The Montana Grizzlies (3-1) start their second season this week when UM travels west on I-90 to open Big Sky Conference play at Eastern Washington (1-3) on Saturday.
It’s the first time in two years the old foes have faced each other, so nonconference records won’t matter much when one of the most intense grudge matches in the league renews for a 49th time.
Montana enters the game on a roll, righting the ship from a loss on its last road trip to North Dakota with two impressive performances at home, beating Morehead State and No. 24 Western Carolina by a combined 105-37.
Eastern Washington, meanwhile, has lost three-straight, but lost two of those three by just seven points combined. Their week one win was a 42-27 demolition over a Monmouth outfit that just earned an FBS upset at Florida International last week, proving they have the ability to hang with anyone.
None of that matters now as both teams come in battle-tested from the out-of-conference slate and able to score points by the bucket load with talented receivers and signal callers in the passing game, and a ground game anchored in solid offensive line play.Kickoff from Roos Field in Cheney for the expected sellout is set for 6 p.m. (MT).PREGAME PARTY: The University of Montana Alumni Association is hosting the official Griz fan pregame party ahead of the Eastern Washington clash. Join them from 1:30 – 3:30 (PT) at Jack & Dan’s in Spokane for a no-host party open to all Griz fans. Shuttles will then take fans to and from Cheney for the game for $20. For more information visit GrizAlum.org.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to local CBS stations around the state on the Montana Television Network this week with the game at EWU available on basic cable and satellite options, as well as free-to-air channels.
This week’s game will be shown on KPAX in Missoula, KAJ in Kalispell, KTVQ in Billings, KRTV in Great Falls, KXLH in Helena, KBZK in Bozeman, and KXLF in Butte. A nationwide stream of the game is also available without blackout on ESPN+. SWX will also pick up the feed of the game in Spokane.
Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer and former NFL head coach Marty Mornhinweg serves as the analyst on the broadcast, while longtime Montana newsman Jay Kohn will provide the play-by-play. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines.
LISTEN: “Voice of the Griz” Riley Corcoran is in his ninth season behind the mic at Montana and will bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its fourteen affiliate stations around the state.
“Grizzly Gameday” starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show with 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.
THE SERIES: Montana has a long history against Eastern Washington, dating back to the first matchup in 1938. In that time the Griz have piled up 30-18-1 overall record and a 19-6-1 advantage over the Eagles in Missoula, but things are different on the road.
Montana is .500 in games played at EWU, now tied 11-11 since 1947. The elephant in the room, of course, is the fact that the Griz are winless on Eastern’s red turf, entering this week’s game at 0-6 since it was installed in 2010.
With an unbalanced Big Sky schedule, the two teams, while close in proximity, no longer face each other on an annual basis. That’s helped the Griz go 3-1 over EWU since Hauck returned in 2018, with each of those three wins occurring in Missoula. During his entire tenure at UM, however, he holds a commanding 9-2 record since 2003. The Montana offense has been white-hot in the last two meetings between the two Big Sky powerhouses, with Hauck’s Grizzlies outscoring EWU 120-48 in a pair of home wins.
LAST MEETING: Thanks to that unbalanced schedule, the last meeting between UM and EWU was back in 2022 and was one way traffic for the Griz in a 63-7 demolition of the Eagles in Missoula.
As it is now, Montana was in the midst of a two-game offensive tear in that game, and also like it is now, the Griz were paced by Nick Ostmo, who ran for 148 yards and three TDs that night. He led the charge as Montana racked up 604 yards of total offense, controlling the run game with 337 of those on the ground. The offensive outburst was the second-straight for the Griz after putting up 612 yards against Cal Poly the week prior.
The Grizzly defense held the high-flying Eagles to just 310 total yards, forced nine punts, and only allowed three third-down conversions while forcing seven three-and-outs on 13 total drives.
The 56-point margin of victory the most for Montana over Eastern since 1995, when UM also beat EWU 63-7.
