Saturday, September 12
Missoula, Mont.
1 PM
Montana
vs
Utah Tech
Montana hosts Utah Tech in Saturday showdown
9/8/2026 6:34:00 PM | Football
The Montana Grizzlies return to action this week inside the friendly confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday for their second of three nonconference matchups in 2026, hosing the Utah Tech Trailblazers.
Utah Tech comes to Missoula as Big Sky Conference debutants in 2026, joining the league during the offseason out of the United Athletic Conference. But even though they Blazers are in the Big Sky family, this matchup remains nonconference – previously scheduled as the back end of a multi-year home-and-home series. The Griz opened the series in St. George, Utah, in 2023, and this game remained on the nonconference schedule after Tech transitioned to the Big Sky to help balance the open dates.
Montana enters the game with a full head of steam after opening the year with a win in a battle against fellow Big Sky newcomers Southern Utah in a league game, and a convincing non-con win over the Drake Bulldogs. The Griz will look to carry the momentum forward as they seek to get off to a 3-0 start for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
Utah Tech, meanwhile, limps into Missoula after a pair of tough losses against top level competition to start the season, hungry to get into the win column for the first time.
The Blazers are led by head coach Lance Anderson, now in his third season in St. George. While this is the first time the Griz have faced an Anderson team, the Montana staff has unique familiarity with his abilities as a coach. He and Grizzly head coach Bobby Kennedy were on staff together at Stanford from 2018-22 where Anderson served as the Cardinal defensive coordinator and interim head coach.
The former coworkers and old friends clash on opposite sidelines for the first time on Saturday, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network/Scripps Sports stations around the state this week, with the Utah Tech game 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 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. This week's game can also been seen on "The Spot" in Phoenix, Boise, Twin Falls, and Local 3 in Denver.
The Spot is available around the state free-to-air for viewers with antennas in Billings (2.2), Butte/Bozeman (4.2/7.2), Great Falls (3.2), Helena (12.2) and Missoula (8.2). It is also available on Spectrum Cable, Tongue River Cable, TCT West Cable, 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.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender and former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp return to the broadcast booth this season. 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 11th 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 sixteen affiliate stations around the state.
Joining Corcoran in the booth this season is Chase Reynolds – a Montana native, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer, five-year NFL veteran and one of the most decorated players in UM history – who brings his knowledge of the game to the airwaves as the Grizzlies' new radio analyst.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and Reynolds 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.
BOBBY KENNEDY RADIO SHOW: The Grizzly Coaches show returns to The Den on Upper Miller Creek Road each Wednesday at 7 p.m. this season as Coach Kennedy and Corcoran provide an exclusive breakdown of this week's opponent and relive all the highlights of last week's win. The Coaches Show can be heard on select Grizzly Sports Radio Network stations around the state, originating from 98.3 FM and 1290 AM KGVO Missoula.
GRIZZLY INSIDER: The Grizzly Insider takes fans inside the huddle every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on The Spot – MTN. Corcoran and Scripps TV sideline reporter Kyle Hansen break down that week's game with Kennedy and a featured player each week with up-to-date features on other Grizzly sports as well.
HAPPENINGS: Montana will officially induct three new members to the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, with an on-field recognition planned for Saturday's game between the first and second quarters. Entering the hall this year are legendary coach Kris Nord, one of the top runners in UM Track & Field history in Loni Perkins-Judisch, and Will Cherry, one of the most decorated basketball players of all time.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
GILLMAN GREATNESS: Eli Gillman broke a Montana record and tied two more with a superlative performance last week, rushing for three touchdowns and catching a pass for one more to haul in 4 TDs and 24 points on the day. With 105 yards on the ground it was the 17th 100-plus yard day of his career and his fourth career game with three rushing TDs.
He also capped his second-straight 100-plus all-purpose yard day with 105 yards and six receiving yards for 111 total and paced a Grizzly offense that put up 488 total yards against Drake.
