Phil Steele ranks Montana #12 in FCS

#278
#278
This is a good first game for the Vols. The Grizz are a legitimate football team with good size, unlike UT-M last year. The Vols will prevail, but if Montana isn't overwhelmed by Neyland (looking at their schedule for the past few years, they rarely play in such a big arena, especially as visitors), they will provide a good first test.
Lessons learned in this game will help the coaches better prepare the team for the coming gauntlet that is the SEC schedule.
 
#279
#279
Ericvol2096 said:
Feel like we will be able to pass it on them well and shut down their passing game.

I think we will play conservative at first but open it up in the second qtr.

here is how I think it goes.

Q1- 7-0 Vols
HT- 17-3 Vols
Q3- 31-3 Vols
Final- 41-10 Vols
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Nice prediction. Pretty close to how I expect it to play out. Close to the half, then the UT depth really shows the difference.

I pray it is cool and NOT humid for the team...as for me, bring that crap on.
 
#280
#280
Bond.JamesBond said:
I've read many of Orediggers (Griz fan) post on here and he continually has posted that no Montana fans are actually predicting a win and at that has stated that you guys should win by 4 TD's....but some of you guy's arrogance is comical. Tennesse has many 4 maybe 5 star recruits but any knowledgable football fan should know that how many 4 or 5 star athletes you recruit doesn't automatically transform into wins. Coaching and chemistry has a lot to do with it. Us griz fans had to suffer thru these types of issues. In the 4 games we lost last year we had 12 TO's which I truly believe can be partly attributed to a lack of discipline by our new coaching staff. I can guarantee you that as a true Vol fan you can name dozens and dozens of your current and past 4 star recruits that amounted to crap or didn't mesh with your team. I agree with the majority of Griz fans when I say you guys should and will win by 4 tds maybe more. But to absolutely right our football team off as a joke for a football team is absolutely ridiculous. Top FCS teams knock off teams with your talent level on occasion. For example: Jacksonville St. over Ole Miss, James Madison over Virginia Tech both just last year. Again I'm not predicting a win but our football team is no pushover and I REALLY hope your team overlooks us. With that hope it's a great game and can't wait to experience some football in Tennesse. Good luck to both and seriously hope we don't get beat up injury wise by you guys.:rock:
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Hate to correct a Griz fan, but it was 18 turnovers in those four losses.
 
#281
#281
tvolsfan said:
If Tennessee struggles with Montana, it's a pretty good indication that Tennessee has a bad football team.
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No it doesn't. It just means Montana was a lot better than expected.

Look at Virginia Tech last year. Lost to JMU but still played a bowl game.
 
#282
#282
SeaGriz said:
Nice prediction. Pretty close to how I expect it to play out. Close to the half, then the UT depth really shows the difference.

I pray it is cool and NOT humid for the team...as for me, bring that crap on.
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Afraid you'll be disappointed. The first week of September is usually pretty bad. Knoxville is near the mountains, but it's not really in them, so it doesn't get the benefit of lowered temps and humidity.

As for my prediction, I'm thinking:

1Q: 7-0
HT: 24-7
3Q: 38-7
Final: 45-14
 
#283
#283
Escape Goat said:
Big does not equal good. If they were so good why are they in FCS?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
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Simply put, the town doesn't have the money to support a quality FBS team. Honestly, why step up and start sucking, when you sell out the whole stadium before the season starts and get the chance to possibly host 10 home games?

We all believe it would be great for the Griz to step up to the next level, but the finances just aren't there yet.
 
#284
#284
SeaGriz said:
Simply put, the town doesn't have the money to support a quality FBS team. Honestly, why step up and start sucking, when you sell out the whole stadium before the season starts and get the chance to possibly host 10 home games?

We all believe it would be great for the Griz to step up to the next level, but the finances just aren't there yet.
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More involved then that SeaGriz. It's a political issue with Montana State, and don't forget the impact on our local economy for hosting 8-9 games a year. Simply put our boosters don't want us to move up. It would be 2-3 less games per year, and a massive financial impact on local businesses. The Grizzlies will make more for hosting Division II Western Oregon at home, then UT is paying us for traveling their. Money rules the world, as anyone with ties to BCS conferences knows.

In my personal opinion, Montana never moves up because we wont have to. Eventually the BCS conferences will form their own division, and the lower FBS conferences will be forced to find other solutions, as finances continue to drive the sport. The fact is ESPN is horrible for college football as a whole. Not so much for the major conferences because they benefit from it. So what does happen to conferences like the MAC, the Sun Belt, WAC & MWC?

