Sports Now -- Griz Playoff Preview with Fritz Neighbor

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Transcript

All right, joined by the Daily Inter Lake's Fritz Neighbor, who was in attendance for the Brawl of the Wild in Bozeman. Action-packed weekend. Fritz, just kind of want to get your reaction to the Brawl of the Wild itself, the atmosphere with College GameDay in a town setting the tone that morning, and just the whole spiel and obviously the game itself.

Yeah, it was quite the setup for a pretty lopsided game. College GameDay drew a great crowd, and they kept you going all the way through the game. I expected more than 17,000 fans, but over twenty thousand showed up. It was great spectator weather, and the home team was just running the ball with impunity. Everything they wanted to do, they got done. It was hard to watch if you were a Griz fan, but if you were a Bobcats fan, it couldn't have gone any better.

I did want to say, as much of a roller coaster season as this was for the Griz, starting with all the expectations and ending up fighting for their playoff life, it's only fitting they had their worst loss of the season. And the next day, they got a home playoff game rewarded them. It's just been that type of year. What are your thoughts on this regular season in general and the expectations heading into the postseason?

Yeah, that's kind of the Griz season in a microcosm. We're sad, and then we're happy again. I think Bobby spoke about how inconsistent they've been after the Bobcat loss. Going forward, it's another chance to be a winning team. The Grizzlies haven't done it so far this year. They've got four league wins, but they all came against teams that are below them in the standings. Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) comes in 9-2, and they have a great running back. He rushed for over 300 yards on Saturday. So, it's another chance to win against a winning team. It hasn't happened yet, but things look good for the Griz. They're playing at home, and they're playing against a team that's probably from a warmer climate. The Missouri Valley Conference hasn't done that great history in the playoffs or against the Big Sky Conference. It's set up for the Griz to get at least one more game, and I think they can probably play two. Then the draw gets a lot tougher, as they'd have to go to North Dakota State the next week.

Yeah, I do think the weather could be kind of an interesting factor, where you have a team coming from a warmer climate up to play the Grizzlies. Getting this home-field game is a big advantage. It's like you said, kind of a microcosm of the whole season. Well said. As far as a potential matchup with North Dakota State on the horizon, that would be quite the swing of events. Not knowing if you're going to make the playoffs, then all of a sudden you get a playoff game, you win, and now you're facing a powerhouse with a chance to be the underdog and pull off an upset. It's been one of those years. I almost don't even know what to expect. Just waiting to see what's next. I did want to ask, if Lucas Johnson can't go, I know that they are a different team with him at quarterback when healthy and 100%. He didn't look it last week, as he was dealing with some injuries and left the game. If they do start Daniel Bray at quarterback, who is kind of supposed to be the next guy up, do you think he can lead them to a victory or at least put them in a chance to win?

Yeah, I think he gives them a little bit better chance to win compared to Chris Brown. Two years ago, if you'd asked me about Chris Brown, I would have said he's great. I don't know exactly what has happened. I don't know if it's a coaching style or offensive style, but he's fallen out of favor. Daniel Bray, on the other hand, has looked pretty good. I know it's been late in games when he's got in, and he hasn't necessarily been facing first-teamers, but he's got a lot of speed. He's not very big, but he makes pretty good decisions on the run. He's a little bit more like Lucas Johnson than Chris Brown. As for Lucas, if you look at the way he's played off and on this year, he hasn't looked anything like the guy that left San Diego State for that bowl victory last year.

He looked unstoppable in that game and was the player of the game. He's had his moments like that this season, but he's been dinged up here and there. That knee seems to be troubling him. It knocked him out of last week's game with a leg injury of some sort. He needs his mobility to be an effective quarterback. They are a different team when he's playing well, but when he's not playing well, they're pretty ordinary. Daniel Bray will get his chance to maybe take over and build a resume for next week if nothing else.

Definitely, and you know, I do think that's a good way to put it about Johnson. You kind of saw the flashes this year when he was healthy and when they were rolling, it looked special. But it was more like flashes than the total thing, just because of injuries and ups and downs. So yeah, I totally agree with you there. And as far as Bray, I can't help but think just a little bit because of his style of play, he's a little more willing to get out there, lay it on the line, and take a big hit to get an extra yard. He's that kind of guy. I don't want to make a direct comparison, but you saw Montana State last year. They put in a guy like that, Tommy Malott, in the playoffs, and next thing you know, it sparked the team. So who knows, maybe he comes in and provides a spark.

