> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bobbyball406.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Week 9: Eastern Washington - URL: https://www.bobbyball406.com/week-9-scouting-report-protect-the-red/ - Published: 2026-10-31T15:50:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-31T16:02:51.000Z - Description: Halloween in Cheney, we are the game Eastern shows every recruit. - Author: Schuyler Watt - Tags: Scouting Report, Griz Football, Big Sky Bobby BallWeek 9 scouting reportRoos Field # Protect the *Red* Halloween in Cheney, we are the game Eastern shows every recruit. Montana on the red**1-6**The one win: 52-49 in 2024 Their run defense**7.00**Yards a carry, sacks taken out The book, Montana**−11.5**Every computer: 8.5 to 10 The first football game ever played on the red turf in Cheney was against Montana. Eastern Washington kicked a field goal with four seconds left, and its fans ran onto the field before the game was done. The officials flagged Eastern for the celebration, which bought Montana one more snap from its own 40\. Justin Roper, the backup, dropped back, got sacked, put the ball on the ground, and Renard Williams picked it up and ran it in. The fans stormed the field again. Eastern 36, Montana 27, and they've been showing that tape ever since. Zach Bruce, their defensive coordinator, told the Spokesman this week what he does with that tape: "It's the last video I show every recruit who walks in our building." Saturday is the first time Montana and Eastern have ever played on Halloween, and Eastern plans to wear all black on a red field. [Subscribe free](#/portal/signup) 01 ## Every computer has us by eight to ten, and the book has us by more Every figure is through Oct. 17; nobody has played since. Every computer has us by eight to ten, and the book has us by more Montana's predicted margin at Eastern Washington · models as of Monday, Oct. 26 · DraftKings read Friday, Oct. 30 A computerThe book a touchdownMassey+8.5 (37-28, 73%)Sagarin+8.92Our line+10 (the Blend)DraftKings+11.5 (total 63.5)evenby 7by 14Montana ▶a touchdownMassey+8.5Sagarin+8.92Our line+10DraftKings+11.5evenby 7by 14Montana ▶ DraftKings opened Montana −11.5 and has not moved. Ratings from [Massey](https://masseyratings.com/cf/fcs/ratings?ref=bobbyball406.com) and [Sagarin](http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm?ref=bobbyball406.com). Our line is this column's own. 02 ## We win four of the five, and the tie is nothing to brag about We win four of the five, and the tie is the defenses Connelly's five factors · eight games each · Montana's defense with the backups' snaps cut MontanaEastern Washington2026 FCS median EXPLOSIVENESS 86%✔ MontanaExplosive rate, offense10.6%6.7%FCS median 7.6%Explosive rate allowed5.9%12.7%FCS median 8.2%EFFICIENCY 83%splitSuccess rate, offense50.9%44.3%FCS median 40.6%Success rate allowed46.2%46.8%FCS median 42.2%FINISHING DRIVES 75%✔ MontanaPoints per trip inside the 405.264.32Points per trip allowed4.524.85TURNOVERS 73%✔ MontanaTurnover margin+3\-1FIELD POSITION 72%✔ MontanaAverage drive startown 31.9own 27.2Opponents' average startown 25.9own 32.7EXPLOSIVENESS 86%✔ MontanaExplosive rate, offensemedian 7.6%10.6%6.7%Explosive rate allowedmedian 8.2%5.9%12.7%EFFICIENCY 83%splitSuccess rate, offensemedian 40.6%50.9%44.3%Success rate allowedmedian 42.2%46.2%46.8%FINISHING DRIVES 75%✔ MontanaPoints per trip inside the 405.264.32Points per trip allowed4.524.85TURNOVERS 73%✔ MontanaTurnover margin+3\-1FIELD POSITION 72%✔ MontanaAverage drive startown 31.9own 27.2Opponents' average startown 25.9own 32.7 Success rate allowed is 46.2 against 46.8, both well worse than the FCS median. With the backups counted, ours is 47.3\. The widest gap is explosive plays allowed: one snap in eight against Eastern. Connelly's five factors: efficiency is staying on schedule, explosiveness is how big the big plays get, field position is where your drives start, finishing drives is what you score after you get inside the 40, and turnovers are turnovers. The one we don't win is the success rate each defense allows. It's a dead heat because both defenses have struggled. 