#6 Griz look to curtail triple option at Cal Poly

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Two weeks ago, the Montana Grizzlies earned a statement win. This week, they're in need of another.

Fresh off a bye week with rested bodies and the momentum of an upset win over Northern Iowa, The Grizzlies open Big Sky Conference play on Saturday against a team that's had UM's number in recent years, the Mustangs of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly enters the game with FCS football's number one rushing attack that has racked up over 1,170 yards on the ground in three games. The Mustangs are riding their own wave of momentum coming into Saturday's contest after upsetting (then) No. 9 South Dakota State 38-31 on the road last week.

The Mustangs also notched a 38-16 win over the University of San Diego (who the Griz beat in the 2014 playoffs), and narrowly missed another upset opportunity, losing to the University of Nevada 30-27 in overtime to open the season.

THE GAME: The Griz (2-0, 0-0 BSC) and Mustangs (2-1, 0-0 BSC) meet for the twentieth time in program history on Saturday, and for only the seventh time at Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075) in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Kickoff is set for noon PT (1:00 p.m. MT). It is the first Big Sky league matchup of the 2016 schedule for both teams.

The Grizzlies enter the game ranked No. 6 in both major national polls this week. After upsetting SDSU with sky high rushing numbers, the Mustangs are knocking on the door, sitting just two places out of the top-25 in both the national media poll and coaches poll.

Cal Poly returns 18 starters from the 2015 team that upset the Griz 20-19 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, seven on offense, seven on defense and four on special teams. The Mustangs return 50 lettermen from the team that finished 4-7 last year (3-5 BSC, T-8th).

WATCH/LISTEN: The Griz/Mustangs game kicks off the 2016 ROOT Sports Network coverage of Big Sky Conference football for the 2016 season. Tom Glasgow will provide the play-by-play, with Jason Stiles as the color analyst and Jen Mueller on the sideline. There is no web stream available for this broadcast. To find ROOT Sports on your cable or satellite package, visit the Where to Watch page on GoGriz.com.

The game can be heard statewide on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network, and worldwide via audio-only web stream at GoGriz.com All-Access. The new "Voice of the Griz", Riley Corcoran brings you the play-by-play, with Greg Sundberg on the color commentary and Adam Painter on the sidelines.

Fans can also follow along with the action via twitter at the team's official twitter feed: @UMGRIZZLIES_FB.

WEEKLY POLLS: Upsets were the story in FCS football last week while the Montana Grizzlies enjoyed a bye. As such, Montana has moved up from No. 7/9 to No. 6 in both the STATS FCS media poll and the NCAA FCS coaches' poll thanks to Stony Brook's upset of No. 2 Richmond.

Montana vaulted into the top-10 following the Sept. 10 upset of (then) No. 3 Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. It is the first trip to the top-10 for UM since before the Griz fell to Liberty a year ago in Lynchburg, Va.

The Griz are one of three Big Sky teams ranked in the STATS FCS top-25 and four teams ranked in the FCS coaches' poll. Following their own upset of UNI, Eastern Washington is ranked No. 4/5, followed by Portland State at No. 25. Northern Arizona is tied with PSU at No. 25 in this week's FCS coaches' poll as the only other BSC team to receive ranking votes.

SERIES HISTORY: The Griz and Mustangs have met 19 previous times, with the Griz leading the all-time series 15-4. However, since 2009, Montana is 3-3 with Cal Poly and has suffered two-straight losses, one, a 41-21 loss at Cal Poly in 2014, and a 20-19 upset in Missoula in 2015.

This is only the seventh time Montana has traveled to play at Cal Poly, where UM holds a 4-2 advantage since 1971.

Cal Poly officially joined the Big Sky Conference as a football-only member in 2013. Since then, the Griz are 1-2 against the Mustangs, with the 2013 win coming in overtime, 21-14 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Mustang head coach Tim Walsh is 45-38 in his eighth season at the helm. Walsh is 5-12 all-time against the Grizzlies, including a 2-9 record while at Portland State from '93-'06.

LAST TIME OUT: Shortly after Montana failed to convert on a late 4th-and-inches that would have iced the game, Cal Poly's Alex Vega kicked a game-winning 49-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to give the Mustangs a 20-19 upset victory in Missoula on September 6, 2015.

Montana, which knocked off North Dakota State with a late touchdown the week previous, had four turnovers and went 0 for 3 on fourth-down conversions that night, and scored just five points on eight second-half possessions to lose to Cal Poly for the second straight season.

COACH TO CURE MD: On Sept. 24, the Montana coaching staff will be participating in a nation-wide campaign to help raise awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and to help raise money to fund research for a cure.

Montana head coach Bob Stitt and his staff will join together with thousands of coaches around the country in support of the "Coach to Cure MD" program by wearing a logo arm patch on the sidelines. The annual effort has raised more than $1.2 million dollars to battle MD.

"Coach to Cure" MD is a partnership between the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), a professional organization for over 10,000 college football coaches and staff, and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest national charity devoted exclusively to Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder which robs young men of precious muscle strength and college football, a game where young men are at the peak of their muscle strength. One football Saturday of each season (this year on Sept. 24) AFCA coaches nationwide agree to promote Coach to Cure MD. Fans can help support the fight to end Duchenne MD by donating at CoachtoCureMD.org.

