Cal Poly’s‘offensive weapons’ to challenge Griz defense

A blessing in disguise from last year’s first round playoff loss to Wofford could very well come out of its cloak for the Montana Grizzlies Saturday night in northern California.

It was Wofford, of course, who marched into Washington-Grizzly Stadium last November and handcuffed Montana’s defense with their vaunted triple option offense. Ten months later, Bobby Hauck’s squad will play in their first game since that bone-chilling afternoon, facing one of the most unique offenses in the country at No. 11 Cal Poly. First thought on the matchup?

“Their playbook’s thick,” Hauck said Tuesday.

His eyes suggest that Cal Poly’s options, on paper, are as long as Tolstoy’s War and Peace. But where the Mustangs are the best in the FCS is executing from sideline to sideline, where last year their triple option based attack led the country in total offense at 487 yards per game. 

“What Wofford did was gave us the urge this offseason to spend a little time reworking our option defense,” Hauck said. “But these guys are a little different than Wofford.”

The Mustangs, who have ten starters back on their high-octane offense, beat Division 1 San Diego State 29-27 last weekend, perhaps a testament to their drive on making it back into the FCS playoffs, a place they haven’t been since beating Montana in the first round in 2005. 

In defending the option, Montana’s personnel will have to account for quarterback Jonathan Dally, who rushed for 921 yards in 2007, as well as wingbacks James Noble and Ryan Mole, who both averaged over five yards a carry last year. But the architect of this offense, coordinator Ian Shields, also developed a more fluid passing game in the two years since these two teams last met.

“The triple option forces a defense to play assignment football,” said Shields, who is in his third year of leading the offense. “Our passing attack differentiates us. If you want to play us like a wishbone, we can play you with the run and shoot.”

The offense features Ramses Barden, a 6-6 wide receiver who Shields says opted to return for his senior season instead of enter the NFL draft. His production last year was nothing short of electrifying; over 1400 yards receiving, 18 touchdowns and a 25.7 yard average. He’s complimented by the speedy Tredale Tolliver in the slot, a four-year starter who Shields calls a “serious weapon.” Although Montana feels confident against the option after summer preparations, one of the game’s decisive match ups will be between Cal Poly’s receivers and the Grizzlies greenhorn cornerbacks, Andrew Swink and Trumaine Johnson.

“We’ve watched a lot of film on them and know that they have a lot of threats,” said senior safety Colt Anderson. “Three good backs, a good quarterback, and when they need to go to those receivers they can”.

While Cal Poly’s offensive arsenal perhaps served as the confidence ammunition that drove them to schedule San Diego State, Montana and No. 10 McNeese State the first three weeks of the season, head coach Rich Ellerson’s 3-4 flex defense will have to counter against Montana’s experienced offensive corps. With a lightning-striking offense a year ago, the Cal Poly defensive unit spent serious amounts of clock on the field, giving up over 300 yards total offense and 25 points per game. Five starters return from that unit.

Establishing the run will be a significant factor for Montana, Hauck said.

“If you look at last weekend’s game, Cal Poly had a 16-minute time of possession advantage, so if we can’t run the ball, that can happen again this week and our defense will be on the field against that particular offense all day long.”

“We hear about Cal Poly’s offense all the time,” said senior quarterback Cole Bergquist, currently ninth all time on Montana’s career passing list with 4,349 yards.  “We’re going to have to score some serious points if we want to hang in this game,” he added, noting that the Mustangs’ defense is overshadowed by the multidimensional offense.

A tinge of rivalry spice is thrown into this matchup, as these two teams will meet for the fourth time in the past three years.

“This is the fourth time I’ve played them, which is definitely fun, the little rivalry we have going,” said senior wide receiver Mike Ferriter. “It’s definitely going to be a change of pace, getting on that plane on Friday and going down to California, where I’ve never been and none of these guys have ever been, into a hostile environment.”

roman.stubbs@umontana.edu