Griz eye Brawl win on big stage

The eyes of the college football universe descend on Montana this week with ESPN's iconic pregame show College GameDay shining its light on the annual Brawl of the Wild game between Montana and Montana State.

As has been the case frequently in the last few years, there is a lot more than bragging rights on the line this season when UM travels to Bozeman for a noon kickoff on Saturday. Montana is still fighting for its playoff life after two-straight dominant wins, likely needing another Saturday to sniff a first-round bye.

Montana State, meanwhile, enters the game on the cusp of the program's first Big Sky title since 2012, and the Grizzlies would like nothing more than a repeat of last year when they spoiled a league title.

The cross-state grudge match is again setting up to be a thriller for the fans, with each team going strength-on-strength.

A look at the Big Sky stats tells you all you need to know about Montana's defense this season. The Griz have allowed just 149 points, the third-lowest total in the FCS and the lowest in the league by more than 20 points. UM also leads the league and is ninth nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 97 yards per game on the ground.

Conversely, the Cats enter Saturday's game with one of the top ground attacks in the nation, leading the Big Sky with an average of 314 yards per game.

Tops in the league in total offense? MSU with 505 yards per contest. Total defense? UM, allowing just 290.

How about special teams? Led by Patrick Rohrbach, Montana has the best punt team in the Big Sky at an average of 42 yards per attempt - the second-best net punt average in the nation. MSU has the league's best punt return unit, averaging nearly 16 per attempt.

Most sacks in the Big Sky? Advantage Montana with 32. Most sacks against? Montana State with 10.

And don't look now, but after drubbing its last two opponents by a combined 120-7, Montana's offense has roared back to life, now second in the league in scoring at an average of nearly 39 per game with a balanced attack in the air and on the ground.

It's FCS powerhouse versus FCS powerhouse with every eye in the state of Montana on it. Buckle up, because we're all in for a ride.

#GRIZONGAMEDAY: What started with a spark of an idea inside the Montana athletics department in the fall of 2021 turned into a nationwide rallying cry to bring College GameDay to the Brawl of the Wild.

One year later, that mission was fulfilled when ESPN announced plans to attend this year's rivalry game and showcase the Treasure State's best and the finest rivalry in the FCS.

Get your signs and flags ready Griz Nation, fans are encouraged to travel to Bozeman and make it a sea of maroon behind Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and co. for the show's live broadcast Saturday morning from 7-10 a.m. (MT), with fan arrival beginning at 5 a.m.

The show will be hosted at MSU's Dyche Field north of Bobcat Stadium between Kagy Blvd and the basketball arena. For more information, visit ESPN's GameDay website.

WATCH: The Griz return to the Montana Television Network this week with the UM/EWU game airing on your local CBS station around the state, with kickoff from Bozeman set for noon. The game will also be streamed nationwide without blackout on ESPN+, with subscription required.

For complete broadcast details and channel listings, visit the Where to Watch page on GoGriz.com.

MTN will bring the UM and MSU broadcast teams together for Saturday's game. Ben Creighton (MSU) will have the play-by-play, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer and long-time NFL coach Marty Mornhinweg will serve as an analyst alongside Ty Gregorak. Both Kyle Hansen and Ashley Washburn will report from the sidelines.

The following linear TV networks around the west will also carry the game live:

Utah – Salt Lake
- Channel 13.2 over the air
- Channel 384 Comcast Cable
Colorado – Denver
- Local 3 – Channel 3 over the air
- Channel 3 Comcast Cable / Direct TV / DISH
Arizona – Tucson
- The CW Tucson channel 8 over the air
- Channel 8 Comcast Cable / Cox Cable
- Channel 58 Direct TV / Dish
Arizona – Phoenix
- The CW Phoenix 61 over the air
- Channel 6 Cox Cable
- Channel 6 TV/Dish

Brawl of the Wild Available to International Markets
The University of Montana is pleased to announce that fans and military personnel outside of the United States will be able to watch Saturday's 121st Brawl of the Wild live from Bozeman.

Saturday's international distribution will be powered by Visaic, which is headquartered in San Diego, Calif. Visaic has worked with high-profile brands like UFC, the Canadian Football League and Canada West TV. Beginning at 12 p.m. Mountain on Saturday, fans outside the United States and its territories can log in to https://bigsky.yaretv.com to view the Big Sky Conference game free of charge.

