Griz host Cal Poly on Homecoming

It's time to party like it's 1995.

The Montana Grizzlies return to Missoula this week for Homecoming, decked out in new threads from helmet to cleat that pay homage to the 1995 National Champions on that team's 30^th anniversary.

Montana has been on a tear reminiscent of that '95 team as well, averaging over 40 points per game and coming up with some of the same magic that led UM to its first title at Marshall all those years ago.

The Griz return home at 5-0 on the season an 2-0 in Big Sky play after passing their first road test of the year in a wild 42-38 shootout over Idaho State at Holt Alrena in Pocatello that saw over 1,000 yards of combined offense.

Add that to a dominant win over Idaho the week prior and a thrilling come-from-behind classic over North Dakota on week two and UM has found a way to win each week.

As the halfway point of the season nears, Montana must now keep it rolling, hosting a surging Cal Poly squad (3-3, 1-1 BSC) that has several familiar faces on staff and another high-flying offense that rivals UM in terms of numbers.

With four-consecutive sellouts at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and a homecoming crowd that traditionally packs the place, homefield advantage will once again be a welcome ally for Montana as the Griz look to extend their six game home win streak.

Kickoff against the Mustangs is set for 2 p.m. and serves as the icing on the cake of a busy weekend of homecoming activities.

HOMECOMING HAPPENINGS: The University of Montana welcomes back alumni of all generations this week for its annual homecoming celebrations with the theme "Party Like it's 1995" to honor the 30^th anniversary of the '95 national title.

Among the events is the return of the annual Yell Night Pep Rally in The Oval, set for Friday at 8 p.m., featuring the entire Grizzly football team, the spirit squad, marching band, fireworks, and more.

The Homecoming Parade returns to its traditional route on Saturday morning, starting downtown and traveling along Higgins before hanging a left on University Avenue. The parade starts at 10 a.m.

The UM Alumni Association will hold an official alum tailgate party near the Van Buren footbridge starting at noon, and the GSA Tailgate is also open to alums returning for the game. For more information on homecoming activities visit GrizAlum.org.

THROW IT BACK: With more than three million views across multiple social media platforms, you've likely seen Montana's new throwback uniforms that set the college football internet abuzz this week.

The Grizzlies will officially run out of the tunnel at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in those copper and gold throwbacks for homecoming Saturday to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the 1995 National Championship.

Montana has worn copper & gold throwback uniforms three times previously. The most recent was in 2018 when legendary QB Dave Dickenson went into the College Football Hall of Fame. Prior to that, the team wore throwbacks in 2015 to celebrate the '95 team's 20^th anniversary. Perhaps most famously the Griz emerged from the Topel Tunnel wearing throwbacks in the 2008 Montana/Montana State game to the surprise of Griz fans everywhere after warming up for the game in maroon and silver.

This year's throwback uniforms feature a unique helmet decal. For the first time ever, "Otto the slobbering bear" will be displayed on the side of a Griz football helmet. The slobbering bear was originally a basketball logo, featured at center court of Dahlberg Arena and on various basketball accessories in the '80's and early '90's until UM officially switched to maroon and silver as its sprit colors in 1996.

Montana originally began sporting "copper, silver, and gold" football uniforms in 1967 under football coach Jack Swarthout, who had returned to UM after coaching at Texas and wanted to pay homage to Montana's rich mining tradition, especially in Butte, America.

Apparel items from Montana's new vintage line can be purchased through the Go Griz Store on campus, Scheels and Dillard's in the Southgate Mall, or the M Store and Wear Your Roots store in downtown Missoula and at the Grizzly Team Store or UpTop Clothing online. Due to high demand, inventory is currently low but will be replenished in the coming weeks.

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

This week's game will be shown on KPAX in Missoula and Kalispell, KTGF in Great Falls, KXLH in Helena, and "The Spot - MTN" around the rest of the state. "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 game will also be shown back in San Louis Obispo for Cal Poly fans on KSBY 6.2 LAFF.

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.

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: With 247 all-purpose yards (the most in the Big Sky and sixth-most in the FCS this season), one passing and two rushing touchdowns, and big play after big play, Michael Wortham was everywhere in the win over Idaho State.

With so much single-handed impact, he was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, surprisingly, for the first time in his career. For the second time this season he also earned an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week after picking up a special teams nod week one.

