantee that none of us realize how many hours our coaching staff (and most staffs in general) put in. The last thing we need is someone in a paper telling fans that it's OK to boo the coach. It's not. Booing is booing, whether it's directed at a player or a coach. It's still wrong."
John Smithers is the assistant city editor at the Missoulian. He can be reached at 523-5257 or at jsmithers@missoulian.com.
|
 |
 |
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)