In his 40th start as a Grizzly, Gillman's total earned him an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Offensive Player of the Week and now puts him in spitting distance of, not only more Montana records, but Big Sky records as well. Here's a breakdown:
• With three rushing touchdowns Gillman broke Hall of Famer Chase Reynolds' 15-year-old school record for rushing TDs, with Gillman now at 53 in his career. He's also now tied with Reynolds at the top of two more school record lists for most total touchdowns (59), and most points scored for a non-kicker (354).
• Gillman is also on the cusp of becoming UM's all-time leader in rushing yards, currently sitting at 3,858 and needing just 212 more yards to pass Yohance Humphrey's career total of 4,070. Additionally, he needs to score 59 more points to become UM's outright all-time scoring leader and needs to tote the rock 155 more times to become UM's all-time leader in carries.
• He's also entered the conversation for several Big Sky Conference records. One is at his fingertips. Gillman needs to rush for just four more touchdowns to break Charles Roberts of Sac State's total of 56 rushing TDs to own that league record.
Gillman currently sits tied for fifth in Big Sky history in total touchdowns with 59 and is chasing Cooper Kupp's 2016 record of 77. He needs just three more to move into second all-time, however. Gillman is also No. 10 in Big Sky history for points scored, chasing Kupp's record of 464 points. That breaks down to Gillman needing to score 19 more TDs this season to hold those Big Sky records. For reference, he scored 21 TDs last season.
The only league rushing record that may be out of reach for Gillman is total yards, entering this week with 3,858. Roberts holds that league record with 6,553 yards gained for Sac State from 1997-2000. Gillman would need over 2,500 yards this year to top that list.
• Gillman is also the active career leader in all of college football (FCS, FBS, D-II, and D-III) in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also third in all-purpose yards this week behind Arizona's Ismail Mahdi and Alfred State's (D-III) Noah Currier with 4,552 career all-purpose yards. Gillman is currently 5th all-time at UM in all-purpose yards. Marc Mariani holds that record, with 5,441.
A complete breakdown of Gillman's records can be found on page 25 of this week's game notes.
OTHER SATURDAY STARS: Senior D-lineman Tyler King had a breakout day in his second game as a Grizzly. He was a menace to the Drake offense all day, putting in two sacks on two tackles, and forcing a fumble on a strip sack to earn UM's defensive Player of the Game.
• Linebacker Peyton Wing paced Montana's swarming defensive effort that kept Drakes high-flying offense at bay and forced a pair of turnover on downs from the Bulldogs. Wing had five total tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 1 pass breakup, and 2 QB hurries in an all-around dominant performance.
• Sophomore cornerback Sage Salopek earned his first career start Saturday and has continued to be one of the top tacklers on the team. After two games, he's tied for first in the program with 11 stops, but 10 of those 11 have been solo tackles, adding confidence in the physicality of the secondary. 10 solo tackles is tied for 8th in the Big Sky this week.
• Despite Gillman's greatness in the run game, quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat has also been crisp over the air. In coordinator Brent Pease's balanced offense and Gillman chewing up rushing yards, Ah Yat has still thrown for the third-most yards in the conference so far this season with 547.
Against Drake, he went 27-40 for 282 yards and 2 TDs. His 27 completions were just two shy of his career-best and tied for the second-most of his career. He completed 29 passes in last year's win over South Dakota St. and has now completed 27 passes four times in his career
He's another Grizzly that is steadily climbing the UM record books after a breakout sophomore season where he was one of three players in school history to pass for more than 4,000 yards.
Late in the game last week he became just the 10th Grizzly to ever throw for more than 6,000 yards in a career. He enters this week' game with 6,009 total yards and needs 3,306 yards to pass his dad's career total and move into second all-time behind Dave Dickenson.
In addition to his passing prowess, Ah Yat has helped Montana be ultra efficient on fourth down conversions this season, including a couple of clutch conversions last week. UM is now 3-of-4 on fourth down, the second-best percentage in the Big Sky.
