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Proud Griz Man
November 7th, 2008, 09:44 AM
Jerry Glanville gets intense.



Taking on the total package
Vikings face Montana at home in a game filled with extra incentive
By: Nathan HellmanIssue date: 11/7/08

For senior linebacker Andy Schantz, Saturday's matchup with No. 5 Montana is the perfect example of why he plays college football.
"If you don't feel something different in these kind of games, you're probably playing the wrong sport," Schantz said.
Portland State squaring off against Montana at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at PGE Park is a matchup that has all of the makings of an epic bout.

History. Rivalry. Buildup. Mutual respect. Distaste. Fierce competitiveness. It is all there.

Montana is so different than any other opponent that head coach Jerry Glanville instructed his team to split up into two groups Wednesday--with one group comprising of those who have played the Grizzlies and the other containing all the players who have not.
"Don't you dare take the field unless you talk to someone who has played against them," Glanville said he told the players. "It is different."

Unfortunately for Glanville and Co., only a handful of the current Vikings were around last season when Portland State fell just short of knocking off the heralded Grizzlies, with a 34-31 defeat in Missoula, Mont.
But, regardless, Glanville maintains that when the Vikings face off against Montana, "That is when our kids play the best."

Much of the panache of playing Montana stems from the fact that the Grizzlies have held at least a share of the Big Sky title every year for the last 10 years. "They are the best," Glanville said. Schantz echoes his coach's sentiment despite Montana currently looking up at Weber State, who handed them their only loss in the Big Sky standings. "Year in and year out they're the top team in the conference, so there is going to be some added incentive," Schantz said. "But that's where it stops."
Glanville said what the Vikings can expect to see against Montana is a team that looks a lot like the one they lost to last Saturday, Weber State.

Montana employs a balanced pro-style offense that is potent with either the run or pass. Glanville warns that when the Grizzlies are lined up in a "Blue" formation--three receivers, one tight end and one running back--their No. 1 play is an option similar to the one Weber State runs.
"We have to make them one dimensional early," Schantz said. "That's is going to be key."
Schantz said the Vikings would prefer to eliminate the passing game and force Montana to beat them through the air. But based on how the defense has performed this season, it will be a formidable challenge to stop the Grizzlies on either front.
Behind a rushing attack that amasses 148 yards per contest and a passing game that racks up a hefty 267 yards per outing, Montana leads the Big Sky in scoring with a touch over 37 points per game.

Glanville said the Vikings have to watch out for all Montana's skill players, but a few in particular. Senior quarterback Cole Bergquist has an efficiency rating that is off the charts at over 180 and he has thrown for 22 touchdowns with only four interceptions in nine games.
"He is pretty dead accurate," Schantz said of Bergquist.
Portland State must also keep an eye on running backs Chase Reynolds and Andrew Schmidt, who have combined for 11 touchdowns and average almost 100 yards per game.

To follow suit with what offensive coordinator Mouse Davis claims is a "good, solid team," Montana is the complete package on defense.
The Grizzlies own the second best total defense in the conference, allowing a league-low 207 passing yards and giving up a second-best 20.2 points per game.
Davis said Montana likes to show a variety of looks, but typically employs some version of a cover two or cover three.
"It's not so much the plan but the guys they're playing with," Davis said.

One of Montana's stars is senior safety Colt Anderson, who leads all secondary players and is ninth in the Big Sky with 66 tackles. Anderson also has two inceptions and three pass breakups this season.
Davis has yet to decide which quarterback will go toe to toe with Anderson and the rest of the stellar Montana defense, but he has whittled his options down to two: Drew Hubel and Tygue Howland.
The competition is neck and neck, and Davis said he would make a determination this morning after calculating the two quarterback's performance at practice this week.

Either way, Davis knows Montana will be a challenging game--one Glanville is content with playing at home because the Vikings are 3-0 at PGE Park this year. But he is not against exploring other options.
"You just like to play them anywhere," Glanville said of Montana. "I'll even play them in the parking lot at Wal-Mart."

putter
November 7th, 2008, 09:47 AM
someone disagree that this is PSU's superbowl????

uofmman1122
November 7th, 2008, 10:03 AM
Fortunately, what with ISU coming up next week, I don't think Hauck and Co. will overlook PSU one bit.