Visaic will video stream the television feed provided by the Montana Television Network, which will televise the game live throughout the state of Montana. The game will also be streamed in the United States on ESPN+. Fans will need a subscription to watch on ESPN+.

WATCH PARTIES: In another great aspect to the Brawl of the Wild rivalry game, the Montana Alumni Association will again host Griz/Cat watch parties around the nation for fans and alums from both schools to gather to watch the game.

Hundreds of parties will be held across 39 states, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands this year. To find the nearest Griz/Cat Watch Party near you, visit the UM Alumni Association's web page, GrizAlum.org.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his seventh season behind the mic at Montana and is once again set to bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its fifteen affiliate stations around the state.

Your "Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Denny Bedard and Scott Gurnsey, who then throw to Corcoran and color commentator Greg Sundberg 30 minutes to kickoff. Bedard and Gurnsey will also wrap up the day's action with the official post-game show.

Griz fans outside the radio footprint can stream all of Montana's 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 and the Coach Hauck Radio Show and receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts as well.

Corcoran will get the rivalry week rolling on Wednesday at the Coach Hauck Radio Show, airing live from the banks of the Clark Fork River at FINN at 6:30.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana moved up in the weekly FCS polls this week following two-straight dominant wins. The Griz check in at No. 13 in the Stats Perform FCS media poll after spending two weeks at No. 16. In the AFCA coaches' poll, UM slid up two spots to No. 12.

Montana was ranked as high as No. 2 this season in both polls before injuries and losses piled up. The Griz remain the highest-ranked three-loss team in both polls and the fourth-highest ranked of six total Big Sky Conference teams ranked.

GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana also moved up to No. 69 in this week's Sagarin Ratings and are now the second-highest rated FCS team in the nation behind No. 64 South Dakota State.

The Grizzlies moved ahead of Sac State (73), NDSU (77), and Weber State (86) this week, and remain ahead of UC Davis (89), Incarnate Word (96), and, notably, Montana State at No. 103. Montana is also rated higher than notable Power-5 programs like Miami, Nebraska, Stanford, Indiana, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt.

The Sagarin Ratings, published weekly in USA Today, rank all D-1 teams regardless of subdivision, and are a metric commonly used in the Big Sky tiebreaking process, calculating performance against strength of schedule.

IMPLICATIONS: When Montana faces Montana State, bragging rights are always the first implication. But, as usual, Saturday's matchup carries heavy postseason implications as well.

After picking up its requisite seventh D-I win for FCS playoff qualification against EWU, Montana remains in must-win mode this week with possible outcomes ranging from a top-eight seed and a bye week to missing out on the playoffs alltogether.

With the NCAA FCS Playoff Committee preparing to announce the 24-team postseason bracket on Nov. 20 (10:30 a.m. MT, ESPN-U), the Griz remain in the playoff hunt, win or lose this weekend.

The argument: In this year's crowded Big Sky table, the Grizzlies only three losses have been against ranked teams. Two of those losses have been on the road to top-five teams without the use of starting quarterback Lucas Johnson. One was in overtime, and one was by three points.

A win in Bozeman could convince the committee to view the Griz as one of the top eight teams and give UM a first-round bye. Loose at MSU and the likelihood of hosting a first-round game remains on the table with Montana's traditionally strong postseason bid.

HISTORIC SERIES: In one of the oldest and most historic rivalries in America, Montana and Montana State will square off for the 121^st time this week, with Montana holding a distinct series advantage at 73-41-5 all-time, dating back to the first meeting in 1897.

In games played in Bozeman, however, it's a much tighter race with the Grizzlies leading by a narrow 23-21-3 margin. The Griz have also lost two straight on the road in the series, with UM's last win coming in 2015, 54-35.

• Over the last decade, MSU has held a slight advantage in the series, leading 5-4 since 2012. In the last 20 years, however, the series is tied 9-9 since 2002. MSU's 2002 win snapped a 16-year win streak for the Grizzlies.

• The Griz/Cat game is the 17^th-most played rivalry game in the entire nation at 120 meetings, and the third-most played in the western United States. Only Stanford/Cal (124 meetings) and Oregon/Oregon State (125 meetings) have been played more frequently west of the Mississippi.