The senior receiver totaled 247 all-purpose yards with 41 yards and two TDs rushing, a career-high 124 receiving yards on six catches, and another 82 on kickoff returns. He also added 49 passing yards and a touchdown on two of two completions for a QB rating of 471.

All told he was involved in five of Montana's 11 biggest plays of 15 yards or more. His first chunk play was from the quarterback position, rushing it in from 21 yards out to cap UM's first drive of the game with a score. Later in the second quarter he got on the board again with a touchdown pass to tight end Josh Gale from 16 yards out to convert a third down.

He also set up a big touchdown with his arm, throwing back to quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat on a reverse that put the Griz in the red zone late in the fourth quarter with a 33-yard gain. On the next play he ran it in from nine yards out to put the Griz up for good.

• Wortham now leads both the Big Sky and the FCS in all-purpose yards. Not even halfway through the season and he's already having one of the best all-purpose years in program history as well, with 883 total combined rushing, receiving, and return yards.

• He needs 511 more to enter his name into Montana's top 20 record book for the most in a single season and will continue chasing Marc Mariani's 2009 record of 2,265. With a current per-game average of 176.6 and seven regular season games to play, he's on pace to be in the record-breaking conversation at the end of the year. He could also be in reach of the Big Sky Conference season record of 2,520 set by another former Eastern Washington Eagle in Jesse Chatman in 2001.

• Of Montana's five third down conversions at ISU, Wortham was responsible for three of them with two big catches and a third down touchdown pass to Gale.

MORE SATURDAY STARS: Keali'i Ah Yat was dealing in Pocatello. The sophomore QB threw for his fourth career-high passing in the last five games, connecting on 23 of 40 passes for 350 yards with one TD and one INT to come out with a 134 passer rating.

With 1,436 passing yards through five games and a Big Sky-best 287 per-game average the sophomore is on track for a top five all-time season for the Griz. It's an even more impressive feat considering coordinator Brent Pease's uber-balanced approach to offense and the top running back in the league patrolling the back field next to him. His 287 per-game average is also third-best in the FCS and his total offense is No. 7 in the subdivision.

• Ah Yat is the catalyst for UM's Big Sky-best scoring and total offense, averaging over 500 yards per game and nearly 45 points per game – both top 10 marks in the FCS as well.

EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Eli Gillman is scheduled to make his 30^th career start for the Grizzlies on Saturday. Despite being just a junior, he's already top-five all-time in several rushing categories in the UM record book, including total yards (2,727), rushing TDs (37), and total TDs (40). He's also two TDs away from climbing into UM's top 10 points scorers list as well with 240.

Leading the team in reps is offensive lineman Liam Brown, who is set to make his 35^th career start on Saturday.

FAST FRESHMAN: Not to be lost among Wortham's highlight reel day was Brooks Davis' big day at Idaho State. Davis had a career high receiving day with six grabs for 104 yards. He's racked up 18 catches for 274 yards this season and now sits No. 10 on UM's all-time freshman year receivers list, just one yard shy of Jimmy Farris.

EMPTY CALORIES: Idaho State QB Jordan Cooke threw for 421 yards against the Grizzlies, the most in a game of any player in the Big Sky this season. He's the first player to throw for 400+ against Montana since Eastern Washington QB Eric Barriere threw for 530 in a 2021 FCS playoff game. What do both games have in common? Montana victories.

RUN GAME RESILIANCE: ISU entered last week's game with the Big Sky's second-leading rusher (behind Gillman) in Dason Brooks. The Grizzly defense stood tall, limiting him to just 51 yards on 15 carries while stuffing 14 (40%) of all Bengal carries.

Overall Montana is third in the Big Sky in rushing defense, allowing just 161 yards per game and 9 touchdowns through five games. Gillman enters the Cal Poly game as the league's leading rusher at 118 yards per game, while Brooks is second at 85 YPG.

• Safety TJ Rausch racked up a career-high 11 tackles, seven of which were solo, to lead Montana's defense against the high-flying Idaho State passing attack. Rausch and the Grizzly secondary clamped down on QB Jordan Cooke in the second half, allowing him to complete just 51 percent of his passes and forcing an interception to go 16-31-1 while Montana mounted the comeback win.

• Cornerback Kenzel Lawler has been heavily tested in recent weeks and stood alone on the island. Lawler is now third in the Big Sky in passes defended with six breakups in five games.

