‘You get the glory when you get it’

Senior offensive tackle Cody Balogh blocks Southern Utahdefensive tackle Aaron
Fernandez from getting to Jeff Larson last Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Tim Kupsick/GameDay Kaimin

By: Jake Grilley
GameDay Kaimin

Playing offensive line can be humbling.
Each game day, fans pack Washington-Grizzly Stadium to cheer on their beloved Montana Grizzlies. Whenever the Griz make a big play, the decibel level inside the stadium increases exponentially as 23,000-plus fans collectively cheer. The definition of a big play is a rather broad one to most fans. A long run will get fans on their feet. An acrobatic reception will surely get people to put their hands together.
How about a well-executed base block?
Colin Dow, Cody Balogh, Eric Michel, Terran Hillesland and Brent Russum, the starting offensive line for the Montana Grizzlies, don't expect much of a reaction - and they are OK with that.
"No one notices us," senior left tackle Balogh said. "That's why we are the offensive line."
Junior center Dow echoed the sentiment.
"Sometimes it can be a pain in the ass," he said. "You want to be recognized, but you are conditioned to appreciate the recognition you get from other players and coaches."
The five starters on the offensive line agree that you don't play offensive line for the praises.
"We do it for the team," Balogh said. "You do it for the guy next to you."
The group, as Balogh put it, "is a team within a team."
The offensive line started an annual summer camping trip to bring the offensive linemen closer together off the field. They also have a weekly dinner and an occasional poker night.
"If you don't like the guy next to you, you won't work as hard," Dow said. "We love being around each other and love playing for each other."
The offensive line epitomizes its "team-within-a-team" mentality. It has its own separate meeting area and its own section of the locker room.
"We are a unit," said junior right tackle Russum. "As our coaches tell us, everything starts with the front five."
The offensive line finds that when things go right it doesn't see much of the credit, but when things go south it often has to shoulder much of the blame.
"We try not to worry about how other people think about our play," said senior left guard Michel. "It is lose-lose at times."
•••
According to stats from last season, fans have a reason to direct criticism toward the offensive line.
In 2006, the Grizzlies were last in the Big Sky Conference for giving up sacks. The team surrendered 49 sacks for 290 yards.
"We want to move to first in the conference," said sophomore right guard Hillesland. "It is something we worked on during spring and fall camps."
Russum agrees with Hillesland and noted sacks are a fair way to judge the offensive line.
But Russum and the rest of the offensive line believe other factors such as rushing yards, passing yards, effectively running the football and protecting the passer also help to define an efficient offensive line.
Grading Montana's offensive line by those statistics draws a vastly different conclusion. Montana was first in rushing offense in the conference in 2006 and second in passing offense.
"We measure our success in wins," Michel said. "Also how we come together with things on the line."
The offensive line knows even with success in passing and rushing and putting up wins it will receive heat if it doesn't give up fewer sacks.
"That's the great thing about being 6-5 and over 250 pounds," Dow said. "We have the broad shoulders to take the criticism."
Other than giving up fewer sacks, the offensive line has set goals it wants to achieve this season.
Each player said getting senior running back Lex Hilliard the university record in rushing yards is his number one priority.
"Our goals are based on other people's achievements," Balogh said.
The linemen each had individual goals for the season such as not being called for a false start or holding and not allowing their man getting in on a sack or a solo tackle.
The players agree that their success correlates directly to their coaches.
"Our coaches prepare us for the defensive schemes," Balogh said. "We pretty much know what the other team is going to do on game day."
When offensive line coach Pete Kaligis was asked about his offensive line he answered definitively.
"Don't talk to me about the offensive line," Kaligis said. "Talk to the guys, they are the ones doing the work."
•••
Russum believes the more hard work they put in, the better they will be come Saturday.
"It is all about preparation, putting in the time and knowing the defensive tendencies," he said. "When you are prepared it is just like starting a car, you just put the key in."
The players agree it takes a certain type of personality to play on the offensive line.
"You have to be tough, hard-nosed and bring it on every down," Michel said. "You can't take a play off. You are in there on every play."
Balogh said it comes with the territory.
"It takes a special breed to get hit on every play," he said.
Another unique aspect that the offensive line faces that other positions don't is that all five guys must play as one.
"The coolest part is that five guys have to be in sync and know what the other guys are going to do," Dow said.
Balogh said it takes a total team effort.
"You give it all you have," Balogh said. "It takes all five guys doing the right thing all at once for it to work."
The close-knit offensive line likes to keep its sense of humor.
"On the field we know each other's quirks," Michel said. "It keeps us loose, if we can crack a joke."
Hillesland echoed this.
"We are the jokesters of the team," he said. "Other guys will be serious, listening to music - we try to be laid back. We like to have fun."
The offensive line enjoys doing things that the average fan might not expect.
On their nights out it wouldn't be out of the ordinary seeing the members of the offensive line dancing or singing karaoke together.
•••
Even though fans don't often compliment the offensive line in terms of its singing and dancing abilities, the players do appreciate when fans notice their hard work.
"The support the offensive line does get can go unnoticed at times," Dow said.
He wanted to recognize those fans that have supported the offensive line and he and the rest of the players appreciate all their support.
Still, the offensive line tends to shy away from the limelight and instead gravitates toward one another.
"It is a humble position," Russum said. "You get the glory when you get it."
Balogh especially likes the family atmosphere of the line.
"We are all brothers, we are the first to get in each others face and we are the first to congratulate," Balogh said. "We are close, we are the kind of guys that can call each other at 3 a.m."

