Griz to clash with powerful Portland State offense

The Montana Grizzlies enter Saturday’s game against Portland State coming off what was perhaps their finest outing of the season: a grueling 21-16 win over Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.

The Griz, however, were outdone by the Vikings (2-6, 2-3 Big Sky Conference) and Weber State, who consummated one of the most memorable games in the history of the Big Sky Conference and the nation. 

The contest, a 73-68 Weber State win, set a national all-time, all-division record for points scored. Nate Hubel, the Vikings freshman quarterback who made his first start last week, threw for nine touchdowns, also a national record.

“It was pretty unusual,” said PSU head coach Jerry Glanville, a veteran of both the NFL and college ranks. “Anything that you’ve seen in football you could have saw in this one game. It was different.”

However, the Vikings are moving past that game, Glanville said. The Grizzlies (8-0, 5-0 BSC) present a new set of challenges, including the Big Sky’s top scoring defense.

“(Montana) is a very well-coached team,” Glanville said. “It probably gets overlooked because they win all the time and they do such a good job and they have players.”

The Griz will have to contend with Hubel, who will likely get the nod again over an injured Brian White, as well as a stable of talented receivers.

“It’s going to be key to get pressure on him (Hubel) and also not allow wide receivers to get free releases down the field, because they’re fast,” said senior linebacker Tyler Joyce.

Senior Tremayne Kirkland, a transfer from UNLV, who has 538 receiving yards on the season, leads the PSU receivers.

“They look like a real solid unit,” senior Griz cornerback Chris Clark said. “They have a couple of seniors on the receiving corps, so I expect them to come out with their ‘A’ game.”

It’s imperative to keep the Vikings from having another offensive heyday as they did last week, Griz coach Bobby Hauck said.

“If they score 68 this weekend we’re going to have a hard time winning the game,” Hauck said. 

When asked this week what the Griz would need to do to contain the Vikings’ potent offense, he joked, “I don’t know, I’m working on that.”

Joyce said the defense might be able to get to Hubel more because he is a freshman.

“I think it makes somewhat of a difference, especially coming into Washington-Griz,” Joyce said. “I’m sure that’s a different environment he hasn’t been in before.”

It’s not just Hubel the Griz need to be wary of, Hauck said.

“It’s everybody,” he said. “The front’s gotten better protecting. The kid throwing for nine touchdown passes a week ago, nobody’s ever done it before, so that’s fairly impressive. They’re just executing the offense pretty well.”

The entire Vikings defense will have to improve this week, Glanville said, after last week’s shootout.

“We stepped dramatically backwards on defense last week; I don’t know where we’re going to step this week. Hopefully we step forward,” he said.

A win by Montana this weekend would guarantee Grizzlies at least a share of the Big Sky Championship, the 10th consecutive for the Griz. And the games won’t get any easier the rest of the season. Montana will wrap up its regular season schedule with tilts at Idaho State and Montana State before the playoffs begin, assuming the Griz avoid a monumental collapse.

“It’s definitely key to get this victory, because wins are tough at anytime, but definitely on the road,” Joyce said.

Glanville said he is looking forward to matching his team up against Montana.

“I can’t wait to play them because they’re good everywhere,” he said. “Who else would you rather be playing, where else would you rather be going?”

The game marks senior day for the Grizzlies. The team has 22 seniors listed on its roster. 

“It means a lot to a lot of the guys here. We’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this stadium and into this area in general,” said Joyce. “So we’re going to go out and do our best to get a win.”