Far afield: Your weekly football fix from Afghanistan
12/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | General
Dec. 12, 2011
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm man enough to admit when I make a mistake, and I made one of the egregious variety last week. It was totally uncalled for, and I beg for your forgiveness. I mistakenly identified Mitch Allen as the quarterback for the Northern Iowa Purple Tang, when in fact he was a running back for the Wofford Terriers. I have no idea what I was thinking or why my editor did not catch it. I guess I really wanted to play Wofford. The quarterback for the Purple Tang is Tirrell Rennie. Meh, still could be two first names.
You didn't think I was apologizing for my picks last article, did you? Silly goose. I'll never apologize for being a whiz kid picker. Some would say gifted. Some. Not me. I prefer whiz kid. Or prognosticator. Excuse me for just a second ... (Jeopardy theme plays) ... okay. I was just checking last week's article to see what I predicted the final score of the Griz game would be. Yep, 48-10. Sometimes I scare myself.
Maybe I should predict what I get for Christmas. A new truck. Wait, no, I need to pick lottery numbers. 48-10-41-14-21. Powerball is 1. As in #1. Or who the next President of the United States will be. In a shocker, Ross Perot comes out of nowhere to become the most powerful man in the world. Better yet, Dana Carvey playing Ross Perot will be elected POTUS in 2012. You just wait.
I'll be honest, I was a little nervous when we got down 7-0. Things weren't clicking right away. It was like we were cranking the engine, and it was turning over but just wouldn't fire up. Boy did that change. Easy RHKOTW (Roundhouse Kick of the Week) pick in Jordan Johnson. The Puppet Master was in full effect. Three touchdown passes and a wicked TD run back against the grain, 196 yards through the air and 86 on the ground. And some of those third down and long conversions (third and 16, third and 26)? Every time we almost had the momentum taken from us, he pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Masterful.
Honorable mention goes to "The Meathouse" for another fantastic performance. Good protection for the pass and 267 total yards on the ground. Also to Sam Gratton for two touchdowns sprinkled into his 90 receiving yards on just four catches. Sticky Johnson got a pick, Chuck Norris McSurdy had 10 total tackles, and the freshman Matt "Don't Call Me Pee Wee" Hermanson had eight total tackles. Another dominant performance all around.
Let's take a look at the other quarterfinal matchups.
As it turns out, Maine was a bit of a flash in the pan. They surprised everyone last weekend, and then hit a brick wall called Georgia Southern. It's hard to win a game when the opponent has the ball for over 42 minutes in a game. That will wear a defense out. That and a punishing ground attack that goes for 360 yards. There's no need to pass when you can run at will, but the Eagles even managed to be proficient in a limited passing game, going 7 of 8 for 116 yards. Maine was always on the brink of staying right in the game, but timely interceptions kept them from getting over the hump.
This is the only game I got wrong, and I should have known better. I drank the Kool-Aid on Maine after only one game, and I should have relied on the history of success that Georgia Southern has. They are always solid. Although I don't think this year's squad is nearly as tough as past teams, they're always in the hunt.
The Eagles will now have to come to frigid Fargo, N.D., and take on the Bison of North Dakota State, who pitched a shutout against Lehigh. I just had a feeling that Lehigh had an easy road through the playoffs thus far, and the Bison were just the team to shut them down. Not really much more to say about this game.
But I'm very intrigued with the Bison/Eagle matchup. You know how there are always those games where you have a great offense going against a great defense? Well, I think we have one of those here. Georgia Southern has a great rushing offense, and North Dakota State has a stud defense. However, I honestly believe that the game will be decided with the opposite matchup. Georgia Southern has a defense that is average at best, and the same goes for North Dakota State's offense. I think something there will give, and that will be what determines the outcome.
My pick is that someone from the Bison will make a big play on offense, and it will propel them to the national championship game. If this game wasn't played in a dome, the Bison would win in a blowout. Instead, it will be a classic.
North Dakota State Bison 27, Georgia Southern Eagles 24
And who will the Griz play in the other semifinal? Well, the Hairy Pickles and Giant Gophers played the first half just like I thought the entire game would play out. There was no rhythm, there were mistakes, and the overall flow just didn't exist. Not a real fun game to watch.
