MISSOULA, Montana — The Grizzlies may enter the season with mystery or multiple faces or both at quarterback. And a vast majority of the always-salty Montana defense will be new in the starting lineup.
Yet the expectation remains the same for the University of Montana. The reigning Big Sky Conference champions expect to be national title contenders again a year after losing to now two-time defending national champion South Dakota State in the FCS title game last January.
“We know what we didn’t do and we know what our goal is,” Montana senior slasher Xavier Harris said in an interview on August 20. “Our goal is to finish what we started. Offense is making defense better, defense is making offense better and we are just going to hope to take that week by week, game by game and finish in Frisco with a win on the right side of things.”
Montana ripped off 10 wins in a row and 13 overall last season despite entering the year with similar uncertainty under center. Sam Vidlak and Clifton McDowell essentially traded off the duties for the first month of the season. Then in UM’s Big Sky Conference opener, Vidlak got the vast majority of the snaps at Northern Arizona, only to commit multiple turnovers and get sacked nine times in a 28-14 loss.
The following week, McDowell took over. And the rest, as they say, is history. UM ripped off seven straight league victories, including crucial consecutive road wins at UC Davis and Idaho, and capped its first Big Sky title march since 2009 with a 37-7 win over Montana State in Missoula.
McDowell earned Newcomer of the Year before coming back to earth during the playoffs. Despite his up and down postseason, Montana still managed to win three more post-season games, all at home, to book its first ticket to Frisco, Texas.
In the off-season, Vidlak transferred to Stephen F. Austin. McDowell transferred to Temple, then McNeese State. Last week, he completed 14-of-20 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 67 yards and a score for the Cowboys. He also turned the ball over twice and McNeese lost 26-23 to No. 21 Tarleton State in the only all-FCS Week 0 contest.
For the duration of the most recent off-season, Keali’I Ah Yat, Logan Fife and Kaden Huot have battled it out for the quarterback reps at UM. Ah Yat, the son of former Montana All-American QB Brian Ah Yat, showed flashes last season in his four games while still maintaining his redshirt his first year in Missoula. Fife is a transfer from Fresno State with a rocket arm and a penchant for risk taking. And Huot is the local boy, a Helena High product with Anaconda roots who turned a corner during spring ball to thrust himself into the competition.
“I think there’s a chance we’ll see two, maybe three (Montana quarterbacks),” Missouri State second-year head coach Ryan Beard told the Springfield Daily Citizen. “They change the game in their own ways and I think they’re all extremely capable. They all do a great job in their own right. But when you think about the quarterback it makes you think about the dynamic pieces around them.
“They have an all-conference running back (sophomore Eli Gilman), great player. Their receivers are probably the best in the Big Sky and FCS. And then look at their numbers on the offensive line. Just huge mountains of men that can move bodies.”
For much of his second tenure at Montana, head coach Bobby Hauck has favored transfer quarterbacks. UNLV transfer Dalton Sneed started in 2018 and 2019 while Boise State transfer Cam Humphrey started in 2021. San Diego State transfer Lucas Johnson manned the helm in 2022 before McDowell and Vidlak, who transferred from Central Arkansas and Boise State, respectively, were the main two quarterbacks last fall.
“Like any position, when they are splitting time and sharing the 1 and 2 reps, one guy is going to have a better day than the other one on any given day,” Hauck said. “I thought both of those guys performed well during fall camp. We are going to play them both. The offensive staff, we will sit down mid-week and have our final discussion on what that’s going to be.”
Missouri State has made the FCS playoffs four times in its history, including in 2020 and 2021 under former head coach Bobby Petrino. The Lewistown, Montana native and former Carroll (Helena) College quarterback left after the 2022 season to become the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. He went 18-15 in two full fall seasons plus the spring of 2021 season guiding the Bears.
Last season, Missouri State struggled, posting a 4-7 record. But the mark did include a 35-16 win over No. 15 Northern Iowa the second-to-last week of the season.
Hauck said he expects the Missouri Valley Football foe to be a stiff test Saturday night.
