Marshall Sperbeck won't need any fiery speeches today to rev up his Sacramento State football team.
The Hornets already appear plenty motivated for a 2:05 p.m. contest against Montana at Hornet Stadium. Montana comes into the game ranked No. 2 in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Sac State junior defensive tackle Christian Clark, whose team is 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big Sky Conference, sounded eager to take on the Grizzlies (6-0, 3-0).
"We're trying to get back on track now," he said. "What better way to do it than to beat the premier team in our conference? Everybody's looking forward to this game a little bit more."
Hornets senior offensive guard Matt Lemley said upsetting Montana, which has won or shared 11 consecutive Big Sky titles, would mark a turning point for Sac State.
"It would be a big-time win for the program," he said. "It would kind of push us over the top and get us to that top level of the Big Sky Conference. Knowing that gives us motivation to want to play well and come out with a victory."
Montana is the only Big Sky team Sac State has never beaten, with the Hornets going 0-14 against the Grizzlies. Sac State came close in 1999 (41-38 in double overtime), 2000 (24-20) and 2002 (31-24).
The Grizzlies have built a 13-game regular-season winning streak by winning close games this season at UC Davis (17-10) and Northern Arizona (41-34 in overtime) and holding off Eastern Washington at home (41-34).
Montana leads the nation in punt returns (a 21.6-yard average), is tied for fifth in scoring offense (36.8 points per game) and tied for 33rd in scoring defense (19.7).
The Grizzlies aim to control the line of scrimmage with a mammoth offensive front and a talented defensive line. Montana averages 303.8 pounds on its offensive front and 247 pounds across the defensive line.
"We have to play a real technically sound game across the board," said Clark, part of a starting defensive line averaging 256.3 pounds. "Everything we do has to be perfect because we are undersized."
Lemley said the offensive front, averaging 283 pounds, faces a big challenge.
"They get off the ball well, and they're disciplined," he said. "(We have to) stay low and try to have perfect technique."
Sperbeck, in his third season as head coach, has plenty to worry about, including Montana wide receiver Marc Mariani, who has 25 catches for 542 yards and five touchdowns and eight punt returns for 193 yards, one score and an FCS national-best average of 24.1 yards.
Sperbeck would rather focus on his team.
"We just have to worry about ourselves and do our part and do our job," he said.
And hope his Hornets find a way to compete with the Big Sky standard bearer.
"That's kind of the benchmark of the conference is to be able to play at that level, have the success that Montana has," he said. "Other teams in the Big Sky are striving for that. We look forward to the challenge.
"We should be ready to go."
Call The Bee's John Schumacher, (916) 326-5523.
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