After enduring an 11-hour bus ride last week to Bozeman, only to lose a 13-10 heartbreaker to No. 19 Montana State, one would think the Northern Colorado Bears would get a break.
Think again.
Arriving Saturday in Greeley are the second-ranked Montana Grizzlies, the class of the Big Sky Conference. Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Grizzlies (8-1, 6-0 BSC) are the most formidable team on UNC’s schedule. But don’t expect UNC (1-8, 0-7) to curl up and play dead.
“Ever since our bye week (Oct. 21), I think our kids have played very hard and very smart,” first-year coach Scott Downing said Thursday. “We went up there and played a very good Montana State team. We gave ourselves a chance to win there at the end. I don’t know if that was a baby step or a continuing climb up a steep mountain, but we’ve made some progress.”
A win Saturday guarantees the Grizzlies at least a share of their ninth straight Big Sky title. Especially formidable is Montana’s run defense. It’s giving up only 100 yards a game, best in the conference.
Downing described Montana as “a very, very strong, very, very physical team … Collectively, as a team, they are the best we have played, no doubt about it.”
For UNC to stay in the game, it will need a big day from running back Andre Wilson. That won’t be an easy task. In its 10-9 win last week over sixth-ranked Cal Poly, Montana limited the Mustangs to 85 yards on 37 carries. Senior defensive end Mike Murphy had seven tackles and two sacks, earning Big Sky defensive player-of-the-week honors.
On paper, the game looks dramatically one-sided, but coach Bobby Hauck has issued the obligatory “don’t overlook your opponent” warning to his Grizzlies.
“It would be foolish of us not to give our ultimate effort this Saturday,” he said. “UNC is a dangerous team. Their (14-13) win at (No. 23) Texas State proves they can beat anybody on their schedule. They’ve been in games against upper-level teams in our division and we need to be cognizant of that.”
Saturday is the annual Hall of Fame Game at Nottingham Field. Seven individuals and two teams will be inducted into the Northern Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame tonight. All of the inductees will be honored at halftime Saturday, including former head coach Joe Glenn, now at Wyoming, and the 1996 Division II national championship team.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1319 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