GRIZ ON HOMECOMING: Montana enters the Cal Poly game looking for its 70^th all-time win and 35^th win in Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Homecoming this week. Montana is 69-11-1 overall and 34-4 since WGS opened in 1986.

UM has won five consecutive Homecoming games dating back to a 2018 loss against Portland State. The Griz are also 3-0 against Cal Poly in homecoming games, with the last meeting in 2021, a 39-7 win.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana held steady at No. 4 in both the Stats FCS media poll and the AFCA coaches top 25 this week for the second-straight week. The Griz are the top ranked Big Sky team out of five represented in the conference, with MSU (5), UC Davis (6), Idaho (11), and NAU (14) all ranked as well.

The Griz have two past opponents this season ranked again this week, with North Dakota at 13 (up from No. 16 when they came to Missoula), and Idaho at 11 (down from No. 8 when).

The Griz have come out of the first five games of the year unscathed at 5-0 in the midst of a top 20 toughest past schedule rating. UM's past schedule is No. 19 this week (tied with South Dakota St.) in the NCAA's ranking of the toughest past schedules with a .619 percentage.

FIVE-AND-OH-YEAH: Cue the Kool-Aid Man. Montana is one of just eight teams in the FCS to remain undefeated this week. The Griz return home riding a six-game home win streak and have won 23 of the last 24 games inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. With five consecutive wins overall, Montana's win streak is the sixth-longest active in the FCS.

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 Idaho State. Hauck is now 81-22 in 14 seasons of conference play. He needs just five more wins over Big Sky opponents to surpass Jerome Souers' career total of 85.

ATTENDANCE LEADER: Montana returns home as the FCS leader in total and average attendance after four games in Missoula, each with a top 20 crowd in program history. UM totaled 106,019 fans in the month of September and averaged 26,505 per game, that's 105.1 percent of Washington-Grizzly Stadium's capacity. That number was bolstered by a crowd of 27,025 that saw UM defeat Idaho on week four – the second biggest in program history.

The 2025 season is now tied with the 2023 season with four games listed among the top 20 highest attended in program history, still with four more home games to play out of this year's FCS record eight home games. Limited tickets remain for the homecoming game against Cal Poly at GrizTix.com.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: Under the direction of veteran coach Paul Wolfe, the Mustangs come to Missoula at 3-3 on the season and tied for fourth on the Big Sky table at 1-1 coming off a narrow 27-34 home loss to ranked UC Davis. But prior to that, Poly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the FCS this season, taking down a then-ranked Sacramento State 32-34 IN Sacramento.

With former Grizzly Offensive Coordinator Timm Rosenbach now calling the plays for the Mustangs, Cal Poly comes to Missoula with the third-leading passing offense in the Big Sky behind Montana and Idaho State.

Michael Briscoe, an NFL prospect receiver, is the top pass catcher in the league, averaging over 88 yards per game and nearly five catches. He's also a top five scorer in the league, averaging a TD per game.

Defensively, linebackers Mikey D'Amato and Kenny Olson are the third and fourth tacklers in the Big Sky, respectively, with roughly 10 stops each per game, while D'Amato is tied for tops in the league in sacks with five.

LAST MEETING: The Grizzly defense clamped down and Junior Bergen busted free for a record-setting punt return touchdown that broke the dam loose for the Grizzlies in a comprehensive 42-7 Big Sky road win over Cal Poly in San Louis Obispo last season..

The Griz took three turnovers to help keep the Mustangs scoreless through three quarters on a cool day in California's Central Coast, while the offense scored five times in the second half to put the game away with a rotation of the first, second, and third team players on the field.

Logan Fife and Keali'i Ah Yat split quarterback duties for the Griz and together led them to 268 passing yards and a pair of scores, split roughly down the middle with 137 and 131 yards, respectively. Xavier Harris caught the first of those TD passes on return to his home state of California, and Keelan White had a one-handed highlight reel grab for a second quarter score for the other.

All told Montana had nine receivers catch 21 passes for its 268 yards, with a team high 73 yards going to White and Harris accounting for 50 more. UM added 68 more yards on the ground for 336 yards of total offense.

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Players Mentioned

Keali'i Ah Yat

Junior Bergen

Liam Brown

Brooks Davis

Logan Fife

Josh Gale

Eli Gillman

Xavier Harris

Kenzel Lawler

TJ Rausch

Keelan White

Michael Wortham

University of Montana Athletics