Playoff run at stake when Griz-Cat hits town

11/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football

GRIZ HOST CATS: The 11th/14th-ranked University of Montana Grizzlies (7-3/5-2 Big Sky) play their final 2010 regular-season contest, playing the 8th-ranked Montana State Bobcats (8-2/6-1 Big Sky) for the 110th time Saturday, Nov. 20, in a crucial Big Sky Conference game at 12:07 p.m. in UM???s Washington-Grizzly Stadium (Sprinturf, 25,217).

SENIOR DAY: UM???s 15 seniors will be recognized prior to the game: defensive tackle Carson Bender, defensive end Severin Campbell, cornerback Brandon Dodson, defensive tackle Tyler Hobbs, wide receiver Jeff Larson, tight end Rob Overton, guard Russell Piette, halfback Chase Reynolds, quarterback Justin Roper, defensive tackle Braydon Schilling, quarterback Andrew Selle, free safety Houston Stockton, strong safety Erik Stoll, center Alex Verlanic, defensive back Jimmy Wilson.

A LOT ON THE LINE: A Grizzly win should assure them of their 18th straight trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. A Bobcat victory would give MSU its first outright Big Sky title since 1984 (MSU tied for the championship in 2002, 2003, and 2005). MSU defeated Eastern Washington 30-7 earlier this season, so it would win the tie-breaker based on head-to-head play and receive the league???s automatic FCS playoff berth.

GRIZ LAST GAME: At Montana 27, North Dakota 17: Reynolds rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns and broke the school record for scoring runs in the win over the Fighting Sioux. Senior quarterback Justin Roper was 14-of-22-1 for 231 yards, and he had a 58-yard touchdown throw to Antwon Moutra. Junior WR Jabin Sambrano had 4 catches for 76 yards, Reynolds had 4 grabs for 39 yards.

SOLID GROUND GAME: Reynolds rushed a season-high 27 times for his 173 yards, and halfback Gerald Kemp added 50 yards. UM rushed for 190 yards on 45 carries.

CENTURY MARK: Junior WR Moutra had 3 catches and his first 100-yard receiving day.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS: Sophomore linebacker Jordan Tripp had a game-high 13 tackles, while senior strong safety Erik Stoll and junior linebacker Caleb McSurdy had 12 stops each. The Griz ???D??? held UND to 45 total yards on 23 plays in the fourth quarter.

REYNOLDS POW: Reynolds, who set the school record with his 51st career rushing TD versus UND, was named the Big Sky???s offensive player of the week for the fourth time in his career. Dodson was the defensive nominee, while junior cornerback Don Lisowski was the special teams nominee.

25TH STRAIGHT WINNING SEASON: UM???s 24-21 win over Northern Arizona was its sixth of the season -- giving the Grizzlies their 25th consecutive winning season, starting in 1986.

GRIZ FOURTH IN FCS IN 3RD DOWN DEFENSE: The Griz are fourth in the FCS in third down conversion defense at 27.04% (43-of-159). Texas Southern leads the nation at 22.30% (31-of-139). Sac State is second in the Big Sky and ranked 24th in the nation at 32.58% (43-of-132).

GRIZ RANKED HIGH DEFENSIVELY: Montana is ranked 10th in the nation in total defense, allowing 291.00 yards a game. The Griz are ranked 11th in the nation and lead the Big Sky in both tackles for loss (6.90 a game) and sacks (2.20 pg).

UM RANKED 14TH IN SCORING AND 22ND IN PASSING: Montana is ranked 14th in the country in scoring at 33.30 points a game, and 22nd in passing (245.40 ypg).

OPPONENTS CORNER: MSU returns 17 starters from a 7-4 team that was 5-3 in the Big Sky a year ago. Coach Rob Ash is 28-16 in his fourth season at MSU.

CAT STAT LEADERS: MSU has one of the most prolific offenses in the FCS, and are ranked third in total offense (476.4 ypg), sixth in passing (293.1 ypg), and seventh in scoring (35.8 ppg). Redshirt freshman quarterback Denarius McGhee is 197-of-312-5 for 2,802 yards and 20 touchdowns, and is third in the FCS in pass efficiency (156.53) and sixth in total offense (296.7 ypg). Junior kicker Jason Cunningham leads the country with 1.90 field goals a game. Junior running back Orenzo Davis is ranked 27th in the FCS in rushing (92.2 ypg) and has rushed for 8 TDs, while junior CJ Palmer has rushed for 5 scores. Redshirt freshman linebacker Aleski Grosulak has a team-high 78 tackles, while senior DT Dan Ogden leads with 9.5 TFLs.??