LAST TIME IN CHENEY: A 2021 top six matchup between No. 4 Montana and No. 6 Eastern Washington lived up to the hype, coming down to the final play of the game. The Grizzly defense held the prolific Eastern offense in check for three quarters, but a scoring explosion in the fourth quarter led to a 34-28 Eagle win in Cheney.
Montana led for a majority of the game and led 21-10 entering the fourth quarter, but EWU never went away, scoring 24 points in the fourth and forcing two interceptions from Montana to seal the upset win. The loss was the first of the season for Montana, who had started 3-0 for the first time since 2013.
Xavier Harris, then a freshman running back, rushed for a career-high 124 yards on 18 carries as well, averaging nearly seven yards per tote and scoring UM’s first touchdown.
Montana’s defense put up big stats, sacking star QB Eric Barriere (most recently active in the CFL) five times and finishing the game with 10 tackles for loss. Special teams also came up big as Malik Flowers returned the fifth kickoff of his career for a TD to set the school record.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: When you rack up 124 rushing yards on just two carries, you’re bound to turn some heads. Following his best day rushing in an already prolific career, Eli Gillman was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after the sophomore totaled 175 yards and a touchdown on the ground against WCU.
The sophomore averaged a first down every time he touched the ball with his career-high 175 yards coming on just 14 carries, leveling out at 12.5 yards per tote. That average was bolstered by a 66-yard burst around left end that gave Montana its first touchdown of the day, followed by a 58-yard scamper in the third quarter where he was a shoelace away from his second TD of the day.
It was the reining FCS Freshman of the Year’s second-straight 100-yard rushing game this season and the fifth of his career and, surprisingly, his first Big Sky weekly honor as a Grizzly after being nominated three times in his 2023. He was named the FCS Freshman of the Week last year, however, following a 113-yard day against Sacramento State.
His 175 yards against WCU are one of the top 25 rushing games of all-time for Montana, tied with his position coach Justin Green‘s 2003 game total against Eastern Washington and just one yard shy of last week’s 176-yard performance from teammate Malae Fonoti.
He was a catalyst for another dominant rushing performance for UM that saw the Griz total 349 yards and six TDs on the ground against the Catamounts. That comes a week after rushing for 410 and seven TDs against Morehead State for a total of 759 yards in two games. It’s the most for the team since 2022 when Montana rushed for 749 in a two-game stretch against Cal Poly and Eastern Washington.
Gillman has been a big part of UM’s recent ground game superlatives with 281 yards and three TDs on 22 carries over the last two games, averaging nearly 13 yards per touch. With 86 at North Dakota, he now has 367 rushing yards in the last three games, the best three-game stretch for a Grizzly running back since Yohance Humphrey had consecutive games of 197, 148, and 194 way back in 2000.
As such, he’s now the leading rusher in the Big Sky with 456 yards and six touchdowns, an average of 114 per game to pace the conference. That average per rush is the best in the nation, and his total of 456 yards places him fifth in the FCS this week, and his six rushing TDs are tied for the fourth most in the nation.
Only two other players in all D-I football can beat his FCS-best 10.13 YPC. One plays for an option team (Blake Horvath, Navy, 10.76 YPC), the other is a Heisman candidate (Ashton Jeanty, Boise St. 10.46 YPC).
Gillman also rocketed into the Montana record books after his career-high day against Western Carolina, now ranked No. 20 in Grizzly history in career rushing yards with 1,489… as a sophomore. He’s also ranked No. 13 on UM’s all-time leaders list for rushing touchdowns with 19 in his career.
SATURDAY’S STARS: Quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat also received a tip of the hat Monday for his performance against Western Carolina, earning an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Freshman of the Week. Ah Yat was 16-for-27 passing for 145 yards but added 57 more yards and a record four touchdowns rushing for 202 yards of total offense.
He became the first QB in Montana history to rush for four TDs and the first player overall to do it in over a decade when running back Jordan Canada ran in four at Sacramento State in 2013.
• Nick Ostmo also moved up the charts with 72 rushing yards and a TD on Saturday. The senior now has 2,085 career rushing yards and moves into sixth place all-time on the UM career rushing list. He needs 143 more yards to move into the top five and pass Hall of Famer Rocky Klever’s career total.