03 ## Bobby Alert No Bob, no Bobby, no Robert, no Robb anywhere on Eastern's roster or staff. #8 Ambrose Marsh, their corner, played his high school ball for Dom Daste, who now coaches our running backs. Daste was an assistant for Bobby Hauck at Montana and again at UNLV, and Chad Germer was on both staffs with him. Germer now coaches Eastern's offensive line. He played for the Griz, class of '93, and also coached under Bob-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Per the bylaws that makes him a carrier. Level zero. 04 ## The Name Scout #44 Kayden Stuit, tight end, which their own notes say rhymes with Tight. #52 Bennett Nield, long snapper, pronounced Kneeled, the one thing a snapper must never do. #24 CJ Bozeman, a running back who hasn't played this year, the only Bozeman that hasn't hurt them. #74 Nick Savage, offensive line. #11 Ben Voigtlaender. #26 Deuce Carr. #86 Will Hook, and on Halloween I'm not asking which hand. When the Griz are on defense 05 ## Nate Bell is their offense, and their short-yardage run game Their quarterback, #2 Nate Bell, takes the ball himself when the field gets short. Inside the 20, more than half of Eastern's runs are his. On third or fourth and short it's the same split, half the carries with the quarterback's name on them. The running backs are there mostly so somebody can carry out the fake. We just lost back-to-back games to quarterbacks who got outside the pocket on us, so the job is simple to say: fit the quarterback. When the field gets short, the quarterback keeps it Share of Eastern's non-sack carries by #2 Nate Bell and the backup quarterback · eight games · from the play text Bell's share halfEvery carry35%93 of 263First and 1024%30 of 125Inside the 2052%22 of 42Inside the 1050%10 of 203rd or 4th and 2 or less55%12 of 22halfEvery carry35%First and 1024%Inside the 2052%Inside the 1050%3rd or 4th and 2 or less55% Bell has 92 of the 93 quarterback carries. On first down a back gets it three times in four; inside the 20 and on third or fourth and short, Bell keeps it about half the time. They throw first. Eastern runs the ball less often than six FCS teams in seven, and its first-down passing works 54 percent of the time, up from 36 last year. On second-and-long their runs work about one time in six, and that is where I want them living. Win first down and make Bell hand it off. 06 ## Nobody gets a fifth of their targets, and we're short our best corner #13 Wesley Garrett gets the most looks, and that isn't saying much. #80 Drew Carlson and #83 Rylin Lang are next. Nobody on that roster draws a fifth of the throws. Bell throws to whoever is open, and Saturday that means our new guys. Skyline listed Chris Johnson II and Elijah Brady as out indefinitely after the bye, and Montana's own projected two-deep this week leaves off both of them and Brock Beaner. Brady Beaner is listed at corner, with Tanner Huff and Braeden Orlandi at safety. Nine of the eleven defensive starters have been hurt at some point this year. Johnson was the corner you didn't throw at. Quarterbacks who tried this year finished with a 30.5 passer rating against him, by PFN's charting, and a quarterback who spiked every pass into the turf would rate higher than that. This is the part of the game I like least, a passing offense built to spread the ball against a secondary with new names in it. 07 ## Tempo isn't what beat us Eastern snaps it a lot faster than the typical FCS offense. Drake is the only team that has played that fast against us this year, and that was our best defensive game of the season. Only Drake played this fast against us, and it was our best day Median real seconds between snaps inside a drive, each 2026 opponent against Montana · right column is the success rate it got Faster than EasternEveryone else Eastern 31.0FCS median 38.0Drake27s35.3% successUC Davis32s40.8% successOregon State (FBS)35.5s50.7% successUtah Tech36s47.1% successIdaho38s60.3% successNorthern Arizona39.5s57.1% successNorthern Colorado40s43.1% successSouthern Utah43s46.3% success20s25s30s35s40s45s◀ fasterEastern 31.0FCS median 38.0Drake27s35.3% successUC Davis32s40.8% successOregon State (FBS)35.5s50.7% successUtah Tech36s47.1% successIdaho38s60.3% successNorthern Arizona39.5s57.1% successNorthern Colorado40s43.1% successSouthern Utah43s46.3% success20s25s30s35s40s45s◀ faster Eastern runs 31.0 seconds a snap across all eight games. Northern Arizona and Idaho, the two worst days, came at 39.5 and 38.0\. Stat-crew entry times, so read it as a ranking. Northern Arizona and Idaho came at a normal pace and scored anyway. Our guys can get lined up, hopefully. 