Sunday Notebook: Griz improve to 5-1 at halfway point of season

Sunday Notebook: Griz improve to 5-1 at halfway point of season

10/6/2019 4:06:00 PM | Football

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies could hardly be in a better position at the midway point of the season as they head into a bye week. At 5-1, the Griz sit on top of the Big Sky table having gone undefeated against FCS opponents while averaging nearly 50 points per game against them in the process.

The Grizzlies kept up their high-powered attack on Saturday against Idaho State, rebounding from an early deficit to dominate the final three quarters of the contest in front of a homecoming crowd at UM.

Montana now enters its bye week with a tough road contest at Sacramento State on Oct. 19.

Player of the Week Nominations
Offense – Dalton Sneed
Yes, Dalton Sneed posted more yards of total offense than any player in the Big Sky Conference on week six.

Yes, he set a new career-high with a combined 464 rushing and passing yards, while accounting for four touchdowns.

Yes, his total offense sum is the second-most of any player in the Big Sky this season.

But what might not be immediately obvious after pouring over Sneed's gaudy numbers on the stat sheet is just how critical the senior QB's performance was to Montana's come-from-behind demolition of an Idaho State squad that was receiving top-25 votes.

With just 39 passing yards in the first quarter and his team trailing 17-0 early in the second, Sneed never wavered. Instead, he responded by throwing for 358 yards over the course of the next three quarters, completing 21 of his last 28 passes, (.750) including a pair of TDs and 12 first downs as the Griz went on to outscore ISU 59-3.

But perhaps nowhere was Sneed's determination to win more evident (and his player of the week nomination more deserving) than early in the fourth quarter, when, one play after dropping a 44-yard pass to Samori Toure on a dime, Sneed took a QB keeper around the left side of the line, avoided one tackler, and leaped over the next defender in contact for a highlight-reel touchdown that sealed the game for UM at 45-20.

On Sunday, Sneed earned an honorable mention for the College Football Performance Awards' "Performer of the Week," a title he's already won once this season.

THAT'S MY QB!

Dalton Sneed: BALLER

UM 45, ISU 20 - 11:51/4th

WATCH: @ROOTSPORTS_NW #GoGriz #RTD #UpWithMontana pic.twitter.com/iQWDIwlHkr
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) October 5, 2019

Defense – Dante Olson
Preseason Big Sky Defensive MVP Dante Olson looked the part on Saturday, also leading the league on week six in his respective department with a conference-high 18 tackles against Idaho State – tied for the second-most tackles of anyone in FCS football so far this season.

Olson was the leader of a defense that held ISU in check for just 142 total yards after the Bengals' final touchdown of the day in the second quarter and only allowed the visitors a single field goal in just over 44 minutes of play.

The senior from Medford is now the Big Sky's leading tackler this season with a total of 69 takedowns, averaging 11.5 per game, and is tied for third in the nation in total tackles.

Special Teams – Malik Flowers
Flowers was a pair of shoelaces away from breaking loose for the third kick return touchdown of his career against ISU, but was effective none the less with a total of 94 yards on just four returns, with a long of 31.

Notable:
• Marcus Knight was a major contributor to Montana's offense once again this week, rushing for 53 yards and three touchdowns and catching three passes for 31 yards. It was Knight's second three-touchdown rushing performance of the season. With nine total touchdowns the sophomore leads the Big Sky in TD scoring and is second in overall scoring with a personal haul of 54 points. At 74.5 yards per game, he is also ranked sixth in the conference in rushing yards.

• Averaging 322.1 yards of total offense per game in his 1.5 years as a Grizzly, Sneed is the top-ranked quarterback in the country among active career leaders and now ranks second in UM history in career total offense behind Drew Miller's Big Sky record 327.8-yard average.

• Toure also made a big impact on the offense, hauling in eight catches for a career-high 188 yards and a touchdown – most of which came in the second half.

• Samuel Akem also pulled in a touchdown in a 10-catch, 108-yard game, and now moves past Scott Gurnsey on UM's all-time TD reception list with 18 in his career.

• Junior linebacker Jace Lewis posted a career high in tackles for the second-straight week, beating his previous personal best by one with 14 takedowns against the Bengals. With Olson and Robby Hauck, Lewis is ranked No. 11 in the conference in tackles. UM is the only school with three tacklers ranked in the top 15 of that category.

• After slotting a field goal from 35-yards out (in addition to going a perfect 8-for-8 on PATs), kicker Brandon Purdy's career FG percentage improved to .840, a mark that places him third in the FCS among active career leaders.

Bye Week
With the midterm season arriving on campus, the Grizzlies will now take the bye week to rest their bodies and catch up on studies. The next media availability is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 14, at the normal press conference time and location. The team's normal in-season practice schedule resumes on the same day.