CollegeKingRex
CTG Regular
What a nice surprise, to get a I-AA game to kick off the season, and a rather high-profile one.
Montana native Brent Musberger gets the play-by-play call from a smoky Missoula today as four-time defending I-AA national champion North Dakota State visits Montana. The Griz were 9-5 last fall, while ND State ended 15-1. The once-proud Griz program hasn't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2009, save for a vacated appearance in the 2011 semifinals.
Simply put, I'm excited to get a chance to bet on Bob Stitt.
Those who don't know football coaches (or in my case, have friends who coach in high school who have spoken with him at coaching clinics for years) well won't be aware of what's happening until it hits you later this afternoon.
Stitt has spent the last 15 years coaching at the Division I Colorado School of the Mines, where he compiled a 108-62 record with all math/engineering majors. Obviously, they were almost always physically outclassed, but Stitt's offensive philosophy not only kept the Oregidders competitive, but rather prosperous. Last season, his team averaged 90 plays per game - that was more than Baylor, Oregon and West By God Virginia averaged at the I-A level, and those are the fastest teams in the country.
What makes Stitt's offensive wizardy unique is his versatility - he has been known to run the ball 50 times in a game, and throw it 75 times the next week - it's all based on checks at the line (more checks than base plays). He allows the defense to pick its poison, and then he attacks. Mike Leach at Wazzou described it as "a moving, throwing Wing-T".
To this game:
Last season, ND State beat the Griz 22-10 in Fargo, in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. That's because the Bison were just 1-of-5 in red zone conversions and kicked five field goals. One concern is if they bulldoze their way up and down the field like last year, keeping Stitt's offense off the pitch and frustrating the rowdy home supporters at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. ND State blasted its way to 447 yards of total offense. It loses All-American running back John Crockett, who is now training with the Packers after rushing for almost 2,000 yards last fall.
ND State quarterback Carson Wentz threw for more than 3,000 yards last season in his first as a starter. Wentz is a big-time prospect for the next level. He's got size and arm strength. The previous QB got a look from the Dolphins before eventually settling into a role with Ottawa in the Ciffel. Wentz is considered to be a better Niffel prospect, and will certainly latch on somewhere if he doesn't get drafted. If the Griz sell out to try to stop the run then Wentz can certainly make them pay.
On the other side, Stitt's practices have been closed to media and the public, so the Bison have been relegated to trying to study tape of Colorado School of the Mines. The Griz have run a pro-style, huddling offense for as long as their fans can remember, so the excitement from the fans is palpable for what's coming later today. While QB Brady Gustafson is a first-time starter for Montana, he returns two big-play threats at receiver (Jones and Henderson) that get to attack a pair of sophomore Bison safeties that have never started. ND State returns only three starters, unless senior corner CJ Smith is cleared from a knee injury he sustained in the spring that has kept him out of most of camp. The Bison lost each of their top five tacklers.
Lastly, the onus will be on ND State to try and take the crowd out of the game. Coach Chris Klieman is a defensive coach; he took over after Craig Bohl went to Wyoming following the 2013 championship and immediately won a title of his own, largely based on yet another top-5 I-AA defense.
Klieman told his players that it's going to be louder than Iowa State or K-State, two places where the Bison have won in recent years. The fans are on top of the field, so the longer the Griz are competitive, the longer the locals can stay involved. And even if the Griz fall behind the number, the offense should give them enough of a chance to slide in the backdoor. Where the line is really flawed is the total. Anyone who knows anything about Stitt knows that he should never have a game with a total in the 40s.
Prediction: North Dakota State 37, Montana 30
The plays: Montana +14.5 medium
OVER 48.5 big
GL fellas!
:shake:
Montana native Brent Musberger gets the play-by-play call from a smoky Missoula today as four-time defending I-AA national champion North Dakota State visits Montana. The Griz were 9-5 last fall, while ND State ended 15-1. The once-proud Griz program hasn't advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2009, save for a vacated appearance in the 2011 semifinals.
Simply put, I'm excited to get a chance to bet on Bob Stitt.
Those who don't know football coaches (or in my case, have friends who coach in high school who have spoken with him at coaching clinics for years) well won't be aware of what's happening until it hits you later this afternoon.
Stitt has spent the last 15 years coaching at the Division I Colorado School of the Mines, where he compiled a 108-62 record with all math/engineering majors. Obviously, they were almost always physically outclassed, but Stitt's offensive philosophy not only kept the Oregidders competitive, but rather prosperous. Last season, his team averaged 90 plays per game - that was more than Baylor, Oregon and West By God Virginia averaged at the I-A level, and those are the fastest teams in the country.
What makes Stitt's offensive wizardy unique is his versatility - he has been known to run the ball 50 times in a game, and throw it 75 times the next week - it's all based on checks at the line (more checks than base plays). He allows the defense to pick its poison, and then he attacks. Mike Leach at Wazzou described it as "a moving, throwing Wing-T".
To this game:
Last season, ND State beat the Griz 22-10 in Fargo, in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. That's because the Bison were just 1-of-5 in red zone conversions and kicked five field goals. One concern is if they bulldoze their way up and down the field like last year, keeping Stitt's offense off the pitch and frustrating the rowdy home supporters at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. ND State blasted its way to 447 yards of total offense. It loses All-American running back John Crockett, who is now training with the Packers after rushing for almost 2,000 yards last fall.
ND State quarterback Carson Wentz threw for more than 3,000 yards last season in his first as a starter. Wentz is a big-time prospect for the next level. He's got size and arm strength. The previous QB got a look from the Dolphins before eventually settling into a role with Ottawa in the Ciffel. Wentz is considered to be a better Niffel prospect, and will certainly latch on somewhere if he doesn't get drafted. If the Griz sell out to try to stop the run then Wentz can certainly make them pay.
On the other side, Stitt's practices have been closed to media and the public, so the Bison have been relegated to trying to study tape of Colorado School of the Mines. The Griz have run a pro-style, huddling offense for as long as their fans can remember, so the excitement from the fans is palpable for what's coming later today. While QB Brady Gustafson is a first-time starter for Montana, he returns two big-play threats at receiver (Jones and Henderson) that get to attack a pair of sophomore Bison safeties that have never started. ND State returns only three starters, unless senior corner CJ Smith is cleared from a knee injury he sustained in the spring that has kept him out of most of camp. The Bison lost each of their top five tacklers.
Lastly, the onus will be on ND State to try and take the crowd out of the game. Coach Chris Klieman is a defensive coach; he took over after Craig Bohl went to Wyoming following the 2013 championship and immediately won a title of his own, largely based on yet another top-5 I-AA defense.
Klieman told his players that it's going to be louder than Iowa State or K-State, two places where the Bison have won in recent years. The fans are on top of the field, so the longer the Griz are competitive, the longer the locals can stay involved. And even if the Griz fall behind the number, the offense should give them enough of a chance to slide in the backdoor. Where the line is really flawed is the total. Anyone who knows anything about Stitt knows that he should never have a game with a total in the 40s.
Prediction: North Dakota State 37, Montana 30
The plays: Montana +14.5 medium
OVER 48.5 big
GL fellas!
:shake:
