Griz look to rebound as Vikings come to town

Saturday, November 16

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

Portland State

Tickets

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

11/12/2024 5:56:00 PM | Football

UM Notes PSU Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies return to action on Saturday looking to get back on the proverbial horse and ride after falling to UC Davis last week, with the Portland State Vikings visiting Missoula in UM's final regular season home game.

Even though a second-straight Big Sky championship may no longer be on the table, the Griz (7-3, 4-2 BSC) still have plenty to play for when it comes to the postseason as the Vikings (2-7, 2-4 BSC) invade Missoula looking for an upset.

While the Griz have won four in a row over PSU, don't let their record fool you this year. Portland State has been through the ringer this season with, not one of, THE hardest schedule in the FCS by a country mile. The Vikings had it tough right out of the gates this year with four-straight road losses at Washington State, Weber State, Boise State and Chattanooga to open the schedule.

Battle-tested, they finally returned home in early October and had UC Davis on the ropes in a controversial game they were winning until literally the last second. Since then, PSU has picked up road wins at Idaho State and Sac State, while narrowly losing to Idaho last week.

Montana, on the other hand, enters Saturday's game with a point to prove, and head coach Bobby Hauck still looking for his team to put together a complete performance in all three phases. Despite last week's setback, Hauck and the Grizzlies have traditionally played their best ball in November (more on that later), and this week offers an opportunity for that complete performance.

To do it, they'll have to contend with Portland State's explosive offense led by quarterback Dante Chachere, who is second in the league in total offense with an average of 252 yards per game. But the Grizzlies have had PSU's number in recent years, however, outscoring the Vikings 173-56 in the last four meetings.

It's must-win time for Montana if playoff hopes are to remain alive, but no one is looking ahead.

Kickoff from Washington-Grizzly Stadium is set for 1 p.m.

SENIOR DAY: Grizzly football will celebrate the careers of 26 seniors this week, most of whom played a pivotal role in the 2023 championship season and have provided some legendary Montana moments in their time at UM.

Jaxon Lee and Ryder Meyer's interceptions to help win at Idaho? Bergen's house call on the opening play of the rivalry game, and all six of his punt returns? His pas to White for a two-point conversion against NDSU? Evan Shafer leveling a Delaware DB en route to the endzone in the playoffs? Nick Ostmo's massive day in the snow against Cal Poly? Gradney's PBU that sealed a win over Furman? Just some of the legendary moments brought to you by this year's senior class. All of whom will be missed.

To date, this year's senior class has made a combined 341 stars in maroon and silver, with Brandon Casey leading the way with 40 to his name as of last week. Keelan White has also been a consistent presence in the Grizzly receiver rotation with 38 starts.

2024 Senior Day honorees (alphabetical by last name): Erik Barker, Cooper Barnum, Junior Bergen, Dillon Botner, Brandon Casey, Isiah Childs, Aaron Fontes, Chrishawn Gordon, Trevin Gradney, Cole Grossman, Xavier Harris, Hayden Harris, Patrick Hayden, Garrett Hustedt, Vai Kaho, Noah Kaschmitter, Cade Klimczak, Jaxon Lee, Andres Lehrmann, Ryder Meyer, Erich Osteen, Nick Ostmo, Evan Shafer, Ryan Simpson, Ryan Tirrell, Keelan White.

FAMILIAR FACES: It's a family affair on Saturday when the Griz host the Vikings, with a father and son for both teams lining up across the field from each other.

For Montana, Robby Hauck, the record-breaking Grizzly safety and son of head coach Bobby Hauck, now patrols the Portland State sidelines as the Viking's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. For Portland State, head coach Bruce Barnum also has a son on the opposite sideline, set to face Grizzly linebacker Cooper Barnum on his senior day. The two most torn people in Missoula this weekend, however, might be the coaches wives, Stacey Hauck and Shawna Barnum.

The Hauck's and Barnum's aren't the only family connection between the two programs. Former Grizzly player and Graduate Assistant coach Andre Patterson, now the D-Line coach with the New York Giants, is the father of Viking offensive coordinator AC Patterson.

WATCH: The final home game of the regular season will air around the state 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 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. Fans can watch the pregame show live on stage at the GSA tailgate party.

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 and GoGriz.com/Listen.

THE SERIES: Montana and Portland State renew a long-standing rivalry for the 48^th time on Saturday with the Grizzlies holding a comfortable 34-13 lead overall dating back to 1965. While the Vikings enjoyed success in the program's golden years of 70's and 80's, it's been mostly Montana since the turn of the century, winning 17 of the last 20 meetings since 2000.