KEEPING HIM CLEAN: Montana's entirely new offensive line has been one of the surprises of the season so far in 2026 and a (literally) big reason why Ah Yat is finding success.
Montana is tied for second in the Big Sky and eighth in the FCS in sacks allowed with just one on the season. Pair that with an average of 139.5 yards gained on the ground over the first two games and the third-best scoring offense in the Big Sky and UM front appears to be ticking all the boxes for a successful unit. Pro Football Focus has UM's front five (that features two Montana natives among the starters), as the top-rated group in the FCS this week as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Montana has continued to flash in the third phase of the game under first year special teams coordinator Chris White after his unit helped keep eight points off the board in a seven-point win over Southern Utah in week one.
Junior kicker Ryder Barinowski of Whitefish limited Drake to 0 kickoff return yards by going 8-for-8 on touchbacks to total 520 yards as UM's kickoff specialist in the win over the Bulldogs. Barinowski and the Griz are second in the Big Sky this week in kickoffs with 11 touchbacks on 13 attempts.
Punter Everett O'Donnell boomed the longest punt in the Big Sky so far this season and one of the 20 longest in program history last week against Drake, pinning the Bulldogs inside the two with a 68-yard punt. Montana is now tops in the Big Sky with an average of 45.5 yards per attempts on six punts.
The punt cover team is also on a tear, leading the league with just one returnable punt out of six for just two yards.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana bumped up a spot to No. 2 in the AFCA Coaches Poll this week and held firm at No. 3 in the Stats Perform FCS Media Poll.
At 2-0 on the season with 591 voting points, UM jumped ahead of South Dakota State in the Coaches poll, who sits at 1-1 on the season after falling at Northwestern in Chicago over the weekend and totaled 581 points in the poll.
In the media poll, SDSU maintained the No. 2 spot in the poll, but by the narrowest of margins at just 11 points. The Jackrabbits totaled 1,303 voting points while the Griz tallied 1,292.
Montana is the second-highest rated of five Big Sky teams in the media poll and seven that received votes in the poll.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana sits at an even No. 100 among all college football teams in this week's Sagarin Ratings, surprisingly, the fifth-highest rated FCS team at a score of 61.1. Interestingly, UM sits just ahead of next week's opponent in Oregon State in the poll, with the Beavers sitting at No. 102 with a 61.04 rating. Utah Tech is rated No. 234 this week, one place behind last week's opponent Drake at No. 233.
Montana slid up a spot to No. 2 in the FCS Massey ratings, jumping ahead of South Dakota St.
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.
FALSE START FRENZY: Montana fans rose to the occasion again on Saturday and helped Drake commit four false start penalties. That brings the season total of false starts by UM opponents inside WGS to six. Opponents have jumped a total of 75 times over the last three seasons, roughly 25 times each year. With five regular season home games remaining, UM's opponents will need to jump an average of four times per game to reach that average.
FLAGS ON THE FIELD: The Griz were far from perfect on Saturday, however, with a pair of their own false starts. Montana's 16 total penalties against Drake were the most committed by the Griz since 2005 when they had 15 against Idaho State, and the second most in modern program history behind 19 committed in a win over Montana State in 2000.
The Griz have played 16 games in the last 35 years where they have committed 12 or more penalties. While penalties are never good they haven't drastically impacted the bottom line, with UM sitting at 12-4 in those games.
SCOUTING UTAH TECH: The Trailblazers come to town at 0-2 on the season after a brutal start to the year that pitted them against the No. 1 FCS team in the land and an in-state showdown against the No. 14 FBS-ranked BYU Cougars in Provo. Both have been lopsided affairs for Tech, losing by a combined 117-7.
Senior linebacker Will Alovao has been a standout for the Blazer defense, racking up at least one sack in three-straight games dating back to last season, including his second of the year at BYU.
Utah Tech runs two quarterbacks in their offense, with Bronson Barben and CJ Tiller splitting reps under center. Both have completed 50-60 percent of their passes, with Barben doing the bulk of the work, averaging just under 100 yards per game passing.