I believe that within 5 years there is a very good shot that those conferences along with the top echelon of the FCS (Southern, Big Sky, Missouri Valley and CAA) get together with the non-BCS conferences and create a new competitive division, with their own playoff system and television contracts. As the major conferences continue to expand to 16, and maybe 20 schools the best of the non-BCS conferences (ie Boise State) will find new homes in the top conferences. For example the Big 12 may collapse as their schools move to SEC & Big East, but the remanants of the Big 12 and MWC's best will form a new BCS conference. The upheavel is just beginning.

I think this is clearly why Big Sky schools are not jumping at the chance to move to the WAC. They believe the WAC will come to them sooner or later.
 
#286
#286
SeaGriz said:
No it doesn't. It just means Montana was a lot better than expected.

Look at Virginia Tech last year. Lost to JMU but still played a bowl game.
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Who cares about what some ACC fraud does?

If they played in the SEC, they would have lost 3 conference games.
 
#287
#287
In an effort to get this thread back on track and to provide Vol fans some info on our team.

Offense first.

Our offense is a big question mark heading into the season. New QB, new RB, and a OL that has alot to prove. I believe we will have trouble in our pass protection and allowing our green QB much time to operate. We have some weapons at reciever, but will they have enough time to get open? I predict a lot of short stuff, screens, and utilization of our TEs.

QB: Jordan Johson will likely be our starter. Good athlete, good arm, but very green. His first collegiate start will be against an SEC defense in very hostile environment. Will be key if he can keep from turning the ball over.

RB: Peter Nguyn and Jordan Canada will split carries. Both are smaller backs with good shiftiness. Canada is faster and more talented but has zero experience. Nguyn has had issues fumbling the ball in the past. We have some bigger options as well that have decent speed but not near the quickness or vision. Big question mark though. We graduated one of the best RB in our history who is now in the NFL. Just hope these guys don't turn the ball over and not try to dance around.

WR: Sambrano is our #1. Very fast with good hands. Also has struggled against physical corners. Moutra is our other wideout. Bigger and runs good routes. Transferred from UCLA. Sam Gratton is our slot reciever. Good route runner and very physical. Has speed to get open. He'll get the most balls against you IMO. Have good depth here.

TE: By far the strength of our offense. Hardy is at the top of the chart and is a surefire NFL prospect. Very fast and agile for his size and might be our best blocker on the team. Big red zone threat, if we can get in the red zone. Middleton backs him up and is also getting looks by the pros. Was the starter at Washington before getting kicked off the team for behavioral issues. Will rely on these guys to try and prolong drives.

OL: We have size and experience here. Our starting line averages 6'6.5" and 315# with good athleticism. Saying that, they struggled in pass protection last year (resulting in the loss of our aa QB). I expect that to be improved this year with another year to learn the spread and zone blocking. I believe they will get a push on your front 7, but will also struggle giving our QB much time to operate. Our school is known for producing large NFL quality linemen, but none of these guys have the nastiness or feet to follow suit, with the exception of maybe Kistler.
 
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#288
#288
MooseDrool said:
In an effort to get this thread back on track and to provide Vol fans some info on our team.

Offense first.

Our offense is a big question mark heading into the season. New QB, new RB, and a OL that has alot to prove. I believe we will have trouble in our pass protection and allowing our green QB much time to operate. We have some weapons at reciever, but will they have enough time to get open? I predict a lot of short stuff, screens, and utilization of our TEs.

QB: Jordan Johson will likely be our starter. Good athlete, good arm, but very green. His first collegiate start will be against an SEC defense in very hostile environment. Will be key if he can keep from turning the ball over.

RB: Peter Nguyn and Jordan Canada will split carries. Both are smaller backs with good shiftiness. Canada is faster and more talented but has zero experience. Nguyn has had issues fumbling the ball in the past. We have some bigger options as well that have decent speed but not near the quickness or vision. Big question mark though. We graduated one of the best RB in our history who is now in the NFL. Just hope these guys don't turn the ball over and not try to dance around.

WR: Sambrano is our #1. Very fast with good hands. Also has struggled against physical corners. Moutra is our other wideout. Bigger and runs good routes. Transferred from UCLA. Sam Gratton is our slot reciever. Good route runner and very physical. Has speed to get open. He'll get the most balls against you IMO. Have good depth here.

