By CHRIS WALTERSKIRCHEN
Last Saturday’s win over North Dakota State marked the first time FCS’s number 1 team has fallen at Washington Grizzly stadium since Montana beat Nevada-Reno in September of 1987.
The 35 points that the Griz surrendered Saturday was the most they had given up in a season-opener and still won. South Dakota State fell in 1993 52-48 in a stunning griz comeback.
At the start of the 1986 season as the Griz prepared to move into Washington Grizzly Stadium. To recount half of UM’s all-time victories you have to go back to 1946. As we are one game into the 2015 season you need to only look back to the start of that 1986 season and now that is the halfway standard in all-Griz wins.
A win Saturday against Cal Poly and Bob Stitt will be only the third Griz head football coach to begin his career with a 2-0 record. In 1967 Jack Swarthout began his tenure with a 4-0 start, and in 1996 Mick Dennehey started his run as Griz head coach 14-0.
The Mustangs of Cal Poly have never won a regular season game in Missoula. The first three times the Mustangs played in Missoula they were shutout each time. The Mustangs did, however, break through with a play-off win in 2005.
Cal Poly head coach Tim Walsh is making his tenth visit to Washington Grizzly Stadium; seven of those were as head coach at Portland State.
Cal Poly returns star quarterback, Chris Brown who ran and threw past the Griz last October in California. The Mustangs seemed to be on their way to a play-off appearance but injuries caught up with them late in the season.
It should come as no surprise that freshman receiver Reese Carlson would be an immediate impact player as he shares a September 4 birthday with another impact Grizzly, MONTE.
The Grizzlies have won their last 8 games at Washington Grizzly Stadium, a narrow defeat by Eastern Washington in 2013 was the last home blemish for Montana.
Saturday’s game with Cal Poly and a September contest at Liberty are the only two night games on Montana’s 2015 schedule.
Cal Poly opens its season facing teams that reached the post-season last year in five of their first six games.
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Chris Walterskirchen has been an observer of Montana sports for nearly half a century. A Kalispell native, Chris has worked in various capacities for professional and college sports organization of at various times: ranging from announcing and statistical work to the concessions and even a stint as a costumed mascot.
Chris has academic degrees in communications and elementary education. His style of sports trivia involves more than just who won and who lost, but also focuses on the obscure or human side of sports. In this blog you will learn things like the Grizzly football team has won 210 games over the 19 seasons since they have had Monte as their mascot or that UNLV is the only school that both the Griz and Lady Griz have both faced in the NCAA basketball tournament
When not following sports Chris enjoys taking care of animals of all kinds (a peacock rescue?) and reading to pre-schoolers.