Hello, from Montana

[MontanaFan]

Hello Sycamore fans,
Montana alum here. Just wanted to say hello and learn about your team. Anything you would like to share or maybe questions you have about the Griz. I won't be able to make it to the game but will be watching.
Best to you and your team!

 

[IndyTreeFan]

We can’t score. We can’t stop good teams from scoring. You guys will win in a walk. Probably something like 49-3. And you’ll get to play in a palace of crap - our beloved () stadium.

Your coach will question why he got in to this contract.

But outside of the MVFC, Montana will be the highest profile team to play in Terre Haute.

 

[MontanaFan]

..well brutal honesty is always a best way to start. Do you expect the stadium to be full despite the teams expectations? Any of you made it our way to the Zoo before?

 

[Hooper]

But outside of the MVFC, Montana will be the highest profile team to play in Terre Haute.

This is an interesting point. ISU has had a few "before they went on to bigger and better things" programs come to town. Liberty. FIU. Louisville and Tulsa I think may have been in-conference back in the day. But I am trying to think of an OOC opponent that has been more high-profile and established at the time they came to Haute? You could be right.

MontanaFan--There will be 3000-4000 in the stands with an "announced" attendance of 5500 or so. As you may have seen on the internet ISU plays in half a stadium (don't get us started). You'll enjoy watching Dante Hendrix play if his hamstring behaves itself. He's an FBS-caliber receiver.

 

[4Q_iu]

This is an interesting point. ISU has had a few "before they went on to bigger and better things" programs come to town. Liberty. FIU. Louisville and Tulsa I think may have been in-conference back in the day. But I am trying to think of an OOC opponent that has been more high-profile and established at the time they came to Haute? You could be right.

MontanaFan--There will be 3000-4000 in the stands with an "announced" attendance of 5500 or so. As you may have seen on the internet ISU plays in half a stadium (don't get us started). You'll enjoy watching Dante Hendrix play if his hamstring behaves itself. He's an FBS-caliber receiver.

they only thing "high profile" about Louisville (fball) when they hit the Haute was that Johnny U. was a Loo-A-Vull alumnus...

 

[MontanaFan]

I'm not here to talk any crap, just fyi.
I've seen a few YouTube videos with the scoreboard being in the corner. So what would be sold out for you guys, if announced is 5,500?

 

[MontanaFan]

Can you tell me some more about Dante? Did he commit as a hs recruit, or transfer?

 

[Hooper]

No idea what a "sellout" would be. It's never happened. "Capacity" is 12k or so but it's hard to measure because the north end of the stadium is a general admission spectator mound.

Dante has been with ISU since day one. https://gosycamores.com/sports/football/roster/dante-hendrix/6966

 

[MontanaFan]

Nice size. Running through your roster seems to be underclassmen heavy. You seem to get good recruiting base from the state, despite all the schools there. Also impressed that you have some on the roster from Florida, CA, NV. Who is your starting QB? What type of offense and defense do you guys typically run?

 

[ISUCC]

I'd guess there will be 2000-3000 there for the game, I am going to try to make this one (our big Cross Country Invite is also that same morning) since this is the only time Montana will ever play in Terre Haute, so a chance to see a really good team, although we are probably looking at another shutout loss for ISU.

It will be interesting to see if we actually open our playbook this week and run plays we'll run during MVFC play. I mean we have I-AA teams the rest of the way, so might as well open the playbook now. No need to hide anything and run the vanilla offense anymore.

I've been to Missoula twice, been up to the "M" on the mountain, great views out there and Missoula is awesome! Last time there was 1996, so it's been a while, I'm sure a lot has changed since then.

 

[ISUCC]

Nice size. Running through your roster seems to be underclassmen heavy. You seem to get good recruiting base from the state, despite all the schools there. Also impressed that you have some on the roster from Florida, CA, NV. Who is your starting QB? What type of offense and defense do you guys typically run?

our offense has been pretty vanilla so far, as mentioned, hopefully we'll actually open the playbook this week, no longer a need to "hide" anything about our offense

 

[MontanaFan]

I'd guess there will be 2000-3000 there for the game, I am going to try to make this one (our big Cross Country Invite is also that same morning) since this is the only time Montana will ever play in Terre Haute, so a chance to see a really good team, although we are probably looking at another shutout loss for ISU.

It will be interesting to see if we actually open our playbook this week and run plays we'll run during MVFC play. I mean we have I-AA teams the rest of the way, so might as well open the playbook now. No need to hide anything and run the vanilla offense anymore.

I've been to Missoula twice, been up to the "M" on the mountain, great views out there and Missoula is awesome! Last time there was 1996, so it's been a while, I'm sure a lot has changed since then.

Oh wow. I was at the U then. Yes, alot has changed and it has grown quite a bit. The stadium expanded, twice. All of Cali, tex-ass and Florida seem that Montana is their calling here.

 

[MontanaFan]

our offense has been pretty vanilla so far, as mentioned, hopefully we'll actually open the playbook this week, no longer a need to "hide" anything about our offense

We run a pressure heavy defense with basically a three man front. So if you like defense, expect to watch alot of pressure.
Offensively, we have a dual threat qb. 4 of our RB's were injured last year and have returned. I would say the stable is full. Out TE, while young is amazing. We are working in a 6th-7th year transfer QB and he seems to be doing the job.

