Rested Griz return to host Cal Poly on Homecoming

After a week off to refresh the bodies and renew the focus, Montana football returns to action Saturday as Griz Nation gathers for Homecoming when Cal Poly visits Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Sitting at 2-0 with mountains of momentum, the No. 4 Grizzlies open Big Sky Conference play against the Mustangs, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25.

Montana returns to the field after starting the season with a massive upset over the No. 20 Washington Huskies followed by a 42-7 near shutout of Western Illinois for one of just two Big Sky wins over Missouri Valley teams.

Cal Poly (1-2) comes to Missoula with a new head coach and a new identity in 2021, a coach Griz fans know well and has seen plenty of success against Montana.

After a stint as the offensive coordinator at the University of California, former Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin is now in his first season as the Cal Poly mentor. Baldwin took the Mustang reins from Tim Walsh, and at the same time shifted the program from a run-based triple-option team to a signature Baldwin air attack offense.

While picked to finish at the bottom of the Big Sky table this season, Cal Poly has played spoiler in Missoula before. Last time the Mustangs came to town, the Griz were riding high having just defeated No. 1 NDSU to open the 2015 season. They left with a 20-19 upset thanks to a last-second, 49-yard field goal.

But this year the Grizzlies are roaring a little different.

Montana takes the field Saturday with a defense that hasn't allowed more than a single touchdown in four games and hasn't allowed a single point in 115 minutes of game time, shutting out opposing offenses for seven straight quarters.

Led by senior QB Cam Humphrey, the Grizzly offense is clicking as well. Humphrey threw five touchdown passes against Western Illinois, guiding a unit that has split its 750 yards of total offense relatively evenly on the ground and in the air.

But with the start of Big Sky play comes a new season – a season that will see the Grizzlies chasing their first conference title since 2009.

HAPPY HOMECOMING: The University of Montana celebrates its 102^nd Homecoming in 2021 after the pandemic canceled the celebrations in 2020. Events this year include the return of the "Yell Night Pep Rally" on the steps of Main Hall in the Oval on Friday, complete with bonfires, the Grizzly Marching Band, singing on the steps, an appearance from Coach Hauck and the team, and the lighting of the M and fireworks to cap the evening off.

Montana holds a 65-33-1 all-time record in homecoming, and is 30-4 in homecoming games played inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. In 2019, UM rolled over Idaho State 59-20 on homecoming, but lost the year before that 22-20 to Portland State.

For a complete listing of Homecoming festivities, visit the UM Alumni Office web site.

MOBILE TICKETING: After a successful rollout of Montana's new mobile ticketing system last week, fans will again have the opportunity to move to a 100% mobile or print-at-home ticket delivery system, offering the convenience of having tickets delivered to your mobile device and added flexibility in case of lost or stolen tickets. As always, fans are encouraged to enter the stadium as early as possible to avoid lines at the gate.

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TICKETS
·      Visit www.GrizTix.com on a mobile device or computer
·      Login to your account with your email and password
·      Click on Manage My Account
·      Choose REISSUE to download new Print-at-Home tickets
·      Choose TRANSFER to send tickets to someone else
·      Save mobile tickets to your wallet or print them at home
·      Scan your ticket on your phone screen at the gate, just like you would at the airport -OR- Scan your print at home ticket

BENEFITS OF MOBILE TICKETING
·      Instant delivery: No shipping errors
·      Security: Ticket office can provide more options in case of lost or stolen tickets
·      Flexibility: Send tickets to your friends and family easily via email or text
·      Convenience: Manage your account 24-hours a day at home with the ability to transfer and reissue tickets on demand
·      Easy resale: flexibility to resell unused tickets so we can reach sellout status for the best home-field advantage in the league
·      Sustainability: Reduces our carbon footprint due to less paper-and less shipping
·      Touch-free: No contact/handling for social distancing

For complete details on the new mobile ticketing system, including instructional videos and FAQs, visit GoGriz.com/MobileTicketing.

DIGITAL PROGRAMS: Montana fans can capture the memory of Saturday's game easier this season with gameday programs moving to a digital platform.

Fans can pick up a free roster flip-card from any retailer inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium and scan a QR code for quick and easy access to the full gameday program.