I did want to wrap this up and ask if there was any particular moment or favorite thing from this season that you'll remember, or just something that is the most memorable, maybe for not the right reasons, but either way, it's going to stick with you.

Well, I think a high point was when they were playing Portland State. Portland State was going to try that long field goal before the half, but got a procedure call, backing them up five more yards. Robbie Hauck runs back to the goal line, so now it's a really long field goal. And sure enough, he caught it, well, he dropped it, then he picked it up, and then he housed it. At that point, the Griz were on their way to a 5-0 start, looking like world-beaters. But fast forward to that Sac State game, they were looking good, then they got the targeting call on Sac State and knocked Johnson out of the game.

They ended up losing in overtime. Sac State is still a beatable team, but they don't get beat. There's 8-0 in the conference again this year. So, I mean, that sums up the great season, doesn't it?

Yeah, the good news is somebody who's not as good as Montana State has to deal with that 3-3-5 defense, which has caused a lot of problems for a lot of teams. Non-Bobcats have to stay clear, and you know they have me, uh, Bobby Hill Academy looking on YouTube for, you know, the split zone plays to see exactly how Montana State was doing it. Because it doesn't seem like it's very complicated, it seems like it's very straightforward, and yet they were not stopped at all on Saturday. So, you know, we'll see how the three-phase five does that Montana plays on defense against, uh, against the Red Hawks and then hopefully against, against the Thundering Herd, as we call the Bison.

Yeah, that would be epic if they do end up matching up with North Dakota. And I think you said it best, you have the Robbie House that kicks return, and all the things were going in the right direction. And then all of a sudden, kind of that injury happens.

Those are kind of two of the defining moments of this season. And yeah, that, um, I gotta say, I said it on the on kind of Inter Lake Sports, now I'm gonna post this as a separate little podcast. The Montana State running attack, you think that was an extremely balanced offense for how easily they were doing that. They were just pounding the football, running a few different plays, and just kind of making it look easy.

So, no, you're right. I mean, that was every other team that struggled with it. Something about Montana State, they cracked the code last week. But no, it was a heck of a season, full of excitement, and roller coasters. And I think it's kind of only fitting that, here we go, after all that, there's a home matchup on the horizon and potentially a matchup with North Dakota State. So, it could even get more exciting after all the roller coaster. If there's anything else you want to throw out there, Fritz, I always appreciate your time. Good stuff off. And like I said, what a year.

Yeah, and it's still good. Thanks a lot, Josh. Yeah, no doubt. All right, Fritz, you have a good one, and we'll talk soon. Next week, hopefully, we're talking about a win, and we'll check in on who the Bobcats got on the horizon. So, we'll look forward to that. Go Griz. All right, yeah, they need to get that win. All right, have a good one, Fritz. Yep, all right. I'll do it for Fritz. Always appreciate his time. He was out there for all the wild. I mean, I'm sure just about everybody listening by now knows how that will win Griz's loss pretty badly. It was a steamroll, kind of a loss. 

And I mean, the Bobcats, as he said, I mean, the way they ran their offense just looked unstoppable. That being said, you gotta think Bobcats head coach Brett Veegan had the calendar circled for a while. He's like, "I want to make sure we take care of business heading into the postseason. We got a couple of matchups. They had a couple of matchups than the year that wasn't the most challenging heading up to that. So it seemed like a statement kind of a win for the Bobcats."

Now we got one piece of Griz news, and then we'll move into a few quotes from Coach Bobby Houck on the playoff matchup. I did want to mention Glacier High product and current Griz punter, Patrick Rohrbach, is named as a finalist for the Jerry Rice award, going to the best freshman in the country. Rohrbach currently is averaging 46.2 yards per punt, which lands him second overall in the country at the FCS level, among all punters, not just freshmen. And among all Division I players, including the FBS and FCS level, his 46.2 yards per punt is second in the entire nation. 

He's behind only five players, and none of them are freshmen. So, really special stuff coming from Rohrbach, the Glacier High alumni. And you know, you gotta think there's a chance coming down the road, he might be getting the call to do some booting of the football on Sundays, because he's got a special talent. And it's clear that eventually, teams are going to take notice when you're on the Jerry Rice award list as a freshman for the best freshman in the country. He's got a chance to win it. I'd be a little bit shocked if he went to a punter, but hey, having your name on the list in itself is a special thing.

