Griz open league play against Portland State on Homecoming

The second-ranked Montana Grizzlies return to the happy hunting ground of Washington-Grizzly Stadium for Homecoming Saturday, set to enter Big Sky Conference play with about as much momentum as a team could ask for.

While they're still searching for the perfect game (and what team isn't?), the Griz host Portland State on Saturday, emerging out of the three-game non-conference schedule with three big wins under their belts.

Montana has outscored its first three opponents by a combined 99 points (120-21) with wins over a team from the Southland Conference and two teams from the always-strong Missouri Valley, including one playoff team from a year ago.

But conference play is where the rubber meets the road if Montana is to earn its first Big Sky title since 2009.

The first step toward completing that goal is Saturday's showdown against the Vikings, who are the last team to beat the Grizzlies on Homecoming back in 2018.

While Montana has been averaging 40 points and over 400 yards of total offense per game, it's hard to get a read on the Vikings after only two games, both against FBS opponents. PSU comes to Missoula following a bye week as well, with tired legs from losses to San Jose State and Washington rested for Saturday's conference opener.

With the usual bad blood between the two teams, Montana's nearly sold-out stadium is in for fireworks on Saturday, with a tough and talented Viking squad looking for an upset.

HOMECOMING HAPPENINGS: Montana alums from around the globe return to Missoula this week for the annual homecoming celebration with the return of a full-strength schedule that personifies this year's theme, The Might of Montana.

The week is highlighted by the return of the popular homecoming parade, starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Parade-goers take note: Due to ongoing construction on the Higgins Avenue bridge, this year's parade has a modified route. This year's event begins at Sentinel High School, and travels along South Avenue to South Campus and Dornblaser Field.

Before that though, the annual Yell Night Pep Rally returns to the Oval at the heart of the UM campus on Friday night at 8 p.m. The Yell Night Pep Rally features the Grizzly Marching Band, Singing on the Steps, the lighting of the M, and an appearance from head coach Bobby Hauck and the entire Griz football team.

KNOW BEFORE YOU #GOGRIZ: Griz Football is back in town for homecoming Here's what you need to know before you head to the stadium.

MOBILE TICKETS - Download your tickets to the wallet app on your mobile device now, before you get to the game. TRANSFER YOUR TICKETS to friends and family via your GrizTix account.

MOBILE DEVICE - Charge the battery on your mobile device so you're sure to have plenty of power to get your tickets scanned.

TRANSPORTATION – Double-check your transportation and parking options ahead of time.

GAMEDAY POLICY REMINDERS – Visit the Gameday Central page on GoGriz.com to make sure you're caught up with clear bag policies and other important gameday info.

GAMEDAY TIMELINE – Saturday's kickoff time is set for 2 p.m. Below is a timeline of activity to plan your day. Be sure to get in your seats early and enjoy the pregame festivities.

9:30 a.m. - Parking Lots Open
10 a.m. – Homecoming Parade begins
11 a.m. - Ticket Office Open
11:45 a.m. – Griz Walk
Noon – GSA Tailgate Opens
12:30 p.m. - Stadium Gates Open
2 p.m. - Kickoff

WATCH: The Montana versus Portland State matchup marks the first game to be shown on the Montana Television Network as part of the Big Sky Conference's new partnership with Scripps Television.

Saturday's game will be broadcast around the state of Montana on free-to-air TV as well as cable and satellite packages. The game will be shown on TV in the Portland market as well. ESPN+ will also stream the game nationwide with no blackouts.

In Missoula and Kalispell, the game will be shown on your local CBS station KPAX or KAJ. In Bozeman, Butte, Billings, Great Falls and Helena the game will air on the CW, the CBS sister stations on the Montana Television Network. In the Portland area, the game will be shown on KRCW, the CW affiliate of KOIN TV.

Here's a breakdown of where to find the CW in Western Montana.

Over the air: Missoula - Channel 8.2, Kalispell, Channel 18.2
DirecTV: Channel 9
Spectrum/Charter: Channel 18
Dish Network: Channel 7
Local CW programming can also be found on Hulu and Youtube TV.

To see if the CW is available over the air in your neighborhood, visit thefreetvproject.com.

Long-time Montana broadcaster Jay Kohn will provide the play-by-play, with Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer and former NFL head coach Marty Mornhinweg serving as the analyst. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines.

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.

OTHER HAPPENINGS: Head coach Bobby Hauck and his staff are helping lead a national effort to #TackleDuchenne this week, joining in the American Football Coaches' Association's Coach To Cure MD program, An initiative of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD).

Now in its 15th year, Coach to Cure MD uses the power of football to raise awareness and money to fund research for a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. To do that, Hauck and the Grizzly staff will be wearing Coach to Cure MD patches on their sleeves during the game.

Fans can join the cause by using the hashtag #TackleDuchenne on social media, and can donate $25 to the Coach to Cure MD mission by texting the word CURE to 501501.

