Ronbo
September 25th, 2007, 10:49 AM
On the #1 ranking.
Montana coach Bobby Hauck said he was a little surprised by the ranking. "How about that," Hauck said Monday during his weekly radio show. "I wasn't sure that was going to happen. I thought it'd be anything from us dropping to No. 3, (Massachusetts) going to No. 1 and Appalachian State going to No. 2.
"But it's a privilege. It's an honor to be No. 1 and we'll see if we can live up to it."
Perhaps anticipating his team's impending move to the top spot, Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist played coy in the interview room Saturday following UM's victory over Albany.
"It's cool," Bergquist said. "We have a goal of going into the playoffs as highly-ranked as possible. Obviously that helps with home field advantage and stuff like that. We have to be aware that it's going to make people gun for us even harder than they already did. We're up for the challenge."
Is Montana deserving of the top ranking? Albany coach Bob Ford believes so.
"That's the best team I've ever faced," said Ford, the Great Danes' 35-year head coach. "(Massachusetts) a couple years ago had a swarming defense - a suffocating defense. We couldn't unlace our shoes. But this team not only is pretty good on defense, but a pretty good offensive team, too."
On Kroy Bierman
"Here's what we did in practice," Ford explained. "We lined our (scout) team up offside - about a yard offside - to try to get ready for that kid. I don't think we did a (good) job of blocking him even with that. He's pretty good."
"He was a constant threat," said Albany quarterback Vinny Esposito. "Towards the end of the game, no matter what the defense was, we slid the protection toward him because he was making such an impact."
JD Quinn
"He's a big, violent guy," Griz running back Lex Hilliard offered. "That's all I've got to say."
"He just brings a certain nastiness," Bergquist said. "It's something we already had, but he brings even more nastiness. It's what you like to see in your huddle when you're a quarterback."
"I didn't notice any glaring weaknesses from him," Hauck said. "But I don't think J.D.'s any different than the rest of our guys. They play aggressive football up front."
Billings Gazette (http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/09/25/sports/local/28-griz1.txt)
Montana coach Bobby Hauck said he was a little surprised by the ranking. "How about that," Hauck said Monday during his weekly radio show. "I wasn't sure that was going to happen. I thought it'd be anything from us dropping to No. 3, (Massachusetts) going to No. 1 and Appalachian State going to No. 2.
"But it's a privilege. It's an honor to be No. 1 and we'll see if we can live up to it."
Perhaps anticipating his team's impending move to the top spot, Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist played coy in the interview room Saturday following UM's victory over Albany.
"It's cool," Bergquist said. "We have a goal of going into the playoffs as highly-ranked as possible. Obviously that helps with home field advantage and stuff like that. We have to be aware that it's going to make people gun for us even harder than they already did. We're up for the challenge."
Is Montana deserving of the top ranking? Albany coach Bob Ford believes so.
"That's the best team I've ever faced," said Ford, the Great Danes' 35-year head coach. "(Massachusetts) a couple years ago had a swarming defense - a suffocating defense. We couldn't unlace our shoes. But this team not only is pretty good on defense, but a pretty good offensive team, too."
On Kroy Bierman
"Here's what we did in practice," Ford explained. "We lined our (scout) team up offside - about a yard offside - to try to get ready for that kid. I don't think we did a (good) job of blocking him even with that. He's pretty good."
"He was a constant threat," said Albany quarterback Vinny Esposito. "Towards the end of the game, no matter what the defense was, we slid the protection toward him because he was making such an impact."
JD Quinn
"He's a big, violent guy," Griz running back Lex Hilliard offered. "That's all I've got to say."
"He just brings a certain nastiness," Bergquist said. "It's something we already had, but he brings even more nastiness. It's what you like to see in your huddle when you're a quarterback."
"I didn't notice any glaring weaknesses from him," Hauck said. "But I don't think J.D.'s any different than the rest of our guys. They play aggressive football up front."
Billings Gazette (http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/09/25/sports/local/28-griz1.txt)