In all but one game this season, Bob Stitt has proven if he has a week, he can get a quarterback ready. In all but one of Montana’s games, if the player who prepared that week as the starter lasted the duration of the start, Stitt and the Grizzlies emerged victorious.
After an off-season of installation and preparation, junior Brady Gustafson debuted Stitt’s high-flying up-tempo offense by throwing for 434 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-35 upset victory over four-time defending national champion and preseason No. 1 North Dakota State in Missoula. The following week, Gustafson threw three interceptions, Cal Poly controlled both lines of scrimmage and a 47-yard Alex Vega field goal lifted the Mustangs to a 20-19 victory.
UM quarterback Makena Simis gives on the option to running back Treshawn Favors/by Evan Frost
Montana lost 31-21 to Liberty the following week as Gustafson went down with a leg injury. Chad Chalich struggled as a substitute but thrived as a starter. He helped Montana manufacture enough points to surge to a 2-0 start in conference play as UM took down Northern Arizona (24-13) and UC Davis (27-13).
Chalich suffered a foot injury late in the second quarter against Weber State. The Wildcats turned up the heat to put pressure on third-string quarterback Makena Simis. The sophomore showed flashes, mainly a 44-yard touchdown pass to senior Ben Roberts but largely struggled to find a rhythm. His fumble in overtime set up a game-winning Weber State field goal in a 24-21 WSU win.
Montana made good use of its bye and an extra week of preparation for Simis’s first start. The Boise native threw six touchdown passes and for 327 yards overall as Montana pounded North Dakota, 42-16.
“Anyone who has coached offense knows that if you lose your quarterback, it cuts down what you can do offensively,” Stitt said. “Fortunately, we’ve won games with three different quarterbacks and not many programs can say that. It makes it difficult if (the injury) happens in the game. Once you have the next guy in place and you can work with him for that week, you can get him ready to go.”
Simis’s six touchdowns tied a mark shared by Dave Dickenson (1995), Brian Ah Yat (1998) and Jordan Johnson (2011). He completed seven passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns to senior captain Jamaal Jones and junior Ellis Henderson. Roberts also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass.
UM wide receiver Ben Roberts high points a touchdown pass vs. NDSU/by Brooks Nuanez
“Because we had a bye week, he (Simis) felt a lot more comfortable than he had before because since he had played, he kind of had an idea how to prepare,” Jones said. “Experience always helps. I knew with those two weeks to prepare, it would help Makena a lot and it began to show on Saturday.”
Simis will serve as the starter for the No. 17 Grizzlies as Montana heads to Portland State for UM’s first game in the City of Roses since 2010. The No. 12 Vikings are 6-1, a mark that includes victories over two FBS teams (Washington State, North Texas) and two ranked FCS squads (No. 23 Idaho State in Week 2, No. 16 Montana State in Week 6). Gustafson returned to practice this week but Stitt said he will be eased back into the action.
“We definitely are happy to see him out at practice and that will give us the ability to go back to some things originally that we had in when he was leading the nation in passing,” Stitt said. “We are not going to push him. We are going to see how he feels on a day to day basis and make those game day calls if we are going to get him in.”
Stitt said he feels his team’s two best performances offensively and overall were against the North Dakota schools in Missoula in the first start for each Gustafson and Simis. Now Montana plays a swarming Portland State team that plays with as much effort and continuity defensively as any team in the league.
“I think Portland State’s defense is right there with (UND and NDSU) and there is a reason they are where they are at,” Stitt said. “The takeaways are the big thing that makes them a great defense. That’s the difference in a lot of our ball games. If we don’t turn the ball over, we win the game.”
PSU defenders surround MSU wide receiver Mitch Griebel after a tackle for loss/by Brooks Nuanez
Portland State has been the surprise of the league thus far. The Vikings were picked 12th in the 13-team Big Sky. But PSU’s lone blemish is a 19-16 loss to a once-strong North Dakota team that has lost three straight since due to a spat of injuries. During the off-season, Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum talked openly about having the home dates with the Montana schools circled on his calendar. PSU set a school record with 465 rushing yards in a dismantling of Montana State at Providence Park. On Saturday, Portland State hosts a Montana team fighting for its playoff life.
‘The magic thing is we are still not picked to win a game,” Barnum said. “This week, we are not picked to beat the University of Montana. Nobody in America is taking Portland State over the Griz. That part helps them focus and they do have a chip on their shoulder a little bit, kind of the respect thing. The focus has been here. I have a mature group. They are playing hard. They don’t quit. I don’t care what the score is. It’s kind of a sandlot approach. They come out and play football.”
A win on Saturday would put Portland State at six Division I wins. Montana is 4-3 overall but 3-1 in conference play, just a game out of first place at the midpoint. Montana will need to win its remaining four and get some help to earn a 17th Big Sky Conference championship since 1993 and the Grizzlies’ 11th since the turn of the century. Montana has not won a Big Sky title since 2009 — the 2011 banner was vacated due to NCAA violations.
“Our goal is to win every game and to win out in the Big Sky,” Jones said. “We still feel like we have a chance to be champions. That’s not going to happen if we lose. We have to keep pushing to get better every game and take it one week at a time.”
Portland State’s offense has seen a three-week stretch that included 66 points against North Texas, 59 points against Montana State and 38 last week at Cal Poly. The Vikings employ a variety of weapons in a rushing attack averaging 258 yards per game. Quarterback Alex Kuresa is averaging 228 yards of total offense and has accounted for 13 total touchdowns.
PSU quarterback Alex Kuresa/by Brooks Nuanez
But Portland State has defeated Montana just twice since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996. In 1999, the Vikings hosted No. 2 Montana at Civic Stadium in front of 23,489. Portland State defensive end Brad Ransom blocked an extra point that would’ve sent the game into a second overtime. Travis Cole recovered the block and returned it the length of the field to seal a 51-48 victory for the Vikings. The game featured several standout statistical moments. Portland State quarterback Jimmy Blanchard threw for 550 yards and wide receiver Terry Charles caught 12 passes for 276 yards. Montana quarterback Drew Miller completed 36-of-52 passes for 498 yards. UM receivers Jeremy Watkins, Jimmy Farris and Tanner Hancock each had more than 100 yards receiving. Running back Yohance Humphery rushed for 150 yards.
The following year, the Vikings earned their one and only FCS playoff berth. That same season, Montana won the first of 12 straight Big Sky championships and advanced to the national championship game. The game was a classic among a series of good games between arguably two of the top programs in the conference at the time. Between 1998 and 2006, Portland State finished second in the Big Sky standings to Montana on six difference occasions.
In 2004, the Vikings handed No. 4 Montana a surprise loss, its first and only conference loss. The Griz reeled off six straight wins, three wins in the playoffs to reach that year’s national championship game.
Although Montana is not the elite power it once was, Barnum still knows the Grizzlies will give his team all it can handle on Saturday.
“I’ve looked at every film from start to finish. I wish it was like it was in the old days. Now they cut it up. It used to be on VHS tape you know and you could watch the sideline and everything, see how they act and see where a weakness is to catch this or that,” Barnum said. “They are a tough bunch.”
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