The showdown.
A clash of titans.
The renewal of the fiercest, most historic rivalry in the West.
Whatever you want to call it — please, please don’t call it the Brawl of the Wild because, it’s very clear, Missoula nor Bozeman nor populated places in Montana are akin to the romanticism of a Jack London novel — the 120th rendition of one of college football’s most passionate football rivalries is upon us again.
And for the second year in a row, Saturday’s matchup in Missoula at Washington-Grizzly Stadium features a pair of teams with national rankings and expectations for deep playoff runs. The collision course that commenced when each program’s season ended in 2019, Montana’s in the quarterfinals and MSU’s with its first semifinal berth in 35 years, will reach a breaking point Saturday in Missoula.
Montana State was actually the first to falter, losing a game the Bobcats certainly could have won in a 19-16 loss at Wyoming in the first game under new head coach Brent Vigen. The Bobcats have not lost since and sit atop the Big Sky Conference standings with a perfect 7-0 mark. Montana State has won nine in a row, including wins at ranked Weber State and Eastern Washington squads.
MSU takes a No. 3 national ranking into the clash, the first trip to Washington-Grizzly Stadium for the ‘Cats since 2018. Montana State has won five times in Missoula since 2002, giving MSU a winning record in enemy territory since “The Streak” ended almost 20 years so.
The most recent win in the Garden City came in the most thrilling fashion in recent memory of the more than century-old rivalry. Montana State’s defense, led by senior linebacker Grant Collins and sophomore defensive tackle Chase Benson, stuffed Griz running back Adam Eastwood and stripped the ball. Bobcat senior Derek Marks recovered as time expired and the Bobcats held on for a 29-25 victory.
The Montana Grizzlies fell behind in a heated Big Sky Conference title race early on. But UM has overcome an almost unprecedented number of injuries to enter this rivalry on a four-game winning streak and the inside track on a playoff seed for the second season in a row. The Griz enter Saturday on a four-game winning streak in which they have averaged 30 and given up nine points per game to get to 8-2 overall.
UM started the season red-hot, posting a 13-7 win over No. 20 Washington, marking just the fifth time ever a team from the Football Championship Subdivision beat a ranked FBS team.
Within five weeks, Montana had navigated a much too early bye week and lost two of its first three Big Sky Conference games, falling 34-28 at Eastern Washington and losing two weeks later at home, 28-21, to Sacramento State, marking the Hornets’ first-ever win in Missoula.
The Grizzlies haven’t lost since. Despite a mercurial offensive performance from a unit that has not been fully healthy one time in the last two months, Montana has blitzed back into the Top 10 largely because of a ferocious defense that has scored as often as the offense, or at least it’s sometimes seemed that way.
On Saturday in Flagstaff, Montana rolled to a 30-3 win by giving up 154 yards of total offense and forcing four turnovers. Montana had 13 tackles for loss and five sacks, bringing their league-leading total in the latter to 35 sacks. Montana also has 25 takeaways, best in the nation.
The Griz have scored four defensive touchdowns and have had three more called back because of penalties. UM has also scored three touchdowns on special teams.
Junior edge Patrick O’Connell and senior inside linebacker Jace Lewis are a pair of stalwarts in the midst of all-league campaigns for a team with a collection of talent on all three levels of its defense when at full strength.
The only defense in the same conversation as the Grizzlies in the Big Sky belongs to the Bobcats. The star-studded, veteran group has been able to largely stay healthy and enter the battle giving up a Big Sky-best 11.6 points, the second-best mark behind only North Dakota State (10.9 ppg) in the FCS.
The dynamic unit has played fast and furious, giving up a league-best 280 yards per game. MSU’s 28 sacks is second only to Montana within the league. Montana State has 15 takeaways, and has only turned the ball over six times, helping MSU rank fifth in the country and ahead of the Griz in turnover margin.
“We are always looking forward to taking it to those guys over the hill,” Hardy said, referring to a Montana team that has lost four rivalry games in a row. “Doesn’t change. The standard is the standard. We are going to go out there and try to roll over them like we would anybody else.”
Offensively, Montana State has ridden a few primary play-makers to a more consistent level of production than Montana. But many of those key contributors are suddenly in flux.
During Saturday’s physical contest against hard-hitting Idaho, MSU redshirt freshman offensive tackle T.J. Session went down with a lower leg injury. He resurfaced in the second half in street clothes and on crutches with a walking boot on his left foot.
Isaiah Ifanse, a junior who leads the Big Sky and ranks among the best in the FCS with more 1,200 yards rushing, went down with an undetermined injury in the first half and did not play after halftime.