“Older players have taken charge in a real leadership role to get us to where we need to be,” Hauck said. “This Saturday, we will find out exactly where that sits.
Missouri State’s a good football team. I think they’re a tough team. They have many returning starters and I always think that veteran football teams are good football teams. It will be a major challenge this weekend. I think by the end of October we’ll see them as a contender in the Missouri Valley. We’ll have our hands full Saturday.”
QUICK HITS
Nickname: Bears
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Founded: 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School. The institution was named Southwest Missouri State Teachers College from 1919 to 1945 then Southwest Missouri State College from 1945 until 1972. It was called Southwest Missouri State University from 1972 until 2005.
Enrollment: 23,418
Endowment: $193 million
Stadium: Robert W. Plaster Stadium – build in 1941 and renovated in 1991, the stadium currently holds 17,500 attendees.
Famous alumni: Actor John Goodman; David Glass, former Wal-Mart CEO, former Kansas City Royals owner; Former MLB All-Star Ryan Howard.
More alums: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Missouri_State_University_alumni
Last meeting: This is the first meeting in the history of the two programs. In Missouri State’s 115-year football history, it’s played three games against current Big Sky teams, most recently in 2018 when the Bears lost 40-8 to Northern Arizona.
THE COACH
Ryan Beard (second season at Missouri State, 4-7 overall)
Beard is married to Bobby Petrino’s daughter. He took over the head coaching job at Missouri State when Petrino returned to the Power 5 ranks. Beard was Petrino’s defensive coordinator from 2020-2022.
Before that, he worked within the Petrino coaching tree at Western Kentucky and Louisville before caching on as the special teams coordinator at Central Michigan on Jim McElwain’s staff in 2019.
The 34-year-old played defensive back at Western Kentucky between 2007 and 2011.
PLAYERS TO WATCH – OFFENSE
Jacob Clark, quarterback, senior, 6-5, 220
The former four-star recruit was the No. 13 ranked pro style quarterback in the country according to Rivals.com coming out of vaunted Texas powerhouse Rockwall High. He spent three seasons at Minnesota but could never crack the starting lineup.
He transferred to Missouri State ahead of the 2022 season but lost the starting QB battle to Jason Shelley, a former starter at the University of Utah who was Petrino’s starter under center for all three seasons. Last season, Clark was the main guy before suffering a season ending injury the final game of September.
In his four starts, Clark threw for 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
“In terms of their offense, their quarterback (Jacob Clark) is a guy that played a lot for four games before he got knocked out for the season,” Hauck said. “They’re veteran up front with four returning starters.
“Their running back is really good, good talented receivers. They have a lot of good veteran players coming back that have played a lot of football. They have a good football team.
Jacardia Wright, running back, junior, 6-foot, 220
The former Kansas State transfer has led Missouri State in rushing two years in a row. He rushed for 711 yards and nine scores in 2022 to land on the MVFC All-Newcomer team.
Last season, the powerful and speedy tailback rushed for 696 yards and six scores to earn second-team all-conference honors despite suffering a season-ending injury late in the year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH – DEFENSE
Todric McGee, safety, junior, 6-1, 205
McGee earned Kansas 5A all-state honors as a prep senior for a high school in Witchita whose mascot is the Grizzlies. He spent the next two seasons waiting his turn before his breakout campaign last fall.
In 2023, McGee was a second-team All-MVFC selection and he became the first Missouri State’s first player to eclipse 100 tackles in a season since 2021 with team-highs 102 total stops, including 59 solo tackles. He added a a pair of interceptions, 8 passes defended and two fumble recoveries.
Darion Smith, defensive end, senior, 6-4, 245
Smith, a former Charlotte transfer, is one of 27 former transfers from Division I schools in Missouri State’s roster, which also boasts 12 former junior college transfers as well. The Bears even have two former Montana Grizzlies – cornerback Dylan Simmons and running back Iverson Young.
Last season, Smith’s first in Springfield, he started 11 games and racked up 37 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and four quarterback hurries.