Five Big Sky teams soldier on, four rest

By: Amber Kuehn
GameDay Kaimin

Only five of the nine Big Sky Conference teams will take the field today.
Eastern Washington, Montana State, Sacramento State and Weber State all take the weekend off for a welcomed bye week. Of those teams, EWU was the only one to post a win last weekend.
Northern Arizona is the only Big Sky team to hit the road this weekend.
Here's a look at the other games going on today around the conference.

Idaho State hosts Southern Oregon (3:05 p.m.)
The Bengals are the only team that didn't play a game last weekend. They kick off their 2007 season today with a new head coach, John Zamberlin. Zamberlin spent the previous 10 years on the sideline at Central Washington University. In his time there, Zamberlin never lost a game to Southern Oregon.
ISU will take on the Red Raiders from Southern Oregon inside the confines of Holt Arena. It is the first of six home games for the Bengals, the first time ISU has had more home games than road games since 2003.
Zamberlin isn't the only one making his debut this game. It is also the first game for redshirt freshman quarterback Russel Hill.
The Raiders have already played two games this season, losing one and winning the other - a 45-42 quadruple overtime thriller over Eastern Oregon. In 2006, Southern Oregon was 3-8. Head coach Steve Helminicek has never faced ISU. In fact, this is the first time ever the two teams will meet on the gridiron.
Idaho State has won 18 straight against lower-division opponents since 1990, and they shouldn't have any trouble winning this one.

Portland State hosts UC Davis (6:05 p.m.)
UC Davis (a member of the Great West Athletic Conference) comes to PGE Park off a disappointing loss, falling 28-21 to Division II Western Washington last weekend. But the Vikings are coming off of their own disappointing loss - or losses. Not only did they suffer a season-opening loss to McNeese State, they also lost two key players to serious injuries in that game. Fullback Bobby McClintock (ACL) and quarterback Tygue Howland (metatarsal) are now out for the season. Senior Brian White will replace Howland as starting quarterback. He threw for 150 yards on 11-of-18 passing last weekend.
Portland State has won six straight games against UC Davis, and five straight home openers. UC Davis has lost three straight road games, and is in only its third season in Division I football. The Aggies have had 37 consecutive winning seasons, including a 6-5 record last year.
The Vikings have never scored fewer than 32 points against UC Davis in PGE Park.
Portland State and new head coach Jerry Glanville are looking to bounce back after last weekend's defeat, and this seems like the perfect opportunity to do so victoriously.

Northern Arizona at Arizona (7:05 p.m.)
Last weekend's game against Western New Mexico proved easy for the Lumberjacks. That's a good thing, considering this game against PAC-10 Arizona will be one of the most difficult match-ups this season. But perhaps an even tougher game looms in the distance. In just a week, NAU will face top-seeded Appalachian State, whose upset over Michigan is still resounding in the sporting world. But first, Northern Arizona has to set its sights on the team in Tucson - the Wildcats.
Arizona is coming off an opening-weekend 20-7 loss to Brigham Young University, where the Wildcats only managed to run 64 plays. They likely have a better chance at winning this week, but don't count out NAU just yet. The Lumberjacks could be the next Mountaineers, and perhaps Arizona is their Michigan. Upset? Probably not. But no one expected last weekend's knock-off either.