08 ## The problem is ours, and the last two games say so With the backups' snaps cut out, our defense allows success on 46.2 percent of plays. Four FCS defenses in five do better. Idaho succeeded on 60.3 percent of its snaps against us. Across the Northern Arizona and Idaho games, opponents scored touchdowns on 12 of 19 possessions. The last two weeks are the two worst games of the season Success rate allowed by Montana's defense, every 2026 game · solid bar is the starters only · dashed outline adds the backups' snaps Montana's defenseThe last twoFCS median 0%20%40%60%FCS 42.246.3SUU33.3Drake39.3Utah Tech50.7Ore St35.2UC Davis42.9N. Colo57.1NAU60.3Idaho0%20%40%60%42.246SUU33DRK39UT51OSU35UCD43UNC57NAU60UI Idaho stayed on schedule on 60.3 percent of its snaps, Northern Arizona on 57.1\. Neither game had garbage time to cut. The season, starters only: 46.2. Bobby 3.0, to NBC Montana: "I was really pissed the last three weeks." He kept Eric Sanders calling it, and NBC Montana reports we'll mix in some three-down looks. Good. I'd like the first Eastern drive of the day to end in a punt, just to remember what one of those looks like. 09 ## Colonel Mustard's cheat sheet, for a building he already knows | What they do | What we do | Why | | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | Bell keeps it inside the 20 and on short yardage | Fit the quarterback first, every time | More than half of those carries are his | | Throw on first down | Play the pass on first-and-10 | Their first-down passing works 54 percent of the time | | Run on second-and-long when they get behind | Get them there, then sit on the run | Those runs work 16.7 percent of the time | | Hold the ball and take sacks | Keep him in the pocket and finish | Sacked once every 13 dropbacks | | Spread it to whoever is open | Play the sticks, don't chase one guy | Nobody has more than 19.4 percent of the targets | | Snap it fast | Get lined up and stay calm | Only Drake played and it was our best defensive game | When the Griz have the ball 10 ## Run it until somebody in black proves they can stop it With the sacks taken out, Eastern allows 7.00 yards a carry. Almost no defense in FCS is worse. Eli Gillman is at 7.1 a carry on his own, and our offense stays on schedule on about half its snaps, which almost nobody in FCS does more often. Put him on first down and leave him there. Lean on them. I want the first drive to be all Eli and nothing cute. 11 ## First down is when you take the shot On first-and-10, teams average 11.3 yards a dropback against Eastern. Runs on that down go for 8.9\. They give up an explosive play every eighth snap. Take the deep ball early in the series, while they're still worried about Eli, instead of on third-and-long when they aren't. #34 JoJo Maxey-Johnson, their corner, has been thrown at 35 times without forcing an incompletion. Wherever he lines up, I'd throw at him on the first snap and see if he's still there on the second. Davis gets a third of ours; nobody gets a fifth of theirs Share of each team's named targets against yards per target · eight games · dot size is targets MontanaEastern Washington 0%10%20%30%4681012a fifth of the targetsyards per targetmore of the targets ▶▲ more per throwDavisRansom-GoelzBridgesGillmanBirdno#13 Garrett#80 Carlson#83 Lang#17 East#3 Allen III0%10%20%30%4681012a fifth of the targetsyards per targetmore of the targets ▶▲ more per throwDavisRansom-GoelzBridgesGillmanBirdno#13 Garrett#80 Carlson#83 Lang#17 East#3 Allen III Davis: 90 of Montana's 276 named targets, 10.2 yards a target. Eastern's leader, Garrett: 61 of 314, 8.6. 12 ## Their pass rush is one man, and he lines up inside Eastern has nine sacks in eight games. Against Montana State, its edge rushers were charted for zero pressures. Through the Northern Arizona game, Keali'i Ah Yat got pressured on one dropback in six, the lowest rate in FCS. #4 Isaiah Perez is the man to find before every snap. He's a defensive tackle with the second-best grade of any interior lineman in FCS and a team-high seven tackles for loss. The only way the pocket closes on Ah Yat is from the middle. Put the center and a guard on him. The edges didn't get home against Montana State. 