Griz host Jackrabbits in a postseason rematch

Saturday, December 6

Missoula, Mont.

Noon

Montana

South Dakota State

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Photo by: Tommy Martino/ University of Montana

12/2/2025 12:12:00 PM | Football

UM Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

The second season is here and with fresh legs the Montana Grizzlies go charging into the FCS playoffs this week with a second-round matchup of epic proportions three years in the making.

At high noon on Saturday in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Montana will get a shot at redemption against the team that has eliminated the Griz from the postseason two years running when South Dakota State comes to Missoula.

With rested bodies from a much-needed bye week following 12-straight games, the Griz (11-1) head to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed overall. Their prize? Perennial FCS powerhouse and winners of two of the last three FCS national titles SDSU, who earned the No. 14 seed after a 9-4 regular season.

9-4 Jackrabbits you say? Don't let the record fool you. South Dakota State comes to Missoula firing on all cylinders after weathering an injury storm during the regular season, punching their ticket to the playoffs with an overtime win at North Dakota and advancing to face the Grizzlies with a dominant 41-3 first round win over New Hampshire.

But the Grizzlies also enter the postseason on the hunt. UM was a handful of key plays from finishing the regular season undefeated and is now recharged and refocused on making a deep playoff run. They'll be aided by the fact that Washington-Grizzly Stadium has been a house of horrors for visiting teams in the playoffs with a commanding 36-7 record in the venue since 1986.

The first step for Montana making its ninth national title appearance starts Saturday.

WATCH: ESPN+ will be the exclusive home for all but one of this week's second round games in the FCS playoffs. Through the NCAA's partnership with ESPN, Montana's game will only be available to stream on ESPN+, and not available to watch on linear TV networks available on cable or satellite packages.

Richard Cross and Jeff Woody will be on the call for ESPN this week. Cross, who does play-by-play for the SEC Network at Ole Miss will lead the broadcast. Woody, a former Iowa State running back, returns as analyst this week after calling SDSU's first round game last week in Brookings.

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

"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.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Montana officially extended its FCS record of overall playoff appearances to 29 last week with the FCS committee slotted UM as the No. 3 overall seed in this year's bracket, providing a much-needed bye week for the Grizzlies during the first round and home field advantage at least through the quarterfinal round.

The Griz host No. 14 seed South Dakota State, who knocked-off New Hampshire 41-3 in a first round snowstorm in Brookings over Thanksgiving weekend. It was the second-straight win for SDSU after snapping a four-game losing streak at North Dakota in the final week of the regular season in dramatic fashion, beating the Fighting Hawks in overtime, 34-31.

The winner of Saturday's second round game advances to the quarterfinal to face the winner of the No. 6 Mercer vs No. 11 South Dakota game after USD dispatched Drake in the first round 38-17. The winner of that quarterfinal round will take on the team that emerges from the No. 2 Montana State/Yale game and the No. 7 Steven F. Austin/No. 10 Abilene Christian side of the bracket.

POSTSEASON PARTICULARS: As the FCS all-time leader in playoff appearances, the postseason is nothing new for the Grizzlies. The Griz have advanced to the 1-AA/FCS postseason a record 29 times, with 15 quarterfinal, 11 semifinal, and eight title game appearances over the years including wins in the 1995 and 2001 national championships. This week marks the sixth-straight season UM has at least advanced to the second round of the FCS Playoffs, a streak dating back to 2019.

• UM enters this week's game with a 36-7 record inside Washington-Grizzly stadium in the playoffs and a 39-26 overall postseason record dating back to their first appearance in 1982. The Griz have not lost a playoff game at home since 2013 when Coastal Carolina (now in the Sun Belt) came to Missoula and pulled out an improbably 42-35 victory before moving up to the FBS.

