It’s the game that needs no introduction.
Always circled on every calendar from Eureka to Ekalaka, the Montana/Montana State rivalry game – the Brawl of the Wild – is as big as it gets in the Treasure State, and this year’s edition is shaping up to be another of the biggest.
On Saturday, the 123 rd chapter in the third-oldest D-I rivalry in the Western United States will play out in Bozeman as the No. 9 Grizzlies (8-3, 5-2 BSC) take on the No. 2 Bobcats (12-0, 8-0 BSC) inside Bobcat Stadium.
It’s the second-straight year the game has featured a top 10 showdown, and in the final week of the regular season both teams have a spot in the postseason locked down. With MSU already earning a conference title, there are only two things left to play for: bragging rights and a 300-pound brass trophy.
Throw the records out the window, in this game, Montana also has something more important: an opportunity ruin a perfect season. Like the New York Giants ruining New England’s perfect season in the 2007 Super Bowl, when rivals go at it, anything is possible.
On paper it’s a clash between two of the top overall offenses and defenses in the Big Sky. In practice, generations of pent-up aggression between players, families, and friends, will all be left on the field in a battle royale for all the brass.
Kickoff from Bozeman is set for high noon.
IMPLICATIONS:Montana and Montana State have already secured playoff berths, so the only question remains is where will they be seeded? A win for Montana is likely to catapult the Griz into the top eight and give them a first-round bye. A loss, and Griz fans could be having football with their Thanksgiving turkey in a first-round home game.
HAPPENINGS:The Butte chapter of the Grizzly Scholarship Association will be hosting the official pregame Griz Gathering on Friday, Nov. 22, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. at the McQueen Athletic Club in Butte. Join fans and Grizzly dignitaries from around the state while socializing and getting ready for gameday with free appetizers, a no-host bar, and a split-the-pot drawing. Admission is free and open to the public.
WATCH:The annual Brawl of the Wild game will be shown around the state on your local Scripps CBS station. Ben Creighton will have the play-by-play call, while Marty Mornhiweg and Ty Gregorak will both serve as analysts. Kyle Hansen will report from the Grizzly sideline, while Grace Lawrence will report from the Bobcat sideline.
The game will be available on the following channels around the state and in select markets around the west via the following Scripps-owned stations: Missoula/Kalispell:KPAX, Billings:KTVQ, Bozeman:KBZK, Butte:KXLF, Great Falls:KRTV, Helena:KXLH, Denver:KCDO, Phoenix:KASW, Tucson:KWBA, Boise:KIVI, Twin Falls: KSAW, Salt Lake City:KUPX, San Louis Obispo:KSBY.
A nationwide stream of the game will also be available without blackout on ESPN+. Scripps will also produce a one-hour pregame show that will be available to watch in select markets and on ESPN+.
WATCH PARTIES:From sea to shining sea, it’s a tradition like no other for Montanans as Grizzlies far and wide gather at local watering holes for a Griz/Cat watch party. The UM Alumni office works with fans around the nation (and some overseas) to host over 100 different watch parties for the rivalry game. To find an event near you, visit GrizAlum.org.
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 on the Varsity Network App and GoGriz.com/Listen.
THE SERIES:In short: Montana has dominated this historic rivalry. As the two teams prepare to meet for the 123 rd time, Montana holds a 74-42-5 all-time record over Montana State since 1897. 74 wins. Only 23 other teams in all D-I football have beaten another team more times.
The home field advantage for both programs has been particularly difficult to overcome in recent years, however, with the last road win in the series back in 2018. Montana heads east this week looking for its first road win since 2015, with UM leading the all-time series by a whisker at 23-22-5 in Bozeman.
In Missoula, the Griz lead 33-17-1, and in neutral site games the Griz lead 18-3-1. Should Montana State win in Bozeman this week, it will have its first tie (23-23-5) in the series in games played at MSU since 1997.
Under Hauck, Montana also holds a lead in the series. The winningest coach in Big Sky history has a 7-5 career record over MSU.
- Not only does Montana dominate the overall record, it’s far in a way the best team of the 21 st century between the two. The Griz have racked up 234 overall wins to date since the year 2000, while MSU has totaled 173. UM’s 234 is the second-most in all of FCS football behind NDSU’s 235. In the head-to-head, Montana is 13-10 over MSU since 2000.
While the parity has increased over the last decade, UM enters Saturday’s contest with 87 overall wins to MSU’s 84 since 2014.
LAST MEETING:As both teams enter the rivalry week ranked in the top 10 in the nation, The No. 3 Griz won the first-ever Brawl that featured both teams ranked inside the top five nationally 37-7 to win the outright Big Sky Conference Championship in 2023.
Montana did it in dominating fashion too, scoring the first 20 points of the game and leaving absolutely no doubt. They also did it in front of a Washington-Grizzly Stadium record crowd of 27,178 fans.
A Bobcat offense that led the country coming into the game by averaging 43.8 points per game was held completely in check, scoring just a single time while going 1-for-10 on third down and being stopped on all four of their fourth down attempts.
