Griz to face Jackrabbits in Championship Rematch

It's December, and Montana is one of just 16 teams left competing for a national championship. The Grizzlies would have it no other way.

Montana (9-4, 5-3 BSC) returns to the second round of the playoffs for the seventh time in the last decade on Saturday, extending the program's record of 28 postseason appearances by another week.

Their reward is to face perhaps the biggest challenge of the season as Montana heads to Brookings to take on two-time defending national champion South Dakota State (10-2, 7-1 MVFC) in a 2023 title game rematch.

The Jackrabbits are still led by All-America QB Mark Goronowski, but the co-champs of the Missouri Valley Football Conference are a changed unit from last year's title team. Neither are the Griz. At their core, however, UM and SDSU are still as big, physical, and skilled as they come in FCS football.

South Dakota State enters the game in the unusual position of having two losses on its record, falling to Oklahoma State and North Dakota State in the top half of the season.

Montana, conversely, heads east as a team on the rise after earning a first-round win over a game Tennessee State that saw records fall and momentum built as the No. 14 seed Griz now prepare to take on the No. 3 seed Jacks.

It sets up a clash of the FCS titans, two of the bluest-blue bloods in the subdivision, battling it out for the chance to survive and advance. After a season of ups and downs, all Montana ever asked for was a chance to compete. Now it's time to earn it.

Kickoff from Brookings is set for Noon (MT), 1 p.m. (CT).

JACKRABBIT TRIFECTA: It's Griz vs Jackrabbits all week long for Montana as three teams from the Grizzly Athletic Department each coincidentally take on their counterparts at South Dakota State. Montana men's basketball starts us off on Wednesday in Missoula hosting the Jackrabbits at 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena. On Saturday the Griz take the field against SDSU in Brookings at Noon (MT), while two hours later the Lady Griz take on the Jackrabbits on the hardwood in Missoula at 2 p.m.

WATCH: For football, it's NCAA Tournament time, and that means all games from here on out will be shown on the ESPN family of networks and streaming platforms. This week, all second round FCS games across the country will only be available to watch on the ESPN+ streaming platform. No linear broadcast is available.

Griz fans will hear a familiar voice on the call this week. Lowell Galindo, who went viral with his call of Montana's two-point conversion against North Dakota State in last year's semifinal, will be behind the mic again this weekend in Brookings on the play-by-play. Fozzy Whittaker, a seven-year NFL vet running back who helped lead the Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl 50, will serve as analyst on the broadcast.

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, former Grizzly Sammy Akem, 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 and GoGriz.com/Listen.

THE GAME: It's win or go home time for both teams as the two meet for the fourth time in the FCS postseason. The No. 14-seed Griz face the No. 3 seed Jackrabbits in a rematch of last year's title game. UM is once again faced with slowing down SDSU's high-powered rush attack and the nation's top scoring defense that's giving up just 12 points per game, this time on their home turf.

The postseason has been home to some of the most memorable battles between Montana and South Dakota State over the years, however. And in December, anything is possible. In last year's national championship, the Griz were a turnover and a goal line stand away from making it a very different outcome, but Montana has held the upper hand in previous meetings.

In 2015 SDSU came to Missoula in the first round of the playoffs and the Griz roared out to a 24-0 halftime lead on a bitter cold Missoula afternoon. The Grizzly defense The Griz defense was the story that day with senior Jeremiah Kose recovering a fumble, the Griz secondary coming up with nine big pass breakups, and Tyrone Holmes cementing his status as one of Montana's all-time greats. Holmes made life difficult for SDSU quarterback Taryn Christion all day long, adding three sacks to his national-best 18 that season. Jackrabbit tight end Dallas Goedert (now one of the NFL's top tight ends at Philadelphia), caught a late TD pass from Christion late in the game to make it a one-score contest with the final 24-17.

In 2009 the two teams met in the first round in Missoula in a game that may go down as one of the greatest played in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Jacks stormed out of the gates to take a 48-21 lead late in the third quarter before Marc Mariani sparked a comeback for the ages with a 98-yard kickoff return. It was the first of six unanswered touchdowns as Montana took a 61-48 victory.

Not in the playoffs but still a memorable meeting was in 2003 when the two teams played in early September, and SDSU took a 38-13 lead into the fourth quarter. The Griz then rattled off 39 points in the fourth quarter to win 52-48, setting a school and FCS record for most points scored in a fourth quarter to win.

