Griz seek to spoil State's perfect season
Grizzlies wide receiver Aaron Fontes (14) catches a 35-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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.
Saturday, the 123rd 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 Big Sky Conference) take on the No. 2 Bobcats (11-0, 7-0 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 to ruin a perfect season.
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.
WATCH: The annual Brawl of the Wild game will be shown around the state on your local Scripps CBS station, including Missoula/Kalispell: KPAX.
A nationwide stream of the game will also be available without blackout on ESPN+.
THE SERIES: In short: Montana has dominated this historic rivalry. As the two teams prepare to meet for the 123rd time, Montana holds a 74-42-5 all-time record over Montana State since 1897. 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 2022, the Cats won 55-21 in the 121st meeting.
Under head coach Bobby Hauck, Montana also holds a lead in the series. The winningest coach in Big Sky history has a 7-5 career record over MSU.
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.