13 ## Score sevens, because the goal line is the only place they hold Opponents have run 69 goal-to-go snaps against Eastern and succeeded on a third of them. They give up yards between the 20s and get stingy at the goal line. We succeed on 62.5 percent of our goal-to-go snaps, and that's the one spot they've been good. Settling for three in Cheney is how we lose. 14 ## Coach Pease's cheat sheet: first down, then the end zone | What they do | What we do | Why | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | | Give up the run | Eli on first down until they stop it | 7.00 a carry with sacks removed | | Give up chunks on first-and-10 | Take the shot early in the series | 11.3 yards a dropback on first-and-10 | | Get nothing off the edge | Double Perez inside | Zero edge pressures against Montana State | | #34 can't get a hand on the ball | Throw at him | No forced incompletions on 35 targets | | Stiffen at the goal line | Plan for seven, not three | Opponents succeed on a third of goal-to-go snaps | Special teams 15 ## Their kicker makes them from fifty, and ours hasn't tried one in the forties #16 Soren McKee has made more field goals than anyone in Eastern history. This year he has made them from 50 and longer. Jo Silver hasn't attempted a kick in the 40s all season, and he missed a short one against Idaho. So in the stretch of field where their kicker is automatic and ours is untested, we should be going for it. McKee makes them from 50; Silver hasn't tried one from 40 Every 2026 field-goal attempt by distance · filled is good, open is a miss, slashed is blocked Eastern WashingtonMontana 20s30s40s50+#16 McKee, Eastern13 of 15Silver, Montana6 of 10nothing tried202530354045505560distance, yards20s30s40s50+#16 McKee, Eastern · 13 of 15Silver, Montana · 6 of 10nothing tried202530354045505560distance, yards McKee is 13 of 15 and 6 of 7 from 40 and out, with makes from 50 and 53\. Silver is 6 of 10: a 34 missed against Idaho, a 36 blocked, both 50s good, nothing tried from 40 to 49. 16 ## The Brother Index Jaxon Bell is Nate's brother, and KXLY calls him "Baby Bell," which is a cheese that comes wrapped in red. #31 Jaylon Jenkins, their safety, and Maxey-Johnson are stepbrothers, and both of them start in the secondary. A stepbrother counts in full if he shares a secondary. I assume there are bunk beds. Week 9 Brother Index: Eastern Washington 2 confirmed. Advantage Griz. 17 ## Portal target of the week #72 Jackson Ritchie, offensive lineman, sophomore, Billings Central Catholic, the only Montanan on Eastern's roster. He hasn't played a snap this season. Three of Eastern's old coaches have already made the move to our sideline, and his teammate Jenkins told the Spokesman this game is a chance "to prove ourselves to the coaches that left." Jackson, the coaches that left say hi. There's room in the car. 18 ## The case for Eastern Washington Bell threw for 413 at UC Davis. Our secondary is missing its best corner, and we have looked abysmal on defense the last two games. Montana has won once on the red in seven tries. Eastern wins about three of every four games played on it. Jenkins says the field is the advantage: "It's not easy to cut on the field. It's hard. It's not the greatest turf, and I feel like that gives us an advantage because we get to play on it every day." Eric Sanders was Eastern's defensive coordinator in 2024 and 2025\. Jaylen Johnson, our defensive line coach, and Wes Nurse, who coaches our safeties, were on Eastern's staff last year too. Marc Anderson, their offensive coordinator, practiced against Sanders's defense all of last year. Nobody in Cheney has to guess what Colonel Mustard likes on third down. Hopefully he decides to listen to coach Baer and blitz six. 19 ## Then I look at their run defense Eastern's running backs coach, Tamarick Pierce, told the Spokesman: "We've always prided ourselves on protecting the Red." Montana State ran for 242 on it. All of that is about our defense. Their defense still has to stop Eli. Our offense is one of the best in the country. I'd rather have a hurt secondary than a run defense Montana State just ran through for 242\. The one time we won on that turf it was 52-49, and a game that looks like that again is a game we win, because we have Eli and they don't. 20 ## Last Call Eli Gillman has 71 career touchdowns. Cooper Kupp owns the Big Sky career record with 77\. Eli needs six to tie. He had four at Davis. In 1996 Brian Ah Yat threw for 560 yards in Cheney, still Montana's single-game record. His son takes the snaps there Saturday. I'm laying the points. We can't look that bad three weeks in a row. Right? Good Guys 50, Eagles 38. Go Griz. Bobby Ball · Griz football by Schuyler Watt · Numbers from both schools' official stat files and game notes, CFBD play-by-play cleaned through the house rules, PFN grades and charting, Massey, Sagarin, DraftKings via CFBD, and the 2025 and 2026 FCS baselines built for this column. Every figure is through Oct. 17\. Montana's defensive figures cut the backups' snaps. Coverage numbers rest on small samples.