Saturday was a great day to watch football. To heck with the chores and the errands, it was football all day! Many Montana football fans were torn between watching the Griz and the Saints play. Both played at the same time on Saturday and both teams came out with victories. My remote was working overtime.
The Saints
The Saints’ game was a nail biter. The Lindenwood Lions came from 21 points down and the game was not decided until there was about 38 seconds left when, after driving 99 yards for a touchdown, they went for two (and the win). Gutsy call. The ball hit a Carroll player in the back and bounced to the ground. It was probably a long flight back to Eastern Missouri for the Lions, but they played a heck of a game. The Saints (13-0) now play for the NAIA National Championship against the University of Sioux Falls (South Dakota) (13-0) Cougars on December 20 in Rome, Georgia. This is a rematch of last year’s title game, won by the Saints. The kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Montana time. We have an extra week to prepare for the Championship game!
The Griz
The Montana Grizzlies beat the Weber State Wildcats 24-13 in a quarterfinal game of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) on Saturday afternoon. The Griz started well and overall the team played one of their better games.
This Friday night the Griz play the James Madison Dukes in Harrisonburg, Virginia, at 6:00 pm Montana time (ESPN2). This is a semifinal game. In the other semifinal game, Richmond travels to Northern Iowa for a 2:00 pm (Montana time) Saturday game (ESPN).
It seems the Grizzlies received a bad deal here because they have to travel farther and play Friday night instead of Saturday. The schedulers for the NCAA FCS should have given the Griz the extra day and had Northern Iowa and Richmond play Friday night. But, if the Griz win they get an extra day off before the championship game on December 19.
The Western Word 
GeeGuy: I agree that Hauck has done a pretty decent job this year with a team that I expected not to be that good. I recently heard he is being mentioned for the job at San Diego State. -Jack
I went to the Griz game, and I can tell you that even though I have season tickets, I have not had that much fun at a Griz game for several years, at least.I have a feeling about this team. For some reason, I am not worried about them going on the road. Sure, they can and might lose, but I am not sure they probably will lose.I was not a Hauck hater, nor was I a huge fan. Watching what he has done with this team, though, I am starting to think the guy is coming into his how. No one thought we’d be one game from the championship. Heck, I was thinking 3 or 4 losses.
Doug: I wondered about the 4th and goal call, too. I also think the Championship game will be a great one…without the mud! Thanks for your comments. -Jack
I went to the Carroll game, and that Lindenwood team was one heck of a squad. Both of their offensive and defensive lines were huge, and they showed some serious guts to come back from that deficit. The comeback, in my opinion, wasn’t due to a letdown by Carroll; the Lions just executed when they had to under pressure (except for the two point conversion). They are a very good team. I don’t think Carroll’s defense is what it was last year, but I think their offense is better this year, which pulled them through this game. As usual, Van Diest had me pulling my hair out. The slant gave Carrol a long run or two, but the predictability of constantly calling it is annoying. This has been a trend for quite a while, last year I had the same complaints. Of course, the decision to try to punch it in on 4th and goal rather than hit the field goal was the game maker. With the time remaining, I really don’t know why he makes that call. Ah, to be a bleacher quarterback.Anyway, it was a fun game to watch, and I wish I could get out to Rome to watch the Championship. Sioux Falls is another great team, and without a mud-bowl like last year Carroll is in for one heck of a challenge.