Junior running back Ace Chatman recorded his first rushing touchdown of the season, and his sixth career rushing TD overall, in the third quarter at BYU last Saturday night.
Tech will be no stranger to loud crowds when the Blazers come to Missoula, fresh off playing in front of 64,077 spectators at BYU last Saturday night. It was largest crowd the Trailblazers had played in front of in the program's NCAA era.
LAST MEETING: Almost three years ago to the day, the Grizzlies dominated from the opening kick at Utah Tech on Sept. 9, 2023, in St. George, scoring the first 43 points of the game on their way to a 43-13 victory. The win improved UM to 2-0 on the season, one that saw UM advance to the FCS title game.
It was a complete team performance for the Grizzlies. The defense forced four turnovers, the offense controlled the tempo with the rushing attack and totaled 397 yards, and Junior Bergen returned a punt for a touchdown as all three phases were clicking.
The Grizzlies led 36-0 at the half and 43-0 at the end of the third quarter. Outside of a pair of late touchdowns when the result was already locked in, Montana's defense didn't allow much. UM held the Trailblazers to just 5-for-18 in third down conversions and stopped Utah Tech on downs twice to go along with three interceptions and a forced fumble.
Running back Nick Ostmo had the performance of the day, running it 12 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. He also hauled in a pair of receptions for 27 more yards.
BLAZING THEIR WAY TO UM: Coaches Kennedy and Anderson's connection at Standford is just one of a few common threads in this week's game.
UM has one player on the roster that formerly played at Utah Tech in Nui Tovey, a backup D-End. The Griz just graduated another notable former Trailblazer in All-Big Sky O-lineman Cannon Panfiloff who signed with the Montreal Alouettes for a short time after leaving UM following the 2025 season. Other team connections with the Beehive State include Manti, Utah native Mac Olsen, currently a freshman on the UM roster, and former Utah State players Manase Tupou and Braydon Bailey.
Utah Tech has one player on their roster who has spent time at Montana in Tyson Simmons, who came to UM out of the US Naval Academy Prep School, but did not see action.
Utah Tech comes to Missoula as Big Sky Conference debutants in 2026, joining the league during the offseason out of the United Athletic Conference. But even though they Blazers are in the Big Sky family, this matchup remains nonconference – previously scheduled as the back end of a multi-year home-and-home series. The Griz opened the series in St. George, Utah, in 2023, and this game remained on the nonconference schedule after Tech transitioned to the Big Sky to help balance the open dates.
Montana enters the game with a full head of steam after opening the year with a win in a battle against fellow Big Sky newcomers Southern Utah in a league game, and a convincing non-con win over the Drake Bulldogs. The Griz will look to carry the momentum forward as they seek to get off to a 3-0 start for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
Utah Tech, meanwhile, limps into Missoula after a pair of tough losses against top level competition to start the season, hungry to get into the win column for the first time.
The Blazers are led by head coach Lance Anderson, now in his third season in St. George. While this is the first time the Griz have faced an Anderson team, the Montana staff has unique familiarity with his abilities as a coach. He and Grizzly head coach Bobby Kennedy were on staff together at Stanford from 2018-22 where Anderson served as the Cardinal defensive coordinator and interim head coach.
The former coworkers and old friends clash on opposite sidelines for the first time on Saturday, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network/Scripps Sports stations around the state this week, with the Utah Tech game 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 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. This week's game can also been seen on "The Spot" in Phoenix, Boise, Twin Falls, and Local 3 in Denver.
The Spot is available around the state free-to-air for viewers with antennas in Billings (2.2), Butte/Bozeman (4.2/7.2), Great Falls (3.2), Helena (12.2) and Missoula (8.2). It is also available on Spectrum Cable, Tongue River Cable, TCT West Cable, 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.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender and former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp return to the broadcast booth this season. 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 11th 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 sixteen affiliate stations around the state.