The Grizzly defense held them nearly 100 yards under their season average for rushing, and the secondary held the pair of Bobcat quarterbacks to just 4-of-16 through the air for 67 yards.
The Montana offense, meanwhile, passed for 228 yards and ran for another 202 to outgain Montana State 430-280 in the game. The Griz went 5-for-5 in the red zone and didn’t turn the ball over all day, controlling the clock to a 34:44-to-25:16 advantage.
Junior Bergen caught six passes for 91 yards and a touchdown and had a big kick return and one punt return to finish the game with 144 total yards. Nick Ostmo ran for 85 yards and a score on seven attempts while Eli Gillman also found the end zone. The Grizzlies runners were breaking tackles all day long, and the receivers made plays after completions. The Grizzlies had 111 yards after the catch on offense.
Trevin Gradney made a huge play defensively, picking of Tommy Mellott in the fourth quarter to seal the win with his fifth INT of the year. Braxton Hill and Tyler Flink shared the team-lead with eight tackles.
LAST MEETING IN BOZEMAN:It was a different story in 2022, when MSU defeated UM 55-21 in the 121st meeting. The second-best rushing attack in the country was able to run successfully and take advantage of some Grizzly miscues in the victory.
Montana State kept the ball on the ground for the entire first drive, scoring on a 75-yard drive to take an early 7-0 lead and eventually a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Malik Flowers beat his man down the sideline and rose up in the end zone for an impressive touchdown grab to tie the game at seven in first, but MSU piled on the pressure from there. The Bobcat rushing attack again led them down the field, as they scored their second touchdown of the day to retake the lead.
Montana was then stopped on offense, and a bad snap on the punt resulted in another Bobcat touchdown. Montana State would score again midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 28-7.
The Grizzlies were later able to generate offense and drive the field to get first down inside the five-yard line, but a fumble near the goal line gave the ball back to the Bobcats. They ended the half with a field goal to make it 31-7. They would score the first 17 points of the second half to extend it to 48-7.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
GRIZ IN THE POLLS:Montana moved up a spot to No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS media poll and No. 10 in the AFCA coaches’ poll this week, setting up a top 10 rivalry game showdown for the second-consecutive season against No. 2 MSU.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS:It’s a different story for UM when the computers take over. This week’s Massey Ratings, a tool available in playoff seeding, Montana jumped to No. 7 in the FCS with the No. 35-rated strength of schedule this season.
Four of Montana’s past opponents and one future regular season opponent all slot in this week’s Massey top 25, with UC Davis at No. 5 and Missouri State just behind UM at No. 8. North Dakota, Northern Arizona, and Montana State are also among the top 25 FCS teams, with MSU at No. 3.
Montana also slots in as the No. 3 Big Sky team, the No. 6 FCS team, and the No. 112 overall D-I team in the Sagarin Ratings, another common computer model that accounts for strength of schedule.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Montana safety Jace Klucewich killed two red zone opportunities for Portland State with a pair of interceptions on the goal line and logged five solo tackles (three of which were also on the goal line) in last Saturday’s win. The Frenchtown native put a halt to a pair of would-be scoring drives that might have been the difference in the game, and Monday, Klucewich was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
It’s the first weekly honor from the league of his career, and the second this season for the Grizzly D after fellow Sentinel grad Jaxon Lee earned it in late October. Klucewich also earned an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
With his two picks Saturday, he now leads the Big Sky in total interceptions and is tied for third in the FCS with four to his name.
Klucewich is now the first Grizzly to pick off two passes in a single game since Gavin Robertson did it in Montana’s historic win over the Washington Huskies in 2021. Coincidentally, his two picks come on the same weekend the Lady Griz basketball team earned a win over the Huskies.
POSESSION, POSESSION, POSESSION:You can’t win if you don’t have the ball, and Montana had plenty of it against Portland State last week. Led by Klucewich’s two picks last week, Montana forced a season high five turnovers against the Vikings and now leads the Big Sky in total turnover margin at +7 on the year.
The league has been low on turnovers this season as a whole, with UM ranked No. 24 in the FCS 17 total takeaways. The Griz have made those takeaways count, however, scoring 50 points off turnovers, while allowing teams to score just 16 points off UM’s turnovers. Giveaways have been kept to a minimum this season, with the Griz only coughing it up 10 times in 11 games.
POUND THE ROCK:Eli Gillman returned to his absurdly productive self against Portland State, carrying the ball 14 times for a game-high 134 yards, the second-best game of his career. That’s an average of just over 9.5 yards per tote, and it increased his season average to 7.25 yards per carry. That average is the third highest in the Big Sky this week and the fifth-best in the FCS.
Along with Nick Ostmo giving UM a two-headed monster of a rushing attack, the Griz at large are averaging 5.63 yards per carry as a team this season (2,295 yards on 408 attempts). That’s on pace to break a long-standing school record of 5.6 yards per carry, set all the way back in 1954 (2,114 yards on 380 attempts).
STOP THE RUN:Portland State’s Delon Thompson rushed for 117 yards against Montana while the Griz neutralized one of the Big Sky’s top 10 runners in Dante Chachere for just six yards. Thompson is the first Grizzly to rush for 100 yards against Montana this season.
