Griz host Wildcats in old fashioned Big Sky tussle

The Montana Grizzlies return home this week looking to snap a two-game losing streak to the Weber State Wildcats, who come to Missoula for just the third time since 2015 on Saturday, renewing a Big Sky grudge match as old as the conference itself.

The battle-tested Griz (4-1, 1-0 BSC) are one of the hottest teams in the country heading into the game, operating the best first down and the fourth-best scoring offense in the FCS after outscoring their last three opponents 157-86.

Weber State, meanwhile, visits UM at 2-3 overall but 1-0 in league play following a week two demolition of Portland State. The Wildcats are hard to get a bead on this year though, falling on week one to the Washington Huskies 35-3, but also taking uncharacteristic losses against Lamar and McNeese by a total of three points. WSU also went on the road to shut-out Northwestern State 39-0, spurring the question: which Wildcat team will make the trip to Missoula?

One thing is for sure, when these teams meet there is no love lost between two of the most consistently physical teams in the conference who have both been at, or near, the top of the league table in recent years.

It will also be a clash of two of the three top rushing teams in the league, both averaging 200-plus ground yards per game and both featuring a running back that averages over 100 yards rushing per game in Eli Gillman and Damon Bankston.

Two traditionally salty defenses will also go head-to-head with Weber giving up an average of just over 19 points per game and the Griz only giving up an average of 22 points per contest, not including last week's 49-point barrage at EWU.

Knock-down, drag-out, three yards and a cloud of dust, last man standing Big Sky football, with championship implications in front of 26,000 of the most raucous fans in college football. It's the conference game of the week for a reason.

Kickoff from Washington-Grizzly Stadium is set for 1 p.m. It's the first of two-straight games for the Griz at home, with Northern Arizona coming to town on Oct. 12.

HALL OF FAME: Four Montana legends are set to be inducted into the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame this week with a banquet on Friday night, then honored on the field Saturday between the first and second quarter.

The Griz football tradition of excellence will be celebrated in the class of 2024, with Colt Anderson, Scott Gurnsey, and Dylan McFarland all entering the hall. Lady Griz star guard Kelly (Pilcher) Beattie of Missoula will also be inducted, and former UM president George Dennison will posthumously receive the Grizzly Lifetime Honors Award.

WATCH: This week's game against Weber State will air around the state on a combination of local CBS stations and the MTN Network, depending on your location. In Missoula, the Bitterroot Valley, and the Flathead Valley, the game will air live on KPAX/KAJ. In all other markets around the state, the game will air on the MTN Network, available free to air and on DIRECTV.

A nationwide stream of the game is also available without blackout on ESPN+.

Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer and former NFL head coach Marty Mornhinweg serves as the analyst on the broadcast, while longtime Montana newsman Jay Kohn will provide the play-by-play. Kyle Hansen and Meg Robinson will report from the sidelines.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his ninth season behind the mic at Montana and will bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its fourteen affiliate stations around the state.

"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show with Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and longtime 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 on the Varsity Network App.

THE SERIES: Montana and Weber State, two of the Big Sky Conference's founding members in 1963, meet for the 58^th time in the 61-year history of the league this weekend. In that time Montana has built a commanding lead in the overall series, now at 40-17 in UM's favor.

Just over half those wins have come in Missoula with the Griz 22-7 at home, and the record is even more lopsided in Washington-Grizzly Stadium with UM leading 15-2.

Forget all that though, Weber State comes to Missoula this week as winners in four of the last five meetings between the two old foes. WSU got its first victory in Missoula since 1987 in a 24-21 OT upset of the Griz in 2015 and has won three-straight in Ogden in 2017, the 2019 playoffs, and 2022. The Grizzlies last home win in the series was an impressive one though, beating the ranked Wildcats 35-16 in the 2019 regular season. Read on for a deep dive.

LAST MEETING: No. 5 Weber State handed Montana its first three-game losing streak since 2018 with a physical, defensive-centric 24-21 win in 2022 over an undermanned Grizzly team in Ogden. It was the Wildcats second-straight victory over UM after beating the Griz in the 2019 playoffs on a snowy Utah night.

Without the use of starting quarterback Lucas Johnson and the loss of NFL linebacker Patrick O'Connell in the first quarter, among other injuries, the No. 10/11 Grizzlies couldn't muster the offense necessary to overcome some big plays from WSU.

The loss slid UM to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in league play following a tough stretch of losses against Idaho, No. 2 Sac State, and No. 5 WSU., the last two of which were on the road.

