High stakes as Cats host Griz

Three playoff games, recruiting season, winter conditioning, spring ball, a long, dry summer, fall camp and 10 regular season games. That’s what has passed since the Montana Grizzlies beat the Montana State Bobcats in the 2014 Brawl of the Wild last November in Missoula.

Now it’s time to do it all over again. Now the 115th Brawl of the Wild is finally here. And, like in every Brawl, there’s plenty at stake when the Bobcats (3-4, 5-5) host the No. 17 Grizzlies (5-2, 6-4) Saturday at 12:07 p.m. inside a sold-out Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.

For the visiting Griz, it’s simple, win and they’re in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Win, and the Griz give themselves a shot at sharing the Big Sky Conference championship. Beat the Bobcats, and they’ll have their third straight win in the series, and their fifth straight victory in Bozeman.

Yes, for Montana, there’s tons riding on Saturday’s game.

“For now, it's we want to win this week," said Griz senior receiver Ben Roberts, a Washington State baseball transfer and Missoula native experiencing his first Brawl of the Wild. "That's initially why I came here. I wanted to win and there was a chance to do something special."

On the other side of the divide, the Cats are playing for plenty, too, just not a Big Sky championship or even a playoff berth. Those hopes were dashed when MSU lost back-to-back games to North Dakota and Southern Utah. But, there’s always the rivalry, and the Cats can do plenty to stoke the fires of one of the longest-running rivalry games in all of college football.

A win Saturday would end MSU’s misery of losing to the Griz at home. The Cats haven’t beaten UM in Bozeman since the 2005 Brawl. An MSU victory would also erase the sting of last year’s 34-7 loss in Missoula, a game in which the then 11th-ranked Cats committed seven turnovers and watched as Montana rolled up nearly 500 yards of total offense, and a 27-0 lead at halftime. Perhaps most importantly, a win Saturday would put an end to their arch rival’s season. Yes, in this Brawl, MSU can play spoiler. If the Cats beat Montana Saturday, there’s pretty much no chance the Griz get into the playoffs.

Now in his ninth Brawl of the Wild, MSU head coach Rob Ash says his team is much more focused on what they need to do, then what the Grizzlies can or can’t do.

“We have to concentrate on ourselves, execution, being able to know our assignments and techniques on every single play of the game," Ash said. "Every guy has his set of assignments. “My point being, it’s not about a home game or being 2-6 or who’s playing quarterback or any of that. It’s about one guy doing his job, each guy doing his job. That’s our focus.”

Don’t mistake that for not caring about the rivalry itself. Ash knows full well just how important it is for his team to come out on top in Saturday’s game. Going just 2-6 against the Griz in his career, he knows how tough it is when you don’t.

“This is a year-long rivalry,” Ash said. “You win it, you get 365 days of being a winner. You don’t win it, then it’s 365 days of trying to win the next one. That’s the way it works.”

To win, Montana State’s beleaguered and young defense will have to play its best game of the season. The Cats are ranked 117th in the FCS in total defense, and are allowing 33 points per game in Big Sky Conference play. Four times this season, MSU has surrendered a 200-yard individual rushing performance, and three times teams have gone for more than 500 yards on an MSU defense anchored by senior defensive tackle Taylor Sheridan, young linebackers Mac Bignell, who is second in the Big Sky in tackles and tackles for loss, Grant Collins and Blake Braun, and veteran cornerback Bryson Keeton. Bandit Jessie Clark is also starting to come on strong as of late, but overall the Cats have struggled defensively, and in two areas in particular — MSU has just 21 sacks this season, and the Cats have just two interceptions and have forced a mere 11 turnovers all year.

Yet, MSU feels it has gained some momentum defensively the last two weeks. Even against Southern Utah, the Bobcats played much better in the second half, and the defense was outstanding in a dominating win at Idaho State last week.

“Jessie Clark is a problem for people,” Ash said. “Our blitz packages are starting to come around, too. It’s just the maturation of a young defense, probably.”

For much of the season, the Grizzlies had the opposite problem of their rivals. While MSU’s defense struggled, UM’s high-flying offense, of first-year head coach Bob Stitt, was sputtering. Yes, UM came out of the gates rolling to a win over North Dakota State, but injuries to two quarterbacks, offensive linemen and running backs left the Griz reeling for much of the season. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

With junior Brady Gustafson back at the controls, Montana rang up 57 points and 498 yards of offense on Eastern Washington last Saturday in Missoula, and the Griz roll into Bobcat Stadium hoping for more of the same — especially against a vulnerable MSU defense with many of its starters playing in their first Cat-Griz contest.

"It was an important win regardless, but it was a statement to everybody on the national scene that now that we're healthy, we belong in the playoffs and we have a football team that can play with anybody," Stitt said of last week’s win. "To score (50) points in two and a half quarters says something about our players and the way they prepared and how they battled out there."

