Griz firing on all cylinders heading into Brawl of the Wild

Griz firing on all cylinders heading into Brawl of the Wild

11/12/2017 6:17:00 PM | Football

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana football train picked up a lot of steam on Saturday, taking seven turnovers in a 44-14 dismantling of the Northern Colorado Bears in Missoula.

The Grizzlies racked up 469 yards of total offense in a balanced attack that featured 216 rushing yards led by junior Alijah Lee's player of the game-worthy 22 carries for 98 yards and Gresch Jensen's 228 passing yards and four-touchdown haul.

Montana's defense was the story of the day, however, as the Griz capitalized on every UNC mistake, taking five interceptions and two fumbles in a dominant display.

The Grizzlies' special teams were also on point against UNC, with Brandon Purdy putting in a perfect day kicking, Eric Williams pinning the Bears deep with three punts inside the 20 and 195 total yards. Dante Olson was the special teams standout, however, rising up to block a UNC punt – the first of his career.

Montana carries the momentum of a solid outing in all three phases of play to Bozeman for the 117^th Brawl of the Wild, set for a noon kickoff on Nov. 18.

SATURDAY'S STARS

OFFENSE: Montana nominated Jensen for ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in his short career. His name was also put forward for the STATS FCS Freshman of the Week, an award he's received four honorable mentions for, but has not won yet this season.

After missing a week due to injury, Jensen returned with a vengeance against Northern Colorado, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another in the first half alone as he led the Griz to a 37-7 lead at the break with 321 total yards of offense.

Led by Jensen, Montana's offense was methodical in the first half, putting together three scoring drives of 13, 11, and 11 plays each to put UM out to a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Jensen finished the day completing 17 of his 25 passing attempts and no interceptions, with three touchdowns on 228 yards passing. His rushing touchdown in the first half gave him a total of four scores on the day.

For his effort, Jensen was given an FCS Performer of the Week Honorable Mention by the College Football Performance Awards for week 11.

Montana head coach Bob Stitt paid compliment to his freshman signal caller for his level-headed offensive approach that didn't take risks against the Bears.

"Maybe one of his best outings," said Stitt. "He really takes it to heart when you talk to him, and you coach him about taking care of the ball. You see him growing every week, and he really had a great game."

DEFENSE: Tucker Schye earned Montana's nomination for the ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

On Senior Day, Schye was a leader on a Montana defense that forced seven UNC turnovers. He had a hand in three of those turnovers as well, with a forced a fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup that led to an interception by linebacker Josh Buss.

In a dominant day for Montana's entire defense, coordinator Jason Semore awarded one of his weekly "Production Belts" to Schye for his performance. The other belt went to the defending Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week Connor Strahm, who led UM with nine tackles, 2.5 of which were for a loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore kicker Brandon Purdy earned the nomination for the ROOT Sports Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.

Purdy took a personal haul of 17 points against Northern Colorado, going a perfect 5-5 on PATs, and 3-3 on field goals, including a career-long 47-yard strike.

Purdy is ranked at No. 6 in the FCS in field goal percentage at 86 percent on the season, and ranked No. 15 in the nation in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game.

RECORD WATCH: Jeremy Calhoun moved up to one place to No. 5 on Montana's all-time rushing touchdown list, tied with Tony Rice ('89-92) with 24 career rushing TDs.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The FCS Championship Committee will announce the 24 teams selected to compete in this year's playoff bracket on "Selection Sunday," November 19.

Montana will need to beat Montana State in Bozeman next week to keep playoff hopes alive.

NOTES

Montana linebacker James Banks posted six tackles, a quarterback hurry, a fumble recovery and a half of a TFL against UNC. The senior now has exactly 100 tackles on the season, the second-most in the Big Sky. With 91 tackles, fellow linebacker Josh Buss has the fourth-most tackles in the league.

Redshirt freshman Dareon Nash picked up his first career interception, as did senior Korey Alexander, returning a goal-line strike 55 yards to mid-field for the Griz.

Senior Ryan McKinley picked up the fourth interception of his career against UNC, and posted a pass breakup as well, making him the Big Sky leader in passes defended, ranking him at No. 10 nationally.

UNC sophomore linebacker Luke Nelson had a busy afternoon for the Bears. Nelson came in as a backup and proceeded to get in on 20 tackles for the visitors, the most tackles any opponent has tallied against the Griz all year.

FIRST LOOK AT THE CATS: Montana State (4-6, 4-3 BSC) scored a touchdown with 32 seconds to play on a 21-yard pass from Chris Murray to Kevin Kassis that pulled the Bobcats within one point of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, 36-37.

Murray's two-point conversation pass attempt would fail, however, and time expired on the Cat's upset attempt on the road.

The Bobcats enter the Brawl of the Wild game on a two-game skid, falling to Kennesaw State 14-16 two weeks ago in a late-season nonconference game in Bozeman.

This week's game marks the 117^th meeting between the Griz and Cats. Montana leads the all-time series with Montana State 72-38-5 and is 23-19-3 in games played in at MSU.