Northern Colorado hosts Chadron State (1:05 p.m.)
After getting stomped on by Division I Hawaii, the Bears now face a lower-division opponent: Chadron State. But don't let the Division II label fool you. Many of the same players return from last year's Chadron State team that upset Montana State.
The Eagles are coming off a 55-14 triumph over Wayne State, in which the offense scored on seven of 10 possessions. It marks the most points Chadron State has scored in a game since 2002.
The Bears and Eagles haven't faced each other in 44 years. To be honest with you, I don't know who to take in this game - it really could go either way.

Skyhawks respect Grizzlies’ strength

By: Bill Oram
GameDay Kaimin

The University of Montana and Fort Lewis College football teams have little in common.
The Grizzlies annually dominate the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. The Skyhawks are competitive in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Griz fly to most of their away games. The Skyhawks bus from Durango, Colo., to all of theirs.
The Skyhawks' media guide lists Ed Rifilato as both the team's head coach and equipment manager.
But on Saturday, the two teams will share the field at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Griz head coach Bobby Hauck acknowledges his team appears to have a decided edge in the match-up.
"It's a game that on paper looks like one we should win, but we are constantly going to remind ourselves that last weekend Michigan looked like they should have won their game on paper," he said.
Last weekend saw one of college football's most shocking upsets when Appalachian State, the top-ranked team in the FCS, edged Football Bowl Subdivision No. 5 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The possibility of an upset in the Grizzlies' game against Fort Lewis wouldn't be entirely without precedent. Last season, Chadron State, another RMAC team, knocked off Montana State in Bozeman.
However, even Rifilato acknowledges that's not likely to happen in Missoula.
"Of course we want to play well and get better, but I'm not sure you can do that against Montana," he said.
The experienced Grizzlies last weekend dismantled a competitive Southern Utah team in Missoula. This will be the opener for the Skyhawks.
"They're a little bit of an unknown coming in," Hauck said. "They were a good team last year, won a lot of games, played well. I anticipate they'll come in excited to play."
As of Wednesday, Rifilato was yet to determine a starting quarterback for the game. Last season Matt Gutierrez threw for 186 yards per game while guiding the Skyhawks to a 7-4 finish, enough for second in the RMAC. This season the job is still wide open, according to Rifilato, who said Tom Stoffel and David Nieman, both juniors, are competing for time.
"We're going to use them both," Rifilato said, but added that he isn't "much for switching quarterbacks in and out."
Montana had its own quarterback controversy over the summer before Hauck tabbed junior Cole Bergquist the starter over freshmen Jeff Larson and Andrew Selle and sophomore Clint Stapp.
The Skyhawks return only 19 letterwinners from last year's team. The most exciting playmaker from that group is senior wide receiver Brandon Cummings, who had 39 catches and six touchdowns in 2006.
"They're not a veteran team as they were a year ago," Hauck said, "but Ed's been there for a while now. I'm sure his recruiting has taken over and they have a good looking group."
Rifilato acknowledges the Griz, with home-field advantage and history on their side, will be an intimidating force.
"I don't know if you can stop that," Rifilato said. "Montana has earned that right for you to respect them like that. It's not like you're going against someone that's not good."
On Hauck's end, he maintains that his team's focus can't be on the opponent.
"The important thing for us to remember is it's not who is coming out the visitors tunnel ... it's who is coming out of the home team's tunnel," he said. "And the Montana Grizzlies have to show up to play. It's irrelevant who the opponent is."

