Griz hit the road looking to build momentum

The Montana Grizzlies embark on their first road trip of the season this week, heading south for the program's first-ever trip to St. George, Utah, to face the Utah Tech Trailblazers as Griz look to improve to 2-0.

The Griz will be both riding momentum to St. George and looking to polish their play now that the first-game jitters from last week's 35-20 win over Butler are out of the way.

With game time temps expected to be hovering around 100 degrees, the Griz will need to beat the heat and the Blazers in a night game (the first of six for UM this season) at Greater Zion Stadium, one of just four home contests for UT this season as they move to a new conference.

The Griz started 11 new players and had only seven senior starters in the lineup in last week's win over Butler, with most of UM's starters being juniors or even sophomores.

That youth will benefit from a win and a week's worth of game film to learn from as the Grizzlies look to make a run at a Big Sky title and advance to the playoffs for the program's 27th time.

Kickoff from St. George is set for 7 p.m.

WATCH: The only way to view Saturday's game live will be via live stream on ESPN+, the same streaming service available for all other Griz games in 2023. Utah Tech will produce the show.

No local television station in the state of Montana will show the game.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his eighth 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 Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and long-time color commentator Greg Sundberg take over 30 minutes to kickoff.

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.

THE SERIES: Formerly named Dixie State University, Saturday's game marks just the second meeting all-time between the two schools. Dixie State was renamed Utah Tech in the summer of 2022. Montana first played the Trailblazers in Missoula in 2021, a 31-14 win for the Griz.

Saturday's contest marks the second matchup in a four-game series between the programs, a 3-for-1 deal that sees the Blazers return to Missoula in 2026 and 2027 to complete the deal. The series was signed in 2019 when Utah Tech (then Dixie State) reclassified from D-II to D-I in 2019 and joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

LAST/FIRST MEETING: Montana used a big second half to take a convincing 31-14 win over then-Dixie State in 2021 in Missoula.

The game began slowly for both sides, but Montana turned it up after the halftime break, scoring 28 in the final half-hour of the game and not allowing a Utah Tech offensive touchdown until the final drive of the game. Montana's defense impressed, allowing just 261 total yards and one score.

Kris Brown started the game at quarterback for Montana in place of the injured Cam Humphrey and took some time to get comfortable, but once he did the, then-freshman put together a solid performance. In his first career start, he threw for 241 yards and a touchdown while adding another two on the ground.

He received a big boost from his backfield. Then-freshman Xavier Harris eclipsed 100 yards for the second consecutive game, carrying a career-high 29 times for 119 yards. Another freshman, Junior Bergen, handled 14 carries for 44 yards and added his first career touchdown.

The game changed in the third quarter, where Montana outgained Dixie State by 174 yards and scored twice to take a 17-0 lead. They started the fourth quarter hot as well, with 14 more points out of the gates to make it comfortable in the final minutes.

Montana was able to move the ball well but struggled with turnovers and finishing drives, otherwise, the result could have been even more lopsided. The Grizzlies turned it over three times, including a scoop-and-score defensive touchdown for the visitors. Montana also failed to score three times in the red zone, finishing the game just 5-for-8 inside the 20.

The defense stepped up in the same categories where the offense may have lacked, though. The Grizzly defense - Justin Ford, to be specific - forced two turnovers on the day, and both came in the red zone. They allowed just one score in three red zone trips to the Trailblazers. Ford had his third interception of the season on the first red zone drive, then forced a fumble later in the game to keep Utah Tech off the board. The Grizzlies also found success getting to the quarterback, sacking the Trailblazers four times and getting five tackles for loss.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana moved up a spot to No. 13 in the first weekly media and coaches poll of the season this week following the win over Butler after entering the year at No. 14 in the preseason polls.

The Griz are one of six Big Sky Conference programs ranked in this week's polls with Montana State (No. 3), Idaho (No. 7/12), Sacramento State (No. 9/8), Weber State (No. 12/9), and UC Davis (No. 15/14) all represented.