• Head coach Bobby Hauck has been particularly successful in the postseason with 18 playoff wins in his 14 seasons with the Grizzlies, holding an 18-12 overall record. Hauck's 18 tournament wins are the most of any active coach in the FCS and the third-most of any coach in tournament history behind legendary figures like Jim Tressel (Youngstown ST., 23 wins), and Jerry Moore (Appalachian St., 22 wins). Hauck's 18 wins are also tied for third in that category with other legends like NDSU's Chris Klieman (now at Kansas St.) and John Stiegelmeier of… South Dakota State.

GRIZ VS. JACKRABBITS PART 3: Montana and South Dakota State have been two of the winningest teams in recent FCS history and are set to face each other in the postseason for the third time in as many years on Saturday.

Montana leads the overall series with SDSU 8-2 dating back to the first meeting in 1969, but those only two losses have come in the last two years and have knocked UM out of the playoffs each time.

At 7-0, the Griz have never lost to the Jackrabbits in Missoula, however, with SDSU coming to town for the first time since 2015. Let's take a look back at recent meetings.

LAST MEETING: Montana's 2024 season came to a close in the second round of the FCS playoffs as the Griz fell to defending national champion SDSU 35-18 in Brookings, almost a year ago to the day.

Montana put up more points than any Jackrabbit opponent of the previous 11 weeks but wasn't able to capitalize on crucial scoring opportunities to overcome a balanced 400-yard day from the SDSU offense, led by the defending Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski.

Montana's offense was led by Ah Yat, then a freshman, who finished the day 19-32 passing for 231 yards but also had two interceptions, one of which came in the red zone early in the game and the other a pick-six.

Against a stout SDSU defense that entered the game holding opponents to just 12 points per game, UM's ground game couldn't help balance out the Grizzly attack with just 75 total yards, and Gillman held to just 12 yards.

LAST TIME IN MISSOULA: The Griz and Jackrabbits last squared off in Missoula back in 2015 in the first round of the FCS Playoffs. UM built a 24-0 halftime lead and held on to win 24-17. Brady Gustafson threw a pair of TDs, one to Jamaal Jones in the first quarter and one to Ellis Henderson in the second for the bulk of Montana's points while John Nguyen led UM in rushing with 107 yards.

Dallas Goedert, now the starting tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles, caught a fourth-quarter touchdown for SDSU to make it a one-score game. The Griz were able to close out the win, however, advancing on to the second round where they faced a rematch against North Dakota State

A HISTORY OF EPIC SHOWDOWNS: Montana has never lost to South Dakota State at home with an 7-0 record against the Jackrabbits in Missoula, but there have been plenty of thrilling moments in the series.

The two teams played one of the greatest playoff games ever back in 2009. SDSU came to Missoula in the first round of the playoffs and jumped out to a 34-14 halftime lead and then a 48-21 lead with 5:40 left in the third quarter. Grizzly Hall of Famer and NFL All-Pro Marc Mariani then sparked a comeback for the ages, running back the ensuing kickoff 98 yards en route to help the Griz score 40 unanswered points and six TDs to pull off a 61-48 win.

In 1993 Montana opened the season with a bang against South Dakota State in Missoula as well, with the Dave Dickenson-led Griz scoring an NCAA-record 39 points in the fourth quarter to rally for a 52-48 win.

VERSUS THE VALLEY: When the Griz face the Jackrabbits on Saturday it will mark Montana's third game this season against a team from the venerable Missouri Valley Football Conference, with UM at 2-0 to-date in the series. For the second-straight year Montana is the only team from the Big Sky Conference to earn a regular season win over a team from The Valley in the annual BSC/MVFC Challenge Series following UM's wins over North Dakota and Indiana State.

SDSU split with the two teams UM beat during the regular season, punching its ticket to the postseason with a dramatic 34-31 overtime win over North Dakota in Grand Forks to close the regular season, but falling 24-12 at Indiana State three weeks prior.

At 8-2 since the Valley/Big Sky series started in 2018, the Griz and Coach Hauck have won more games against the MVFC than every other Big Sky team combined. Including FCS playoff games, the Griz still lead The Valley 9-5 heading into this week's game. The Valley leads the series with the Big Sky overall, 29-16.