Joining Corcoran in the booth this season is Chase Reynolds – a Montana native, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer, five-year NFL veteran and one of the most decorated players in UM history – who brings his knowledge of the game to the airwaves as the Grizzlies' new radio analyst.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and Reynolds 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.
BOBBY KENNEDY RADIO SHOW: The Grizzly Coaches show returns to The Den on Upper Miller Creek Road each Wednesday at 7 p.m. this season as Coach Kennedy and Corcoran provide an exclusive breakdown of this week's opponent and relive all the highlights of last week's win. The Coaches Show can be heard on select Grizzly Sports Radio Network stations around the state, originating from 98.3 FM and 1290 AM KGVO Missoula.
GRIZZLY INSIDER: The Grizzly Insider takes fans inside the huddle every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on The Spot – MTN. Corcoran and Scripps TV sideline reporter Kyle Hansen break down that week's game with Kennedy and a featured player each week with up-to-date features on other Grizzly sports as well.
HAPPENINGS: Montana will officially induct three new members to the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, with an on-field recognition planned for Saturday's game between the first and second quarters. Entering the hall this year are legendary coach Kris Nord, one of the top runners in UM Track & Field history in Loni Perkins-Judisch, and Will Cherry, one of the most decorated basketball players of all time.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
GILLMAN GREATNESS: Eli Gillman broke a Montana record and tied two more with a superlative performance last week, rushing for three touchdowns and catching a pass for one more to haul in 4 TDs and 24 points on the day. With 105 yards on the ground it was the 17th 100-plus yard day of his career and his fourth career game with three rushing TDs.
He also capped his second-straight 100-plus all-purpose yard day with 105 yards and six receiving yards for 111 total and paced a Grizzly offense that put up 488 total yards against Drake.
In his 40th start as a Grizzly, Gillman's total earned him an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Offensive Player of the Week and now puts him in spitting distance of, not only more Montana records, but Big Sky records as well. Here's a breakdown:
• With three rushing touchdowns Gillman broke Hall of Famer Chase Reynolds' 15-year-old school record for rushing TDs, with Gillman now at 53 in his career. He's also now tied with Reynolds at the top of two more school record lists for most total touchdowns (59), and most points scored for a non-kicker (354).
• Gillman is also on the cusp of becoming UM's all-time leader in rushing yards, currently sitting at 3,858 and needing just 212 more yards to pass Yohance Humphrey's career total of 4,070. Additionally, he needs to score 59 more points to become UM's outright all-time scoring leader and needs to tote the rock 155 more times to become UM's all-time leader in carries.
• He's also entered the conversation for several Big Sky Conference records. One is at his fingertips. Gillman needs to rush for just four more touchdowns to break Charles Roberts of Sac State's total of 56 rushing TDs to own that league record.
Gillman currently sits tied for fifth in Big Sky history in total touchdowns with 59 and is chasing Cooper Kupp's 2016 record of 77. He needs just three more to move into second all-time, however. Gillman is also No. 10 in Big Sky history for points scored, chasing Kupp's record of 464 points. That breaks down to Gillman needing to score 19 more TDs this season to hold those Big Sky records. For reference, he scored 21 TDs last season.
The only league rushing record that may be out of reach for Gillman is total yards, entering this week with 3,858. Roberts holds that league record with 6,553 yards gained for Sac State from 1997-2000. Gillman would need over 2,500 yards this year to top that list.
• Gillman is also the active career leader in all of college football (FCS, FBS, D-II, and D-III) in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also third in all-purpose yards this week behind Arizona's Ismail Mahdi and Alfred State's (D-III) Noah Currier with 4,552 career all-purpose yards. Gillman is currently 5th all-time at UM in all-purpose yards. Marc Mariani holds that record, with 5,441.
A complete breakdown of Gillman's records can be found on page 25 of this week's game notes.
OTHER SATURDAY STARS: Senior D-lineman Tyler King had a breakout day in his second game as a Grizzly. He was a menace to the Drake offense all day, putting in two sacks on two tackles, and forcing a fumble on a strip sack to earn UM's defensive Player of the Game.
