On Saturday, Montana State and Montana will engage in the 115th edition of the fiercest rivalry in the West.
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Montana owns a 71-37-5 advantage in the series. Since each team joined the Big Sky Conference in 1963, Montana’s lead is 29-23. UM enters the game with a two-game winning streak in the rivalry. Montana won 16 straight times leading up to 2002. Since Travis Lulay and the Bobcats won in Missoula, the series is almost even, with UM taking seven of the 12 matchups. Montana State has won twice in Bozeman (2003, 2005) since 1984. Saturday’s matchup is at Bobcat Stadium.
QUICK HITS
Location: Missoula, Montana
Nickname: Grizzlies
Founded: 1893. The public research university is the second-largest in Montana and specializes in liberal arts, business, forestry and journalism. It is a major source of research, continuing education, economic development and fine arts, as well as a driving force in strengthening Montana’s ties with countries throughout the world.
Enrollment: The university has 12,922 students and an endowment of $177 million.
Stadium: Washington-Grizzly Stadium. One of the gems of the FCS, the Grizzlies have been among the nation’s leaders in attendance since the stadium opened in 1985. Last fall, UM averaged 23,777 fans per home game, again the top mark in the FCS. This season, Montana averaged 25,733 during six home games to lead the nation.
THE TEAM (5-2 in the Big Sky, 6-4 overall in 2015)
The Coach: Bob Stitt, first season at Montana. Stitt, the widely respected offensive mind credited with inventing the fly sweep, posted a 108-62 mark in 14 seasons at Colorado School of Mines, a Division II school in Golden. His teams won three RMAC titles and posted an 83-44 record in league competition. This season, despite injuries to his top two quarterbacks, Stitt has led Montana to a 5-2 record in Big Sky play and to the brink of another playoff berth.
MONTANA PLAYERS TO WATCH
Griz Offense
Brady Gustafson, quarterback, 6-7, 230, junior — Gustafson threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns as Montana ushered in the Bob Stitt era with a 38-35 win over North Dakota State, igniting hype, galvanizing a fan base and starting the Stitt era out with a resounding bang. But Gustafson threw three interceptions the following week in a 20-19 loss to Cal Poly as Montana came back to earth.
Gustafson suffered a lower leg injury in the first half of UM’s 31-21 loss to Liberty. He did not return until the EWU win. In his return, the Billings West product completed 20-of-34 passes for 266 yards and a 45-yard touchdown to senior captain Jamaal Jones. With Gustafson at the helm, the Griz operated Stitt’s up-tempo offense fluidly, running 84 plays for 464 yards and notching 24 first downs.
Saturday will mark Gustafson’s first Cat-Griz start.
Montana is averaging 429 yards per game on 84.5 plays per game. The offense averages 489 yards per game on an average of 90 plays per game, including 352.6 passing yards per outing in the three full games Gustafson has played this season. Montana is scoring 38 points per game in the games Gustafson plays the duration.
Jamaal Jones, wide receiver, 6-1, 192, senior — Jones had the best day of his senior season with ix catches for 156 yards and the 45-yard bomb against Eastern Washington in a 57-16 Griz win.
The former Washington transfer now has 2,764 yards in his career. Jones passed Matt Wells and is now 255 yards behind Marc Mariani for the school record. This season, Jones ahs 55 catches for 960 yards and six touchdowns.
Ben Roberts, wide receiver, 6-4, 215, senior — The former Missoula Sentinel three-sport athlete spent the last four seasons playing baseball at Washington State. His transition back to the gridiron has been seamless.
The jumping jack is second on Montana with 48 catches for 425 yards, the third-most on the team. He’s caught five touchdown passes in his first year playing football since 2010. Roberts, who was a 7th round draft pick in the Major League Baseball draft as an 18-year-old Missoula Maverick American Legion player, has had such a successful return to football that he’s received attention from NFL scouts this season.
Jeremy Calhoun, running back, 6-0, 190, true freshman — The 3-star recruit from Long Beach Poly High has lived up to the hype this season.
Calhoun first broke into the lineup when conference play began. He has seen his carries and production steadily rise ever since. He earned four carries against UC Davis including his first career touchdown, six against Weber State, eight against North Dakota before a 12-carry day against Portland State in which he scored his first career touchdown. He rushed for nearly 100 yards against Idaho State and last week against EWU, he scored three times. This season, he has rushed for 213 yards on 69 carries and has scored a team-high six touchdowns on the ground.
John Schmaing, left tackle, 6-7, 290, senior — Schmaing sat out last season due to academic ineligibility but he’s returned to anchor a Montana offensive line that has steadily improved as the season has progressed.
On Saturday, the Billings Senior product will start for the 25th time as a Grizzly. Schmaing earned All-Big Sky honors in 2013 and looks to be in line for similar accolades this fall.
Griz Defense
Tyrone Holmes, defensive end, 6-4, 250, senior — Holmes is among the favorites for the Big Sky Defensive MVP because of one of the best single seasons in Montana history.
Holmes has claimed two Big Sky Players of the Week thanks to monster games. He piled up four sacks in a 23-14 win over Northern Arizona that looks more impressive by the week as NAU lights up scoreboards across the Big Sky. Holmes notched three sacks last week in Montana’s crucial win over Eastern Washington.
This season, the explosive pass rusher leads the Big Sky and the FCS with 14 sacks and his 16.5 tackles for loss are tied for the league lead with Montana State sophomore linebacker Mac Bignell. Holmes now has 30.5 sacks in his career, the fifth-most in school history.
Kendrick Van Ackeren, outside linebacker, 6-1, 215, senior — Van Ackeren’s importance to the Montana defense was on full display the last two weeks. The outside linebacker did not play in UM’s 33-27 overtime win over Idaho State because of a suspension for violation of team rules. Montana struggled to dispatch of the forlorn Bengals. The following week, Van Ackeren returned and Montana’s defense rode an epic wave of momentum to a beat down of EWU.
Last week, Van Ackeren intercepted a pass that he returned to the 2-yard line to set up a touchdown. He also forced a fumble and racked up 16 total tackles. This season, Van Ackeren is second in the Big Sky with 112 total tackles. He has three tackles for loss, three pass breakups, an interception, a blocked kick and two fumble recoveries.
Jeremiah Kose, middle linebacker, 6-2, 225, senior — Van Ackeren provides speed, pursuit and a nose for the ball. Kose provides the hammer in the middle of Montana’s defense.
Kose took over for current Seattle Seahawks linebacker Brock Coyle last season and did not miss a beat. He piled up 117 tackles last season to earn third-team All-Big Sky honors. This fall, he’s again been one of the league’s most productive linebackers. The hard hitting middle linebacker has 90 tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception.
JR Nelson, cornerback, 6-2, 177, junior — The first-year starter has found his stride down the stretch.
Nelson earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors last week after returning an interception for a touchdown against Idaho State. He duplicated the feat on Saturday against Eastern Washington with another pick-six. This season, he has 40 tackles, two tackles for loss and six pass breakups.
Yamen Sanders, strong safety, 6-4, 210, junior — The hard-hitting downhill safety is a physical marvel. Against Eastern Washington, he showed how physical his physique can be when employed at full speed.
On a safety blitz, Sanders put one of the hits of the season on EWU quarterback Reilly Hennessey, forcing a fumble and knocking the first-time starter out of the game.
This season, the former Arizona transfer has 53 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, that sack, an interception and two pass breakups.
[/restrict]Head shot courtesy of University of Montana Athletics. Photos by Evan Frost. All Rights Reserved.