WATCH: ABC Montana (SWX in Billings) will provide a statewide broadcast of Montana's Big Sky opener against Cal Poly Saturday, and fans around the nation can tune in via the ESPN+ streaming service. Fans who live in the state of Montana can also pick up a stream of the game on their mobile devices via the Watch SWX App.

Ron Davis will be on the play-by-play, with former Grizzly QB and Glacier High School head football coach Grady Bennett serving as the analyst. Shaun Rainey will be the sideline reporter.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran and long-time analyst Greg Sundberg will bring you the action live from Missoula on KGVO Missoula, the flagship station of the Grizzly Sports Radio Network, and its fifteen affiliates around the state. Live audio web streams can also be found at GoGriz.com/Listen.

Also new in 2021, Griz fans have a better than ever way to stream all of Montana's radio broadcasts on their mobile device LIVE and FREE of charge with the Varsity Network App, powered by Learfield and Sidearm Sports.

Fans can download the app for iPhone or Android use for instant access to free gameday audio streams plus the Coach Hauck Radio Show, and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts as well.

COACHES SHOW: The Bobby Hauck radio show returns this week, broadcast live across the state from the banks of the Clark Fork River at the show's new home of FINN in the DoubleTree Hotel in Missoula, airing each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Admission to watch the live broadcast at FINN is free, with a special coaches show menu available.

Week 4 Montana Grizzlies Press Conference https://t.co/q7mY3FOTuH
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) September 20, 2021

GRIZ TRACKS

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Despite the bye week, Montana rose to No. 4 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll on Monday and held steady at No. 4 in the Stats Perform FCS media poll as well.

UM jumped up a spot from No. 5 to four in the coaches' poll, leapfrogging North Dakota State, which won at Towson 35-7 on week three.

Montana is once again the highest of five teams from the Big Sky Conference ranked in the national top-15 in both polls. Sam Houston, which also had a bye week, remained in the top spot in both polls.

ANOTHER BIG WEEK FOR THE BIG SKY: Ten FCS teams have now beat FBS teams this season, with Montana's win over Washington remaining the only upset of a ranked FBS team in the nation. With Northern Arizona beating Arizona on Week three, the Big Sky Conference now leads the FCS with four of the 10 wins – the most for the league since 2012.

With Montana and NAU each picking up a win over a Pac-12 team, the Big Sky has now posted two wins over Power 5 programs for the first time in conference history.

FINISHING STRONG: Montana continued to pour on the points in the second half against Western Illinois, scoring 21 of the team's 42 points after the break. The week before, Montana scored 10 points in the fourth quarter at Washington to pull off the upset of the year, continuing UM's second-half strength that dates back to the 2019 season.

In the spring season of 2021, the Griz outscored its two opponents 56-7 combined in the third and fourth quarters. In 2019, Montana scored 286 of its 514 points that season in the second half, while allowing opponents to score just 131 points in the two periods.

PILE ON THE POINTS, KEEP 'EM OUT OF THE END ZONE: With the decisive 42-7 win over the Leathernecks, Montana has now outscored its last four opponents in the 2021 calendar year by a combined 162-24.

The Grizzly defense has not allowed more than a single touchdown in four-straight games either, dating back to the spring season when UM beat Central Washington 59-3 and Portland State 48-7.

PASSING GAME: Humphrey threw five touchdown passes against WIU, marking just the 15^th time in school history five have been thrown in a game, and the 20^th time five or more have been thrown. Chad Chalich holds the record for most TD passes in a game with seven against Idaho State in 2016. The last QB to throw for five touchdowns was Dalton Sneed in 2019's FCS Playoff win over Southeastern Louisiana.

It wasn't all roses for the Grizzlies as UM threw three picks against the Leathernecks – two from Humphrey and one in the final minutes from Kris Brown.

Leatherneck Michael Lawson returned one of his two INTs 75 yards for WIU's only score of the game. The last Grizzly opponent to return an INT for a touchdown was Jordan Preator at Weber State in 2017, who returned it 23 yards for a score. The last player to have two interceptions against UM was George Tarlass at Weber State in 2019, and the last time a team had three pics against UM was UC Davis in 2018.