PSU may be 3-0 at home, but they haven't faced a team even close to as good as Montana there. It might be close, but I don't think PSU has what it takes to stop us. xtwocentsx

Also, love the last comment Glanville made in that article. xlolx

Hoyadestroya85
November 7th, 2008, 10:25 AM
You gotta love a relic of the 80's like Glanville

putter
November 7th, 2008, 01:19 PM
just think if Glanville put that much emphasis on every game and not just Montana what the Vikings could accomplish. xconfusedx

appfan2008
November 7th, 2008, 01:33 PM
go get em griz... never was a fan of glanville

gbhmt
November 8th, 2008, 08:56 AM
You think Glanville sets aside two tickets for Elvis at PSU games too?

Native
November 8th, 2008, 09:46 AM
go get em griz... never was a fan of glanville

Not a fan of Glanville, either, but I am impressed by the never-say-die play of his team this year.

JALMOND
November 8th, 2008, 10:48 AM
just think if Glanville put that much emphasis on every game and not just Montana what the Vikings could accomplish. xconfusedx

He actually does. Montana just happens to be the flavor of the week.

He gushed so much about Nichols that people outside of FCS football would have thought Nichols was FCS' version of Tebow.

He pointed out that Weber was having a phenominal year and clearly was the best team we would face (that was last week).

He made Sac State seem like strong contenders.

He pointed out that Western Oregon even was a strong team and we could not overlook them.

What Glanville is is a salesman, something needed to convince the Duck and Beaver fans in Portland that this week's Viking game is a big game and to come out and take a look. Any way possible for it to seem that this week's opponent is Goliath and we have to play perfect to get a win.

cats2506
November 8th, 2008, 10:59 AM
He actually does. Montana just happens to be the flavor of the week.

He gushed so much about Nichols that people outside of FCS football would have thought Nichols was FCS' version of Tebow.

He pointed out that Weber was having a phenominal year and clearly was the best team we would face (that was last week).

He made Sac State seem like strong contenders.

He pointed out that Western Oregon even was a strong team and we could not overlook them.

What Glanville is is a salesman, something needed to convince the Duck and Beaver fans in Portland that this week's Viking game is a big game and to come out and take a look. Any way possible for it to seem that this week's opponent is Goliath and we have to play perfect to get a win.

Yeah, but they will "bring their A game to play um" xeyebrowx

JALMOND
November 8th, 2008, 11:15 AM
Yeah, but they will "bring their A game to play um" xeyebrowx

Remains to be seen.

One thing that I want to bring up, goes along with the title of the thread.

When Read was at Montana he used his contacts in Oregon to get Oregon kids to play at Montana, back when the Pac-10 was heavily recruiting Los Angeles and the rest of southern California, much like what he did when he was at Portland State. As a result, the U of M has a strong alumni force in Portland and other areas in Oregon. These alums look forward to coming to Portland as it is a lot closer than Missoula, easier to get to, and easier to get tickets to the game. That, combined with the Portland fans who are either PSU fans/alums or are the curious wanting to see what PSU football is about, and there exists a "rivalry" feel to the game. Certainly not on the level of Cat-Griz, but to some extent a rivalry feel. More evident here than most venues in the conference as the Seattle area is closer to Portland than Cheney, and, even though there is a large conglomerate of Griz alums and fans in Phoenix, a drive to Flagstaff might discourage all but the faithful diehards.

This is all my opinion, but it is what I use when I'm trying to explain to my Ducks and Beavers fans why we consider Montana to be a rival game, aside from saying the usual "Well, they always have a great team".

DuckDuckGriz
November 8th, 2008, 12:13 PM
Jalmond I'm calling you buddy is your phone off?

cats2506
November 8th, 2008, 12:35 PM
PSU has a lot of talent, they have made some mistakes that have cost them though, most of that is due to them being a young team, I have been saying all year that if/when they get clicking they could beat anybody, and of course we know they will be "coached up" as well as any team in the BSC.

With the record um has in the conference its easy to understand the "rivalry" feeling. I just have to laugh though whenever a team plays um close its because "they brought their A game" implying of course that they dont play their best against other opponets.

Go Vik's I think you have a chance at this one.

GrizFanStuckInUtah
November 8th, 2008, 01:08 PM
PSU has a lot of talent, they have made some mistakes that have cost them though, most of that is due to them being a young team, I have been saying all year that if/when they get clicking they could beat anybody, and of course we know they will be "coached up" as well as any team in the BSC.

With the record um has in the conference its easy to understand the "rivalry" feeling. I just have to laugh though whenever a team plays um close its because "they brought their A game" implying of course that they dont play their best against other opponets.

Go Vik's I hope you have a chance at this one.

Fixed it for ya :D


UM is everyone's superbowl in the BSC. The Griz should win this by a couple scores, but hey, AGS xpeacex