• Montana's total of 73 wins over MSU is the 23^rd-most of any D-1 team in the nation against a single opponent, and UM's winning percentage of .629 is the 32^nd-best among the top-55 most played games in the country. For reference: Montana sits right behind Washington's 74 wins over Washington State in the Apple Cup, with the Huskies holding a 74-33-6 advantage.

LAST MEETING: Montana had been waiting over 1,000 days since the last Brawl of the Wild played in Missoula, setting up a highly anticipated top-10 matchup in 2021. With the pent-up energy, all Griz Nation needed was a big moment on the field to explode, and the Grizzlies didn't wait long to deliver.

Junior Bergen caught a 74-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game, sending a record crowd at Washington-Grizzly Stadium into pandemonium.

The defense didn't allow a touchdown until the final minutes, extending its streak to 14 straight quarters without an opponent finding the end zone, and the offense rolled to a blowout 29-10 victory over the in-state rival. The win ended a four-game streak for the Bobcats in Brawl of the Wild games and brought the Great Divide trophy back to Missoula for the first time since 2015.

Montana improved to 9-2 with the win, which ended MSU's program-record nine-game winning streak in the regular season. It was the first loss to an FCS opponent for the #3 Bobcats that year.

Montana's 29 points were the most allowed by Montana State all season, while the Grizzlies also held the Bobcats to their season-low total of 10 points. It took a last-minute touchdown on the final drive of the game for MSU to get into the double digits, as the Grizzly defense held Montana State under 100 total yards until the fourth quarter.

The vaunted rushing attack of Montana State that featured the nation's third-leading running back Isaiah Ifanse and his 120.8 yards per game, was held completely in check. MSU would run for just 96 yards total, as Ifanse carried it 19 times for just 50 yards.

BUTTE IN THE BRAWL: A history lesson for Griz/Cat newbies. Between 1927 and 1951, Montana and Montana State split the difference and played the annual rivalry game in Butte, America, at the time one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the nation.

The Butte-tough tradition lives on in both Griz and Cat history. Butte may be the only city in America to boast the birthplace and upbringing of six former D-1 head coaches, three each at UM and MSU.

Mining City natives Jiggs Dahlberg (1945), Mick Dennehy (1996-1999), and Mick Delaney (2012-2014) all served as both assistant coaches and head coaches at Montana, with Dennehy and Delaney working as assistants at MSU as well.

Jim Sweeney (1963-1967), (Sonny Holland (1971-1977), and Sonny Lubick (1978-1981) all hail from Butte and spent time as assistants and head coaches at MSU as well.

Dennehy and Delaney retired to Butte, while Holland resides in Bozeman and Lubick in Fort Collins, Colo. Even deeper cut: UM head coach Bobby Hauck's parents Bob and Elanor were both born and raised in Butte.

BOBBY'S RECORD(S): Speaking of Hauck: He is UM's winningest coach of all time and is on his way to becoming the winningest coach in Big Sky history, with only three conference teams having beaten him more than twice.

• Now with 115 victories as UM's head coach, Hauck needs just 9 more to break Jerome Souers' Big Sky record 123 overall wins.

• With 67 wins in Big Sky play, Hauck needs two more wins to pass Nevada Hall of Famer Chris Ault's Big Sky total of 68, eight more to pass Tim Walsh's total of 74, and 19 more to pass Souers' record total of 85 wins in conference play.

ROBBY'S RECORD – THE HALF CENTURY MARK: Making his 50^th career start for the Grizzlies in 50 games, Robby Hauck led another stellar defensive effort against EWU. Led by his game-high 12 tackles and a half TFL, in the Grizzlies' pitched a shut-out for nearly three quarters of football in the 63-7 win over the Eagles.

Already Montana's all-time leading tackler, Hauck increased his career tackle count to 451, needing just 23 more stops this season to break Ronnie Hamlin's Big Sky record of 473 career tackles. His 87 stops this season are currently the fourth-most in the league to date.

OUTSTANDING O'CONNELL: Big Sky defensive preseason MVP Patrick O'Connell has missed the last two contests (and a majority of the last three) due to injury, but STILL leads the league in sacks with eight this season. With eight sacks in eight games played his average of one per game is STILL the fourth-best in the FCS. Griz fans everywhere will hope for his return to action this week in Bozeman.