HOME OPENERS: Montana increased its home-opener win streak to 18 after the victory over WIU, and is now 31-4 all-time in the first game of the year in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Montana and James Madison are now tied at No. 4 for the longest home-opener win streak in the FCS at 18-straight games each. Harvard, No. 3 on that list, is the only team in the top-five to have not played at home yet this season. The Crimson host Brown this weekend in Cambridge to try to improve their home-opener streak to 20.

ACTIVE FCS HOME-OPENER WIN STREAKS
1:         23 North Dakota State - 1999-2021
2:         22 Central Arkansas - 2000-2021
3:         19 Harvard - 2001-2019
4:         18 Montana - 2004-2020-21
            18 James Madison - 2003-2021
5:         17 McNeese - 2005-2021

ALL OF THE LIGHTS: Montana is now 9-2 all-time in night games played in Washington-Grizzly Stadium following the win over WIU. The Griz have been especially productive under the lights as well, with the Griz outscoring opponents 129-47 since Hauck's return in 2018.

That success could have something to do with the crowd. Montana's game against WIU was sold out at 25,238 – the largest crowd to see a game in Missoula since 2018's Griz/Cat game and the largest night game crowd since 2017's loss to Eastern Washington.

WELCOME TO THE WEST: Montana also improved its all-time home record against teams from east of the Mississippi River to 34-7 with the win over WIU. The Griz have now won 11 of the last 12 games against teams from "back east" in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The last loss came in the 2013 FCS playoffs against now FBS (and nationally ranked) Coastal Carolina.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE: The Grizzlies remain ahead in the turnover battle this season despite four giveaways against Western Illinois.

In the all-important battle for possession, the Griz are +2 on the season's turnover differential chart with a total of six takeaways against four giveaways.

PICKS FOR DAYS: Montana has two of the Big Sky's interception leaders after week three's action. Both Gavin Robertson and Marcus Welnel have tallied a pair of interceptions this season as two of eight players in the league to do so.

Robertson helped UM's defense keep Washington out of the end zone for three quarters of play with a pair of pics, and Welnel sealed the Grizzly victory over the No. 20 Huskies with a clutch pick on the final UW drive of the game to earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors.

Welnel also picked off a Western Illinois pass to go along with a fumble recovery, a half-TFL, and six tackles.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS: After last week's win over WIU, more Grizzlies continue to climb the record books.

Junior safety Robby Hauck passed Mike Bouchee and Buchanan Award finalist Trey Young in career tackles with eight against the Leathernecks for a total of 253, putting him at No. 29 on UM's all-time tacklers list. He needs five more tackles to pass his coach Shann Shillinger's career total of 257. Dante Olson holds the UM record for career tackles with 397.

Also adding to his total last week was senior linebacker Jace Lewis, who notched six stops against WIU. Lewis is now tied at No. 35 on the list with Alex Shaw at 231 career tackles.

Samuel Akem caught three passes for 30 yards and a TD against WIU and is now tied with his former position coach Mike Ferriter with 147 career catches. The senior is also tied at No. 7 on UM's all-time touchdown catch list with former teammate Ellis Henderson at 23. Akem needs just seven more touchdown catches to become Montana's all-time leader, passing Marc Mariani's school record of 29.

VALLEY CHALLENGE: Following week three's games, the Missouri Valley Football Conference laid claim to its third-straight win in the MVFC/Big Sky Challenge Series with a 4-2 tally. Montana and Eastern Washington were the only Big Sky teams to pick up a win in this year's edition of the series, both defeating Western Illinois.

The MVFC won the 2019 series 6-4 with Montana beating South Dakota, and won the 2018 series 5-3 with the Griz beating then-No. 13 UNI but falling to WIU two weeks later. Montana has taken three of the Big Sky's nine total wins in the series. The Grizzlies hold the best record of any Big Sky team in the series at 3-1.

The Grizzlies are one of only four teams in the Big Sky Conference to enter week four with a winning record. The Griz face Cal Poly at 2-0, while EWU and UC Davis sit at 3-0, and MSU is at 2-1.

HALL OF FAMERS: The Montana Football Hall of Fame announced its class of 2022 on Monday, with former Grizzly safeties Blaine McElmurry and current UM safeties coach Shann Shillinger set to be inducted in June.

Joining the class is Marv Sunderland, a Chester, Montana native, long-time NFL scout, and father of former Grizzly Brock Sunderland, now the general manager of the Edmonton Elks of the CFL.

