After months of waiting the journey back to the Soccer Stadium has reached the most significant time of the year. The first of this year's challengers was the Mountain Grizzlies who made the journey from Missoula and for a brief time had a shot at springing the upset. By now you probably know that from that one-point game (21 - 20) NDSU reeled off 28 points to just six by the visitors. That proved to be the story of the game but there's a lot more to it than that!
For example, through 12 games those Bears gave up an average of 154 yards per game and a solid 21 touchdowns on the ground. They were even better against the pass, which is saying something considering the tendency of the Big Sky to air the ball. Maybe that's part of the reason why Cam Miller finished with just 10 attempts. They also had three guys crack 90 yards on the ground, paced by Kobe Johnson whose two 70+ yard touchdown runs each eclipsed Miller's 68-yard scamper to make it 14 - 0 that had been the longest run of the season.
It was a shredding on the ground right up there with the machine and the Ninja Turtles villain!
Altogether it was the second best postseason effort the Ball-Carriers Coalition has ever put together. That it came without the Human Rhino is a piece of trivia not many would have gotten right without seeing it.
With every seeded team having advanced, NDSU will have senior day #2 against Samford - fresh off a 90-point duel with Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs will surely try to prevent the same sort of demolition when they roll in but today wasn't altogether a result of bully-ball dominating finesse. So we could see another 300+ yard game next week but will need to get more through the air.
Zach Mathis & Eli Green were the main recipients of today's micro-package and the same could prove true next time. It qualifies as knit-picking with as well as the offense did but neglect of one of the offense's two elements is a way to end the trip prematurely.
If the other tried & true element of the program can maintain today's level then that would help delay the finale. Two interceptions may not happen again but six sacks is a great way to rattle any signal-caller and increase the odds of takeaways. With six different guys chipping into that total Samford will also have to try and figure out their best protections at all times. Perhaps they are spectacularly well-conditioned but having to go that long at full-throttle seems like a recipe for cruise control again in the fourth quarter. Without the garbage-time touchdown it would have been the lowest offensive output of the year for Montana, so Code Green can also hang on that!
The game also included a few more injuries so increased opportunity & responsibility could go the way of the Red Dogs, but that is as up-in-the-air as the date & time of the next game. Both will be known sooner than later but does leave a bit of mystery at the end of a day which was pretty cut & dry.
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