Week 8: @ Northern Arizona (3-4)
Series: Montana leads 35-13
Streak: Montana Won 1
Head Coach: Jerome Souers (110-101, 19th season at NAU)
NAU FCS Rank: #54/125 (compughterratings.com)
NAU State Win/Loss Streak: Win 2
This Year: (3-4, 2-2 BSC)
Last Year: (7-4, 5-3 BSC)
Home: 2-1
Away: 1-3
Best Win: vs #379 Idaho State (compughterratings)
Worst Loss: vs #201 Northern Colorado (compughterratings)
Last 5 Games: 3-2 (60.0%)
Points Per Game: 33
Points Against: 24.7
Chances of Winning: Montana 75%, Northern Arizona 25% (MasseyRatings.com)
Prediction: Montana 35, Northern Arizona 27 (MasseyRatings.com)
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TV: ABC/Fox Montana Cowles Media - http://gogriz.com/sports/2015/8/21/WhereToWatch.aspx
STREAMING: http://watchbigsky.com
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UM NOTES: http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/gogriz.com/documents/2016/10/17/UM_at_NAU_NOTES.pdf?id=2858
NAU NOTES: http://static.psbin.com/4/2/ahbfqrwd5hrrob/NAU8.pdf
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GAME PREVIEW:
Red-hot Griz visit under-performing Northern Arizona
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- When Northern Arizona landed atop the Big Sky Conference preseason polls this summer, the Lumberjacks were the talk of the league. Expectations soared regarding the possibility of NAU's first Big Sky title since sharing the crown in 2003.
Three months later that excitement feels like the fog of a long-lost dream, and the jockeying for position at the top of the standings feature the same ol' faces like Montana and Eastern Washington.
Few teams in both the Big Sky and the nation are as hot as the No. 10 Grizzlies, who visit the Walkup Skydome on Saturday to tussle with the Jacks after back-to-back 60-point victories. UM carries a three-game win streak overall into the 5 p.m. MDT kickoff.
"This team right now coming off these two major wins has a great buzz," Griz offensive lineman Max Kelly said. "You can feel it being in the locker room and team meetings. There's a certain energy you can't put into words, but it is there and I'm excited to see it build from game to game."
Northern Arizona head coach Jerome Souers, once a UM defensive coordinator before spending the past two decades in Flagstaff, can feel it, too. He used the term "scary" twice in describing Montana's recent assaults, a 67-7 knockout of Mississippi Valley State and a 68-7 beating of league foe Sacramento State.
The Griz, who are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky play, feature the league's stingiest defense (20.2 points allowed per game) and second-best scoring offense (56.7 ppg).
"When you look at what they're doing defensively, the two are playing off each other very well. Defense gets the ball back to their offense and the offense is very productive with it," explained Souers, who could tie the Big Sky's all-time record for coaching victories with an upset and win No. 111 Saturday. "They seem to be hitting stride in the last couple games. The numbers are a little scary when you look at the production they're getting."
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What's even scarier is the Griz did all that damage the past two weeks without one of their top athletes on each side of the ball. Speedy slot receiver Jerry Louie-McGee, who missed two outings after setting a program record for single-game catches (21) earlier in the year, has been back practicing this week while cornerback JR Nelson is a sure-thing starter after sitting out the first-half of the season on suspension.
Griz head coach Bob Stitt called the injured Louie-McGee day-to-day heading into Saturday's game. But without their team leader in receptions and yards -- 41 and 366, respectively -- the Griz have diversified in the passing game. James Homan has 221 yards and two touchdowns in the past three weeks and Keenan Curran caught three TDs since Louie-McGee's exit while earning extra playing time.
"We feel a lot better about who our receivers are," Stitt said. "You don't have to wear Jerry out when he's able to play because now you've got James and Lamarriel (Taylor) and some of these other guys at outside receiver you feel really good about."
Nelson's return may be even more important this week against a Northern Arizona (3-4, 2-2 in Big Sky) offense that ranks eighth in the nation with 311 passing yards per game. The Jacks and backup quarterback Blake Kemp (playing in place of injured Case Cookus) threw for a season-high 397 yards in last week's 52-7 win over Idaho State.
That was the team's second straight victory after a 1-4 start to the season.
"We've just got to put (Nelson) in a game and make sure he's ready to compete. What's his conditioning level like 'cause he's not in game shape yet," Griz D-coordinator Jason Semore said. "The nice thing is we'll probably do a three-way rotation because (fellow CBs) Ryan (McKinley) and Markell (Sanders) are playing so well.
"Thank God he's back at this point in time because we're playing two of the best pass offenses in the country."
After NAU comes Eastern Washington, the FCS leader in passing with 433 ypg. That dance comes next Saturday in Cheney, Washington but the Griz realize despite Northern Arizona's early struggles, this week's game can't be overlooked. UM hasn't played well in Flagstaff recently, losing there in 2013 and winning the three times previous by one score each -- including a 41-34 overtime victory in 2009.
http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/red-hot-griz-visit-under-performing-northern-arizona/article_fa96f7f8-8e04-545c-ae0d-43bc009292d4.html