THE SERIES: Montana's only loss to South Dakota State in the relatively short series between the two came in last year's national title game, as the Griz head east with an 8-1 all-time advantage over the Jacks dating back to the first meeting in 1969.

UM's trip to SDSU is a rare occurrence, with this week's game the first to be played in Brookings since 1970 – a 24-0 win for the Griz that cemented a second-consecutive undefeated season for Montana. Here's a recap from that game from the 1971 Griz Football media guide.

BROOKINGS, S.D. (Nov. 14)—Montana's sluggish offense got superb support from a rugged defense Saturday as the Grizzlies closed their second-straight perfect 10-0 season with a 24-0 shutout of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The top ground gainer for Montana was Steve Caputo with 110 yards. Les Kent added 94. Tim Gallagher got three interceptions, and the defense jumped on three Rabbit fumbles while keeping the South Dakotans at bay in their own territory through most of the contest. The Grizzlies got only one first-half touchdown and added the bulk of their scoring in the final two quarters. Gary Berding opened things with a 22-yard TD pass to Casey Reilly in the first. In the third, Sparky Kottke zipped 18 yards around right end for another TD, and Dan Worrell hit a 39-yard field goal. Montana's final score was on a sensational 65-yard run by reserve halfback Jim Schillinger. Montana got 361 yards total offense, and South Dakota State was held to 52 on the ground and 155 total. Bill Sterns also intercepted for the Grizzlies.

Jim Schillinger's touchdown was some foreshadowing for the Griz. Jim would go on to have a legendary high school coaching career in Montana, while his son Shann had an All-America career at UM and in the NFL, while his other son Jace coached the Griz for a time as well. Shann is now the head football coach at the University of Mary in North Dakota and Jace is the head coach at Sidney High School in Eastern Montana.

The Griz ran a wishbone offense in those days, pounding the rock 83 times for 329 rushing yards in that game – still the most carries in Grizzly history. All told, Montana ran 99 plays in that game, also a school record to this day.

LAST MEETING: In the 2023 FCS National Championship, the Grizzlies were within a possession at the half, but big plays sparked a Jackrabbit team that won its 29th straight game to claim their second-straight title in a 23-3 victory.

Montana couldn't get the offense going against the top-ranked Jackrabbit defense. The defense held SDSU under its season averages by 163 yards and 15 points, but the offense turned the ball over three times and couldn't find the end zone.

The defense held for most of the game, giving up just 17 first downs and forcing SDSU to go 4-of-11 on third down. They also forced two Jackrabbit turnovers, scoring on one of them, but two touchdowns within two minutes of each other in the third quarter proved the difference maker.

POSTSEASON PARTICULARS: Montana enters Saturday's game seeking its 40^th all-time postseason win with a 39-25 (.609) overall playoff record, and an incredible 36-7 (.837) postseason record at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Bobby Hauck is now 18-11 in the postseason during his 13 years at Montana.

• With 18 playoff wins Hauck is now tied with two of the best to ever do it in the Dakotas: SDSU's John Stiegelmeier (who retired after winning a national title with an 18-11 postseason record) and NDSU's Chris Klieman (now the head coach at Kansas State, who went 18-1 in the postseason with the Bison.) Klieman, incidentally, went 69-6 overall with the Bison during his tenure in Fargo, with one of those six losses coming against the Griz in 2015 in Missoula.

Only two other coaches in 1-AA/FCS history have more postseason wins than Hauck, with Appalachian State's Jerry Moore retiring with 22 playoff wins and Youngstown State's Jim Tressel moving on to lead Ohio State with 23.

• Montana heads to Brookings tied as the winningest FCS team of the 21st century, holding a 235-80 record since the year 2000. UM is tied with NDSU, which also has 235 victories. Eastern Washington has the second-most wins among Big Sky foes in that time frame with 189, and Montana State has the third-most with 182. South Dakota State also has 182.

RANKED OPPONENTS: Montana will play its fourth FCS top 25-ranked team in the last five weeks on Saturday when it takes on SDSU, who finished the regular season at No. 2 in the media poll and was seeded No. 3 in the playoffs. The Griz have played six teams who were top 25 as of game time this season, with week one's opponent Missouri State finishing at No. 21 in the coaches' poll with an 8-4 record to make seven ranked opponents for UM on the year.