• Montana will face four of the six Big Sky teams in this year's conference slate, having to travel to face UC Davis and Idaho but getting home-field advantage against Sac State and MSU. Due to an unbalanced league schedule, the Griz won't face Weber State again in the regular season until 2024.

• Montana has been ranked in the FCS media top-25 for 29 consecutive weeks, tied for the third-longest streak in the subdivision. Only North Dakota State (174 weeks) and South Dakota State (146 weeks) have been in longer.

• The Griz were picked to finish third by the league's media and sixth by the coaches at the annual Big Sky Kickoff in the league's annual preseason polls, announced in July from the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane. Montana State was selected to win the title race in both polls.

//GRIZ TRACKS//

SATURDAY'S STARS: Montana received stand-out performances from three first-time starters against Butler, each of whom earned the Grizzlies' nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week.

Offense: Eli Gillman: In his first collegiate start, freshman running back Eli Gillman powered his way to 119 rushing yards on 19 carries – the second-most total rush yards in the Big Sky Conference on week one – with one touchdown and an average of 6.3 yards per carry.

Defense: Making his first collegiate start, junior safety Ryder Meyer racked up 12 tackles – the most of any player on a winning team in the Big Sky on week one – to lead the Grizzlies. He also added a TFL for a loss of a yard as Montana kept the Bulldogs out of the endzone for the entire first half.

Special teams: In his college debut, freshman kicker Grant Glasgow slotted the longest field goal in the Big Sky on week one, pounding one in from 49 yards. Glasgow was perfect on the day in field goals and PATs and was strong in the kickoff game as well. He went 2-for-2 on field goals from 23 and 49 yards out, 3-for-3 on PATs, and totaled 435 yards on 7 kickoffs for an average of 62.1 yards per attempt, with 5 resulting in touchbacks.

Glasgow's 49-yard field goal was the longest for the Griz since 2021, when Kevin Macias booted a 50-yarder against Montana State.

MORE FRESH STARTS: Quarterbacks Clifton McDowell and Sam Vidlak split time in Montana's win over Butler, each getting their first game reps in a Grizzly uniform. Both acquitted themselves well, too, with Vidlak showing off his arm early in a 54-yard strike to Junior Bergen and finishing with 180 yards on 15 completions in a half of play. McDowell provided a spark in the ground game as well, coming off the bench 80 total rushing yards and averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

At receiver, Sawyer Racanelli took his first snap as a Grizzly to start the game. The Washington transfer who sat out last season with injury caught one pass for 26 yards, showing his speed with 20 yards after the catch.

Tight End Jake Olson from Butte and guard Kukila Lincoln from Hawaii were each first-time starters this weekend, adding experience to a deep offensive front line.

Linebacker Riley Wilson flashed his size and speed in his first start for UM at linebacker. The sophomore transfer from Hawaii totaled 6 tackles and a half-TFL on debut. Missoula Loyola product Ryan Tirrell also made his first start for his hometown Grizzlies, picking up an assisted tackle.

Defensive ends Hayden Harris and Kale Edwards, both juniors, made their first starts in maroon and silver, while in the secondary, Trevin Gradney of Billings had a highlight-reel interception in his first Grizzly start at corner.

Punter Travis Benham also showed why UM is known as "Special Teams U", averaging 47 yards per attempt on three punts. He was a catalyst for the Grizzlies' put coverage unit, which came out of week one with the fifth-best net punting numbers in the nation and best in the Big Sky, with an average of 44.67 yards per punt, meaning Butler averaged less than three yards per return.

BACK IN THE NICK OF TIME: Montana running back Nick Ostmo made his way back to the depth chart for game two after recovering from offseason surgery during fall camp. Ostmo adds experience to a deep RB room, with just over 1,200 career rushing yards to his name. He's now 110 yards shy of becoming one of UM's top-25 all-time rushers in career yards.

HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday's win over Butler extended Montana's 20-plus year winning streak in home openers, with the last loss occurring back in 2002 when NDSU upset the Griz when it was still a D-II program.

