Things to watch: Will Montana be able to pass effectively against Eastern Washington?

It would be too simplistic to say the elite Big Sky Conference game between Montana and Eastern Washington boils down solely to how well Montana’s defense plays against EWU’s offense. Here are three more specific aspects to focus on when the teams play at Roos Field on Saturday night:

1. Will Eric Barriere need to – and be able to – scramble effectively? In his past 11 games, Barriere has rushed for an average of 22.3 yards per game. That’s about half what he averaged in the 26 prior games (45.0), so it’s clear that Barriere is scrambling less often than he did earlier in his career. But he continues to show the ability to take advantage of the space defenses give him outside the pocket. In Barriere’s one game against Montana in his career – Oct. 26, 2019 – the Grizzlies held him to four rushes for negative-4 yards, a season low. Montana also won that game 34-17. But that was 15 starts ago, and Barriere’s teammates say he’s a better quarterback now than he was then. If Barriere can beat the Grizzlies’ pressure by finding open receivers even under duress, then he might not need to scramble much.

2. Will Montana show it can beat Eastern by throwing the football? It is possible the Grizzlies might not need to throw the football much, if they can keep the game close and lean into their ground game. But if Montana does need or chooses to rely on the pass, that will put the onus on senior quarterback Cam Humphrey, who has thrown for more than 250 yards in just two of his 22 career games at Montana. One such game came three weeks ago: a five-touchdown, two-interception, 252-yard effort against Western Illinois. Through four games, Eastern’s defense has been vulnerable against the pass, allowing 7.3 yards per attempt, fifth most in the 13-team Big Sky.

3. How will special teams and field position impact the game? Last week against Cal Poly, the Grizzlies scored twice on special teams with a 95-yard kickoff return by Malik Flowers and on a punt that was blocked and recovered by Levi Janacaro. The Grizzlies also rank second in the Big Sky in net punting, at which Brian Buschini has been excellent. Of his 15 punts, two have been returned, six traveled at least 50 yards and seven landed or were downed inside his opponent’s 20-yard line. Eastern punter Nick Kokich has only punted nine times through four games, and four have been returned an average of 7 yards. In addition, both teams have been careful not to give opposing offenses short fields with which to work. Neither Cal Poly nor Western Illinois – Montana’s previous two opponents – began a drive on Montana’s side of the field. Same goes for the Eagles: Neither of their past two opponents have started a drive in EWU territory.