And Montana’s offense is pretty darn healthy. Gustafson looked the part of a clear No. 1 quarterback against EWU, while Jamaal Jones, Ellis Henderson and Roberts, will be a matchup nightmare for the Cats. Add an improved offensive line play, veteran John Nyguen and emerging freshman Jeremy Calhoun in the backfield, and Montana being able to now go back to its super-up-tempo style, and the Griz feel like they are right where they need to be on offense heading into Saturday’s battle.

An offense that can put points on the board bodes well for the Griz because there has been little doubt about how good Montana’s defense is. Led by Buchanan Award front-runner Tyrone Holmes (14.5 sacks), the Griz’ defense is surrendering just 21 points per game in conference play. Montana leads the conference in total defense, sacks and takeaways — the Griz forced six against EWU last week, and from top-to-bottom, the Griz defense is loaded with stars. Kendrick Van Ackeren, playing in his third Brawl, has had a huge year on the outside of Montana’s senior-laden linebacking group, while the Griz’ secondary, led by senior corner Nate Harris, fellow corner J.R. Nelson, who has had two pick-sixes in an many weeks, and veteran safeties Justin Whitted and Yamen Sanders, have really been a force in recent weeks, and are a big reason why the Griz possess the second-best pass defense in the Big Sky.

"When we have a couple score lead, I'm not worried about getting beat deep or worried about missing an assignment," Harris said. "We're just attacking; that's when fumbles come, interceptions and touchdowns come. It starts with the offense coming around."

But, as good as the Griz’ defense is, they have yet to face Dakota Prukop, Montana State’s star junior quarterback. And though he may not be 100 percent for Saturday’s game, he isn’t missing it for anything in the world – especially since he watched last year’s Brawl from the sideline with a knee injury. Prukop comes into Saturday’s tilt as one of the nation’s top passers. He’s thrown for 2,712 yards and 25 touchdowns, while also ranking ninth in the Big Sky with 750 rushing yards and 10 more touchdowns.

“I was waiting all season to play in that game. Sitting on the sideline — it hurt. Having to watch our team go through that, it sat with me for a long time,” Prukop said of missing last year’s Brawl. “Those guys (Griz) are marked. They’re marked. I’m looking forward to that game. It’s on my mind. Come Saturday I’m going to be ready for that game, and I know our offense is going to be ready for that game.”

MSU’s offense has been ready all season. The Cats are among the FCS leaders in scoring (44 ppg) and total offense (504 ypg). Twice this season, and five different times with Prukop at the controls, the Cats broke the 50-point, 600-yard barrier, and Prukop isn’t the only reason why.

Yes, he’s the catalyst, but he’s got plenty of help from dangerous wide receivers like Mitch Herbert, Mitch Greibel and Justin Paige, a mammoth tight end in Beau Sandland, and a running game that features bruising Billings product Chad Newell and speedy Helena native Gunnar Brekke.

“They’re (Cats) a really good football team. They have a fast, explosive offense, with a great quarterback,” Stitt said. “That’s why we can’t look ahead, we can’t look forward to anything else. This whole thing is a process, and what we’re trying to do is extend our season. And in order to do that, we have to go beat a really good football team this week.”

Matchups are what it is all about when two good football teams hook up, and this Brawl has plenty of great matchups. MSU’s crazy-good offense against Montana’s hard-hitting, fast defense. Montana’s renewed confidence on offense against MSU’s maturing defense. Then, there are kickers like MSU’s Luke Daly, one of the best in the Big Sky, and UM punter Chris Lider, or dangerous returners like Henderson (UM) and Brekke (MSU). There are philosophies. How many times will Stitt go for it on fourth down? How many times will Ash go for two-point conversions? Who will let their offense be more wide-open? Who will call the right trick play, at the right time?

All of those things will come into play in Saturday’s rivalry game.

At the end of the day, though, the game is also about emotion, about pride and about a celebration of football in this great state. There are more than 70 Montana-born players on the two rosters combined, and Bobcat Stadium will be filled beyond capacity, with most Montanans, and mostly MSU fans.

Those emotions will certainly come into play Saturday.

"It means a lot to the people in this state,” Stitt said. “That's why we gotta go win the ball game. For our fans and the passion they have. We can't let 'em down.

“I’m just going to savor every moment. It will be my last one,” said MSU senior left tackle John Weidenaar “It will be my senior game, so a lot of my family is going to be here. It’s going to mean a lot to me. But it’s not about me. It’s about my teammates and how I’m going to perform to help the team win. That’s really what it’s going to come down to.

“You can make it about the rivalry, but what it comes down to his how you’re going to play on the field and how they’re going to play. That’s what makes a great rivalry, how good each team plays.”

Saturday’s 115th meeting of the Bobcats and Grizzlies will kick off at 12:07 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. The game can be seen nationally on Root Sports Northwest.

The Brawl

No. 17 Montana Grizzlies (6-4, 5-2) at Montana State Bobcats (5-5, 3-4)

Saturday 12 p.m.

Bobcat Stadium

TV: Root Sports Northwest

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily

Game Day Inside