Missoula, and specifically Washington-Grizzly Stadium, have been happy hunting grounds for the Griz in the overall series, with UM sitting at 19-4 overall in Missoula and 11-2 in WGS. The last time

There may be a bit of Deja-vu for the Griz fans looking at that 11-2 number inside the "Mecca of FCS football," however. Montana' s last loss at home to the Vikings was in 2018, the same year UC Davis picked up its first win over the Grizzlies. Let's all hope there is no correlation.

LAST MEETING: Montana extended its win streak to six straight with a dominant 34-10 win over the Vikings in Portland in 2023. PSU scored a field goal on the opening drive of the game, but the Griz rattled off 34 unanswered points while outgaining the Vikings 489-255 in the game.

Montana had two QBs play in the game, combining for nearly 350 total yards by themselves. Eli Gillman added 97 yards on the ground for his third-straight near-100-yard game and a quartet of receivers all finished with at least 40 yards.

The defense had 21 different players record a tackle. Anaconda native Braxton Hill led Montana with seven tackles, Ryan Tirrell had five, and Riley Wilson had four tackles with two sacks.

Outside of one big 64-yard touchdown pass, the Grizzly defense didn't allow the Vikings much on the offensive side. Chachere and one of the best rushing attacks in the country were held under 100 yards as the Grizzlies outgained the Vikings on the ground by 138 yards. PSU also had one of the best third-down offenses in the country, but Montana held them to just four third down conversions. The Griz forced six punts on eight Vikings drives as possessions were few and far between with long drives on both sides.

LAST MEETING IN MISSOULA: Montana celebrated Homecoming in style, running away from the Vikings by scoring 36 of the final 38 points to take a 53-16 Big Sky Conference win.

Robby Hauck, now on the Viking sideline, made history for Montana in the win, eclipsing 400 career tackles to set the all-time program record previously held by Dante Olson. His day became even more special on the final play of the first half, when Hauck returned a missed field goal for a 99-yard touchdown.

There was some foreshadowing of future records in that game as well, with Junior Bergen going 72-yards to the house for the first punt return touchdown of his career. He now, of course, holds the Big Sky record with six punt return TDs to his name.

Led by Hauck, future Seattle Seahawk Patrick O'Connell, and Marcus Welnel, the Grizzly defense put forth another outstanding effort, holding Portland State to just 199 total yards for the game. After a couple of scores early from the Vikings, the defense locked in, allowing just 34 second-half yards.

///GRIZ TRACKS///

STRING OF SELLOUTS: As the final regular season home game around the corner, Montana is looking to the Grizzly faithful to help keep one of the most impressive streaks in program history going.

After packing the house against UC Davis, Montana is seeking its 17^th straight sellout of a regular-season contest in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, a streak that dates to September of 2022 when it started against the very same Portland State Vikings.

FALSE START FRENZY: Griz Nation once again made their voices heard last week as UC Davis was flagged four times for a false start and one delay of game as the visitors struggled to deal with the north endzone noise.

Opponents in Washington-Grizzly Stadium have now been penalized for a false start 19 times this season with at least one in every game. With playoffs included, Griz fans helped cause 26 false start penalties in 2023. Another deep postseason run could help the Griz beat that total in 2024.

STREAKS SNAPPED: While some streaks are still intact, last week's loss to UC Davis snapped some other impressive streaks for the Grizzlies. Montana entered last week's game having won 11 consecutive games under the lights in Missoula, with Hauck having never lost at night since his return to UM in 2018.

Other strings snapped include five straight home wins against top four ranked teams, a streak dating back to 2015 against No. NDSU, and 11-straight home wins over top 25 teams as well.

THE GAMES THEY REMEMBER…: If "the games they remember are played in November," Montana has provided plenty of good memories in the penultimate month on the calendar over the years.

While the loss against UC Davis also snapped an eight-game home win streak in November, the Griz have been exceptional at the end of the regular season under Hauck. Montana enters Saturday's game against PSU at 15-4 in November since he returned in 2018. Even better, Hauck is 40-9 overall and 24-5 at home in November in his career, with Montana having a history of finishing strong.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana slides to No. 10 in this week's Stats Perform media poll, down from No. 7 prior to the loss against No. 4 UC Davis. The Griz also drop out of the top 10 to No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: When the computers take over it's a different story for UM. This week's Massey Ratings, a tool available in playoff seeding, Montana slid to No. 8 in the FCS with the No. 29-rated strength of schedule this season.

Four of Montana's past opponents and one future regular season opponent all slot in this week's Massey top 25, with UC Davis at No. 5 in the rating and Missouri State, now 8-2 overall, just ahead of UM at No. 7. North Dakota, Northern Arizona, and Montana State are also among the top 25 FCS teams.

Montana also slots in as the No. 3 Big Sky team, the No. 7 FCS team, and the No. 109 overall D-I team in the Sagarin Ratings, another common computer model that accounts for strength of schedule.