McElmurry was a member of the 1995 national championship squad and went on to play three seasons in the NFL and was a member of the Green Bay Packers in the 1998 Super Bowl.

Schillinger also played three seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans before returning to Montana to coach in 2015.

Sunderland was an NFL scout for 39 years for the Jets, Patriots, and Titans before serving as the New York Giants director of player personnel from 1998-2002.

GRIZ/EAGLES ON ESPN2: The eyes of the college football world will once again fall on the Montana Grizzlies when UM travels to Cheney on Oct. 2 to take on Eastern Washington under the lights at Roos Field.

ESPN announced Monday that the broadcast of the game will be bumped up from ESPN U to ESPN 2, putting the Grizzlies in front of millions more fans on basic cable and satellite packages nationwide. The game now marks the first time ever a regular-season Big Sky Conference contest will be shown on the network.

With kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (MT), Montana versus Eastern Washington is set to be one of the last college football games in the nation that weekend. As of 2018, approximately 86 million television households in America – over 93-percent of households with pay TV – have ESPN 2 as part of their cable or satellite package.

SERIES HISTORY: Montana leads the overall series against Cal Poly comfortably at 16-5 and 11-2 all-time in games played in Missoula since 1969. It's been a different story in the last decade, however, with Cal Poly winning four of the last seven meetings and forcing overtime in 2013 loss to the Griz.

Head coach Bobby Hauck carries a 6-1 career record against the Mustangs, however, coming away with the last win in 2018, a 48-28 battle in California. In his first tenure as head coach, Hauck's only loss to Cal Poly came in the 2005 FCS playoffs in Missoula.

Cal Poly coach Beau Baldwin has a different history with the Grizzlies, however. As head coach at Eastern Washington from 2008-16, Baldwin went 6-4 against UM before heading for California as the Golden Bears OC.

Samuel Akem, Conlan Beaver, Jace Lewis, and Matthew O'Donoghue are the only four Grizzlies who were on the UM roster last time the Griz played a Baldwin-led squad, a 35-16 UM loss at EWU in 2016. All were redshirts at the time.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly has yet to find the same momentum under Baldwin as EWU had, however, entering this week's game at 1-2 on the season following a pair of lopsided losses.

The Mustangs opened the season with a 28-17 win at San Diego of the Pioneer League but have since been trounced by Fresno State 63-10 and South Dakota 48-14.

University of California transfer quarterback Spencer Brasch missed last week's game against South Dakota with a fractured hand, giving freshman Kahliq Paulette the start against the Coyotes.

Paulette went 10-27 passing for 121 yards before being replaced by Conor Bruce, who went 3-3 passing for 69 yards and a touchdown.

The bulk of Cal Poly's run game has been handled by Shakobe Harper and Chuby Dunu, who have a combined 33 attempts for 100 yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Matt Shotwell, who posted six tackles against UM in the 2018 meeting between the schools, leads the Mustangs with an eye-popping 30 tackles (20 solo) in three games this season.

GRIZ QUICK HITS: Montana's three interceptions against Washington are the second-most in a game by any team in the Big Sky this week and the most against an FBS team after UC Davis hauled in five picks against Dixie State.

• Patrick O'Connell's 4.5 sacks in two games is the best per-game percentage in the nation and tops in the Big Sky after three weeks of play with a 2.25 sack/game average (4.5 total).

• O'Connell also tops the nation and league in tackles for loss per-game with six in two games.

• The Griz picked up 15 rushing first downs against Western Illinois, tied for the most in the Big Sky this season and the most in the league against a Division-I opponent.

• After not allowing a TD from an opposing offense for seven quarters, Montana leads the Big Sky and is fourth nationally in scoring defense, with only a single score against them this season.

• Montana's D also leads the league in fewest first downs allowed and is ranked No. 14 in the FCS with just 30.

• Montana's win over Western Illinois was the 100^th for Hauck in his tenure as Grizzly head coach. It was also the Grizzlies' 210^th victory inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Samuel Akem

Conlan Beaver

Kris Brown

Robby Hauck

Cam Humphrey

Jace Lewis

Patrick O'Connell

Matthew O'Donoghue

Gavin Robertson

Marcus Welnel

University of Montana Athletics