For a second-straight week the Grizzly offense was held at bay, limited to just 114 yards of total offense and 42 net rushing yards as the WSU defense racked up four sacks and 11 tackles for loss to stifle the run.

Backup QB Kris Brown was held to just 10 completions for 72 yards in the air as well, while Junior Bergen, who played through an injury to his left hand, was held to just 21 rushing yards while operating the wildcat offense.

LAST TIME IN MISSOULA: In one of the biggest games in the history of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the No. 4 Montana Grizzlies dominated No. 3 Weber State 35-16 in a 2019 statement win featuring the league's top two teams.

The Wildcats entered the game undefeated against FCS opponents that year and 6-0 in league play. In fact, WSU hadn't lost to a Big Sky opponent since Oct. 6, 2018. But Montana controlled the game from the very start, building an early lead and never looking back.

The Grizzlies took the lead with two massive special teams plays that set the offense up with short fields. Samori Toure, now with the Chicago Bears, led the offense during his breakout junior year with three touchdowns, two of which were from more than 50 yards out. He finished the day with a career-high 193 yards on eight catches. Two games later he'd break Randy Moss' FCS playoff record as the first Grizzly ever to catch 300 yards worth of passes with 303 vs SELA.

The defense had a stellar day, limiting the high-powered WSU rushing offense to just 69 yards on 39 attempts (1.9 per rush). It was the fewest points allowed in a game that season for the Griz D, who forced four turnovers and were led by Jace Lewis, Dante Olson, and Robby Hauck, who combined for 39 stops.

///GRIZ TRACKS///

OFFENSIVE OUTBURSTS: Montana's offensive outburst of 701 total yards against EWU (split tidily between 337 rushing and 364 passing), was the most of any team in the FCS this season and the eighth-most in all D-I football.

701 was also the second-most yards in modern program history, just 16 yards shy of the school record 717 yards against Weber State in 1999.

They are the only two games since 1990 where the Griz totaled more than 700 yards in a game. But in that time, Montana (and its historic offenses of the 90's and 2000's) has played 21 games with 600-plus yards of total offense.

Of those 21 games, six have been coached by Bobby Hauck with five coming in his second tenure. Take a deeper dive, and 12 games – more than half – have had Brent Pease on the offensive staff, with five coming when he was calling the plays as offensive coordinator.

• As a quarterback at Montana in 1986, Pease also helped lead the Griz to a big 42-37 win over Eastern Washington, throwing for 447 yards with 525 yards of total offense in the final game at the old Dornblaser Field before UM moved into Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

A month later, Pease and the Griz went on the road and beat Weber State 55-29, with Montana racking up 624 yards of total offense and Pease's career-high 460 yards coming through the air.

THREE GAME TEAR: Led by Pease in the booth, the Grizzly offense has been cooking since the loss at North Dakota on week two. Highlighted by 701 yards at EWU, the Griz have totaled 1,829 yards in three games on 249 plays from scrimmage (576 vs Morehead St., 552 vs Western Carolina, and 701 vs EWU). That averages out to nearly 610 yards per game and over seven yards per play.

Montana has posted back-to-back games of 600-plus yards three times in modern history. The first was that two-game tear in the 1995 FCS playoffs where UM put up 629 vs Georgia Southern and 669 vs Stephen F. Austin in consecutive weeks. In the second, the Griz set a record 717 yards against Weber State followed by 629 yards at Portland State in 1999. The third was 2022's two-game stretch where the Griz ran all over Cal Poly with 695 yards followed by 604 yards against EWU.

• The Griz have lit up the scoreboard in the last three games as well, scoring 157 points in three games – the most in a three-game stretch since scoring 176 against Southern Utah, Mississippi Valley State, and Sacramento State in 2016.

• Montana has now won four-straight Big Sky road games, dating back to the upset at then-No. 18 UC Davis in 2023 that helped launch a run of 10-straight wins and a trip to the national title game. The four-game streak is tied for the most consecutive since a run in Hauck's first tenure that saw UM win seven-straight on the road between 2008 and 2009.

BURNING THE EAGLES: Montana's offense has torched Eastern Washington's defense for 172 points in the last three meetings (52 points in 2024, 63 in 2022, and 57 in the 2021 playoffs).

Since Hauck returned in 2018 the Griz have gone 4-1 against the Eagles, outscoring them 234-148 all while racking up 2,461 yards in five games – an average of just under 500 yards per contest.

Hauck now holds a 10-2 career record over Eastern Washington, tied with Portland State (also 10-2) for the most wins over a single Big Sky opponent.