FIRST AND 10 WITH THE GRIZ: At 2-0, the Grizzlies sit atop the Big Sky Conference standings early in the league crown race. Montana's unblemished record is thanks in part to a conference-best overall defense, which has allowed an average of only 302 yards of total offense per game.

The Grizzlies are ranked in the top two in the Big Sky in each team defense category this week: scoring defense (ranked 2), rushing defense (2), pass defense (2), and total defense (1). The Griz also lead the Big Sky in allowing the fewest first downs, with opponents moving the chains an average of 16 times per game.

Nationally, the Griz "D" ranks in the top-10 in tackles-for-loss (tied for eighth) and sacks (10), while UM sits at No. 18 in total defense.

Montana has tallied 18 tackles-for-loss so far this season to earn its No. 8 ranking, led by senior defensive end Caleb Kidder (3.5) and redshirt sophomore Josh Buss (3). Buss and fellow linebacker Connor Strahm lead the way for the Griz in the sack column as well with 1.5 each. The Griz have racked up seven sacks so far in the 2016 season. For comparison, the 2015 Griz had only tallied four sacks after two games.

Also entering the top-10 in Big Sky tackles is Oregon State transfer Justin Strong, who leads the Grizzlies in takedowns with 18, and is ranked No. 6 in the league in average tackles-per-game.

Sophomore cornerback Markell Sanders leads the Big Sky in passes defended with four pass breakups, three of which came on crucial plays against Northern Iowa, preventing Panther touchdowns.

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Montana's special teams units are also topping the Big Sky rankings after two games. Redshirt freshman kicker Tim Semenza is at No. 4 on the league's overall scoring list with 19 points to his name.

Semenza leads the league in scoring by kick. So far he's 7-7 on PATs and 4-4 on field goals, averaging 9.5 points per game with the boot.

His career-long field goal of 47 yards is the second longest field goal kicked in the Big Sky this season. The longest is 48 yards.

Jerry Louie-McGee's 81-yard punt return for a touchdown is the longest in the Big Sky this season. His 118 total punt return yards ranks him second in the nation, averaging 39.3 yards per return.

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Grizzly senior running back John Nguyen is set to enter the Montana record books this season, with a current total of 1,516 career rushing yards, putting him at No. 17 on the all-time rushing list.

The Bellevue, Wash. native needs 470 more rushing yards this season to surpass his older brother Peter Nguyen, who currently sits at No. 7 on the all-time rushers list at Montana.

With 77 yards rushing at Cal Poly, John Nguyen can pass Grizzly Hall of Famers Terry Dillon ('60-'62) and Dick Imer ('53-'54), as well as Arnie Blancas ('69-'70) to move into No. 13 on the list.

FOUR DOWNS WITH CAL POLY: Cal Poly fullback Joe Protheroe rushed for 217 yards and scored twice in the fourth quarter, including one on a 76-yard dash against South Dakota state to earn the ROOT Sports Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week award this week.

The senior fullback has three 100-yard games in as many chances this season and has averaged 7.0 yards per carry. Protheroe rushed for 112 yards on 29 carries in the Mustangs 2015 upset over Montana in Missoula.

Cal Poly's No. 1 nationally ranked rushing offense is gobbling up more than 392 yards-per-game, and the Mustang's No. 8 ranked overall offense enters Saturday's game with 1,530 total yards in three games so far this season.

Cal Poly junior slot back Kyle Lewis caught five passes last week in the 38-31 win at South Dakota State, the most catches by a Mustang since 2014. Lewis collected 122 yards and scored once on a 33-yard pass from QB Dano Graves a minute into the final quarter.

GRIZZLY SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2016: Two former Grizzly football standouts have been named to the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame class of 2016.

Former football players Rocky Klever and Larry Miller, as well as Lady Griz basketball player Greta (Koss) Buehler will be formally inducted into the GSHF at a banquet, Friday, Oct., 7, at the DoubleTree Inn, Missoula. Miller, who died in a car accident in 1974, is receiving his award posthumously.

Klever played running back at Montana from 1977-81. At the conclusion of his four-year stint with the Grizzlies he was the school's all-time leader in career rushing yards with 2,228, a record he held for almost 30 years Klever is the only player in school history to receive the Terry Dillon Award (outstanding back/ receiver) three times (1978, 1979, 1981).

Klever played professionally for the New York Jets (he was a ninth-round draft pick) for five seasons, from 1983-87. He was the Jet's "March of Dimes Player of the Year" in 1988.

Miller, from Martinez, Calf., was a star in both football and in wrestling for the Grizzlies in 1969-70 at defensive tackle. He was twice named an All-American by the Associated Press, earning that recognition in 1969 and in 1970.

In 1976, Montana established the Larry Miller Award, which is presented annually to the Grizzlies' "Outstanding Defensive Lineman." The first player to win that award was Doug Betters (a GSHF inductee in September of 2003).

Tickets can be purchased at the Adams Center Box Office or at Griztix.com.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Buss

Caleb Kidder

Jerry Louie-McGee

John Nguyen

Markell Sanders

Tim Semenza

Connor Strahm

Justin Strong

University of Montana Athletics