Montana set for first time matchup with Sacred Heart

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this midseason nonconference matchup.

The Montana Grizzlies push pause on Big Sky play this week for a first-ever meeting with the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Saturday, an FCS independent program coming to Missoula all the way from Fairfield, Connecticut.

The Griz enter the out-of-conference contest rolling, undefeated at 6-0 on the season and boasting the Big Sky's most potent offense paired with a defense that has helped them win the last five quarters of play 42-9.

Now at the halfway point of the schedule the Griz enter Saturday's game looking to keep their foot on the gas with three of their next five games on the road and the regular season finale against Montana State looming around the corner.

Sacred Heart comes to UM at 5-2 this season on the heels of a 32-14 win over Howard. As an FCS Independent, they'll take on the Grizzlies looking to make a case for an at-large bid in the playoffs with a good showing in Missoula this week with just four more games on the schedule.

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

WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network stations around the state this week, with the Sacred Heart matchup available on basic cable, satellite options, free-to-air channels, and online streaming.

This week's game will be shown on "The Spot - MTN" around most of the state, as well as KTGF in Great Falls and KXLH in Helena. "The Spot" is a new independent television network that serves as the secondary home of Big Sky Conference games and will carry specific UM games in specific markets.

The Spot is available around the state free-to-air for viewers with antennas. It is also available on Spectrum Cable, TCT West, Montana Opticom, Access Montana, DIRECTV, the DIRECTV streaming platform, and FUBO TV.

ESPN+ will again serve as the primary streaming home of Montana Athletics this season.

In the booth are veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender, joined by former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp who serves as analyst. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines. For complete broadcast details visit GoGriz.com/WhereToWatch.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his tenth 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.

"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring 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 with the Varsity Network App, powered by Learfield and Sidearm Sports.

///GRIZ TRACKS///

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: When Montana needed a spark, Kenzel Lawler delivered. With UM trailing Cal Poly 9-0 at the halftime break, Lawler jumped a Ty Dieffenbach pass and ran back a 21-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to flip the momentum at Washington-Grizzly Stadium last week.

The pick six opened a flood gate of Grizzly scoring that led to a 28-9 Homecoming win over the upset-minded Mustangs. Lawler and the Montana defense dominated the second half, shutting Cal Poly out 28-0 after the break and allowing the visitors just 60 yards of offense in the final 30 minutes.

The momentum jolt led Lawler to Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday. It's the first weekly honor from the league of his career.

Lawler's pick six was the first interception of his Grizzly career and his first touchdown since playing quarterback in high school. It was also one of four picks for the Grizzly defense against Cal Poly, a Big Sky single game high that's now tied for the most in a game for any team this season in the FCS.

The senior corner is now ranked second in the league and is top 25 in the nation in pass breakups with six and one interception. He also added two tackles against the Mustangs to bring his season total to 15 stops.

Montana has now had at least one Big Sky Player of the Week honoree or FCS national team of the week accolade following each game so far this season, with six players earning a weekly nod from the league.

• It's been a while between drinks for the Griz and a pick six, with the last one occurring in 2023 when both Jaxon Lee and Braxton Hill both returned an INT for a TD at Northern Colorado.

• With two this season after a returned fumble for a TD, the Griz lead the Big Sky and are ninth nationally in defensive touchdowns. Eastern Kentucky and Tarleton State each lead the FCS with four.

CAN'T WIN WITHOUT THE BALL: The Grizzlies are now +3 on the season in the all-important turnover differential, collecting 11 takeaways with just eight giveaways. Montana has made the most of its takeaways as well, outscoring opponents 31-14 on points off turnovers.

With four picks on Saturday against Cal Poly the Griz now lead the Big Sky and are third in the FCS in passes intercepted at nine to date.

GOOD GIVEAWAY AVERAGE: Halfway through the year and Montana is averaging slightly more interceptions (6) but far fewer fumbles (2) than the Griz have given up than the previous two seasons. However, when you zoom out to the past 31 years you find UM's interception giveaway count is on par with the 12 per year the Griz have averaged since 1994, and vastly fewer than the fumble average of 10 per season in that time.

In total, the Griz have averaged 21 giveaways per season since '94 but have only turned it over eight times so far this season. *knocks on wood*

MORE SATURDAY STARS: Death, taxes, and Eli Gillman finding the endzone with 100+ yards rushing. Gillman totaled 166 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, most of which were earned in the second half, to lead Montana's offense to a 28-0 second half shut out of Cal Poly.