His TD moved him into sole possession of eighth place on UM’s all-time rushing TD list with 23. He’s also now tied with Etu Molden, Mike Erhardt and Tony Rice at No. 11 in all-time total touchdowns with 26.
• Junior Bergen moved to No. 9 all time in all-purpose yards with 3,408 thanks to a 145-yard day with 99 receiving yards and 46 total return yards against WCU. He passed Reynard Coleman’s career total all-purpose yards and is just over 100 shy of passing Shalon Baker “The Touchdown Maker’s” total of 3,515. Marc Mariani is UM’s career leader in all-purpose yards (the total of all rushing, receiving, and return yards) with 5,441.
• Xavier Harris carried the ball two times for 27 yards against WCU to bump up his career total of rushing yards to 1,356 yards, passing Paul Connelly (’64-’65) and Jeff Hoffman (’70-’71) to move to No. 23 on the all-time list.
Montana has three players among the program’s top 25 rushers of all-time with Ostmo, Gillman, and Harris.
• Sawyer Racanelli had two big tone-setting tackles on punt coverage and helped spring the Grizzlies loose for 49 yards of kickoff returns and added four catches on four targets to total 28 yards as a receiver to make several big plays for the Griz on Saturday.
MOVE THE CHAINS: Coordinator Brent Pease‘s offense has moved the chains 104 times this season, the most first downs in the FCS. 58 of those have been rushing first downs, the second-best mark in the FCS this week behind Davidson’s 61.
Eastern Washington’s prolific offense enters the week at No. 10 in the FCS in total first downs with 91, despite having a 1-3 record.
BIG SKY BESTS: At the conclusion of the nonconference season, the Griz are leading, or close to leading several statistical categories in the Big Sky and FCS. Here’s a snapshot.
• With six rushing touchdowns each, Gillman and Ah Yat are tied for the most in the Big Sky this week and lead the league in scoring by TD with an average of 9 points per game, 36 points total, good enough to place fourth in the FCS.
Montana has doubled-up its opponents this season in reaching the endzone, scoring 20 touchdowns to just 10 for the opposition.
• Senior D-End Hayden Harris is second in the Big Sky and fifth nationally in sacks with 5.5 on the season. He’s also fifth in the league in TFLs with six.
• Linebacker Ryan Tirrell sits fifth in the Big Sky in total tackles this week, leading the team with 29.
• Kicker/Punter Ty Morrison is close behind Gillman and Ah Yat in the Big Sky scoring categories, sitting at No. 5 with 33 total points after completing the nonconference 6-9 on field goals and making 15 PATs. He’s currently fourth in the Big Sky in punting, averaging 45.5 yard per attempt.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana bumped up a spot in the national polls this week after the ranked win over No. 24 Western Carolina, slotting in at No. 8 in the Stats Perform media poll and No. 9 in the AFCA coach’s poll.
The Griz are the third of six ranked Big Sky teams this week, with MSU in at No. 3, Idaho at No. 4, Sac State at No. 10, UC Davis at No. 14, and Weber State at No. 25, giving UM three ranked opponents ahead on the conference schedule.
Eastern Washington started the year receiving votes in the preseason top 25, but after a 1-3 start has fallen off the radar, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
VS RANKED TEAMS: After dispatching No. 24 WCU last week and falling at then-No. 20 North Dakota on week two, the Griz enter conference play at 8-2 against ranked teams over the last calendar year and are 10-0 against ranked teams in Washington-Grizzly Stadium since Hauck’s return in 2018.
HOME SWEET HOME: Montana’s win over Western Carolina was its 15th-straight at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, a streak dating back to the midway point of the 2022 season. The Griz have a 233-35 (.869) overall record and have played 14 undefeated seasons inside “The Mecca of FCS Football.”
It’s the third-longest active home winning streak in the FCS this week, with only South Dakota State (23) and Florida A&M (21) having more.
With the nonconference portion of the season wrapped-up, you’ll have to go all the way back to 2015 to find the last time Montana lost a nonconference regular-season game at home. UM’s last loss was against Cal Poly – a Big Sky team playing in a non-conference game – in Sept. of 2015, one week after the Griz opened the season with a win over No. 1 NDSU.