The last player(s) to rush for more than 100 against UM? Tommy Mellott (107) and Julius Davis (108) in last year’s Grizzly win over Montana State in Missoula.
RECORD WATCH:Speaking of Gillman, the sophomore climbed the record books again last week after his 134-yard day against the Vikings. He now has 1,954 career rushing yards, officially moving into the Montana’s all-time top 10 list. He passed Josh Branen (1,885) and Jeremy Calhoun (1,826) to move into the No. 10 spot on the list.
Gillman is averaging just under 70 yards rushing per game this week and needs just 31 more yards to pass Peter Nguyen’s career total (1,985), 79 more yards to pass Steve Caputo (2,033), and 112 yards to pass John Nguyen (2,066) and move into No. 7 all-time at UM. The real milestone, however, comes in 46 more yards when he becomes one of nine Grizzlies to ever rush for 2,000 yards in their careers.
With a season total of 921, Gillman also needs just 79 yards to his 1,000 this season and become one of just 14 Grizzlies to every cross the 1k mark, the first for UM since Marcus Knight in 2019, and just the second since Jordan Canada before him in 2014. To recap: he needs just 79 more yards to hit 1,000 this season and 46 to hit 2,000 in his career… and he’s only a sophomore.
HARRIS’ HITS:Despite only playing in his second year at Montana, defensive end Hayden Harris has already entered Montana’s top 30 list of all-time leaders in tackles for loss. Harris enters the week ranked third in the Big Sky and top 15 nationally with 15 TFLs this season, and with 19.5 on his career ranks No. 30 all time at UM.
He’s also totaled 7.5 sacks this season, enough to rank him second in the league and top 25 in the FCS.
FIFE FACTS:Quarterback Logan Fife, despite not starting nearly half of the season, is closing in on one of UM’s best years ever in the “touchdowns responsible for” category – a combination of passing and rushing TDs. With three passing and one more rushing against Portland State, he’s now got 21 TDs this year, and needs five more to rank among the program’s top 15 of all time.
BERGEN BITES:Junior Bergen had a relatively quiet day against PSU with just 14 receiving yards, but he’s moving up the record books regardless. He’s now essentially tied with Keelan White (who missed last week’s game) in career receiving yards with White at 1,728 and Bergen right there at 1,721, putting them both in the top 30 all time.
- As you’d expect from the all-time leader in punt return TDs, Bergen does sit top five in all-purpose yards in Montana history. He needs exactly 400 more all-purpose yards (rush, receive, return) to pass Levendar Segars’ total of 4,149 and move into fifth place behind legends like Marc Mariani, Yohance Humphrey, Chase Reynolds, and Lex Hilliard.
MORE NICE ROUND NUMBERS:Last Saturday’s win over Portland State resulted in some nice, round numbers for Montana. It was the 235 th win inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, with UM now holding a 235-37 (.864) record inside “The Mecca of FCS Football” Since 1986, one of the best home field advantages in all of college football.
It was also the 645 th win in UM program history, with the Griz now 645-515-26 (.555) in program history, retaining Montana as the only Big Sky team with 600+ program wins. Speaking of the Big Sky, the win over PSU put UM at 272-146-1 in league history, that’s a nice round .650 win percentage since 1963.
Bobby Hauck has also now coached in a nice round 100 games as a head coach in the Big Sky with a record of 79-21 (.790). If he wins on Saturday, he’ll have a nice round 80 league wins and will need just six more next season to hold the Big Sky record. The win over PSU was also his 240 th overall game his 90 th overall conference win as a college head coach, including his time at UNLV. He recently crossed the 150-win mark for his career as well, sitting at 152-88 (.633).
Of course, a nicer number would be 75… The number of wins Montana would have in the all-time series against Montana State if the Griz were to win on Saturday.
THE GAMES THEY REMEMBER…:If “the games they remember are played in November,” Montana has provided plenty of good memories in the penultimate month on the calendar over the years.
While the loss against UC Davis also snapped an eight-game home win streak in November, the Griz have been exceptional at the end of the regular season under Hauck. Montana enters Saturday’s game at MSU at 16-4 in November since he returned in 2018. Even better, Hauck is 41-9 overall and 25-5 at home in November in his career, with Montana having a history of finishing strong.
UP WITH MONTANA BOYS:In-state recruiting will always be a top priority for the Grizzlies under Bobby Hauck. This year, 49 Grizzlies hale from the Treasure State, with 12 players coming from Missoula. To be fair, Montana State also recruits locally as well, with 47 Treasure State natives on its roster. Of the just over 200 players on the combined rosters, 96 – nearly half – are from Montana.
ROAD WARRIORS:Under Hauck, the Grizzlies have forged a “road warrior” mentality over the past two seasons. The Griz head to Bozeman as winners of six-straight Big Sky games on the road dating back to the loss at NAU in 2023, and seven of the last nine true road games.
Since Hauck returned to UM in 2018, the Griz have been solid away from home with a 21-14 (.600) overall road record and a 15-8 (.652) record in road Big Sky contests.
