Griz are HUNGRY!

[Da Griz]

November 1 is shaping up to be as important as Griz/Cat around here, and we hope we'll see a whole bunch of you blue-boys at Wa-Griz this weekend. Be sure to make the rounds of the tailgates and you won't be able to eat for a week, when the daily special will be roasted Bobcat.

 

[mtjack]

Da Griz -

Hey. Thanks for the open tailgate invite. I wandered around last year in Bozeman before the game and at half-time and had a beer and some great conversations with Cats fans. I'm happy to hear a similar take from some Griz fans and am really looking forward to taking in the environment and spectacle of a home Griz game.

Don't get me wrong here, I want nothing more next Saturday than for NAU to exorcise about two decades worth of demons versus the Grizzlies and come away from Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a W. I just hope the team wants it as bad. NAU is quite young this year. They just laid a turd at homecoming in a "big" conference game. As King said in a earlier post (paraphrasing here), if this will spark a fire in the team's gut and provide a chip for their shoulders (running out of cliches here) before going into Missoula then maybe some positive can come out of the Weber game.

My hopes, as usual, are of a competitive and well-played game. I'm not swelling with confidence right after the, uhm, unpleasantries versus Weber State. NAU's track record for football in Missoula can be summed up easily: underwhelming. But college football is a funny thing. A few bounces going the way for the Jacks here. A few Griz turnovers there. Less turnovers by NAU. A close game as opposed to the usual big start for the Griz. Ya never know what can happen. I keep telling my Griz fan friends/relatives/acquaintances that every dynasty slips up on occasion. NAU's played the Griz pretty well 2 of the last 3 times they've faced each other. I was in attendance the last time NAU beat the Griz in the mid-1990s (was it `95 or `96?).

I give credit where credit it due, though. The Griz are good. It's no fluke that conference championship, playoff and national championship banners abound. Their fanbase is passionate, loud and into the game. A bit unrealistic in their expectations often but so be it. I've always hoped for this environment to develop in Flagstaff but it hasn't but that's another topic altogether. I'm pretty sure there's a thread out there somewhere about this.

On the other hand, the Grizzlies aren't infallible. They can be beat. Case point: Weber State demolishing them as they did us yesterday. They can make mistakes and be less than dominant as was clear during the Central Washington, Cal Poly and UC Davis games.

Saturday in Missoula poses a tipping point for second tier in the Big Sky Conference. Who is on the lead track for the (hopeful) second playoff bid for the Big Sky Conference? Will NAU show up this week and be in the game from the start? Will U of M continue their dominance versus the Jacks? Who wants this one more? Next Saturday will tell.

Go Jacks!

-MTJack

 

[Da Griz]

Thanks for the open tailgate invite. I wandered around last year in Bozeman before the game and at half-time and had a beer

For those who haven't been to both, ours is 10 times what the Cats have, in quantity and spirit. Make the trip!

the Grizzlies aren't infallible. They can be beat. Case point: Weber State

For sure, and NAU now has the best chance of doing that. But we've really improved over the last three games, so it should be a great game!

Saturday in Missoula poses a tipping point for second tier in the Big Sky Conference.

Yeah, and if we manage to manage you guys, someone's got to beat Weber. You've still got two road games out of the three stiff challenges left in your schedule. But Weber has only Portland, Eastern Washington and Idaho - and two of those are at home.