UM is 4-3 against those ranked foes and capped the regular season at 4-2 against teams who finished with a winning record, with the only two losses to UC Davis and MSU.

///GRIZ TRACKS///

BERGEN BITES: Junior Bergen unlocked G.O.A.T. status on Saturday, tying the NCAA FCS Record with his eighth punt return touchdown of his career. He's now tied atop the record book with LeRoy Vann of Florida A&M who had eight between 2006-2008.

Bergen also now has 9 combined kickoff (1) and punt return (8) touchdowns to put him in even more rarified air, and there are some fun Montana connections up there. He'll need two more return TDs to tie Vann's FCS record in that category, who totaled 11 in his career (8 PR, 3 KOR).

Bergen's 9 combined return TDs would also theoretically break the FBS record of 8 (must have one in each category). Nine players in FBS history have combined for 8 returns, including San Diego State's Rashaad Penny, who was coached by Bobby Hauck during his time as the Aztec's Special Teams Coordinator.

Bergen would also need just one more punt return TD to, 1) hold the FCS record outright, and 2) tie the FBS record of 9 held by former Washington Husky Dante Pettis. Pettis set the then-Pac-12 record for punt return TDs with the seventh of his career against Montana in 2017.

• Since returning in 2018, Hauck (who serves as UM's de facto Special Teams Coordinator) has coached two FCS record holders, with Malik Flowers tying the kickoff return record with seven, and Bergen now tying the punt return record with 8. He's also coached-up two FCS Punters of the Year, and had FCS Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year award winners under his watch.

RARE RETURNS: Bergen has been the leader in helping Montana do something seemingly impossible during his career – go three-straight years with two return touchdowns in the same game. Playoff games at that.

In the 2022 playoffs against Southeast Missouri Flowers sparked a comeback with an 80-yard kickoff return and Bergen later tied the game with a 58-yard punt return. In 2023 Bergen housed a kickoff 99 yards and later took a punt 59 yards to the endzone to help the Griz beat Furman 35-28 in the FCS Quarterfinal. This year he housed a pair of punts against TSU to bring his career total of return TDs to nine.

How rare is it? Only 37 FCS teams have returned a single kickoff for a score this season and an even fewer 10 have done it twice or more. Only 37 teams have also managed a punt return this season in the FCS, and only 9 have done it two or more times.

RECORD WATCH: Unless something goes haywire in the playoffs, Bergen has now all but locked up Montana's school record for average yards per punt return, heading to SDSU with a career average of 16.71 per touch and beating out Marc Mariani's record of 15.01.

• With 204 all-purpose yards against TSU, Bergen now totals 4,424 combined rush, receiving, and return yards. He needs just 125 more to pass Levendar Seagers and move into UM's top five all-time for all-purpose yards.

• Bergen has also scored a combined 164 points for the Griz in his career – now a top 25 total and has 1,760 receiving yards – a top 25 total as well.

GILLMAN GETS GOING: Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for sophomore running back Eli Gillman, with Brookings less than three hours away from his hometown of Dassel, Minnesota. He returns to the Midwest with a head of steam as well, coming off 136-yard day rushing against TSU that was capped by a grown-man 59-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Gilman has been returning to form in recent weeks with those 136 yards two more than the 134 he rushed for against Portland State in November. 136 is also the second-most of his career after he rushed for 175 yards against Western Carolina on week four.

He heads to Brookings ranked fifth in the FCS in yards per carry with 6.96, having cracked the 1,000-yard barrier on the season and the 2,000-yard barrier for his career on one play last week against TSU.

Those gaudy numbers are enough to move him up, WAY up, Montana's record books, and he's only a sophomore. Let's take a look.

RECORD WATCH: Gillman now has 2,125 career rushing yards, passing John Nguyen and Steve Caputo to move into No. 7 all-time in UM career rushing yards. He now needs just 104 more to pass Grizzly Hall of Famer and longtime NFL vet Rocky Klever.

With two on Saturday, Gillman now has 28 career rushing TDs and has moved into the top five all-time at UM ahead of Marcus Knight and Jeremy Calhoun. He now needs 13 more to pass Jordan Canada's career total of 40 to move into 4th all-time. The school record for rushing TDs is 52, set by Chase Reynolds.