TE: By far the strength of our offense. Hardy is at the top of the chart and is a surefire NFL prospect. Very fast and agile for his size and might be our best blocker on the team. Big red zone threat, if we can get in the red zone. Middleton backs him up and is also getting looks by the pros. Was the starter at Washington before getting kicked off the team for behavioral issues. Will rely on these guys to try and prolong drives.

OL: We have size and experience here. Our starting line averages 6'6.5" and 315# with good athleticism. Saying that, they struggled in pass protection last year (resulting in the loss of our aa QB). I expect that to be improved this year with another year to learn the spread and zone blocking. I believe they will get a push on your front 7, but will also struggle giving our QB much time to operate. Our school is known for producing large NFL quality linemen, but none of these guys have the nastiness or feet to follow suit, with the exception of maybe Kistler.
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For a rebuttal, just check any of our other threads.
 
#289
#289
Now the Defense:

Our defense is much better than our offense at this point. Overall we've got good athleticism and very good speed. Our biggest challenge will be size and depth on the line and in the secondary. Some believe that our LB unit is the most talented we've ever had. I believe that they have that potential. Our depth issues has us experimenting with a 3-4 set. Where we usually run a 4-3.

DT: We've got some good talent here. Bryan Waldhauser is our best defensive lineman. He is tall for a tackle at 6'5" and is up to 270# now. He is strong and has a good motor. Most teams try to double team him. He is effective splitting those at the BSC level, will be interesting to see how he holds up against SEC talent. He will be an end in the 3-4 set. There will be a rotation of a couple 290# guys at the other spot that are ok.

DE: We have a lot of speed here, but are grossly undersized. Josh Harris is our most talented at 255# but has been injured. Our other ends are 240 or lighter. I have concerns of whether they will be able to holdup the entire game. A reason why we are implementing some 3-4

LB: Overall the best unit on our team except for maybe TE. Good size and athleticism. Jordan Tripp has NFL potential. He is very rangy and a smart football player. Caleb McSurdy in the middle is getting alot of accolades. He is a little stiff in pass coverage though. Coyle and Shaw are also both very good athletes. Have a lot of depth here. This unit will make some stops.

S: Area of concern, especially at SS. We graduated one guy to the NFL in Jimmy Wilson and another guy who was all conference. Our starters have a bit of experience, but we will likely see a drop off in production here.

CB: Trumaine Johnson is our best athlete and has been projected to go anywhere from 2nd to 4th round in next years draft. This will be a big game for him to see how he holds up against better talent. Our other cb spot is being contested right now with some decent experience coming back.

Looking forward to the game. Has been fun learning about your team.
 
#291
#291
MooseDrool said:
Now the Defense:

Our defense is much better than our offense at this point. Overall we've got good athleticism and very good speed. Our biggest challenge will be size and depth on the line and in the secondary. Some believe that our LB unit is the most talented we've ever had. I believe that they have that potential. Our depth issues has us experimenting with a 3-4 set. Where we usually run a 4-3.

DT: We've got some good talent here. Bryan Waldhauser is our best defensive lineman. He is tall for a tackle at 6'5" and is up to 270# now. He is strong and has a good motor. Most teams try to double team him. He is effective splitting those at the BSC level, will be interesting to see how he holds up against SEC talent. He will be an end in the 3-4 set. There will be a rotation of a couple 290# guys at the other spot that are ok.

DE: We have a lot of speed here, but are grossly undersized. Josh Harris is our most talented at 255# but has been injured. Our other ends are 240 or lighter. I have concerns of whether they will be able to holdup the entire game. A reason why we are implementing some 3-4

LB: Overall the best unit on our team except for maybe TE. Good size and athleticism. Jordan Tripp has NFL potential. He is very rangy and a smart football player. Caleb McSurdy in the middle is getting alot of accolades. He is a little stiff in pass coverage though. Coyle and Shaw are also both very good athletes. Have a lot of depth here. This unit will make some stops.

S: Area of concern, especially at SS. We graduated one guy to the NFL in Jimmy Wilson and another guy who was all conference. Our starters have a bit of experience, but we will likely see a drop off in production here.

CB: Trumaine Johnson is our best athlete and has been projected to go anywhere from 2nd to 4th round in next years draft. This will be a big game for him to see how he holds up against better talent. Our other cb spot is being contested right now with some decent experience coming back.

Looking forward to the game. Has been fun learning about your team.
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21-0 UT after the 1st quarter. BOOK IT!
 
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