Peter Nguyen leads Montana to semi-finals with Touchdown

Peter Nguyen‘s 57 yards on just 7 carries was enough for Montana Grizzlies to beat Northern Iowa 45-10 and help Montana advance to the semi-finals round of the FCS playoffs. Peter Nguyen had a big 37 yard run to help setup his 10 yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter to bust the game open. See below for Peter Nguyen highlights and all touches,

Watch runningback Peter Nguyen and the Montana Grizzlies on ESPN this Friday

Heading into their quarterfinal showdown with Northern Iowa Friday night in Missoula, the Grizzlies are playing their best football at the perfect time. Quarterback Jordan Johnson has rushed for 356 yards in a zone/read option ground game that is essentially a four-headed monster. Peter Nguyen leads the way with 768 yards, while fellow running backs Jordan Canada and Dan Moore have amassed 532 and 375 yards, respectively.

The game is set for a 8 p.m. EST kickoff Friday night at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, and will be broadcast on ESPN. The winner advances to the semifinal round to play the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between Montana State and Sam Houston State.

Peter Nguyen rushes for a team high 79 yards and a touchdown in Montana playoff game win

Montana running back Peter Nguyen had 79 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown during the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs on Saturday.

Two weeks after Montana greased Montana State for 309 yards rushing, the Griz were at it again in a 41-14 playoff win Saturday. They churned out 229 yards, systematically demoralizing the intimidated Bears.

Montana has had other big games on the ground this fall. But something magical is happening the colder it gets.

Nguyen isn’t just finding open spaces, the 5-foot-8 waterbug is busting tackles.

Just ask coach Robin Pflugrad how it helps having all three runningbacks in the mix.

“It’s extremely beneficial because they all bring a different element to our run game,” he said. “Dan Moore is obviously our power back, so to speak. Jordan Canada and Peter Nguyen are similar but yet they do have differences.

“It takes some pressure off Peter Nguyen when Jordan Canada is there. For a couple games it was really just Peter Nguyen. We like to play fast. We played very well in the first half playing fast. If you only have one back in practice you’re not going to be able to play as fast.”

Credit is due to Montana’s imposing offensive line for making Saturday possible. By the same token, Nguyen, Moore and Canada are all running exceptionally hard, something even NFL scatbacks seem reluctant to do on every play.

When you run the ball with success, life is a ray of sunshine. The passing game benefits, the defense stays off the field. The air smells fresher. Food tastes better.

Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.

via FCS playoff fever running high.

How Montana Steamrolled Montana State 36-10

How about those Montana running backs?  The Grizzlies rushed for an impressive 309 yards today, as Peter Nguyen and Dan Moore were giving the Bobcats fits all day.  Peter Nguyen had 19 carries for 123 yards, and Dan Moore had 15 carries for 116 yards.  Another outstanding stat for the Grizzly offense today?  Zero turnovers. 

I was really impressed by Nguyen’s open field running ability, and Moore running over Bobcat defenders consistently.  If these two keep on playing like this, the Grizzlies should have a great chance to make it to the FCS National Championship game for the eighth time in school history.

via Montana’s Rushing Attack | FCS College Football: 3 Reasons Why Montana Steamrolled Montana State 36-10 | Bleacher Report.

Peter Nguyen put up career numbers in Grizzlies victory

Peter Nguyen rushed for a career-best 149 yards to spark a University of Montana offense that lost quarterback Jordan Johnson to a first-quarter elbow injury.

Backup QB Kemp hit Sam Gratton (7 catches, 85 yards) and Sambrano with passes, but it was Nguyen - playing while injured backs Dan Moore, Beau Donaldson and Jordan Canada looked on – who sparked things with runs of 9 and 14 yards.

“I was really excited,” said the junior running back. “It’s different not having Jordan or Dan, or Beau. I was looking forward to it, and it was great to play more.”

Nguyen picked up 6 more yards when Pflugrad eschewed another field goal attempt and went for it on fourth-and-1 from Western’s 7.

The Griz scored on the next play to go up 22-7, but the TD came from freshman Brett Kirschner. Nguyen had been dazed by a big hit on the sideline.

“He just hit me in a good spot, on my side,” he said.

The Griz are thankful for a bye week ahead of the 111th Brawl of the Wild.

“The time is here to start preparing,” said Pflugrad. “First and foremost we have to get healthy. As Peter said, a lot of his buddies in the running back stable are sidelined, and that’s a group that needs to heal up.

“Because when Peter went down on that sideline it was like, ‘Peter, you can’t go down.’ That was our whole mentality: ‘That’s not acceptable.’ “

The atmosphere will slowly build for the Griz over the next two weeks, ahead of what will be the Big Sky’s title game against the No. 2 Bobcats.

“It’s probably the biggest game of the season for us,” Nguyen said. “We have a couple extra days to prepare for them, and we’re just going to come ready.”

Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 523-5247 or at fneighbor@missoulian.com.

via Feet of glory: McKnight, Nguyen put up career numbers in Griz victory.