Will It Be Miller Time For Griz?
The game that will most likely decide the Big Sky Conference championship will play out on Saturday when league-leading Montana (6-1 overall, 4-0 Big Sky) plays at second-place Portland State (6-1, 3-2).
It’s the kind of game that can make for a lifetime of memories, and Montana’s Drew Miller wants desperately to be a part of it - especially after taking every snap and throwing for 498 yards and five touchdowns in last year’s 51-48 overtime loss to the Vikings.
The Grizzlies’ senior quarterback is still listed as doubtful for this weekend’s showdown after spraining his right shoulder two weeks ago. But he insists there is a chance he could play.
“In the back of my mind, I’m telling myself this is the game,” Miller told the Missoulian earlier this week after throwing several short passes on the sidelines during practice. “I want to play whether (the shoulder) hurts or what. I also have to be smart. If I go out there, I’m risking a lot if I’m not completely strong. I’m not going to do it based on emotion.”
But then he added, “If I feel good at all, I will be out there. I’m doing everything in my power to get back and get healthy. I’m healing fast. That makes me excited.”
And it has to also pump up first-year coach Joe Glenn, who had to call on little-used sophomore John Edwards to replace Miller in last Saturday’s 17-7 win over Northern Arizona.
If Miller can’t go, Edwards will get another start after completing 22 of 44 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns in his starting debut.
In defense of Salanoa
Eastern Washington’s Fred Salanoa didn’t have much of a game - statistically, at least - in last weekend’s loss to Sac State.
The junior quarterback, who took every snap, completed just 11 of 27 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions and earned most of his passing yards on a quick-slant throw to Lamont Brightful, who turned it into a 70-yard scoring pass.
Still, Eagles coach Paul Wulff said he liked much of what he saw from Salanoa.
“Fred played a pretty solid game,” Wulff said. “There were some times when our receivers ran the wrong routes, dropped the ball or were called for pass interference that really weren’t Fred’s fault.
“He made some plays with his arm, and he scrambled and made some plays. We were happy with his consistency.”
Insult to injury
It wasn’t enough that Cal State Sacramento spoiled Eastern Washington’s homecoming, destroyed the Eagles’ I-AA playoff dreams and snapped an 0-for-8 run in the series with last Saturday’s 25-22 triumph at Woodward Stadium.
On top of all of that, one of the Hornets players also landed a post-game shot when he walked past an assembly of EWU recruits waiting outside the locker room and said, “If y’all wanna win, come to Sac State.”
Cool Californians
Cal State Northridge snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Montana State 24-12 last Saturday, but following the game there was more talk about the weather than the end of the Matadors’ skid.
“This weather is miserable,” CSUN safety Travis Campbell told the Los Angeles Times after spending most of the afternoon in a driving snowstorm. “I felt like I was snowboarding, but I wasn’t.
It was the first snow several of the Matadors had ever seen.
“On TV, it looks fun,” linebacker Cos Abercrombie said. “Not today.”
Northridge coach Jeff Kearin added that his quarterback, Marcus Brady, “came in at halftime and couldn’t stop shaking.”
Quick kicks
Eastern Washington invades Cal State Northridge’s North Campus Stadium on Saturday, knowing the visiting team has never won in the short, five-game history of the series…. CSUN quarterback Marcus Brady has thrown 131 consecutive passes without an interception…. By rushing for 679 yards in last Saturday’s 62-24 nonconference romp past Idaho State, Southern Utah came within 3 of breaking Southwest Missouri State’s I-AA single-game record of 681 yards.