Five keys for Montana Western football: Shore up defense, clean up penalties, and more

DILLON Saturday afternoon will be a housewarming of sorts for those in the Montana Western football community.

The Bulldogs, , open their season against Eastern Oregon at 1 p.m.

in what will be the first game played at the .

Westerns first two games will be played at Bulldog Stadium, including a highly-anticipated playoff rematch against College of Idaho on Sept.

14.

Its good for the community because well have a lot of faces at the first two games.

A new environment, so we get to make our mark on it, set the tradition and defend the home field, Western quarterback Michael Palandri said.

As a new era begins for the reigning Frontier Conference champions, here are five keys to success for Western in 2024.

It hosted its first NAIA playoff game since 1994.

The Bulldogs shared three conference championships in the years between winning it outright, including in 2021, but 2023 marked the strides Western has made on its climb to the top.

This season, there is a target on the back of the Bulldogs.

Each team on their schedule will be motivated to take down the defending champions.

But from Westerns perspective, nothing changes.

Whether teams are gunning for the Bulldogs or not, they have the same attitude that got them to this point.

Everybody always wants to beat us.

Were supposed to be the little engine that might, Western head coach Ryan Nourse said.

Ive never went into any day, any practice, any game thinking I was any better than anybody else.

The only way I know how to do things is to earn it.

Offense has been the hallmark for Western in recent years.

Last season, the fast-paced attack averaged 455.5 yards (fifth in NAIA) and 36.8 points (14th) per game.

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the 2023 offense was full of youth and all 11 starters return.

Palandri, the reigning Frontier Offensive Player of the Year, feels more comfortable running the offense after an impressive first year as the starter.

I feel a lot more confident, Id say.

Especially with all the weapons I have around me, Palandri said.

Last year was a learning experience and now I know what Im doing a lot more.

And Ive got great guys around me on the offensive side.

One of Palandris weapons is sophomore wide receiver Eli Nourse, who earned AP first team All-American honors in his first college season.

Eli broke Westerns single season records in receptions (90) and receiving yards (1,186).

The Bulldogs also return their second and third leading receivers, junior Dylan Shipley (796 yards in 2023) and redshirt sophomore Jon Kirkley (575).

In the ground game, Westerns top two running backs from last year are back in the fold redshirt sophomore Jake Humphrey (642 yards in 2023) and redshirt senior Pete Gibson (456).

With so much production back from an offense that was elite in 2023, the Bulldogs figure to be hard to stop this season.

While the Bulldogs offense was high flying, the defense struggled at times last season.

A 49-point outburst from College of Idaho in Westerns final game highlighted those struggles.

Most notably, the Bulldogs allowed more passing yards per game (270.5) than any other team in the conference.

Ryan Nourse is now coaching the defensive backs on top of his head coaching duties.

A vital piece to Westerns defense is cornerback Braden Swank, who missed all but four games last year due to a broken collarbone.

Swank led the NAIA in pass breakups in 2021 and 2022.

Another plus for a secondary and defense that are trying to improve, they get to face the Bulldogs offense every day.

Id put our receiving core against any other receiving core in the nation...so we learn every single day, Swank said.

Theres a couple of new faces on the defense, but they have the same mentality and were all on the same page Elsewhere on the defense, Western is replacing Reese Artz, Tanner Harrell and Bryer Monson on the line, as well as Kameron Rauser at linebacker.

Dillon native and Montana State transfer .

With some different faces on the defensive side, Ryan Nourse thinks there could be different results.

I feel good about it, I think the defense will look different than it has for a long time, he said.

The Bulldogs committed 83 penalties (74th in NAIA) in 2023, costing them 970 penalty yards (92nd).

Western had 100 or more penalty yards in four games and in the season-ending loss to College of Idaho, it gave up 93 yards due to penalties.

In a conference with razor-thin margins, penalties could ultimately be the difference between the Bulldogs reaching their goals or not.

College of Idaho was the only team that was able to take down Western in 2023, and it did so twice the first time on a touchdown in the final seconds in Caldwell, and the second in high-scoring playoff affair in Dillon.

C of I, already 2-0 and ranked No.

4 in the preseason Top 25, was .

Of course, a loss to C of I on Sept.

14 wouldnt mean the end of the world for Western.

But with a win, the Bulldogs would make a statement not just in the Frontier, but on a national scale.

Western has proven it can compete with C of I, as seen with two losses by a combined nine points last year and a win over the then-No.

7 Yotes in 2022..

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