Let's get to this quote from Coach Bobby Houck on the playoff matchup. This is one of the more thorough explanations we've heard from Coach Houck this season in the quotes. He usually keeps it short and sweet. I really think he went in-depth for this one. He's excited about this matchup. Let's hear it.

"Sure. Well, we're excited for some Thanksgiving football. Obviously, it's great to be in the playoffs. And being the only FCS game that ESPN has chosen this weekend to show on national TV is also exciting. And I think that they think it'll be a good game, and it'll be a good scene in our stadium. So, Southeast Missouri is a tough team. They played a tough schedule and finished 9-2. They've got some personnel matchups that are of concern for us. They've got the all-time leading rusher, number six Hess, as the starting running back. They've got tall athletic receivers in King and Flournoy, one and four, not in that order. Four and one, in that order. I think they're physical up front on both sides of the ball. Defense is very multiple. 

They play a lot of different coverages and give you problems that way. So, we're well aware of who they are. We know they went to Ogden, Utah a couple of years ago and won in a playoff game. They're just difficult to prepare for. They've played three different quarterbacks in recent weeks, but we're assuming they'll have their starter back. And then, on the defensive side, they're not letting teams run the ball. I think they're giving up just over 100 yards a game, 108. So, tall order to get ready for this one on what's sort of a short week coming off the rivalry game and with Thanksgiving week and all that. So, we're deep into our preparation and excited to play. And, you know, I'd say we're hopeful that our fans will be there Saturday night on national TV and help us. We need them to help us get rolling again. And we're hoping to do that Saturday.

So, um, you know, with it, we'll take a page out of our rival's book from a year ago where you get beat down and then go on a nice little playoff run. It'd be great for us, so we need to do that this weekend. The Grizzlies are definitely going to be coming into this game motivated. He mentioned it with the Bobcats the year before, where they got beat down, and what do you do? Take that, use that as fuel, and run through the post-season a little bit fired up and get some wins. So, that's very possible for the Griz.
I think the thing that stands out the most there from Coach Houck, as far as his little breakdown of SEMO, who we're going to get to a little more on his thoughts on this, but it is tough to identify a non-conference opponent with very few common opponents or things like that. I think what stands out the most from his evaluation is SEMO and his press conference there. They do a great job of stopping the run, and we've seen when the Grizzlies struggled around the football, they turn into a little bit of a different team.

Now, I don't know about the strength of the schedule of the CMO. I'm not that familiar with it. Maybe they're just locking down on some teams that are a little inferior in the run game. The Griz do have a good rushing attack when they're fully dialed in, but that rushing attack's crucial. And if they can get it rocking and rolling on the ground, it's a different team. So, I think it's going to be strength versus strength for the Griz. They have a good rushing game when healthy, and they're going to need to use that and kind of overpower that CMO defense, which, according to Coach Houck, is solid against the run.

We will get to a little bit more on the SEMO quarterback play in a second. But first, here are Coach Houck's thoughts on how to prepare for an out-of-conference opponent in a playoff game that's really similar to non-conference games, specifically the non-conference games we had this year. We didn't have a crossover with them, so it's a lot like that, except it's, you know, a current film, not a year ago. So, you know the personnel a little better. Short and sweet, but makes a lot of sense. And I think the part about knowing the film a little bit better actually could make preparing on short notice – and I'm going to say this with a little bit of understanding that it could come off wrong – but preparing on short notice might actually be easier with the current film because it's one thing to get a film from the season before, different person. Now, you don't know who that, um, kind of that under-the-radar guy who's going to step up. There are no tricks left on CMO's sleeve. We know what that team is. The Griz knows what that team is. We know what the Griz are. Simo knows what the Griz are, you understand what I'm saying? So, that film's gonna speak for itself.

The Griz will have time to prepare, and it's not as difficult to prepare as maybe it seems. Coach Houck said it pretty well. Alright, here's the last quote from Coach Houck regarding the CMO quarterback and what he is capable of in the RPO game. 'He's got a big arm. He can rip it. Runs well enough to keep plays alive, and get yards.

