By ERIC TABER
The Montana Grizzlies continued their march up the national weekly polls on Monday, landing in the top-five for the first time this season.
After entering the bye week ranked No. 8 in both, the Griz moved to No. 5 in the STATS FCS Media Poll and No. 6 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Poll following a pair of losses by higher-ranked teams.
Montana was a benefactor in No. 2 James Madison’s defeat of Villanova, who had previously held the No. 5 spot in the media poll.
The Griz also benefited from Sacramento State’s road win at No. 6 Montana State. That upset propelled the Hornets into the rankings, landing them at No. 15/17 this week, and setting up a top-25 showdown in Sacramento on Saturday against the Griz.
Montana has climbed the polls slowly but steadily this season after being ranked No. 25 in the preseason media poll, and not being ranked at all in the coaches’ preseason poll.
At 5-1, the Grizzlies’ have remained unbeaten against FCS opponents so far this season. Montana’s only loss was in Eugene when the Grizzlies held their own against an Oregon team that was picked to win the Pac-12 and has only given up one touchdown in its last five games.
The Griz and Hornets will kick off under the lights in Sacramento on Saturday, with a scheduled 7 p.m. (MT) start time. The game will be broadcast on your local Fox Montana station (SWX in Billings). A free web stream can be found on Pluto TV.
AFCS FCS Coaches’ Poll
1 North Dakota State (26)
2 James Madison
3 South Dakota State
4 Kennesaw State
5 Weber State
6 Montana
7 Villanova7
8 Furman
9 Nicholls
10 Illinois State
11 North Carolina A&T
12 Montana State
13 Central Arkansas
14 Jacksonville State
15 Northern Iowa
16 Princeton
17 Sacramento State
18 Youngstown State
19 Austin Peay
20 Towson
21 Dartmouth
22 UC Davis
23 New Hampshire
24 Delaware
25 UIW
STATS FCS Media Poll
1 North Dakota State
2 James Madison
3 South Dakota State
4 Weber State
5 Montana
6 Kennesaw State
7 Villanova
8 Furman
9 Nicholls
10 North Carolina A&T
11 Illinois State
12 Montana State
13 Central Arkansas
14 UNI
15 Sacramento State
16 Jacksonville State
17 Princeton
18 Towson
19 Youngstown State
20 Austin Peay
21 Dartmouth
22 New Hampshire
23 UC Davis
24 Delaware
25 Central Connecticut State
