MISSOULA — There's only one more week until a bye for the No. 14 Montana Grizzlies football team, but standing in the way is No. 24 Northern Arizona, as Montana turns the page from the loss against Weber State and looks to get back on track Saturday against the Lumberjacks.
The biggest focus for Montana (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky) this week is moving on, after the Griz fell in a 55-48 thriller to Weber State in overtime last weekend in Missoula.
"We just flushed this last game," UM senior defensive end Hayden Harris said. "We watch the film, and we analyze ourselves. We look ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we really need to improve on as a team and especially as a defense. So we just got to lock in on what we can improve on, and just move on throughout practice and just focus on this week ahead, because we got a good team coming in here, so we got to lock in and play well."
NAU (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky) was one of Montana's two losses last year when the teams met down in Flagstaff, Ariz. It was the turning point for the Grizzlies as they regrouped after that defeat and went on a run to the FCS national championship game.
So it's a prime and poetic opportunity for Montana to right the ship against the same team on Saturday.
"I remember them last year," UM senior running back Nick Ostmo said. "I remember them being pretty physical, and there wasn't much room to run last year, so need to get in the film and look at what they've done this year, and see how we can attack them this year."
NAU's strength is its defense, with the Lumberjacks possessing the No. 1 pass defense in the Big Sky and a top all-around unit.
Under new head coach Brian Wright, the Lumberjacks already knocked off then-No. 10 Sacramento State and went toe-to-toe with No. 7 Idaho last week to begin league play, but injuries at quarterback have questions surrounding their offense and how they'll adjust.
QB Ty Pennington, who came with Wright from NCAA Division II Pittsburg State, was a big reason NAU has been off to strong start and had been playing well this season, but he exited last week's game against Idaho with injury.
The Arizona Daily Sun is reporting that PJ London, who replaced Pennington last week against the Vandals, will get the start.
For the Griz, their offense is humming at No. 2 in the nation, but the defense has struggled. With both teams at 1-1 in league play, it'll be a test of who steps up the most on Saturday.
"They're playing really well," UM head coach Bobby Hauck said. "I think they're really multiple in all three phases of the game. Good players on both sides of ball and special teams. So it should be a really good game Saturday."