• Linebacker Peyton Wing paced Montana's swarming defensive effort that kept Drakes high-flying offense at bay and forced a pair of turnover on downs from the Bulldogs. Wing had five total tackles (3 solo), 1 TFL, 1 pass breakup, and 2 QB hurries in an all-around dominant performance.
• Sophomore cornerback Sage Salopek earned his first career start Saturday and has continued to be one of the top tacklers on the team. After two games, he's tied for first in the program with 11 stops, but 10 of those 11 have been solo tackles, adding confidence in the physicality of the secondary. 10 solo tackles is tied for 8th in the Big Sky this week.
• Despite Gillman's greatness in the run game, quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat has also been crisp over the air. In coordinator Brent Pease's balanced offense and Gillman chewing up rushing yards, Ah Yat has still thrown for the third-most yards in the conference so far this season with 547.
Against Drake, he went 27-40 for 282 yards and 2 TDs. His 27 completions were just two shy of his career-best and tied for the second-most of his career. He completed 29 passes in last year's win over South Dakota St. and has now completed 27 passes four times in his career
He's another Grizzly that is steadily climbing the UM record books after a breakout sophomore season where he was one of three players in school history to pass for more than 4,000 yards.
Late in the game last week he became just the 10th Grizzly to ever throw for more than 6,000 yards in a career. He enters this week' game with 6,009 total yards and needs 3,306 yards to pass his dad's career total and move into second all-time behind Dave Dickenson.
In addition to his passing prowess, Ah Yat has helped Montana be ultra efficient on fourth down conversions this season, including a couple of clutch conversions last week. UM is now 3-of-4 on fourth down, the second-best percentage in the Big Sky.
KEEPING HIM CLEAN: Montana's entirely new offensive line has been one of the surprises of the season so far in 2026 and a (literally) big reason why Ah Yat is finding success.
Montana is tied for second in the Big Sky and eighth in the FCS in sacks allowed with just one on the season. Pair that with an average of 139.5 yards gained on the ground over the first two games and the third-best scoring offense in the Big Sky and UM front appears to be ticking all the boxes for a successful unit. Pro Football Focus has UM's front five (that features two Montana natives among the starters), as the top-rated group in the FCS this week as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Montana has continued to flash in the third phase of the game under first year special teams coordinator Chris White after his unit helped keep eight points off the board in a seven-point win over Southern Utah in week one.
Junior kicker Ryder Barinowski of Whitefish limited Drake to 0 kickoff return yards by going 8-for-8 on touchbacks to total 520 yards as UM's kickoff specialist in the win over the Bulldogs. Barinowski and the Griz are second in the Big Sky this week in kickoffs with 11 touchbacks on 13 attempts.
Punter Everett O'Donnell boomed the longest punt in the Big Sky so far this season and one of the 20 longest in program history last week against Drake, pinning the Bulldogs inside the two with a 68-yard punt. Montana is now tops in the Big Sky with an average of 45.5 yards per attempts on six punts.
The punt cover team is also on a tear, leading the league with just one returnable punt out of six for just two yards.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana bumped up a spot to No. 2 in the AFCA Coaches Poll this week and held firm at No. 3 in the Stats Perform FCS Media Poll.
At 2-0 on the season with 591 voting points, UM jumped ahead of South Dakota State in the Coaches poll, who sits at 1-1 on the season after falling at Northwestern in Chicago over the weekend and totaled 581 points in the poll.
In the media poll, SDSU maintained the No. 2 spot in the poll, but by the narrowest of margins at just 11 points. The Jackrabbits totaled 1,303 voting points while the Griz tallied 1,292.
Montana is the second-highest rated of five Big Sky teams in the media poll and seven that received votes in the poll.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana sits at an even No. 100 among all college football teams in this week's Sagarin Ratings, surprisingly, the fifth-highest rated FCS team at a score of 61.1. Interestingly, UM sits just ahead of next week's opponent in Oregon State in the poll, with the Beavers sitting at No. 102 with a 61.04 rating. Utah Tech is rated No. 234 this week, one place behind last week's opponent Drake at No. 233.