New faces heading Big Sky programs

By: Roman Stubbs
Montana Kaimin

The Big Sky conference opened a new chapter in its storied football history this year, when four new head coaches took over at programs aiming to change conference hierarchy.
"It's exciting to be part of a transitional year in the Big Sky," said John Zamberlin, who replaced Larry Lewis at Idaho State.
Former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville took over at Portland State, while Marshall Sperbeck and Rob Ash made their debuts in the Big Sky for Sacramento State and Montana State.
Following the dismissal of head coach Mike Kramer in mid-May, Montana State introduced Ash on June 11, only 80 days before the Bobcats' season opener. Ash took over a program that went to the Division I-AA quarterfinals a year ago.
Ash led Drake to the quarterfinals in 2006. In 18 seasons there, he amassed a 125-63-2 record, earning Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year honors three times.
Zamberlin arrived at Idaho State with an impressive resume. His 10-year career at Central Washington yielded a record of 63-41, with 38 of those wins coming in the past five seasons. Zamberlin turned heads in 2002, when his program finished with a No. 5 nationwide ranking after going on the road to upset eventual Big Sky co-champion Montana State, as well as a convincing 38-14 win over UC Davis. In solidifying Central Washington into a consistent Division II program, he netted four Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards. Zamberlin, who played middle linebacker for six seasons in the NFL, also has had defensive coaching stints at Massachusetts, Richmond and Eastern Washington. He inherited an Idaho State program that has won just 10 games in three seasons.
"We're headed in the right direction in getting the program back in the Big Sky hunt," he said.
Also roaming the sidelines for the first time in Pocatello is former Montana State defensive coordinator Rob Christoff, who will assume linebacker-coaching duties for the departed Aaron Hineline.
Zamberlin made one of his first significant personnel decisions when he announced redshirt freshman Russell Hill would start the opener against Southern Oregon. Hill is the first Bengal freshman to start at the helm since 1997.
The Bengals return 15 starters from 2006, along with 40 letterwinners. Among the returnees is preseason All-American center George Yarno. While winning hasn't been a constant on campus in recent history, Zamberlin said he feels that hard work and leadership can make Idaho State a winner in the Big Sky.
"We feel good about our returnees," he said. "The key is for us to be committed to each other, and continue to improve on every rep. We're looking to win every game we play, regardless of who it's against, and if we have that attitude we can be a very competitive team."
New Sacramento State head coach Marshall Sperbeck is coming off of a very successful 15-year career at Foothills JC, which is a member of the Northern California Football Conference. He compiled a 109-53 record, including eight bowl wins and a JC national ranking in seven of the last eight seasons.
An offensive guru, Sperbeck has steadfastly applied his own stamp on the Sacramento State program, hiring five new coaches, recruiting and signing over 20 athletes, and also vowing to improve the strength and conditioning program. In addition, Sperbeck has implemented his own offense in his quest to turn around a program that has gone 11-33 the past four seasons.
"Our program is just trying to improve day by day. We have tremendous support from the community, and we want to make this program special for Sacramento," said Sperbeck, who also focuses his recruiting efforts in Northern California.
Sperbeck's Hornets lost to Fresno State, 24-3, last weekend.
Portland State's program has been perpetually swirling since Glanville's hiring on Feb. 28. While Glanville brings instant star credibility to the City of Roses, the former NFL head coach also has extensive coaching experience. He served as Hawaii's defensive coordinator the past two seasons, and prior to that was head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986-89 and the Atlanta Falcons from 1990-93. In crafting his own staff, Glanville also convinced former Hawaii offensive coordinator Mouse Davis to accompany him to Portland Sate, which is Davis' alma mater. Glanville and Davis have sculpted a run-and-gun scheme for their offense, a similar system in which they utilized Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan at Hawaii a year ago.
Glanville has publicly said that he plans to have the "hardest hitting team on the West Coast," and has vowed to turn the Vikings into city favorites. Portland State fell to McNeese State, 35-12, last weekend.