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 650 wins their 125 years of existence. With both teams starting play in 1897, Montana enters the week with 657 all-time victories while SDSU has 678. 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.

UM and SDSU are also two of the winningest teams in the FCS this century, with Montana holding 246 wins since the 2000 season and South Dakota State holding 193. Only North Dakota State has won more games this century than the Griz, with the Bison sitting at 251 games this century.

///GRIZ TRACKS///

ALL-BIG SKY: Eli Gillman became the first running back in Montana history to be named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year and was one of 17 Grizzlies who earned 18 All-Big Sky honors following the regular season. Here's the complete list.

2025 Big Sky Football Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Eli Gillman, RB, Montana

First Team All-Big Sky
QB: Keali'i Ah Yat, RB: Eli Gillman, TE: Evan Shafer, OL: Cannon Panfiloff, AP: Michael Wortham, DL: Hunter Peck, LB: Peyton Wing, ST: Tanner Huff

Second Team All-Big Sky
WR: Michael Wortham, OL: Liam Brown, LB: Solomon Tuliaupupu, DB: TJ Rausch, PR: Drew Deck, LS: Grayson Pibal

Honorable Mention
WR: Brooks Davis, DL: Jake Mason, LB: Caleb Otlewski, K: Ty Morrison

GILLMAN GOES OFF: Gillman is Montana's first Big Sky Offensive MVP since quarterback John Edwards in 2002. He's the seventh all-time Grizzly to win offensive MVP honors but is the only non-quarterback to win. He also now joins a rare group of just 13 running backs around the league to earn Offensive MVP honors since the Big Sky started handing out the award in 1974. He's also in elite company as one of just three players to be named Big Sky Freshman of the Year and go on to be named Offensive Player of the Year, joining Troy Andersen and Cooper Kupp in that distinction.

The junior leads the Big Sky with a career-best 1,261 yards so far this season – his second-straight 1,000-yard year. He currently leads the league in rushing yards per game (105.1), rushing touchdowns (17), overall scoring (9.5 ppg), and total points (114). He's posted six 100+ yard games and nine 80+ yard rushing games as the No. 8 overall rusher in the FCS, and he's done it all in a balanced offense that airs it out as much as sticking to the ground game.

• With 3,398 yards in his career, Gillman is on the cusp of shattering Grizzly rushing records. He's currently fifth all-time at UM in total rushing yards and top three in program history in rushing TDs (45), total TDs (49), and points scored by a non-kicker (294). He needs 38 more yards to pass Jordan Canada and move to fourth on UM's all-time yards list. He would also need 620 yards to move to No. 3 on the list ahead of Lex Hilliard but would need just 672 yards to become UM's all-time leading rusher. With 294 points total he's now No 6 among UM's all-time leading scorers and is two TDs away from passing Hilliard at 312.

AH YAT ACCOLADES: Ah Yat has earned national recognition after a breakout regular season. Last week he was just one of four sophomores in the FCS to be named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award and earned first team all-conference honors as well.

Heding into the playoffs he leads the Big Sky in passing yards (3,154 – 4th in FCS), passing TDs (25), and points responsible for (192). A dual threat, he leads the Big Sky in total offense yards (3154), is No. 2 in Yds/completion (13), No. 3 in pass completion percentage (.687), Yds/attempt (9), and has the second-fewest interceptions in the Big Sky among QBs with 200-plus attempts at eight.

• Ah Yat is a two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week this season and was named to the Walter Camp FCS Player of the Year Watch List last week. His dad, Grizzly Hall of Famer Brian Ah Yat, was a three-time finalist for the Payton Award in 1996, 1997, and 1998.

MONEY MIKE: Wortham was also named a finalist for the Payton Award on top of earning first team all-conference honors last week after an electric season in Missoula. He concluded the regular season leading the Big Sky (3rd in FCS) in all-purpose yards with 156.6/game. The senior also leads league in combined kick returns (781 – 3rd FCS) as both a kickoff and punt return dynamo.

