No. 2 Northern Iowa at No. 5 Montana
Kickoff: 6 p.m. MST.Venue: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217, SprinTurf)
Forecast: 25 degrees and clear at kickoff.
Tickets: Blocks of tickets remain at $26; as of 5 p.m. Thursday 21,688 had been sold. The Adams Center ticket office opens at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
TV: ESPN, which is channel 35 for Bresnan/Optimum, Ch. 140 for Dish Network and Ch. 206 for DirecTV (Justin Kutcher and Tom Lugenbill).
Radio: KGVO-AM 1290 (Mick Holien, Scott Gurnsey and Greg Sundberg).
On the net: www.espn3.com, montanagrizzlies.com and gogriz.com.
Records: UM is 10-2; UNI is 10-2.
Series history: Montana leads 4-0.
Coaches: Robin Pflugrad is 17-6 in his second season at Montana. Mark Farley is 99-39 in his 11th season at Northern Iowa.
When the lights go on Friday - on the ESPN cameras, on the Musco Lighting trucks, on the "M" - a lot of people are going to get their first real look at Northern Iowa quarterback Tirrell Rennie.
That includes the No. 5-ranked Montana Grizzlies, who host Rennie and the UNI Panthers in a Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
In a matchup of quick and aggressive defensive lines, huge offensive lines, monster middle linebackers and great corners on each team - good thing these guys will sport different colors Friday - Rennie would seem to be the key.
The fleet senior quarterback has thrown for 13 touchdowns and run for nine, and he's the leading rusher for the No. 2-ranked Panthers.
"You look at their line, they're huge," said Caleb McSurdy, UM's answer to UNI middle linebacker L.J. Fort. "They're physical guys. They have great skill people on the perimeter and their tailbacks are awesome.
"And the quarterback makes it all go, and he's a really good passer. He takes care of the ball. He doesn't cough it up running."
Rennie runs a lot more than Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson, who is responsible for 19 TDs for the 10-2 Grizzlies. The closest thing UM has seen to Rennie is Portland State's Connor Kavanaugh.
That was in a 30-24 UM victory in which the Griz trailed 21-10 at halftime. Back then slow starts were the norm, but Montana comes in on a pretty decent four-quarter roll.
UNI coach Mark Farley has noticed.
"I see guys that play hard and I see a unit," said Farley, who guided the Panthers against the Griz in 2001, a 38-0 FCS semifinal loss in Missoula. "They don't make mental errors and they play hard and they look like they really enjoy the game.
"Those are the tough ones to beat. Those are the guys that can line up and sustain winning."
Three current UNI offensive assistants coached in the 2001 game alongside Farley; so, of course, did Montana defensive coordinator Mike Breske.
Farley hopes a good run game will keep Breske's defense from dictating things in front of what will be large and boisterous home crowd.
"When you play at Montana, with the elements and things like that, you need a balanced attack," he said. "You need to be sound in what you do because they'll know how to attack you."
Northern Iowa trailed Wofford 14-7 at halftime last week, but survived 466 rushing yards by the option-based Terriers and won, 28-14. Rennie ran for 88 yards in the second half to spark the Panthers.
"Once we started moving the football I thought we did a good job ... of keeping that balance," Farley said.
He sees that same balance from the Griz.
"They're kind of what I call, ‘Montana good,' " Farley said. "They've got a great running back, a great quarterback. The O-line is big, physical. They're what I envisioned Montana to be when I watched them on film."
Johnson's play has grown consistent while the Grizzlies' running game has flourished. He went 152 passes without an interception before throwing a pair in UM's 41-14 second-round playoff win over Central Arkansas.
Similarities between the teams are everywhere: Jabin Sambrano leads UM with 32 catches and Jarred Herring shares the UNI lead with running back David Johnson at 31.
Sambrano has 13 TDs this season for UM, nine receiving; Jarred Herring has five TD catches this season and 17 for his career.
Houston Roots and All-American Trumaine Johnson man the corners for UM, and Griz coach Pflugrad calls UNI corners Varmah Sonie and J.J. Swain the best Montana has played in 2011.
"And I know we've played Tennessee," Pflugrad said. "One of them (the 5-foot-9 Sonie) is not very big, but I tell you what, he gets around blocks and he blows up the bubble screens."
The Panthers' defensive leaders are Buck Buchanan Award candidates Ben Boothby, a defensive tackle, and Fort.
"Their defensive line is a lot like ours," Pflugrad said. "Not overly big but extremely quick, and they play with great passion. They do a lot of line games, where they're twisting and spinning and crossing, which can cause some havoc as far as your pass protections."
Something would seem to have to give Friday. Both teams are sack-happy, but UM has allowed few. Both teams are way up in turnover margin. Both have spot-on place-kickers - Tyler Sievertsen for UNI, Brody McKnight for the Griz.
So all things being equal, Rennie could be the key.
"He's their guy, and can you stop a guy like that? Probably not," said McSurdy. "But we're going to try to limit him as much as we possibly can on Friday, because he is such a threat running the ball and throwing the ball."
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