Thanks in large part to an upset over No. 20 Washington in Seattle in 2021, the Griz haven't lost any season opener, home or on the road, since a 2014 loss at Wyoming. UM's last season-opening loss against an FCS team was way back in 2000 when Joe Glenn's Griz lost to Hofstra to start the year, but eventually advanced to the national title game.

HAUCK'S RECORD: Head coach Bobby Hauck, the 37th head coach in Montana history, fittingly earned his 37th win in his second stint as the Grizzlies' mentor since returning to UM in 2018 against Butler.

He's now one game closer to becoming the Big Sky Conference's winningest coach of all time. At 117-34 overall and 67-18 in league play in his 12 years at Montana, Hauck needing just 7 victories to break the overall win record set by former Northern Arizona head coach (and long-time UM assistant) Jerome Souers (123).

BEAT THE EAST: Montana is now 35-7 all-time against teams from east of the Mississippi River inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz host two teams this nonconference season from east of "the big muddy." Butler, from Indianapolis, and Ferris State out of Big Rapids, Michigan, north of Grand Rapids by about an hour.

FAMILIAR FACES: One player on the current Grizzly roster remembers that 2021 game first-hand from the perspective of the Utah Tech sidelines. UM backup offensive tackle, sophomore Cannon Panfiloff, was a mid-year transfer to Montana from Utah Tech and was a starter against the Grizzlies that day as a redshirt-freshman. He played in nine games that year for the Trailblazers and started in seven.

Former Grizzly assistant coach JB Hall will be roaming the sidelines for the Trailblazers this week as their defensive pass game coordinator, cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator. Hall is in his first season at Utah Tech. He coached at Montana from 2015-17, and has since coached at Georgia Tech, Idaho State, and Sacramento State.

James Cowser serves as Utah Tech's D-Line coach after coaching at Weber State the previous three seasons. He was a squad member on the 2014 Southern Utah team Montana beat 35-17 in Cedar City and was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 over UM's Tyrone Holmes, who would eventually earn the FCS National Defensive Player of the Year award later that year.

BLAZER BITES: Utah Tech is in its fourth season as an NCAA D-I FCS program since moving up from D-II in 2019. UT enters the game coming off a 63-20 loss at Montana State on week one that saw the Bobcats rack up 407 yards of rushing to bolster 638 yards of total offense.

The Blazers used a two-QB approach in that game, with Boone Abbott and Kobe Tracy combining for an evenly split 260 yards on 21 completions with a touchdown pass each and three interceptions.

Tracy is less than 100 yards away from becoming Utah Tech's second-most accomplished passer ever with over 3,100 yards to his name.

• UT is a combined 4-27 (3-27 overall) all-time vs. opponents (FCS and D-II) ranked in the AFCA top-25 Coaches' Poll, which included a 1-9 mark the last two seasons after last week's loss to the No. 3 Bobcats. Montana enters Saturday's game ranked No. 13 in the nation.

• Syrus Webster, a 6-4, 255-pound junior defensive lineman, was named to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list in the leadup to the 2023 season. He earned first-team All-WAC honors as a sophomore after recording 42 tackles and 5.5 sacks – tied for the most in the conference – after just eight starts. He's also a team captain and was named the UAC preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

• The Blazers are led by head coach Paul Peterson, now in his fifth season with the program. He enters this week's game at 15-23 overall in both D-I and D-II play.

• Utah Tech plays in a new football-only league in 2023, a partnership between both the WAC and ASUN conference that was rebranded into the new United Athletic Conference. The UAC currently has nine participating institutions: Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton and Utah Tech. The conference will also add UTRGV in the fall of 2025 when it begins sponsorship of football.

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Players Mentioned

Travis Benham

Junior Bergen

Kris Brown

Kale Edwards

Justin Ford

Eli Gillman

Grant Glasgow

Trevin Gradney

Hayden Harris

Xavier Harris

Kukila Lincoln

Clifton McDowell

Ryder Meyer

Jake Olson

Nick Ostmo

Cannon Panfiloff

Sawyer Racanelli

Ryan Tirrell

Sam Vidlak

Riley Wilson

University of Montana Athletics