IMPLICATIONS: Montana will look to secure a spot on the 2024 FCS playoff field this week with its requisite eighth D-1 win against the Vikings, and still the possibility of a first-round bye on the table.

Should the Griz beat PSU they will have improved to 8-3 on the year and are likely to extend the program's record of 27 all-time playoff appearances. Win both the remaining regular season games, and the Griz are likely to move back to the top eight and secure a first-round bye. Split the last two games and it's likely UM will play in the first round over Thanksgiving weekend. Go 0-2 and UM could miss the postseason for just the fifth time since 1993.

BERGEN BITES: Junior Bergen scored Montana's first touchdown of the day against the Aggies, connecting with Logan Fife from 23 yards out. With his Big Sky record sixth punt return TD last week at Cal Poly, he's now scored in three of UM's last four games and is averaging the most receiving yards per game for the Griz at just over 52.

SHARE THE LOVE: Bergen is one of three Grizzly receivers to catch three touchdown passes this season, tied with Keelan White and Xavier Harris – all on a hat trick.

DEFENSIVE RESURGENCE: Despite last week's loss, Montana has outscored its last four opponents by a combined 111-57 since falling to Weber State. The Griz held the Aggies to over five points under their season per game average of over 35 points per contest and held last year's offensive MVP Lan Larison nearly 20 under his per-game average in all-purpose yards to 145.

HARRIS' HITS: Defensive end Hayden Harris put in five total tackles and another tackle for loss against the Aggies to remain among the national leaders in defensive stops. He enters the week third in the league and 13^th in the FCS in total TFLs with 14, and second in the Big Sky/top 20 in the FCS in sacks with 7.5. The senior is also tied for first in the league and No. 13 in the FCS in forced fumbles with three.

TOTAL TACKLES: Safety Ryder Meyer posted a career-high 17 tackles against UC Davis. That's the most by any Grizzly since Dante Olson had 19 stops at Montana State in 2019. Fellow safety Jaxon Lee also had a career-high of 13 tackles against the Aggies.

AS GILLMAN GOES: Running back Eli Gillman has been hampered in the run game the past two weeks, but still remains among the national leaders. Despite just 21 net yards against the Aggies Gillman ranks No. 5 in the FCS and No. 2 in the Big Sky in rushing yards per carry this week at just under seven per-tote. The sophomore is also second in the league behind Larison on top 10 in the FCS in total touchdowns with 14 this season.

Led by Gillman, the Griz have the No. 2 scoring offense in the Big Sky this week, averaging 36.9 points per game over the course of the season.

FINDING BALANCE: Montana continues to put a balanced offense on the field week-in and week-out, with the Grizzlies totaling 2,096 rushing yards and 2,301 passing yards to date. That's a difference of just 205 yards of production after 10 games of football.

KICKING GAME: Punter/Kicker Ty Morrison has been consistent in flipping the field for the Griz in his first season at Montana. The junior is averaging over 42 yards per punt this season after launching a season-high six punts against UC Davis for 293 yards. As a whole, Montana's punt coverage unit ranks among the nation's top 25, averaging just three yards shy of the nation's bet net punt average Youngstown State at 39.22 yards.

He's been especially consistent putting points on the board, having not missed a PAT since week one, connecting on 41 of 42 attempts. With 11 made field goals, he's the No. 8 overall scorer in the Big Sky this week, totaling 74 points.

FOE'S FIELD GOALS: UC Davis kicker Hunter Ridley slotted three field goals against UM last week, a rarity in Missoula. The last kicker to hit three inside WGS? Portland State's Cody Williams also slotted three in the Viking's last win over UM back in 2018.

POSSESSION, POSSESSION, POSSESSION: Montana had just its second negative game of the season in the turnover differential last week at -2, with Davis picking off two Grizzly passes. The Griz remain +3 in turnovers this year, however, and have made them count. Montana has now scored 43 points off opponent turnovers, while opponents have only scored 16 after Davis was only able to capitalize for three points on its two picks.

PICK SIX NIX'D: Despite UM sitting at +3 in the turnover ratio and have scored plenty of points off said turnovers, the Grizzlies have yet to score a defensive touchdown in 2024 (a pick six or a fumble return). That's a rarity for the Griz, with the last season with no defensive TDs a full decade ago in 2014.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Montana's O-line enters this week's game with plenty of experience and some nice, round numbers across the board. As mentioned, Casey earned his 40^th start against Davis, while Journey Grimsrud made this 30^th, Liam Brown made is 25^th,and newcomer Cade Klimczak made his 10^th. Add everyone up and UM had 105 starts across the starting front line last week, with Whitefish native Dillon Botner getting his second career start in place of Cannon Panfiloff.