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If it weren't for the fact that this were the home opener, today would've been quite the ho-hum affair. The Griz seemed to treat it that way in the first half and after a series of mistakes led Western State—who I honestly didn't know which state they were in the western part of until the game started—only 10-0 at the half.

Of course, Montana managed to put things together and ended up thumping Western State (did you know that their home stadium is really high up? Wow, thanks Phil!) by the score of 38-0 despite the ongoing quarterback competition. Greg Rachac of the Billings Gazette openly wonders if Justin Roper managed to distance of himself from Andrew Selle.

It was great to see Selle get the start today. If nothing else it was a nod to Selle for all the work he has done in the last three years backing up Cole Bergquist.

But Selle obviously had some early jitters. He missed four of his first five passes, threw an interception and missed a wide-open Jabin Sambrano on third down that would have gone for a long touchdown in the first quarter.

By contrast, Roper -- aside from a fumble in the red zone that killed a scoring chance -- played better than Selle overall. Roper looked a bit more polished.

I tend to agree, but more than anything else just wish Hauck would pick a quarterback. As the old saying goes, "if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any." Or something like that. Also, how illegitimate does a team look with two quarterbacks splitting time almost evenly? I mean, does a juggernaut title contender go with quarterback by committee strategy? I don't think so.

In other news, Chase Reynolds did his thing with 100 yards on 18 carries. None of the wide receivers stood out with Mr. Touchdown Marc Mariani (Sauce!!) getting just one grab for 26 yards. But hey, the defense pitched a shutout. That's...pretty good.

The real challenges start next week with UC Davis on the road. Looking forward to it.

Hope everyone in Missoula had fun.

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I'll be honest, before last Saturday I did not know where James Madison University was located. I knew they were a great team, one that planted itself atop the rankings weeks ago, but I didn't know for sure where they played. After learning last Saturday we'd be facing them in the semis I said something along the lines of "Where the hell is James Madison even? I bet it's someplace with a lot of fast people... like Virginia." A Google search confirmed the location and Rodney Landers confirms the fast part. While Landers' unshed tears may cure cancer, this has never been a one-man game. The Griz have the makeup of a team capable of pulling this off.

ESPN hoops analyst Digger Phelps always talks about undefeated teams needing to lose a game, just to know what it's like. This team, and this program, needed to lose that game to Weber State. They have the invaluable experience of paying for their idiotic mistakes. Not everything can be overcome with talent. Talent was something past teams relied too much upon, they didn't seem to have the look of a championship team. Here's what I wrote about this year's Griz team back in September:

Of the four Griz teams I've seen since coming on campus with the 2005 squad, I'd pick this team to make it to Chattanooga over any of those. It's not about talent, it's about having the attitude and confidence. This team has it.

I stand by that statement. There's something with this team, something different. They have the necessary swagger but also stay honest. They're focused. This team is not going to be intimidated by anyone.

The Griz play smart disciplined football. Stopping Rodney Landers won't be the responsibility of one stud linebacker. It'll be about knowing assignments, reading the play and not overpursuing. It'll be a team defensive effort. Same with the offensive side of the ball. We're not going to pound it over and over again with Chase Reynolds. Cole won't key in on Mariani. Why not? Because we'll lose if they do that. That and because we're balanced.

This is a good team with the potential to be a great one. We find out tonight if this team is as special as I think. Let's do it Griz.

Photo credit: Adrienne Barnett for Montanagrizzlies.com

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Available for purchase here.

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ESPN columnist Bill Simmons is a tool. That fact is not up for debate. However, this doesn't mean he didn't have any decent ideas. One of those: The Ewing Theory.

The Ewing Theory is the often-seen premise where a team loses their best player(s) and then inexplicably gets better. The examples are endless. There are two I can think of off the top of my head. The Seattle Mariners lost Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez all in a relatively short span. In their first season without any of those three they won 116 games. The New York Giants lost Tiki Barber to retirement before last season. That turned out well.

The Patrick Ewing Theory can also apply to scenarios outside the sports world:

Can the Ewing Theory apply to romance?
You betcha. Everyone has one friend who got dumped by their girlfriend/boyfriend, sending them into a tailspin. You worried about them and their well-being, you logged major phone time with them, you wondered if they would ever bounce back... and then, boom! Your friend started working out, dropping 15 pounds and suddenly looking better than ever. They also started going out three times a week, rekindling all their old friendships; within time, they had completely regained their mojo. And inevitably, when they finally started dating again, their new flame put the old one to shame. That's the Ewing Theory in a nutshell.