That all changed after the half. The Pickles scored on their first drive after the break, and the Giant Gophers proceeded to rip off 28 unanswered points to make it a blowout. And when the floodgates opened, they opened all the way. Gaping holes in the Pickle defensive line allowed the Gophers to go for a whopping 426 yards on the ground. The Pickles looked totally confused with Sam Houston's option offense.
A pretty solid season for the Pickles. I think they have the foundation to continue being competitive in the coming years. Doesn't bother me a bit. I love the fact that the Big Sky Conference championship came down to the two Montana teams this year. It should be like that every year. Here's hoping.
So now we have a matchup between the Griz and the Giant Beer Drinking Gophers. You all had to know I was secretly hoping I'd get one more week to milk the Giant Gopher cow. Now THAT would be a sight. A gopher cow. Does it have a gopher body and a cow's head, or a cow's body with a tiny gopher head? Either way, it's hilarious.
And now I can rip on their colors, too. Geez, Louise! That's the ugliest shade of orange I've ever seen! They need to hire a new marketing manager to revamp their school colors. Okaaaaaaay, okay, let's get down to brass tacks.
Sam Houston State has both a tough offense and a solid defense. On offense, they are an option, run-first team. It's pretty telling when your top two rushers (Tim Flanders and Richard Sincere) are also your top two receivers. That's going to be a problem against the Griz. We have the athletic ability to disrupt the option and force them to go the air. That's a weakness for them. I'm not saying we'll shut down their offense completely, but our defense's experience early in the season of bending but not breaking and making a big play to snuff out a drive will continue this weekend. Just when the Giant Gophers think they're on to something, the tide will be turned and our offense will get to take over.
Sam Houston State has also not seen anything like our offensive machine. We are clicking on all cylinders right now. The only person I'm remotely concerned about on their defense is Dax Swanson. He now has eight picks on the year, and if we can keep the ball out of his hands, we'll be just fine. The Meathouse will take care of the rest of their folks on defense.
I just want to point out another difference between us and Sam Houston State. I noticed that after every play we make, our players have little to no extracurricular activities. No trash talking, no excess celebration. We don't have time for that crap. We have business to take care of. I love it.
One thing I can't shake is the weather in Huntsville, Texas. It's supposed to be "chilly" and rainy come game day. 55 degrees isn't chilly for us this time of year. And rain doesn't really faze us to the extent that a bunch of snow might. Granted, rain levels all playing fields if it is heavy enough. But I see us getting off to a really quick start, while the Giant Gophers will take a while to get anything going, if at all. Get ready for Shock and Awe II, Grizzly Boogaloo. We're going back to the title game to take on the Bison.
Grizzlies 38, Giant Gophers 21
A real quick congratulations to coach Robin Selvig on his 1,000th game at Montana. In a day and age when most coaches have more turns than a doorknob, he and pretty much his entire coaching staff have remained a staple for the University of Montana for 34 years. I was just shy of my second birthday when he coached his first game.
And I have a great story for you. Coach Selvig's mother taught me piano lessons for 10 years while I was growing up (my first year of piano was Coach Selvig's fifth year at the helm, the same year he won his 100th game). And just to show you the caliber of person Coach Selvig is, he passed my email address on to his mother Agnes, and we've been able to exchange a few emails. She was like a mother to me and all her piano students, and that small token meant more than Coach Selvig may ever know.
GoGriz.com had a great article on a great man. But I could swear that of the four pictures they had of him on the front page, the one on the far left is his brother, Doug. The resemblance is striking. Cheers to a one of a kind coach and a fantastic family which has contributed tremendously to the history of Montana basketball over the years.
Here we go, Griz Nation. We're taking the circus to Texas, and I think that state may just take their football pretty seriously. BUT THEY HAVE NO IDEA. We don't have time for excessive celebration or trash talking. We have a job to do. We have business to take care of. It just so happens that business is in Texas this weekend.
Go Griz, God Bless, Keep Supporting Our Troops, Rangers Lead the Way!