Gillman also moved up UM's total touchdown list, now with 30 to his name. He passed Sammy Akem's career total of 28 and needs four more to pass Marc Mariani's career total of 33 to move into sixth all-time in a Griz uniform.

He also now has 180 points in his career, passing legends like Shalon Baker, Joe Douglass, and Akem. He's now tied with Dan Worrell at No. 15 among UM's all-time points scorers.

ANOTHER RUSHING RECORD: After totaling 254 yards on the ground last week, the Griz as a team remain primed to break a long-standing school record. As a team, Montana is now averaging 5.64 yards per carry (2,666 yards on 473 attempts). On pace to break the previous school record of 5.56 YPC (2,114 yards on 380 attempts) set way back in 1954.

RUSH DEFENSE RARITIES: The Griz held TSU to -19 rushing yards last week, the second time this season UM has stopped the opposition for negative yards after holding Morehead State to -14 yards on week three. Montana hasn't held a single team (let alone two teams) to negative rush yardage since setting a school record in 2016, with Mississippi Valley State totaling -61 yards.

How rare is it to hold a team to negative rushing yards? The Griz have only done it six times in modern program history, dating back to 1989 when they set the previous school record of -43 yards against Weber State.

POSSESSION, POSSESSION, POSSESSION: Before Montana caught a case of fumblitis with a season-high three drops against TSU, the Griz were on pace to set a record in the turnover margin but are still protecting the ball better than most teams in UM history.

Montana is currently +5 in the turnover margin – the third-best rate in the Big Sky after last week. The Griz have now totaled 18 takeaways while suffering 13 giveaways (6 INTs, 7 fumbles) – still the second-fewest giveaways in modern program history. Montana's previous record low giveaway total was 11 in 2014 (7 INTs, 4 fumbles). UM has only had fewer than seven fumbles in a season five times in the last 30 years. The Grizzlies have only lost the turnover battle three times this season, with TSU being the first win when doing so.

Montana has also been making the most of its turnovers, scoring 50 points off takeaways and giving up only 19 points to giveaways.

HARRIS' HITS: D-End Hayden Harris added another sack to his team-high total 8.5, and with it another TFL to his team-high 16 against TSU – both top three marks in the Big Sky. In just his second year as a Grizzly, he's already entered Montana's top 30 list of all-time leaders in TFLs with 20.5 on his career.

MONEY MORRISON: Montana junior kicker/punter Ty Morrison has been money in both pursuits over the last two weeks for the Griz, punctuated by a career-long 50-yard field goal against Tennessee State last week. That 50-yarder was the first from that deep for UM since Kevin Macias (who now kicks for the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League) hit from 50 against Montana State in 2021. In total, Morrison made four of his five field goal attempts against the Tigers. Macias was also the last Grizzly to connect on four-plus field goals in a single game… in that win over MSU in '21. Morrison's four field goals are tied for the second-most in a game this season in the Big Sky Conference.

Morrison has also made 48-straight PAT attempts, having not missed since his first-ever live kick inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium (practice or game) on week one. He's tied for the second-best PAT percentage (48-of-49) in the Big Sky and has the third-most made PATs. He's also been coming on strong in the punting game, with his two best averages since week four in the past two games (45 yards against TSU and 44 against MSU).

FLYIN' HAWAIIAN: Montana received a spark off the bench from true freshman from Hawaii against TSU. Running back Malae Fonoti impressed again in just his second appearance this season, motoring for 46 yards on eight carries to help the Grizzly offense get moving when needed – a rate of 5.8 yards per tote. In two games this season Fonoti has proven himself as a future star at running back with 222 yards on 32 attempts, a rate of nearly seven yards per carry. He was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week in his first ever game of college football on week three.

THE 600 CLUB: When Montana and South Dakota State clash on Saturday it will be a meeting between two of the most successful programs in FCS history, and two of the few with more than 600 wins their 125 years of existence. With both teams starting play in 1897, Montana enters the week with 646 all-time victories while SDSU has 667. With most programs over 600 wins residing in the Ivy League or on the east coast where they have played longer, the Griz and Jacks are two of just six teams from west of the Mississippi River with 600+ wins. Montana is the only program in the Big Sky Conference to hit the milestone as well.