Where are they now: Craig Ochs

Former UM quarterback Craig Ochs returns to the sidelines
in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Only this time he is a coach, not a player.
Tim Kupsick/GameDay Kaimin

By: Bill Oram
GameDay Kaimin

Typically, the idea behind a "where are they now" story is to find someone who has gone off into the world, far from Missoula, and been relegated to Grizzly lore.
Not in the case of Craig Ochs.
Where is he now? You probably already know. But if not, lower your GameDay Kaimin (be sure to put it somewhere close, where you'll remember to pick it up again), peer down the Griz sideline and find the cluster of Griz quarterbacks (Nos. 14, 12, 16 and 7 for reference). See that young guy, probably in the white visor, who looks like he's telling them what to do? That's Ochs.
Fans of University of Montana football don't have a hard time remembering Ochs, a Griz assistant coach, and it may even be easier for supporters of opposing Big Sky Conference teams. He was the vaunted Colorado Buffalo transfer who came to Montana on a white horse, knight-in-shining-armor kind of stuff. High expectations? You bet.
Then he performed.
In 2004, Ochs' senior season, the former Buffs starter guided the Griz to a 12-3 record and a berth in the national championship game. His 3,807 passing yards that season were the second most in Montana history, second only to a tally way back in 1995 by some guy named Dickinson.
After leaving Montana, Ochs bounced around, initially landing with the NFL's San Diego Chargers where he worked closely with Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees. He was among the team's final cuts leading into the 2005 season.
From there, he caught on with the Buffalo Bills, who allocated him to the Frankfurt Galaxy of the now-defunct NFL Europe.
In Frankfurt, Ochs had what he calls a "really good season," starting for the Galaxy in the second half of the season. The team, though, went on to win the World Bowl (the league championship) without Ochs, who blew out his shoulder in the final regular season game.
The ensuing NFL season for Ochs was spent on Buffalo's injured reserve, and he was eventually released last spring. A handful of NFL teams showed interest in signing him, the most intense interest coming from the New Orleans Saints. Then Montana coach Bobby Hauck called.
"He actually brought it up with me a couple of years ago during my senior year, if I'd ever be interested in coaching," Ochs said.
At the time he told Hauck he was more interested in pursuing a pro career. However, with a less-than-reliable shoulder, a wife and a newborn daughter, his priorities had changed.
"In all fairness, I think the NFL, just with my injuries at this point, was kind of a long shot," he said.
Steve Axman, the quarterbacks' coach at Montana had accepted an offensive coordinator position with the University of Idaho Vandals, creating a vacancy that was attractive to Ochs.
"I was ready to get a little more stability and start working toward a concrete future," he said.
In April, he found himself coaching players in the very situation he had been just three years earlier. Several players on Montana's roster, including senior running back Lex Hilliard, were freshmen in Ochs' final year.
"He's a smart guy, he's going to gain experience and knowledge," Hauck said. "He has ... a distinct advantage having played in this system over someone else coming in new."
For Ochs, becoming a coach wasn't necessarily where he saw himself at this stage of his life.
"If you would have asked me that (whether he would become a coach) early in my college career I would have said absolutely not," he said. "But the more I played and probably the more obvious it became my professional career was going to be tough ..."
And his highest-profile pupil thinks he made the right decision.
"I couldn't think of a guy that would understand the position that I am in more than Coach Ochs," said junior Cole Bergquist, Montana's starting quarterback. "He understands the pressure that goes along with playing quarterback for the Grizzlies."
Pressure is one thing Ochs encountered regularly during his stints in the pros. In Germany, fans are allowed to use whistles to throw off opposing players. While in NFL camps, being cut was only a bad practice away.
Ochs hopes to be able to relate what he learned after he left Montana to the team's current crop of quarterbacks.
"Watching guys like Drew Brees in practice, they bring every day a competitive fire to practice, to the weight room, whatever it is," he said. "If I can convey that to these guys, maybe it will make them better. Because the great ones at that level, there's not a day off for them, even at practice."
Montana's quarterbacks have plenty of potential, Ochs said, and are soaking up what they learn from him.
"All four guys are very coachable, they want to be real good," he said.
Bergquist said that while he hasn't thought much about coaching someday himself, he admires how seamlessly Ochs made the transition. He thinks working under center is the perfect training ground for coaches-to-be.
"Just spending so many hours in the film room, it just really helps you pick up the whole game of football," he said. "After you've played quarterback it wouldn't be too hard to go into coaching from that. You'd have to get under some other good guys and learn from them, but you already pretty much know the game."
Knowing the game doesn't necessarily guarantee stability. Ochs found in his playing career that there's always uncertainty.
"(Transferring) certainly
wasn't what I envisioned when I went to CU," he said. "But we all have our story where life takes a turn we didn't plan on, but sometimes it's for the best. This one most certainly was."