Elijah Elliott, Ifanse’s backup all season and one of the electric freshman in the league, also left the game with a lower leg injury and reemerged on the sideline in street clothes and crutches.
Matt McKay, a junior and former transfer from North Carolina State, has started every game this season. But he got rocked by Idaho All-American Tre Walker late on Saturday.
“I hope certainly those are injuries they can recover from,” Vigen said following his team’s 20-13 win over Idaho in Bozeman on Sautrday. “Certainly not within the course of the game. They will have to get in and get evaluated more tomorrow. I think it will be their mindsets to get back for next week’s game. It’s nothing serious, nothing season-ending by any means.”
That pendulum swing at least begins to even the docket compared to a Griz team that have started 37 different players. Montana has featured 17 different lineups.
The struggles have started up front on both sides of the ball. With sophomore center A.J. Forbes in and out of the lineup, senior Moses Mallory and junior Skyler Martin have each played a foreign possession. When Mallory plays center, senior Kordell Pillans slides in at right guard.
The last two weeks, true freshman Brandon Casey has been thrown to the wolves with an injury to senior right tackle Dylan Cook.
The absence of offensive tackles or offensive linemen in general will have an impact on the rivalry game for both teams.
Griz junior Patrick O’Connell, a Kalispell native, leads the Big Sky with 11.5 sacks and his 18 tackles for loss rank second. Montana State senior defensive end Daniel Hardy has kept pace all season and currently has 10 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss.
When Session missed a game earlier this season, MSU started All-Big Sky guard Taylor Tuiasosopo at right tackle and Joe McElroy at guard. Saturday when Session went down, freshman Rush Reimer played the spot. Each star will have distinct matchup advantages against rookie offensive tackles.
The defensive fronts have been impacted as well. Griz senior ends Justin Belknap and Joe Babros along with backup end DeAri Todd have all missed time. Montana junior defensive tackle Eli Alford got knocked out a few weeks ago and has not returned.
Despite all that, Montana has had two different stretches in which they have not allowed a touchdown for 150-plus minutes in a row.
“We just have to keep going. We have a big week ahead and it’s nice to come here with the rivalry game looming next week to come here and get a big victory on the road,” UM head coach Bobby Hauck said following his team’s 30-3 win at NAU.
“We are always excited for that game. We are well aware of who we play next week and we need to have a great week of preparation. We need to cut out distraction and get ourselves ready to go play our best game.”
Along the Bobcat front, junior defensive tackle Kyle Rygg, an opening-day starter, suffered a season-ending injury in the opener in Laramie. Senior defensive tackle Chase Benson, an All-American candidate, missed a start three weeks again against Idaho State, as did junior inside linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, MSU’s third-leading tackler.
MSU senior corner Tyrel Thomas has struggled to find consistent playing time after missing the first part of the year with a foot injury. Senior wide receiver Nate Stewart, a grad transfer from Akron, made his Bobcat debut last week. Coy Steel, MSU’s starting slot receiver and punt returner, has been out since September. And freshman Jayden Smith, the starter opposite All-American candidate senior Lance McCutcheon at wide receiver, did not play on Saturday.
For the Griz, the injuries have been across the board, but particularly harsh at the offensive skill positions and particularly harsh at running back.
UM lost All-American junior Marcus Knight before the season to a torn ACL. Sophomore power back Nick Ostmo got hurt the second game of the season and has barely returned. Freshmen Xavier Harris and Isaiah Childs have both been in and out of the lineup, although both played Saturday at NAU.
Converted wide receiver Junior Bergen, a true freshman that played quarterback at Billings Senior last fall, entered last week’s game as Montana’s leading rusher. The Griz offense and special teams have also taken a hit with Gabe Sulser out with a season-ending knee injury suffered in the first half against EWU.
And perhaps most impactful, the quarterback position for each team is still in flux. Griz senior Cam Humphrey got knocked out late against EWU, an injury that cost him more than a month. He threw for nearly 300 yards at NAU Saturday.
Matt McKay has been MSU’s starter all season. But he’s failed to complete a number of throws, particularly in big moments of big games. And he got knocked out of the game momentarily on a bone crushing hit by Walker, the Big Sky preseason Defensive MVP, on Saturday in Bozeman.
That’s all to say that Saturday’s showdown will feature a pair of teams almost certainly ranked in the Top 7 of this week’s FCS poll and a pair of teams with serious designs on playoff seeds, playoff byes and playoff runs.
“It’s next week mode for sure,” Montana State All-American Troy Andersen said. “It’s a big week as everyone knows. We are onto it, on to the next one.”