I thought the Iowa State game, in particular, was interesting to watch. He could, um, run it as well as throw it. He made some big-boy throws as well as generated first downs with his feet. He has no fear of fitting the RPO ball, both on the glass and on the fade outside. Um, he seems to read it pretty well, so he's highly effective in that system. He's really good. My biggest takeaway there is they're going up against another quarterback who's extremely effective in the RPO game, running the football, and fearless. It sounds a lot like Tommy Milan, who we mentioned earlier, and the Bobcats who just really crushed the Grizzlies on the ground running the football. 

So that would be my biggest concern if you're the Grizzlies. How do you contain the CMO RPO game? How do you contain their running game? They have a record-setting running back on that team who's set some of their rushing records in school history and a good quarterback who, according to coach Hal, can rip it. And that's just one of those things. I like that one. Yeah, I had to quote that one. He could rip it. But hey, at the end of the day, there's just a certain gunslinger. The guy sounds like he's not afraid to get out and play in an open space and make a play with his legs. And the Grizzlies have struggled versus that a little bit, as much as it's tough to admit. 

So we'll see. It's kind of like I mentioned last week, do you make the adjustment of, "We're maybe not going to focus on rushing the quarterback as much as containing the quarterback, focus on those QB spies?" Like I said last week, focus on setting the edge with the defensive end and maybe kind of having them play QB contain rather than just strictly rushing the passer. Putting a guy with speed like maybe having a Robbie Howe go out there and just play a QB spy and say, "We're going to utilize him almost as a linebacker tracker, drop back another guy in the secondary." There are a lot of ways you can go. But it does seem like they're going to have to make an adjustment to shut down the CMO RPO game because Southeast Missouri is going to be watching that Montana State film, going, "Look what they just did on the ground. We're going to try to replicate that however we can." So that's my biggest takeaway from the final quote there from coach Houck.

Overall, I mean, if you're on Twitter, you could go check out some reactions in the Grizzlies and Bobcats fan world. I mean, it's going nuts right now. A lot of people are frustrated that the Grizzlies made the playoffs. A lot of people are frustrated the Bobcats were only the fourth seed in the FCS tournament. So there's a lot going on there. I think overall, it's understandable that Montana, the Grizzlies, did make the playoffs as a low seed. I think you can make the argument if there was a team that flat-out was better than them, then put them in. But at the end of the day, their losses when healthy, Montana State, that's a loss you gotta just kind of throw away, but that's an ugly one. So that one hurts. The other losses, they're bad losses, but the Big Sky is tough, and it doesn't shock me they got in. I guess that's how I'll leave it at that. I know that there is some bidding involved in the home game process and the finances involved, so maybe the Griz got a little boost there. So anyways, I'm looking forward to the playoff game.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Griz will fare and if they can bounce back. As Fred said earlier, they have one more chance to beat a winning team this year. There's been a lot of hoopla around this team, especially on social media, with people panicking and making exaggerated statements. But at the end of the day, it's important to slow down and look back. The team has dealt with injuries, and this game presents an opportunity for them to prove themselves.

If Lucas Johnson is healthy and can lead them to a win, that would be great. However, if Daniel Bricketts has to go and shows enough in his first start to secure a victory, that would be really exciting for the Grizzlies moving forward. It would give them confidence knowing they have a quarterback with playoff experience who will be the starter next year. I'm not suggesting rushing to start Bricketts, as I believe Johnson gives them the best chance to win due to his experience and success in big games.
The biggest question mark going into the game is who will start at quarterback. Additionally, can the Griz stop the run and establish their own running game against CMO, who has a strong run defense according to Coach House? These are the key factors we'll be looking at.

The game will be held at the Griz's home stadium and will be televised on ESPN2, providing them with another chance to showcase the program on the national stage. While they are already considered an FCS powerhouse, increasing national exposure only helps with recruiting top-level talent. The Grizzlies consistently attract some of the best players in the country at the FCS level.

Although the team didn't fully live up to expectations this year, teams with talented rosters can click at any moment. It's impossible to predict when the magic will strike. If the Grizzlies can put everything together against SEMO, gain momentum, and address some of the question marks surrounding the team, they could potentially face North Dakota State in the next round. Reports suggest that NDSU has lost key players to the transfer portal, so catching them at the right time could be advantageous.
Lastly, there's a possibility of a rematch with the Bobcats in the championship game, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. It would be an epic showdown, but we'll take it one game at a time.

Enjoy the game, have a great Thanksgiving, and stay safe during Black Friday. Thank you for your support, and take care!