• Fans will want to get in their seats early this week with a flyover scheduled to buzz Washington-Grizzly Stadium in the leadup to kickoff. The Montana National Guard is set to fly a pair of CH-47F Chinook Helicopters over the stadium at the conclusion of the national anthem.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana is now the consensus No. 2 team in the nation this week, with UM slotting in second in both the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top-25 for the first time this year.

The Griz moved up a spot to No. 2 in the Stat Perform media poll on Monday, tied with South Dakota State with 1,267 total points in the voting. However, UM received six first-place votes, one more than the Jackrabbits, to hold the advantage in second place.

Montana has been No. 2 in the coaches poll all season and held that spot Monday when this week's poll was released. The Griz picked up four additional first-place votes for a total of five and now trail No. 1 North Dakota State by just 16 points in the voting.

The Griz were last ranked No. 2 in the nation in both polls back in 2010 when UM started the season at No. 2 and spent the first week at No. 1 before sliding to No. 6 after a loss at Cal Poly.

O'CONNELL NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Linebacker Patrick O'Connell was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career on Monday after another high-impact weekend. He also earned an honorable mention for the Stats Perform national FCS DPOW.

The Griz have now won two of the first three weekly awards from the Big Sky, with Braxton Hill winning after his performance against Northwestern State.

O'Connell had a monster day for the Grizzly defense at Indiana State Saturday, logging nine tackles, three for a loss, and two-and-a-half sacks.

The first of those sacks forced a fumble that was scooped up by fellow Grizzly Kale Edwards and returned 20 yards for Montana's first touchdown of the day and the third score for the UM defense this season.

O'Connell's 2.5 sacks and three TFLs were the most of any defender in the conference this week and matched his career high set against Western Illinois in 2021.

SATURDAY'S OTHER STARS: Lucas Johnson engineered the biggest point total in the Big Sky Conference on week three, leading the Grizzlies to a 49-14 win with 406 yards of total offense in a demolition of Indiana State.

Johnson was efficient in the RPO game, completing 18 of 30 passes for 232 yards and three passing touchdowns while rushing for another score for a total of four scores and 236 yards on the day. He's been the primary catalyst in Montana's 3-0 start to the season with 11 total touchdowns and 790 yards of total offense, averaging 263.3 yards per game.

•Patrick Rohrbach spearheaded a solid special teams effort for the Griz in Montana's win over Indiana State. The Freshman once again stared in the punting game and also handled the bulk of UM's kickoff duties.

Rohrbach totaled six punts for 235 yards, dropping four of those inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He also boomed six kickoffs for 383 total yards and three touchbacks, an average of 63.8 yards per kick. Montana's punt coverage unit currently has the 14-th best net punt average in the country, and the second-best in the Big Sky at 40.33 yards per attempt.

FIRST DOWNS: Ryan Simpson and Colter Janacaro scored their first career touchdowns at Indiana State last week. Simpson, a sophomore, was targeted three-straight times and finally came away with the touchdown catch on the first play of the fourth quarter. Janacaro, a redshirt freshman, capped Montana's scoring with a two-yard rush in the final two minutes.

Receiver Aaron Fontes made a highlight reel play and nearly scored his first touchdown in a career day for the sophomore. The Oxnard native had a game-high 93 receiving yards that was capped with a 22-yard completion to the two yard line, hurdling a defender before being knocked out of bounds at the two.

Defensive end Kale Edwards also had a big day, picking up his first career touchdown on his first career fumble recovery for Montana's first score of the day at ISU.

The Coeur d'Alene native has been a breakout star for UM this fall with seven tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a TD. He's also been a highlight machine on kickoff coverage, putting in several big hits.

RECORD WATCH: All eyes will be on Robby Hauck this week as the senior safety closes in on Montana's career tackles school record. After posting 11 at Indiana State, he enters the week with 395 stops to his name, having passed Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer Vince Huntsberger's career total of 393.

Hauck now needs just three more tackles to pass Dante Olson's school record of 397, and will begin chasing the Big Sky Conference record of 473 set by Eastern Washington's Ronnie Hamlin from 2011-2014.

• Malik Flowers is closing in on breaking Rob Schulte's school record for all-time kick return yards. Flowers needs just 34 more yards to break Schulte's UM mark of 2,129. He'll continue chasing Weber State's Bo Bolden's conference record of 2,665 kick return yards set between 2009-2014.

• O'Connell climbed up Montana's record books with last Saturday's Player of the Week performance. Now with 38 tackles for loss he passed Trey Young and Jace Lewis to slot in at No. 9 on UM's leaderboard. He needs just two more TFLs to pass Jason Crebo and eight more to pass Andy Petek to move into seventh.

The senior from Kalispell is also now at No. 7 on UM's career sacks list. With 25.5 he passed Corey Falls' total of 24 last weekend. He's gunning for Mike Murphy's total of 28 and Petek's career total of 30 sacks to move up to fifth all-time at UM.