 

[DyedBlue]

Observations from an unqualified commentator.

On the defensive side, , I actually believe we show some promise. But, that said, we have problems controlling effective offenses for four quarters. Too many possessions start with great field position for the opponent because of ineffective offense. Very good FCS teams last season took advantage of the ISU ineffective offense and turnovers to put up 40+. This year it is too early to tell and Purdue is such an imposing offensive machine that our inability to stop it's offense is understandable.
The fundamental problem that ISU faces is that so far Juco xfer qb Screws has not been effective more than say 8 yards downfield. This, combined with a huge but slow-footed offensive line leads to a bogged down running game. ISU doesn't have an RPO capable offense so it seems limited in its ability to force instant reactions by defenders.

I think your observations about ISU's in state recruiting are relevant. The staff is having some success getting #2-4 player from many of the top programs in Indiana. I personally like this trend. It probably helps that our head coach is the son of the most successful and most highly respected coach at IU in the past 50+ years. We also have a coaching staff with strong resumes.
The biggest issues at ISU are "catch 22" type.
Our stadium is old, our crowds are small, the ability to get top targets to sign is inhibited by these factors, the schedule is dominated by very high level FCS opponents, etc. The result is a repeated struggle to get above 0.500.


Of course, in today's world use of the transfer portal is imperative and several new contributors arrived that way. It is too soon to evaluate the success.

On a historical note, I lived in Richmond, Va. For 8 years and was a Richmond Spider season ticket holder. I attended the 2008 NCAA DIV 1 National Championship game between Richmond and Montana. My daughter who was a student at Notre Dame and in the band attended the game with me in Chattanooga.
That was a great day to be a Spiders fan.
Early in the game UR had a 3rd and 17 on about the Montana 40. QB Eric Ward scrambled 19 yards and bowled over a defensive back to get a first down. She looked at me and said, "I have never seen our quarterback do that."
People just have no idea how great top level FCS football is.

 

[Alabamagrizzly]

Hello from Griz Nation! Can’t wait for this Sat cus it’s one of the few games I get to see in person, living in the eastern half of the country. I was in your “neck of the woods” in 2018 when Montana coughed up a sure win in Macomb Illinois. Hoping for a better outcome for my Grizzlies this weekend. We’re staying Fri night in Terre Haute. I’ve got my heart set on Charlie’s Pub n Grub but can anyone suggest something better with the same type of atmosphere?

Also, I’d like to say that I’m very sorry for the tragedy that y’all endured just before the season started. I can only imagine how heartbreaking that is for your team, school, and community. Our prayers have been with you since. Is the team doing anything special to honor the athletes that died?

Dyedblue, you seem more knowledgeable then an unqualified commentater. I don’t appreciate your memories of the Richmond game though. Hopefully your Sycamore QB will not give you some more added good memories against us. Our D is pretty physical this time around and we’ve really got natty aspirations this year. That’s if we can get over the NDSU hill that no one seems able to climb.

Good luck and hope everyone stays injury free and someone BETTER buy us some drinks while we’re out Fri night. Go Griz!!

 

[niklz62]

I think if there were 9,000 at the stadium it would feel pretty full.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

Here's a question for the Montana fans. When does the weather start to get dicey out there (specifically mountain passes)? I've been thinking about maybe driving to the return game in Missoula in 2025, but I don't wan't to get stuck out there or have to re-learn how to use snow chains. For those that don't know Montana has one of the most beautiful stadiums in all of Division 1, so I wouldn't mind checking it out and taking sort of a mini vacation out there.

 

[Alabamagrizzly]

Here's a question for the Montana fans. When does the weather start to get dicey out there (specifically mountain passes)? I've been thinking about maybe driving to the return game in Missoula in 2025, but I don't wan't to get stuck out there or have to re-learn how to use snow chains. For those that don't know Montana has one of the most beautiful stadiums in all of Division 1, so I wouldn't mind checking it out and taking sort of a mini vacation out there.

The ‘25 game date is Sept 20th so barring any “Day After Tomorrow” like weather events, it should be beautiful fall football wether. Mountain peaks will probably have snow but I-90 and the rest of roads should definitely be clear and most of the smoke from the summer fire season should be gone. If you’re really lucky, Logan Pass in Glacier Park may still be open and that is a must see but it’ll definitely be cold up there by then and maybe a little snow on the road. I’ve never been up there that late in the year so I’m not sure how clear they keep it tell it closes, which lately can be anywhere between early sept and late oct. Hope you come and hope you have a good time but I also hope your team loses.

 

[Pacercolt99]

I'm not here to talk any crap, just fyi.
I've seen a few YouTube videos with the scoreboard being in the corner. So what would be sold out for you guys, if announced is 5,500?

In the late 70’s I attended a night game be Ball State. There were 21,000 at that game but of course, that was when we had seating on both sides of the field. One interesting tidbit for you- ISU was the first school in the nation to have artificial turf. It was Astro Turf.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

I think if there were 9,000 at the stadium it would feel pretty full.

That was the attendance for Homecoming under Miles when we rolled Illinois State and it did feel pretty full.