THE WEST IS THE BEST: With the win over Western Carolina (located in Cullowhee, N.C. – a full 2,200 miles east on Missoula) to cap the nonconference season, Montana picked up its 40th win over a team from east of the Mississippi River inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, now at 40-7 since the venue was constructed in 1986 and now riding a 14-game winning streak.
In his two stints as UM’s head coach, Hauck is 17-3 overall against teams from the east and his Grizzlies have outscored those teams a combined 768-378, an average win margin of nearly 20 points per game. Since he returned in 2018 the Griz have outscored easterners 464-193, with three playoff games added to that total.
FALSE START FRENZY: The Grizzly faithful have helped cause a whopping 11 false starts in Montana’s three home games so far this season. That’s more combined than opponents who have visited some other rowdy FCS atmospheres – Montana State, Idaho, NDSU, and SDSU – have committed this season combined (9 total).
Montana’s opponents were flagged for a false start a total of 26 times in nine home games in 2023, an average of just under three per game (2.8). In three games this season, UM opponents are averaging over 3.5 per game. Keep up the good work Griz Nation.
HAUCK HISTORY:Bobby Hauck is the winningest coach in Big Sky history in overall wins, and with conference play on deck he’ll will begin working on another milestone this week as he looks to become the all-time leader in league wins, currently sitting at 74. He’s now second in league history, trailing former NAU head coach (and longtime UM assistant) Jerome Souers’ career total of 85 wins in conference play by 11.
SOLD OUT: Montana extended a program record with its 13th-straight regular season sell out of Washington-Grizzly Stadium against WCU. It was also the 15th sellout in the last 17 games in Missoula after the program’s first playoff sellout against North Dakota State in the semifinal.
Since Washington-Grizzly Stadium expanded to its current capacity of 25,217 in 2008, Montana has sold-out more than half of its home games, exceeding capacity 59 times in 110 games, including playoff contests.
EMPTY CALLORIES: Bolstered by some eye-popping pass and catch in coverage, Western Carolina logged 375 yards passing against the Griz, the most in a single game since 2021 when the same Eastern Washington Eagles threw for 530 and five TDs in a playoff shootout. The common thread between the two games: they were both wins for Montana.
Hauck is fond of calling passing yards “empty calories,” and he has good reason. Montana is 3-0 this season when winning the ground game and 2-0 when being out passed by opponents.
600 AND COUNTING: The win over Western Carolina was the 640th in Montana history, with UM’s all-time record now sitting at 640-513-26 (.549) since 1897. 640 is the most all-time wins in the Big Sky Conference and the sixth-most of any FCS team east of the Mississippi where the sport was established, sometimes decades after several east coast programs.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington is coming off a 49-16 FBS loss to the Nevada Wolfpack last week, now coached by former Montana State mentor Jeff Choate. Nevada jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and built a 35-3 lead after three quarters before EWU scored twice in the fourth.
Eagle quarterback Jared Taylor – one of three that regularly takes snaps – rushed for a career-best 73 yards whild going 4-6 passing for 20 yards and on interception, while running back Malik Dotson also had a career-high 67 yards and a touchdown.
All-Big Sky QB Kekoa Visperas, who gets the most reps under center for the Eagles, went 15-22 for 116 yards passing.
Preseason All-American receiver Efton Chism III caught 11 passes for 85 yards against Nevada, giving him three career games, and second this season, with 10-plus receptions. Chism is on top of the Big Sky leaderboard with 39 receptions, 406 receiving yards and 4 touchdown catches, averaging 9.8 receptions per game.
The Eagle defense is second to last in the league in total D, allowing teams to average 443.5 yards per game, with 19 touchdowns against them.
Sophomore safety Derek Ganter Jr. is tied for third in the conference with 29.0 tackles, including 20 solo. Redshirt-junior cornerback DaJean Wells leads the Big Sky with 7 pass breakups, while redshirt-junior safety Kentrell Williams Jr. is tied for second with 2 interceptions.