OVATION FOR OSTMO: Nick Ostmo posted his second-straight 200-yard day against Eastern Washington, rushing for 146 yards and three touchdowns while catching two passes for 63 yards and another score to total 209 all-purpose yards and four TDs against the Eagles. He finished the game early, one touchdown shy of Montana's school record for most TDs in a game (5, Greg Iseman, at Weber State, 1982).

The sophomore provided the spark for Montana's 604-yard day, scoring two touchdowns and piling up 145 total yards on just four touches of the ball in the first five minutes of the game.

In a two-week span, Ostmo has now rushed for 367 yards on 37 carries, caught four passes for 102 yards and totaled six touchdowns.

For his efforts, he received Montana's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week, and for the second-straight week he received an honorable mention for the FedEx Ground Stats Perform FCS Offensive Player of the Week.

RUN THE DANG BALL: Montana has combined to rush for 749 yards in the past two games thanks in large-part to Ostmo who became the first Grizzly to rush for three TDs in a game since 2019 last week.

The Griz have now broke 200 on the ground five times this season, helping balance out the three sub-100-yard rushing games.

PUTTING UP POINTS: Already responsible for 25 touchdowns this season (18 passing and seven rushing), Lucas Johnson is one more away from entering Montana's record books with one of the top-15 scoring seasons in UM history.

With Johnson's return, Montana has now won its last two games by a combined score of 120-7.

Dating back to the fourth quarter of the Weber State game, Montana also went on a streak of scoring 121 unanswered points through six quarters of football until EWU scored in the third quarter last week.

• Montana enters the week with the third best scoring margin in FCS football and the best in the Big Sky at +240, having scored 389 total points and allowing just 149. Remarkable with three losses, two to top-five teams.

Incarnate Word leads the FCS with a +313 margin, followed by the Deion Sanders-led Jackson State at +291. Sac State follows the Griz at +211. Montana State, undefeated in FCS play, checks in at +159.

A SPARK FROM GRAVES: Junior safety Garrett Graves stepped in to the kick returner position as injury cover and nearly broke free for a touchdown on his first and only touch against Eastern Washington, running for 77 yards before being drug down short of the goal line. Defensively, Graves also had three tackles and a pass breakup at safety.

PACK 'EM IN: Montana posted its fourth-straight sold out home game last week against EWU, with 25,403 fans packing the place. It's the first string of four-straight for UM since 2015 when the Griz started the season with a bang, beating a Carson Wentz-lead NDSU squad in front of 26,472 fans.

Montana ranks second in the FCS in attendance again this week, averaging 25,298 fans per game, over 100-percent capacity of Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the year.

Jackson State, coached by Deion Sanders, leads the FCS in attendance, with its stadium holding 40,000 and a visit from College GameDay to boost interest.

That average attendance (25,298) would make WGS Montana's seventh-largest city on a Saturday afternoon in the fall according to the 2020 census, with the six-game combined attendance total of 151,788 fans more than the entire population of Billings, the state's largest city. Montana and Montana State have combined to welcome nearly 300,000 fans this season – around one-third of the state's population.

MADE IN MONTANA: 51 total Montana kids will line up for the Grizzlies in the 121^st Brawl of the Wild. Missoula is the most common hometown of these born-and-bred Grizzlies, with 13 total locals on the roster. Montana State lists 41 players from Montana on its rosters, giving the state 92 D-I athletes.

QUICK HITS:
• Montana's win over EWU last week was the 30^th all-time program win over the Eagles. UM now leads the series 30-18-1 and is 13-6 inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Those six wins are the most of any team in the stadium not named the Montana Grizzlies.

• Linebacker Marcus Welnel has moved his way onto Montana's top-40 tacklers of all-time list, now with 221 stops in his career. He entered the list just passed the legendary Kroy Biermann's 220 career mark, and now trails O'Connell's career total by just five.

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Players Mentioned

Junior Bergen

Garrett Graves

Robby Hauck

Lucas Johnson

Patrick O'Connell

Nick Ostmo

Patrick Rohrbach

Marcus Welnel

University of Montana Athletics