Around FCS: Fueling a Rivalry

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10/01/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montana Grizzlies have gotten used to receiving every team's best shot. That's part of the legacy of winning, of sharing in 10 straight Big Sky titles, making the playoffs in 15 consecutive seasons, reaching the NCAA championship five times and capturing two national crowns.

Yes, the No. 3-ranked Grizzlies have a target permanently etched on their prominent chests. But few teams want to beat Montana any worse than Weber State, the team that hosts the Grizzlies this Saturday at Stewart Stadium.

Weber State hasn't beaten Montana since a 27-20 victory at Stewart Stadium in 1998, but there have been enough close calls in recent years that the Wildcats go into this game thinking this is the year they can win.

Sophomore quarterback Cameron Higgins leads a passing attack that ranks fourth nationally and is balanced by Trevyn Smith, a running back who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Even with games against two FBS schools, Hawaii and Utah, the Wildcats are averaging 35.2 points per game.

And the WSU defense has shown improvement, allowing just 22.6 points per game.

But the rivalry is also being fueled by some bad blood between the schools from last year's 18-10 Montana win. Weber State's emotions were enraged by the Cody Balogh chop-block that destroyed the knee of Wildcat defensive tackle Derek Johnson.

Weber State's 68-year-old coach Ron McBride called it the "worst injury I've ever seen in the history of my coaching," this week in the Missoulian, Montana's hometown newspaper. "That was not good. The surgery was even uglier."

Balogh, who hit Johnson low after he was engaged up high with J.D. Quinn, was penalized 15 yards on the play, which shredded the ligaments in Johnson's knee. But Weber State appealed unsuccessfully to have Balogh suspended for the block.

An editorial cartoon of questionable taste in the Ogden Standard-Examiner further enflamed the controversy.

Johnson was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and will be back in the lineup on Saturday, though McBride has told reporters that Johnson is playing at about half of the ability he had before the injury.

Both McBride and Montana coach Bobby Hauck have tried to play down the incident and focus on this year's contest. But you know that Weber State fans won't be as forgiving on Saturday.

Further heightening this game's prelude is the fact that both teams feel they have legitimate hopes at the Big Sky championship and playoff berths. It will be the Big Sky opener for a Grizzly club that has won four straight games, but has struggled and needed fantastic finishes in three of those contests.

At times, Montana has looked like a world-beater, with an offense led by quarterback and two-minute offense master Cole Bergquist, receivers Marc Mariani and Mike Ferriter and a strong offensive line. But at other times, the Grizzlies have appeared to have vulnerabilities.

A victory over a tough Weber State team on the road would answer a lot of the lingering doubts for Montana, which follows up that game with another road trip to No. 11 Eastern Washington the following week.

After witnessing James Madison knocking off No. 1 Appalachian State and Villanova dumping No. 1 Richmond in the past two weeks, I should be in for another barn-burner as I watch another upstart try to upset a highly-rated opponent this weekend in Ogden.

Other games to keep an eye on for this weekend include No. 15 Furman at No. 7 Elon and No. 12 The Citadel at No. 2 Appalachian State in the Southern Conference, No. 13 Southern Illinois at No. 17 North Dakota State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, No. 4 McNeese State at No. 23 South Dakota State in a non-league encounter, and No. 16 Delaware at No. 18 Massachusetts in the Colonial Athletic Association.

FANTASTIC FINISHES

I don't know about everyone else, but I am still trying to digest one of the craziest weekends of FCS I can remember. Of course when you get to be my age, after 32 years of covering college football, the memory begins to get a little foggy.

A total of 20 games went down to the wire last weekend, either being decided in the final minutes or going to overtime.

In the Missouri Valley Football Conference alone, an FCS-record three games were decided on the game's final play.

Southern Illinois and Liberty kicked field goals as time expired to beat Northern Iowa and Youngstown State, respectively, while South Dakota State rallied from a 38-6 deficit to beat Stephen F. Austin, 50-48, when Kyle Minnett plunged in from the one for a touchdown.

Another MVFC contest was settled when Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference scored a touchdown on Henry Harris' one-yard blast with 42 seconds left to lift the Redhawks past the MVFC's Indiana State 24-21.

Other fantastic finishes included these games:

-No. 3 Montana beat Division II Central Washington with one second left on a 42-yard Brody McKnight field goal.

-Jordan Scott of Colgate finished a night where he rushed 43 times for 272 yards by scoring his fourth touchdown with nine seconds left to lift the Raiders to an important 31-24 Patriot League victory over Fordham.

-With Northern Colorado going for two points and a win over Northern Arizona with 1:09 remaining, NAU's Josh Luck snared a fumble on a trick play and ran for a defensive two-point conversion as the Lumberjacks survived, 25-22.

-Georgia Southern used a goal-line stand and a late Adrian Mora field goal to tie Wofford and force overtime. But with a chance to tie the game after a touchdown by Adam Urbano, the Eagles went for two points and the win and were stuffed by the Terriers defense in a 38-37 loss.

-Isaac Ziolkowski of Austin Peay kicked a 43-yard field goal with one second left in regulation to tie Eastern Kentucky at 10-10 and send the game to overtime. But Ziolkowski missed a 36-yarder in overtime and EKU's Taylor Long booted one from 27 yards to give the Colonels the 13-10 win.

-Davidson recovered from a 21-point deficit to beat Jacksonville 38-35 in the Pioneer Football League on Ben Behrendt's 23-yard field goal with 43 seconds left.

-Princeton overcame Lehigh, 10-7, when the Tiger defense stuffed a 4th-and-1 play with a minute left, and Brian Anderson's subsequent 46-yard pass connection to Will Thanheiser put Connor Louden in position for a game-winning 32-yard field goal on the final play.

-Bryant Lee's 21-yard touchdown pass to Corderious Gregory with 1:48 left lifted Southern to a 15-12 victory over Alcorn State in SWAC play.

-Connor Dixon scored on a one-yard run with 1:24 left to give Duquesne a 24-16 win over Dayton, after Tyler Scruggs had blocked a Dayton punt to set up the winning drive.

Hopefully, we have plenty more fantastic finishes around FCS this weekend, and for the rest of the season, too.

SEEING DOUBLE

Southeastern Oklahoma must have wondered if it needed a team eye checkup after Saturday's 63-12 loss to Northwestern State.

Northwestern State's Justin Perry returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, the first kickoff return for a score by the Demons since 1992.

Then, on the first play of the second quarter, Perry's brother Kevin grabbed a blocked punt and raced 17 yards for another NSU touchdown.

It was the first time in 101 years of Demon football that brothers had scored in the same game.