• Eastern Washington scored 28 points in the fourth quarter against UM for a nailbiter finish in the Grizzly win, led by 265 yards and 4 TD passes on the day for Kekoa Vesperas. Three of those touchdown catches were made by All-America receiver Efton Chism III.

The last player to catch three touchdown passes in a game against Montana? NFL star Cooper Kupp at EWU in 2016.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: In his first start as a Montana Grizzly, quarterback Logan Fife caught fire on the inferno at Eastern Washington, led the Grizzlies to over 700 yards of total offense – the second-most in program history – and a 52-49 road win.

In that near-record total, he threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns and added 22 more on the ground for a personal haul of 386 – the most yards of any player in the Big Sky Conference so far this season. His passing total of 364 yards was also a Big Sky-best, the third-most in the FCS on week five, and a top 15 total nationwide this season. Even more impressive? 309 of them came in the first half alone.

Following that dazzling debut, Fife was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week by the league office on Monday – the first conference weekly honor of his career. He was also given an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Offensive Player of the Week.

Fife is the second-straight Big Sky weekly award recipient for UM, with the Grizzly offense putting nearly 100 points on the board over the last two games. Eli Gillman won it a week ago following his 124-yard rushing day against Western Carolina.

The redshirt junior completed 30 of his 42 attempts (.714) with five TDs and zero interceptions to finish with a QB rating of 183.5, logging the most passing yards of any Grizzly since Dalton Sneed threw for 459 yards in a 2019 playoff win over Southeastern Louisiana. He also came through in clutch situations, helping Montana convert three-of-three fourth down attempts and go five-for-five in the red zone while executing some gutsy play calling.

• Crucially, UM totaled 89 yards on fourth down, the most in a Big Sky game this year. The Griz are now third in the conference on fourth down, converting 11 of 14 (.786). Conversely, Montana's fourth down defense is the best in the league, allowing teams to convert just 14 percent of the time (one conversion on seven attempts).

MORE FIFE FACTS: Fife's game was a rare one for the Griz, making a little recent history for UM. The last time a Montana QB threw for over 300 yards was Lucas Johnson, who had 306 yards against SEMO in the 2022 playoffs. The last Grizzly QB to pass for 5 TDs in a game was Cam Humphrey against Western Illinois back in 2021.

SATURDAY'S STARS: Montana's offensive line led the Griz to Big Sky-best totals in the passing game, receiving game, and rushing game last week at EWU. Fife posted the most total yards (386) of any player in the league and the most passing yards (364) as well. Nick Ostmo paced Montana with 160 yards rushing – a conference high. Junior Bergen had a career-high 150 yards receiving, also a conference-high on week five.

POUND THE ROCK: Montana's offense featured a two-headed monster in the ground game, with Nick Ostmo and Eli Gillman each rushing for over 100 yards at EWU – the second time this season UM has had two players pass the century mark in a game.

The Griz are now 4-0 when outrushing opponents, entering the game against Weber State with the nation's third-best rushing offense at an average of 283.2 yards per game.

• Nick Ostmo improved his career rushing total to 2,245, moving into 5^th all-time for Montana, passing Hall of Famer Rocky Klever's career total of 2,228 with 160 yards at EWU. He also moved up the rushing touchdowns list, now with 24 to sit at No. 7 all time, tied with Tony Rice (1989-92).

Not only did Ostmo rush for a score, he caught a touchdown pass to move up two spots on the all-time total touchdowns list, now tied with Joe Douglass, Shalon Baker, and Jody Farmer with 28. He's now just outside the top 20 all time in points scored with 168 and needs three more points to pass Shalon Baker at No. 20.

• Eli Gillman posted his third straight 100 yard game with 109 at EWU, the sixth 100-yard day of his career. He improved his career rushing total to 1,598 yards, passing Hall of Famers Dick Imer, Terry Dillon and Arnie Blancas and Les Kent to move to No. 16 all time. He also rushed for his 20^th career TD, now tied with Dave Dickenson and Josh Branen on the UM all-time list.

Gillman is now averaging 10.09 yards per carry after the EWU game, the second-most of any player in all four levels of NCAA football (FBS, FCS, D-II, D-III), trailing only Boise State Heisman candidate Ashton Jeanty's 10.30 yards per touch.

AIR IT OUT: Junior Bergen had a career day with 150 yards receiving. He was especially dangerous with ball in hand, totaling 111 YAC yards after the catch.

His 150 receiving yards and 21 kickoff return yards give him 171 all-purpose yards against EWU. He now has 3,579 career AP yards to pass Shalon Baker and move to No. 8 all-time in program history.

