Chadron State head football coach Bill O’Boyle is already calling it.
He said that the Gorillas could be the toughest opponent the Eagles face this season when they come to Carnie Smith Stadium today for a noon kickoff.
“It’s going to be a very tough game for us, especially watching them against UCO,” O’Boyle said. “We just know how hard they play ... they are very physical across the board.”
But, Pitt State head coach Tim Beck might not be so quick to drink the Kool-Aid after last Saturday’s 31-20 win at Central Oklahoma were the Gorillas started the game with four turnovers and had to rally in the second half.
“People can see that maybe we didn’t fly to the ball as well as we should have,” Beck said.
That meant the focus this week has been in improvement for the Gorillas.
“The improvement will be there ... that doesn’t mean you’ll win the next game, but the improvement will be there at just about every position,” Beck said.
The Gorillas blasted Chadron last year at Carnie Smith, 41-13, in a game where both teams were ranked in the top 10.
Don’t think for one second that O’Boyle has forgotten how the Gorillas punished Chadron’s defense for 426 yards and had a defense that held Chadron to just 33 yards rushing.
“You have to do stuff right,” O’Boyle said. “Last year we had about five interceptions and put our defense in some tough situations and you can’t afford to do that.”
Chadron quarterback Garrett Treffer is slated to start for the Eagles after suffering a hip pointer in the first half of the Eagles’ 35-3 home-opening win over the University of Mary last week.
As for the Gorillas’ quarterbacking situation, Pittsburg natives Zac Dickey and Jeff Smith will continue to trade snaps with Dickey starting the game and Smith coming in at an undisclosed time.
The Gorilla defense will come into Saturday’s game licking their proverbial chops after reigning in five interceptions against Central Oklahoma last week.
“They (Chadron) have a good offensive line and a good quarterback that did well against us last year,” said junior defensive end Spencer Worthington.
For Worthington, the Gorillas’ new four-man line front meant a switch from linebacker to defensive end. But Worthington said that was not a big adjustment for him to make last week.
