Game #4 - at #9 Montana Griz

For the season's fourth game, the Catamounts travel to Missoula, Montana to face the 2023 Big Sky champions, the Montana Grizzlies. The Griz bring a 2-1 (2024) record into the game, after beating Morehead State 59-2 on Saturday.  Montana is ridding a streak of 15-straight wins at Washington-Grizzly Stadium as the Catamounts take the field on Saturday. 

Game #4  - Montana Griz

The Griz completed the 2023 season with a 13-2 overall record and a Big Sky Championship, with a 9-0 record in the Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Montana is currently ranked #9 by STATS and #10 in the coaches poll.  

  

When: Saturday, September 21, 2023

Time: 3:00 pm (ET) - 1 pm (MT)
Where: Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula Montana
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
   -Play-by-Play: Daniel Hooker • Producer: Jeff Bryson

TV/video: ESPN+

Conference: Big Sky

Students:  10,962

Colors:  Maroon and Silver

Nickname:  Grizzlies

Fan Message Board: eGriz.com

The Series: This is the first meeting between the two teams on the football field.

Head Coach: Bobby Hauck became the 37th head football coach at the University of Montana on Nov. 30, 2017. He began his second tenure as the Grizzlies' head coach a day later on December 1, 2017. 2024 will be his 18th year as a college football head coach, his 13th overall year at Montana, and the sixth year of his second stint as Montana's head coach. In 2018 Hauck became the winningest coach in Montana history, surpassing the great Don Read with 86 wins in eight seasons..

Last Season's Record - (Montana 2023): 13-2 overall, 9-0 home, 4-1 away, 0-1 neutral,  7-1 Big Sky

Coming into the 2024 season, Montana ranks No. 3 in HERO Sports’ FCS Preseason Top 25. The Grizzlies finished 13-2 last year, reaching the FCS national championship game before losing 23-3 against South Dakota State. The Griz returned  16 starters (11 offense, 5 defense) from last season’s team, with the offensive line alone returning 71 combined starts and the defense combining for 53 total starts.

For the fourth consecutive year, Montana saw a change at the helm of the offense, with quarterbacks Cam Humphrey (2021), Lucas Johnson (2022), and Clifton McDowell (2023) taking turns in the role.

The Grizzlies are set to field a formidable trio at the running back position. Eli Gillman, who won the Jerry Rice Award last year for his 968 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, is returning. Alongside him, veteran Nick Ostmo, who accumulated 1,398 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns over the past two years, is also on the roster.  Against Morehead State, the Griz ran for 410 yards on the ground and totaled 576 yards of offense behind the rushing attack, going 5-for-12 on third down while picking up four conversions on fourth down. They averaged 6.9 yards per play while holding the Eagles to just 1.0 yards per play. It's the most total yards since going for 695 in the win over Cal Poly two years ago.

Keali'I Ah Yat started the game at quarterback and went 9-for-11 for 79 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He found Keelan White, who had five catches for 40 yards, for the only score through the air on the day. Logan Fife also saw time, going 9-for-16 for 87 yards.

2024 Montana Statistics (3 games)

Rushing Offense: 840 yards
Yards per game: 245
Yards per rush: 6.2 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 44
TDs rushing: 11
Passing Offense: 560 yards or 169 yards per game
Passing 1st downs: 24
Passing Att-Comp-Int: 85-53-1
TDs Passing: 3
Total Offense: 1243 yards or 414 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 3-1
3d Down Conversions: 11 of 34 (32%)
4th Down Conversions: 6 of 8 (75%)
Field goal-attempts:  5 of 7
PAT-Attempts: 11 of 13
Red Zone Scores: 12 of 15
Red Zone Touchdowns: 8 of 15
On-Side Kicks: 0 - 0
Punts-Yards: 10 - 437 - Avg. per gm 41