Wortham also received second-team all-conference honors at receiver where he's currently top 4 in the Big Sky in receiving TDs (7), top 6 in receiving yards (822), and receptions/game (5.18), and is a two-time Big Sky Player of the Week. He's now a three-time All-Big Sky honoree after earning second team honors in 2023 and first team honors in 2024 at Eastern Washington.

• With Wortham and Ah Yat both finalists, UM now has two on the list for the first time in program history. Montana last had a finalist for the Payton Award in 2010 when Hall of Famer Chase Reynolds was named a finalist for the second time in his historic career. To this day, Dave Dickenson remains Montana's only winner of the award. It was announced Tuesday morning that Ah Yat finished ninth in the voting for the Payton Award and Wortham tied for 18^th among 30 total finalists from around the FCS.

MONEY MORRISON: Grizzly kicker/punter Ty Morrison earned an all-conference honorable mention for his work in the kicking game this season as the senior is in the mix to enter Montana's record books, quietly putting together one of the best careers in program history.

• Heading into the postseason, Morrison has yet to miss a PAT this year at 59-for-59 (*knocks on wood*), currently the second-best percentage in program history behind Dan Carpenter's 2004 season where he went 63-for-63, and the best since Kevin Macias went 42-for-42 in 2021. Outside of this first kick EVER inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Morrison has not missed a PAT, sitting at 108/109 in his career.

• He is also averaging 43.28 yards per punt this season on 47 attempts, one of the top 10 averages in program history. His current career punt average of 43 yards per attempt would make him the second-best in program history should he keep it up for the remainder of the season.

• Morrison's career field goal percentage of 67.7 is also one of the best in program history, currently slotting in at No. 8 all-time.

FAST FRESHMAN: Brooks Davis made a highlight reel one-handed touchdown catch against Montana State to total a career-high 113 yards receiving. With 48 catches for 611 yards, he's now No. 5 on UM's all-time freshman receiver list. He needs just 79 yards to top that list, however, chasing Jon Talmage's 2002 freshman year record of 689 yards.

LIGHT UP THE SCOREBOARD: Montana has outscored opponents 490-282 with the No. 4 scoring offense in the FCS. That puts the Griz just 47 points shy of setting a new program record for highest scoring seasons, previously set by the 2009 team with 537 points.

The 2025 Griz are also just shy of scoring the most total touchdowns in program history, currently with 67 on the board and needing just two more to pass the 2004 and 2019 total of 69.

UM has been moving the ball at a near-record rate as well, averaging 6.7 yards per play. The current school record is 7 yards per play, an average mark dating back to 1999.

STRONG STARTS: Montana has started the second half strong, both offensively and defensively, this season, outscoring opponents 108-46 in the third quarter to date – the fewest points allowed of any period. UM has also opened the game on top, outscoring opponents 140-60 in the first quarter.

Third quarter has also been a strong suit for the Jackrabbits, only giving up 25 points after halftime and outscoring opponents 371-257 on the season. SDSU has lost the first quarter overall this year though, being outscored 78-94 in the opening period.

ATTENDANCE LEADER: Montana set a new Washington-Grizzly Stadium attendance record last week against Montana State, packing 27,340 people into "The Mecca of FCS Football." Heading into the playoffs UM remains the FCS leader in both average and accumulative attendance after selling-out Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the eighth-straight time this season.

With 211,714 people crossing the turnstiles in Missoula this season, UM has averaged 26,464 fans per game (104 percent capacity), both top-two marks in the FCS. The Griz finished the regular season having sold-out 23 of the last 24 regular season games in Missoula, a streak dating back to Sept. 10, 2022, against South Dakota. The only outlier: a mid-hunting season non-sellout against Portland State last year.

LET'S GET LOUD: Washington-Grizzly Stadium has earned a reputation as being one of the loudest places to play football in the country at any level. And rightly so, with Griz fans helping visiting teams commit over 50 false start penalties in the last two seasons.

With the implementation of coach-to-player in-helmet communications this season, however, that number has plummeted. With one regular season game remaining, Grizzly opponents have jumped the gun for just 12 false starts in 2025, less than half of the two previous year's total.