Fun fact: Bergen has exactly 1502 punt/kick return yards in his career and has exactly 1502 career receiving yards as well. Add in his 575 rushing yards and that equals his 3,579 all-purpose yards.

Those 150 yards at EWU also move him on to UM's top 30 all-time receiving yards list, passing Bob McCauley (1,466) to move to No. 30. Those 30 players are the only Grizzlies to ever total over 1,500 receiving yards in a career.

• Senior receiver Keelan White was Fife's other primary target last week, hauling in seven grabs for 75 yards, a season high. Six of those seven grabs came in the second quarter and helped UM score 21 points in the period.

White has been a mainstay of the Grizzly offense in the last three seasons, set to make his 35^th career appearance against Weber State.

TIGHT END TARGETS: Montana's corps of tight ends had a breakout day with all three dressed on the road trip catching a pass and two getting into the endzone for three of UM's seven touchdowns.

Senior Erik Barker caught two touchdown passes – the second and third of his career. Junior Jake Olson of Butte also got into the endzone with the first touchdown catch of his career.

The last player to catch two touchdown passes in a game? Arron Fontes had two in that 2023 win at UC Davis.

STOPS ON STOPS: Senior linebacker Ryan Tirrell logged a career-high 14 total tackles in Montana's win at Eastern Washington, the most stops in the Big Sky Conference on week five and tied for the third-most in the league this season.

He's now the third-leading tackler in the Big Sky this season, averaging 8.6 stops per game for a total of 43 total tackles.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana stayed put at No. 8 in the Stats Perform FCS media poll and at No. 9 in the AFCA FCS coaches poll this week. Weber State, which had been ranked as high as No. 20 in the national media poll, dropped out for the second time this season on Monday following its loss to McNeese.

The Griz are the second of six Big Sky teams in this week's media poll, with next week's opponent Northern Arizona slotting in at No. 25 for the first time this season.

GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: When the computers use machine logic to determine the best teams in the land, Montana fares better this week. The Griz slot in as the fourth-highest rated FCS team in the Massey Ratings and fifth in the FCS in the Sagarin Ratings at the No. 100 team in all of college football. Both rating systems are used in tiebreaker scenarios when considering playoff contention.

VS RANKED TEAMS: Weber State comes to Missoula having been ranked as high as No. 20 this season and now sitting just outside the polls while receiving votes. After a win over No. 24 WCU and a loss at then-No. 20 (now No. 7) North Dakota on week two, the Griz are 8-2 against ranked teams over the last calendar year and are 10-0 against ranked teams in Washington-Grizzly Stadium since Hauck's return in 2018.

HOME SWEET HOME: Montana returns home looking to extend its 15-game winning streak inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, a run that dates to the middle of the 2022 season (two games before UM lost at Weber State that year). The Griz are 233-35 (.869) overall record and have played 14 undefeated seasons inside the venue.

It's the third-longest active home winning streak in the FCS again this week, with only South Dakota State (23) and Florida A&M (21) having more.

SOLD OUT: Tickets are few and far between for this weekend's game against WSU (though some remain available at GrizTix.com). Montana returns home this week riding a record string of 13-straight regular season home sellouts.

Since Washington-Grizzly Stadium expanded to its current capacity of 25,217 in 2008, Montana has sold-out more than half of its home games, exceeding capacity 59 times in 110 games, including playoff contests

FALSE START FRENZY: The Grizzly faithful have helped cause a whopping 11 false starts in Montana's three home games so far this season. That's more than opponents who have visited some other rowdy FCS atmospheres - Montana State, Idaho, NDSU, and SDSU - have committed this season combined (9 total).

Montana's opponents were flagged for a false start a total of 26 times in nine home games in 2023, an average of just under three per game (2.8). In three games this season, UM opponents are averaging over 3.5 per game. Keep up the good work Griz Nation.

HAUCK HISTORY: Montana's win at EWU provided Hauck with some tidy historical numbers in his already storied career. Appropriately, UM's 37^th head coach won his 37^th game since 2020, the most among active FCS coaches.

• With UM now 1-0 in league play, Hauck improved his all-time Big Sky win total to 75, the second-most in conference history. He's the winningest coach overall in league history with 133 wins but is now 10 games shy of Jerome Souers' career total of 85 wins over conference foes.

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Players Mentioned

Erik Barker

Junior Bergen

Kris Brown

Logan Fife

Eli Gillman

Jake Olson

Nick Ostmo

Ryan Tirrell

Keelan White

University of Montana Athletics