THE WEST IS THE BEST: Speaking of the east coast… Montana defeated its third team this season from east of the Mississippi River inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium last week against Tennessee State. The Griz have been nearly unbeatable against eastern teams, now at 41-7 (.854) since the stadium opened in 1986, with 19 of those wins coming in the 1-AA/FCS Playoffs.

THE NIGHTTIME IS THE RIGHT TIME: Montana's win over TSU was another feather in the Grizzly cap in a lopsided win/loss category: another win at night. UM improved to 17-3 in games played at night since lights were installed at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in 2011.

FALSE START FRENZY: The Grizzly faithful, while relatively small in numbers last week were mighty in voice, helping cause five TSU false start penalties – three of which were all on the same player in U of Tennessee transfer Connor Meadows. The five false starts brought UM's season total to 26 jumps by visiting teams inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, equaling last year's total of 26 as well for a total of 52 false start penalties against the opposition. Griz fans must save their best for last, because North Dakota State also jumped five times in last year's final home game. Should Montana play at home again this year, the Griz will look for six false starts.

ATTENDANCE LEADER: Montana leads the FCS in accumulative attendance by a country mile this season with 193,391 passing through the turnstiles in UM's eight home games to date. Jackson State came second in the category with 136,063 fans at its five home games, and Montana State was third with 131,392 fans over six home games. JSU's relative dearth of home games and a larger stadium brought its per-game attendance average up to 27,213 to top the FCS in that category. Montana is second in average attendance at 24,174 this week after the Thanksgiving weekend first round game.

BIG SKY vs THE VALLEY: When Montana takes on SDSU this week it will mark the third time this season UM has played a team from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Griz head to Brookings at 1-1 against the Valley this year after beating Missouri State and falling at North Dakota.

The Valley is 2-1 against teams from the Big Sky in the annual challenge series this year and has never lost a season to the Big Sky. The Griz, on the other hand, have been the lone bright spot in the series, holding a 7-4 record against teams from the Valley (including postseason games) since its inception in 2018.

ALL-BIG SKY: A total of 11 Montana Grizzlies earned one of 13 spots on the Big Sky's three all-conference teams the league announced at the conclusion of the regular season, as voted by the coaches.

Montana had two first-team All-Big Sky picks with right tackle Brandon Casey landing on the offensive first team for a second-straight season. Junior Bergen also earned a hat-trick of awards, named to the special teams first team as a kick returner, the second team as a punt returner, and earning an honorable mention as a wide receiver.

Most of Montana's honorees came on the second team this season. Running back Eli Gillman, last year's FCS Freshman of the Year, was named to the all-conference offensive second team for a second-straight season. Senior receiver Keelan White also earned the first All-Big Sky honor of his career with a place on the second team offense.

Four Grizzlies landed on the defensive second team. Hayden Harris earns his first all-conference selection after finishing the regular season third in the league in sacks and TFLs. Riley Wilson earned second-team all-conference honors for the second-straight season. Ryan Tirrell earned his first all-conference honors with a place on the second team, while Trevin Gradney earned the third all-conference honor of his career.

In addition to Bergen landing on the second team as a punt returner, safety TJ Rausch of Missoula also earned second-team honors for his work on special teams.

Rounding out Montana's all-conference accolades were guard Journey Grimsrud and Bergen who each received an honorable mention on offense. Jaxon Lee also earned an honorable mention for defense.

THE LIST:
First Team All-Big Sky Offense
OL: Brandon Casey

First Team All-Big Sky Specialists
KR: Junior Bergen

Second Team All-Big Sky Offense
RB: Eli Gillman
WR: Keelan White

Second Team All-Big Sky Defense
DL: Hayden Harris
LB: Riley Wilson
DB: Trevin Gradney

Second Team All-Big Sky Specialists
PR: Junior Bergen, Montana
ST: TJ Rausch

Honorable Mention Offense (at least 3 votes)
WR: Junior Bergen
OL: Journey Grimsrud

Honorable Mention Defense (at least 3 votes)
DB: Jaxon Lee

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Players Mentioned

Junior Bergen

Brandon Casey

Malae Fonoti

Eli Gillman

Trevin Gradney

Journey Grimsrud

Hayden Harris

Jaxon Lee

Ty Morrison

TJ Rausch

Ryan Tirrell

Keelan White

Riley Wilson

University of Montana Athletics