Cat-Griz Report: Cats, Griz sweep ahead of 118th Brawl of the Wild

It’s officially Cat-Griz week. And as both had hoped, the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are riding high heading into what figures to be an epic showdown Saturday in Missoula.

Both the Grizzlies and Bobcats won convincingly in their final game before Cat-Griz, setting up a Cat-Griz game that could very well send the winner to the FCS playoffs.

Saturday in Moscow, Idaho, it was the Dalton Sneed show in the Kibbie Dome as the junior quarterback picked Idaho apart both through the air and on the ground, and the Grizzlies rolled to their second consecutive dominating road win, topping the Vandals 46-27. Sneed threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns on just a dozen completions, and when he tucked the ball and ran, he went for another 129 yards and one more score.

"Their staff spoke ad nauseam this week that if you stop Sneed, you stop the Grizzlies," said Bobby Hauck, who was the recipient of a postgame Gatorade shower on the sideline after becoming the winningest coach in program history, passing Don Read.

"Well, they didn't do it, even though they had their whole defense juiced up to do that. Good for Dalton and good for our offense. We made plays, and when guys are making plays around him, we're hard to stop."

Indeed. In the first half — and the game was over by the time the teams went to their locker rooms, with the Grizzlies leading 36-6 — Montana had 306 yards of offense and had as many touchdowns (5) as third downs faced (5).

After going three-and-out on its first possession of the game, Montana scored touchdowns on its next five, giving the engraver the entire second half to begin updating the Little Brown Stein. The traveling trophy was in Moscow, but its visit was short-lived.

With Montana trailing 3-0 early in the game, Sneed found Gabe Sulser 30 yards down the field, and the freshman did the rest, pulling away from Idaho's defensive backs to the goal line for a 59-yard scoring strike.

After Josh Sandry intercepted Mason Petrino on Idaho's next possession, setting Montana up at the Vandal 27, five rushes later Adam Eastwood went in from two yards out to make it 14-3. On Montana's first possession of the second quarter, Sneed hit Samuel Akem for a 52-yard touchdown, a throw-and-catch that belongs in a museum so beautiful was its execution, with Sneed pushing the limits of the dome's height and Akem running past two defenders and under the ball, in perfect stride.

"It was a dominant effort by the Grizzlies," said Hauck. "I liked their attitude. We were very business-like to start the game. They played their tails off, and we just took care of it. We've had two dominating wins in November, so we're excited about where we are right now."

Montana has outscored its last three opponents 87-23 in the first half, and the early onslaught continued into the second quarter Saturday.

Sneed hit Akem for 40 yards to the Idaho 10, then made things right by going right back to Akem two players later. The receiver caught the ball in the left flat and walked in untouched for his fourth consecutive two-touchdown day. And Montana led 29-3. After the Vandals kicked a field goal, Sneed took the ball around left end on the first play of what would be Montana's final possession of the first half. He was pushed out of bounds 62 yards later. Two plays after that, Jerry Louie-McGee ran it in from 13 yards out. Montana 36, Idaho 6.

"We're a young team getting better, which makes us really dangerous in the month of November," said Hauck. "I didn't know if it would, but I had a sneaky suspicion that this could happen. You never know with a young team like this if you're going to be good enough any Saturday, but I know one thing. We're turning the corner in terms of effort level and physical-ness and the fact we can count on our guys to show up."

Montana went 89 yards in nine plays to go up 43-13 late in the third quarter, a drive started with the punishing running of Alijah Lee and finished with a one-yard run by Sneed. The fourth quarter had not yet arrived, but Sneed was finished for the day. Everything Montana had needed from him, he'd done. And then some.

"He's a special player. He can throw it, and he can run it. Those guys are hard to find. He had a great night tonight," said Hauck.

But it wasn't all the offense's doing. Idaho didn't find the end zone until the third quarter, and the Vandals' two fourth-quarter touchdowns weren't scored against Montana's A-listers. That included Dante Olson, who recorded four solo tackles, six more assisted, to up his season total to 132, giving him two more than Kendrick Van Ackeren had in 2015 when he established the program record.

With one longtime rival put in its place, Montana now turns its focus to its oldest, Montana State, who the Grizzlies host in Missoula next Saturday at noon. Montana enters Cat-Griz at 4-3 in the Big Sky and 6-4 overall.

Bobcats 35, N. Colorado 7

In Bozeman Saturday, Montana State accomplished more than one mission. Not only are the Bobcats heading into Cat-Griz with momentum, they also ensured head coach Jeff Choate his first winning season.

“It means we’re winners for the first time in a while around here, and that’s important,” Choate said. “But that’s not the end game, obviously. The idea is to be in a constant state of improvement and keep pressing forward. We’ve got an opportunity to play another game, and then we’ll see what happens.”

Troy Andersen ran for three touchdowns and threw for a fourth to power Montana State past Northern Colorado 35-7 on senior day inside Bobcat Stadium.

UNC (2-9 overall, 2-6 Big Sky Conference) scored on its first possession of the game before Andersen took over, as he finished with 104 yards on the ground and now has 1,092 on the season. His first score came on fourth down following a Jahque Alleyne interception to tie the game at 7-all.

Andersen's second touchdown pass of the season came on an 18-yarder to Logan Jones, one of 11 seniors honored in pregame ceremonies. Andersen's 4-yard dash just before half bumped the lead to 21-7.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Bobcats resumed their scoring onslaught in the fourth quarter. Travis Jonsen ran in a 4-yard touchdown, and Andersen finished the scoring with a 36-yard sprint. The sophomore quarterback now has a Big Sky high 16 rushing touchdowns.

Including Allen's interception, the Bobcats also got three other turnovers: an interception by senior Tyrone Fa'anono and fumble recoveries by senior Tucker Yates and sophomore Jacob Hadley.

Overall, the Bobcats totaled 329 yards of offense, while holding the Bears to just 302. The effort gave MSU back-to-back wins for the second time this season and will go for a third straight victory this week in Missoula to close out the regular season.

Milo Hall of UNC led all rushers with 112 yards on the ground.Troy Andersen ran for three touchdowns and threw for a fourth to power Montana State past Northern Colorado Saturday in Bozeman.

The Bobcats (4-3, 6-4) will now head to Missoula where they’ll meet the Griz for the 118th time. Kickoff inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium is set for noon this Saturday.