Gillman's 166 yards (123 rushing and 43 receiving) is his second highest single game total output this season. His pair of TDs mark the fifth time in six games the junior has found the endzone two times or more this season as well.

He now leads the Big Sky in five different rushing categories and is second in the FCS in rushing TDs, total TDs, and overall scoring at 12 points per game. His 123 on the ground also marks the fourth 100+ yard rushing game of the season and the 12^th of his career.

AH YAT DEALING: Sophomore quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat has continued to impress the Grizzly coaching staff with his development as UM's starting signal caller.

At the midpoint of the season Ah Yat is top seven in the FCS in completions per game (21.3), total passing yards (1,693), and passing yards per game (282).

He's helped turn coordinator Brent Pease's offense into a balanced scoring machine, leading the Big Sky and No. 8 nationally in points per game at 40, with another league-high (No. 6 nationally) in total offense at an average of 491 yards per game.

He's on pace to finish the year with a top 10 season passing total in Grizzly history with 1,693 yards through the air this week, and that's with the league's leader in rushing yards carrying half the production.

BE LIKE MIKE: Michael Wortham continues to be one of Montana's most unstoppable all-around players this season. The dynamic receiver and return man (and QB, and RB, and…) leads all D-I football (FCS & FBS) in all-purpose yards, averaging 170 per game, and totaling 1,020 at the midway point of the season. Extrapolate that out over six more regular season games, and he's on pace to put up 2,040 all-purpose yards, a mark that would put him fourth in program history behind Marc Mariani's 2008 and 2009 totals, and Yohance Humprey's 2001 total. He' also the No.3 ranked receiver in the FCS according to Pro Football Focus with a 90.6 grade.

• Montana's offense packs a 1-2 punch in all-purpose yards, with Wortham leading the Big Sky (and the nation) with 170 per game, and Gillman second in the league with an average of just under 137 (eighth nationally).

MONEY MORRISON: Ty Morrison helped Montana dominate the kicking game against Cal Poly with six punts for 266 yards to average 44.3 yards per punt, with a long of 51 yards and two dropped inside the 20. His net punt average was less than one yard per attempt against the Mustangs at 43.7.

He helped pin the visitors inside their own 25-yard line on nine of their 14 drives, with three drives starting inside the 12. He also totaled 281 yards on five kickoffs with a pair of touchbacks to average 56.2 yards per attempt. He stayed perfect on the season in PATs as well, going 4-4.

He earned Montana's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week, an award he's won twice this season and three times in his career.

• Morrison and the Grizzly punt cover team have been one of the best in the FCS this season, ranked 10^th this week nationally and third in the Big Sky with a net punt average of 40.61 yards per attempt. With Morrison averaging 42.96 yards per punt on 28 attempts and just two touchbacks on the season, that means opposing teams are averaging just 2.35 yards per return against the Griz.

Out of those 28 attempts, Morrison and the cover team have also only allowed just one return longer than six yards, and just three longer than five yards. They've been steadily improving as well, allowing just two returns of a maximum of four yards in the last four games.

FAST FRESHMAN: Freshman Brooks Davis had another standout game against Cal Poly, taking six catches for 56 yards – the second most on the team. He's continued to improve on his stellar first year receiving total since bursting on the scene against North Dakota. He now has 24 grabs for 330 yards this year, passing the great Jimmy Farris' first year total to move into the top ten all time freshmen receivers list. Jon Talmage holds the UM freshman receiver record with 50 catches for 689 yards.

STOPS WHEN IT MATTERS: The Griz have been lights out in crucial situations. Montana leads the Big Sky in red zone defense and fourth down defense while sitting top five nationally in both categories as well. Opponents have only come out of the red zone 67 percent of the time with points and have only converted 20 percent of fourth downs. Third down has been strong too, with UM third in the league and top 30 nationally at 35 percent.

• On the flip side, the Griz are tops in the Big Sky in red zone offense and fourth nationally, converting points at a 96 percent rate. UM is also second in the league in converting fourth downs at 82 percent and fourth in third down at 45 percent.

CONTROL THE CHAINS: The Griz lead the Big Sky and are fifth in the FCS in total offensive plays this season, averaging more than 74 per contest and allowing less than 67 from opponents. That control over the chains leads to the Griz sitting second in the conference in time of possession at an average of 32:30.