Montana slid up a spot to No. 2 in the FCS Massey ratings, jumping ahead of South Dakota St.
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.
FALSE START FRENZY: Montana fans rose to the occasion again on Saturday and helped Drake commit four false start penalties. That brings the season total of false starts by UM opponents inside WGS to six. Opponents have jumped a total of 75 times over the last three seasons, roughly 25 times each year. With five regular season home games remaining, UM's opponents will need to jump an average of four times per game to reach that average.
FLAGS ON THE FIELD: The Griz were far from perfect on Saturday, however, with a pair of their own false starts. Montana's 16 total penalties against Drake were the most committed by the Griz since 2005 when they had 15 against Idaho State, and the second most in modern program history behind 19 committed in a win over Montana State in 2000.
The Griz have played 16 games in the last 35 years where they have committed 12 or more penalties. While penalties are never good they haven't drastically impacted the bottom line, with UM sitting at 12-4 in those games.
SCOUTING UTAH TECH: The Trailblazers come to town at 0-2 on the season after a brutal start to the year that pitted them against the No. 1 FCS team in the land and an in-state showdown against the No. 14 FBS-ranked BYU Cougars in Provo. Both have been lopsided affairs for Tech, losing by a combined 117-7.
Senior linebacker Will Alovao has been a standout for the Blazer defense, racking up at least one sack in three-straight games dating back to last season, including his second of the year at BYU.
Utah Tech runs two quarterbacks in their offense, with Bronson Barben and CJ Tiller splitting reps under center. Both have completed 50-60 percent of their passes, with Barben doing the bulk of the work, averaging just under 100 yards per game passing.
Junior running back Ace Chatman recorded his first rushing touchdown of the season, and his sixth career rushing TD overall, in the third quarter at BYU last Saturday night.
Tech will be no stranger to loud crowds when the Blazers come to Missoula, fresh off playing in front of 64,077 spectators at BYU last Saturday night. It was largest crowd the Trailblazers had played in front of in the program's NCAA era.
LAST MEETING: Almost three years ago to the day, the Grizzlies dominated from the opening kick at Utah Tech on Sept. 9, 2023, in St. George, scoring the first 43 points of the game on their way to a 43-13 victory. The win improved UM to 2-0 on the season, one that saw UM advance to the FCS title game.
It was a complete team performance for the Grizzlies. The defense forced four turnovers, the offense controlled the tempo with the rushing attack and totaled 397 yards, and Junior Bergen returned a punt for a touchdown as all three phases were clicking.
The Grizzlies led 36-0 at the half and 43-0 at the end of the third quarter. Outside of a pair of late touchdowns when the result was already locked in, Montana's defense didn't allow much. UM held the Trailblazers to just 5-for-18 in third down conversions and stopped Utah Tech on downs twice to go along with three interceptions and a forced fumble.
Running back Nick Ostmo had the performance of the day, running it 12 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. He also hauled in a pair of receptions for 27 more yards.
BLAZING THEIR WAY TO UM: Coaches Kennedy and Anderson's connection at Standford is just one of a few common threads in this week's game.
UM has one player on the roster that formerly played at Utah Tech in Nui Tovey, a backup D-End. The Griz just graduated another notable former Trailblazer in All-Big Sky O-lineman Cannon Panfiloff who signed with the Montreal Alouettes for a short time after leaving UM following the 2025 season. Other team connections with the Beehive State include Manti, Utah native Mac Olsen, currently a freshman on the UM roster, and former Utah State players Manase Tupou and Braydon Bailey.
Utah Tech has one player on their roster who has spent time at Montana in Tyson Simmons, who came to UM out of the US Naval Academy Prep School, but did not see action.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
K
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
P
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
CB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DL
/ Football
LB
/ FootballSunday, September 06
Tuesday, September 01
Sunday, August 30
Saturday, August 29
