Big home games for Griz, Cats

The Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are in different places right now, even though they are nearly side-by-side in the Big Sky Conference standings.

Montana is in the midst of one of the most difficult two-game stretches in the Football Championship Subdivision, while the Bobcats are warming up to what will be an extremely difficult finish to the season.

No matter though, every game, regardless of the opponent is a big one in college football, and both the Grizzlies and Bobcats have big home games on Saturday.

If last Saturday's dramatic 21-14 win over Cal Poly was a 60-plus minute battle, then No. 10 Montana's (3-1, 6-1) game with No. 3 Eastern Washington (3-0, 5-2) Saturday inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium will be an all-out brawl. The Grizzlies were battered by Cal Poly's triple-option attack last Saturday, and needed a blocked field goal by Jordan Tripp, a 90-yard, two-minute drive by Jordan Johnson to send the game into overtime and a Brock Coyle interception just to survive the Mustangs.

Now enter EWU, a team with the third-best offense in the FCS, a team that has handed Pac 12 power Oregon State its only loss, a team which has a star quarterback in sophomore Vernon Adams and a team that scored nine points in the final three minutes to beat Montana last year in Cheney, Wash.

"It's a huge game with huge implications and it will be a playoff atmosphere," UM defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak said. "We have to get our guys healthy from that war against Cal Poly and I expect it to be one heck of a game.

"Vernon Adams is one special player and we'll have to dial up some stuff to try to contain him."

Adams is indeed special, and so are the Eagles, who have a trio of deadly wideouts and are as fast as any team in the FCS.

But Montana's defense certainly has shown it can handle anything that's been thrown at it this season. So, Saturday's outcome might rest more on the shoulders of a Montana offense which struggled mightily for 58 minutes against Cal Poly, as well as an Eastern defense which is ranked in the middle of the pack in the Big Sky.

Montana, which still averages 38 points per game, will want to run the ball against EWU, keeping Adams and the Eagles, who averages 500 yards and 44 points per game, off the field. But the Griz will be without junior Travon Van, the team's second-leading rusher. That means another heavy workload for fellow junior Jordan Canada, and more carries for sophomore bruiser Joey Counts. Johnson and the UM offense will also have to convert in the redzone, something the Griz didn't do at all last week, until Johnson's two-yard pass to Clay Pierson with just six seconds left in regulation.

Saturday's game will also have Big Sky title implications. The Eagles are tied with Montana State for the lead, but the Griz are just one game back and can firmly jump into the discussion with a win in what should be a raucous Washington-Grizzly Stadium atmosphere. The Grizzly faithful will be attempting to set a new noise record in Missoula Saturday.

It should also be a raucous atmosphere Saturday in Bozeman as No. 5 Montana State (3-0, 5-2) returns home to face upstart UC Davis (3-1, 3-5). The Bobcats haven't lost since their setback at S.F. Austin, and it appears they are just hitting their stride on offense.

Last week, MSU beat lowly Weber State 34-17, in what was a much more difficult game than expected, but the Bobcats, as quarterback DeNarius McGhee continues to get his health back after suffering a separated shoulder, are becoming very dangerous on offense. McGhee threw three TD passes against Weber, while Cody Kirk and Shawn Johnson have become a deadly 1-2 punch in the backfield.

Still, UC Davis won't be a slouch on Saturday. Last year, the Aggies gave the Cats all they could handle in a wild shootout in Davis, Calif., a game the Cats prevailed 48-41. UC Davis is coming into Bozeman fresh off a 34-18 win over Northern Colorado, and the Aggies' offense has seemed to come to life in recent weeks.

And while MSU is in what is considered a very winnable part of its schedule, with Northern Colorado up next week, the Cats can't and won't overlook the Aggies on Saturday.

Saturday's huge game between the Grizzlies and Eastern Washington will start at 1:40 p.m. in Missoula and can be seen nationally on Root Sports. The Bobcats and Aggies kick off at 2:05 p.m. Saturday in Bozeman, and that game can be seen locally on Max Media.