SIX-AND-OH-YEAH: Montana returns to action undefeated on the season at 6-0 for the first time since 2009 this week. Despite UM being one of the winningest programs in FCS history, surprisingly, this is only the ninth time UM has started 6-0 in 126 years of Grizzly football.

The first 6-0 start was back in 1937 when the Griz finished the year 7-1 after losing at Idaho in a season that included a 13-6 win at Texas Tech.

• Montana is one of just eight unbeaten teams left in FCS football this season and has built a worthwhile top five resume with a pair of ranked wins over then #16 (and now #9 North Dakota) and #8 Idaho. Montana' previous six opponents have combined for an 18-20 record – the fourth most wins of any top 10 team.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana held firm at No. 4 in the FCS this week in both the media and coaches poll for a third straight week. The Griz are the highest ranked team out of five from the Big Sky in the media poll this week, including MSU at 5, UC Davis at 6, NAU at 19, and Idaho at 24. Next week's opponent Sacramento State is receiving votes this week.

GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana sits No. 93 in all of college football in this week's Sagarin Ratings – the sixth highest rated FCS team and the second in the Big Sky. Likewise, UM is the second-highest rated Big Sky team in the Massey Ratings this week and fifth in the FCS. Just for fun: The Griz sit ahead of P4 programs like Boston College and Stanford, as well as regional programs like Utah State, Fresno State, and Colorado State in the Sagarin rating.

The Sagarin and Massey ratings are computer calculations that take into account strength of schedule, among other variables, to rank teams, and can be used in tiebreaking scenarios for championships and the postseason.

HAUCK HISTORY: Already the winningest overall coach in Big Sky Conference history, Bobby Hauck is now closer to the top of the table in league wins after beating Cal Poly. Hauck is now 82-22 in 14 seasons of conference play. He needs just four more wins over Big Sky opponents to surpass Jerome Souers' career total of 85.

A win for the Griz on Saturday would also put Hauck at 160 total career wins as a head coach including his time at UNLV, currently at 159-90. Only 10 other active coaches in all D-I football (FCS & FBS) have surpassed 160 career wins. The list is a who's-who of the coaching world, including names like Brian Kelly (LSU), Kirk Ferentz (Iowa), and Dabo Swinney (Clemson).

ATTENDANCE LEADER: Montana continues to lead the FCS by a country mile in both accumulative and average attendance this season, with 132,366 fans passing through the turnstiles at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in five games to average a sold-out 26,473 per game – 105 percent of the venue's capacity.

All five of UM's home games have ranked among the 20 highest attended in stadium history, with the Idaho game sitting second all-time at 27,025 fans. Including the Idaho game, UM has five of the top eight attended games in the FCS this year behind three SWAC games.

SEND 'EM BACK EAST: Coming to Missoula all the way from Fairfield, Connecticut, (roughly halfway between New York City and Hartford), Sacred Heart is the fourth-furthest east team to ever play a game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium at roughly 73.2° W longitude. The Maine Black Bears are the team furthest east to ever come to UM at 68.5° W, followed by New Hampshire (70.9° W) and UMass (72.5° W). The Pioneers are also the only team from Connecticut Montana has ever played.

Montana has a history of success against teams from east of the Mississippi River, currently riding a 16-game win streak and sitting at 42-7 over east coast programs since 1989.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Sacred Heart comes to Missoula at 5-2 on the season as an FCS Independent team looking to make a playoff statement after a strong start to the season.

No stranger to big-time FCS football, the Pioneers made the playoffs as recently as 2021 under long time head coach Mark Nofri, who has been with the program since 2011 and has compiled a 78-70 record.

They come to UM fresh off a 32-14 win over Howard after rebounding from an OT road loss at Central Connecticut State the week prior. Their only other loss on the season was on week two when they hung with the current No. 7 team in the FCS on the road at Lehigh, falling 28-10.

The Pioneer offense is led by sparkplug freshman running back Mitchell Summers, who was named the Stats Perform FCS Freshman of the Week last week in the win over Howard. Summers carried the ball 18 times for 243 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He averaged 13.5 yards per carry – the program's fourth-highest single-game performance ever. His big day included an 80-yard score on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. The 5-foot-7 true freshman has surpassed 100 rushing yards three times this season.

Montana set for first time matchup with Sacred Heart

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Keali'i Ah Yat

Brooks Davis

Eli Gillman

Kenzel Lawler

Jaxon Lee

Ty Morrison

Michael Wortham

University of Montana Athletics