HAUCK MILESTONES: Robby Hauck isn't the only Hauck on the verge of making (more) history.

Now with an overall record of 111-29 and 63-14 in conference play in his eleven years at Montana, head coach Bobby Hauck is the Grizzlies' winningest coach of all time. He is also closing in on becoming the all-time winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history.

A win over Portland State this weekend would make him the Big Sky Conference's second-winningest coach of all time, passing former Nevada Coach Chris Ault's career total of 111. He also needs just 13 more to pass former NAU head coach and UM assistant Jerome Souers' Big Sky record 123 overall wins.

In conference play, Hauck's career total of 63 wins ties him in fourth place with Mike Kramer, needing six more wins to pass Ault's Big Sky total of 68, 12 more to pass Tim Walsh's total of 74, and 24 more to pass Souers' total of 85.

• Hauck also improved his career total against teams from the Missouri Valley last week. After beating Indiana State, he is now 8-3 all-time at UM against teams that are current members of the MVFC.

HAPPY HOMECOMING: Montana holds a 66-33-1 all-time record on homecoming and is 31-4 in homecoming games played in Washington-Grizzly Stadium since 1986. The Griz have won seven of the last eight homecoming games.

That one loss in those last eight? It came against the very same PSU Vikings in 2018 when the visitors slotted a last-second field goal to spoil the festivities 22-20.

STREAKS ALIVE: Now that the Ivy League has started play, Montana continues to have the second longest winning streak in season openers in FCS football. Dartmouth beat Valpo last weekend to extend its streak of 12-straight years winning the first game of the season. North Dakota State and Princeton have now won seven games each on the trot, with Villanova in at six, and Towson and Columbia at five straight. Montana has not lost a season-opener since 2014 at Wyoming, and before that had not lost since 2011 at Tennessee.

Since Hauck returned to Montana in 2018, the Griz have won their home opener by a combined score of 235-50, and have not allowed an opponent to score more than 10 points in the last three seasons.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: Despite Montana defeating two Missouri Valley teams this season, the annual Big Sky/MVFC Challenge Series ended in a draw this year at three wins apiece. The Big Sky has not won the series since its inception in 2018, but the Griz have gone 5-1.

HOOSIER HEADLINES: Montana beat Indiana State in the team's first regular season game played in the Eastern Time Zone since 2003 last week. The Griz traveled to Orono to face the Maine Black Bears in the 2003 season opener, a 30-20 win and the first at UM for Bobby Hauck.

It was also just the second time UM has faced a team from Indiana, with Valpo being the first in 2017 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

SERIES HISTORY: Montana holds a 32-13 all-time advantage over the Vikings and an 18-4 advantage in games played in Missoula.

You don't have to go back very far, however, to find UM's last loss to PSU. The Griz have won three of the last five meetings against the Vikings, with Portland State winning 22-20 on a last-second, 52-yard field goal in Missoula in 2018. Prior to that, Montana lost 35-16 in a deluge in Portland back in 2015, a loss that snapped an eight-game win streak.

Montana has been back to its winning ways as of late, taking victories in the last two matchups.

In the coaching head-to-head, Hauck is 8-2 all-time against Portland State, while Bruce Barnum is 2-3 against the Grizzlies.

A PEEK AT PORTLAND STATE: It's hard to know what Portland State is capable of this year as they come to Missoula rested and rearing to go after a bye week. In their season opener, the Vikings could have, and probably should have beat San Jose State, coughing up two key turnovers in a narrow 21-17 loss.

PSU couldn't repeat the same magic on week two, however, falling to a much-improved Washington Huskies outfit 52-6 in Seattle.

With just those two games to go off, there's not much of a measuring stick for the Grizzly to go off.

One thing is for sure though, these will not be the same Vikings Montana beat 48-7 in the spring of 2021 when they came to Missoula in a covid-shortened spring period. PSU was out-manned in that matchup, with only a couple weeks to prepare and some key injuries on the roster.

VIKINGS TO WATCH: Sophomore QB Dante Chachere lead the offense having completed 30-54 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns this season. Chachere is also the team's rushing leader with 21 carries for 88 yards.

Fellow sophomore running back Jalynnee McGee has rushed 16 times for 78 yards, and All-Big Sky Conference receiver Beau Kelly leads the team with 11 receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown.

All-American cornerback Anthony Adams leads the Vikings with 15 tackles and has two pass breakups, while safety Tyreese Shakir has 12 tackles, two sacks and an interception.

Griz open league play against Portland State on Homecoming

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Players Mentioned

Kale Edwards

Malik Flowers

Aaron Fontes

Robby Hauck

Braxton Hill

Colter Janacaro

Lucas Johnson

Jace Lewis

Patrick O'Connell

Dante Olson

Patrick Rohrbach

Ryan Simpson

University of Montana Athletics