Right now the Griz, and especially the offense, are livin' the single life.

As most fans probably notice, the Grizzly offense looks a lot different this season. The ultra-conservative offense we'd come to know and hate is gone for the most part. We lost Lex Hilliard and Dan Carpenter (along with Eric Allen and Ryan Bagley) and we're better.

Hilliard and Carpenter are the primary catalysts for the change. We're not pounding the ball into the line on 3rd and 4. We're not settling for three points on 4th and goal from the 2. Hell, we're not kicking field goals on 4th and 5 from the 25 either.

Isn't this fun? The offense is creative. Marc Mariani and Cole Bergquist have combined to form an offensive threat that's every bit as intimidating as the 225-pound Hilliard. They've been given the room and freedom to morph into an almost true spread offense. The options are endless. Pfahler and Ferriter are getting more looks. Mariani is certainly the go-to receiver but not nearly in the way that Lex Hilliard was the go-to player. The options are endless and this team is taking advantage.

Of the four Griz teams I've seen since coming on campus with the 2005 squad, I'd pick this team to make it to Chattanooga over any of those. It's not about talent, it's about having the attitude and confidence. This team has it.

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 Above are the highlights from Saturday's game. Well-done and great that they're putting them on YouTube. Anyway, here are a few of my observations from the game.

• Marc Mariani is a monster. Southern Utah had a better chance of stopping the sun from shining than they did slowing down Mariani. He ran great routes, blew by coverage, caught the ball when it was catchable and made moves in the open field. For the first time in the four years I've been here, it looks like the Griz have a definite go-to receiver.
• Cole Bergquist loves his first receiver. From the moment he drops back, he will stare so hard at his first progression that he may be able to see into their soul. Berquist's athleticism and mobility are great but can be a negative if he only looks to his first guy then takes off. I mentioned this in the Twitter feed, he stared down his first progression like no quarterback I've ever seen. I bet he looks like Reche Caldwell out there. If Mariani continues the phenomenal play, it's going to become very obvious who he's going to throw the ball to. However...
• Berquist throws a great ball. He may not read all the way through his progressions but when he tosses it to the first guy, it's normally an excellent throw. The difference between last season and this is obvious. He's throwing with more strength, accuracy and confidence than he ever has.
• When Selle eventually steps in, there will be do drop-off. He looked every bit as good as the starter. Go back and watch some of the throws, he was placing strong throws between coverage perfectly. On top of that, he has all the mobility of Bergquist. It may have been the fact that he's the backup and therefore less worried about getting hurt, but he seemed to run with a bit more power, lowing his shoulder into linebackers at times. Tebow-esque.
• Defense is still good. There was much concern about how the defense would look after all the losses. So far, so good. They play with a bit different style. Not as much power but a little more flash. Trumaine Jackson's back-to-back interceptions were both due to great grabs.
• Kicked down the doors. After a mediocre first quarter, I was worried the Griz would let the inferior Thunderbirds hang in there. Not so. It was nice to see our offense thoroughly dominate and put the game away early.
• We need to play better teams. It's been said so many times but if you look at it from the fan's perspective, we're getting robbed of games. We only get one half of interesting football. Maybe three quarters. It's nice seeing the offense do well but even that can get old. So if you take a half out of this game, a half out of the next game and probably three quarters of the Central Washington game, that's seven quarters of good football that we don't get to see. We're getting screwed. But hey, at half a mil a game, the administration is happy. And if the administration is happy and profitable, nothing else matters.
• Bobby Hauck is a joke. When asked during the coach's show about the status of Cole Bergquist, Bobby Hauck did his usual and declined comment, saying "Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself." Oh that's funny, because I always have to laugh at Bobby Hauck. He wants out, he wants to coach big-time football and he thinks (brace for PG-13 language) the beat reporters for schools like Washington, UCLA, Colorado, and Cal are going to put up with that shit? He's your star quarterback and you can't give us an inkling as to whether he's going to play next week? Please. Damn, even Tressel let the media know about Beanie Wells. They were playing USC and he meant a lot more to his team than Bergquist means to the Griz. They may take that crap in Laramie, which is where Bobby Hauck should be going, so good for him. If you got to where you are by being good at special teams (!!), you're not going much further. Please, really, bring up the fact that he's also known for recruiting.

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