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Mark your calendars: Big Sky announces March Cat-Griz game

There won't be a Brawl of the Wild in three weeks like there was supposed to be. But, if all goes according to plan in the Big Sky Conference, there will be two of them in 2021.

Wednesday morning, the long-awaited Big Sky Conference 2020 schedule, which will actually be played out next spring, was announced, with the Brawl of the Wild set to take place March 27 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Of course, a Cat-Griz clash in the spring is unusual enough, but the game will also be played in the middle of both Montana and Montana State's abbreviated season, something that hasn't happened in nearly 40 years.

As for the Big Sky season as a whole, the league announced Thursday that the season will be a six-game slate, with each team playing three home and three away games, with one bye in the middle and an open date in April, which would allow for makeup games should any need to be postponed due to COVID-19.

Of course, a spring FCS season will actually begin in the winter, and in Montana and many other states in the Big Sky Conference, the season, which includes training camp in January, will be played out in not only the heart of winter, but, in what has already been predicted to be a unusually cold and snowy winter in Montana.

Now surprisingly, the Big Sky sent both the Griz and Cats on the road for their first two games. Montana plays at Northern Arizona Feb. 27 (dome) and at Eastern Washington March 6. The Griz then open their home slate against Cal Poly March 13, before the bye week, then get to play the Cats in Missoula March 27. Montana also plays at Idaho April 3 and finishes the season at home against Portland State April 10.

The Bobcats will open the season at warm weather UC Davis, then play a huge game at conference favorite Weber State March 3. The Cats then come home to play Northern Colorado March 10 for their home-opener before traveling to Missoula March 27. MSU then gets to finish with back-to-back home games, hosting EWU April 3 and Idaho State April 10.

The truncated season for the Cats and Griz does keep most of their traditional rivalries intact. Being a shorter season also helps the league navigate the pandemic, and financial considerations.

"This spring football season certainly will be unique, and I am confident that all who care about our conference share in the sentiment that we cannot wait to watch our student-athletes and coaches compete for a Big Sky title and contend for the FCS championship," Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a statement. "This schedule provides consistency by utilizing much of the original fall 2020 slate, flexibility by allowing space for games to be rescheduled, and sensibility by prioritizing regional matchups that minimize travel and expenses."

The schedule also aligns with the NCAA's timeline to play an FCS Playoff. The playoffs, which have been reduced from 24 to 16 teams this season, is scheduled to begin April 24, with Selection Sunday April 18. The spring playoff schedule runs four-straight weeks and will conclude with the FCS National Championship Game May 15 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Of course, all eyes will be on Missoula in March as the Brawl of the Wild will be played in front of an unknown, but most likely limited amount of fans. Still, the game, for now, is on, and the unique circumstances surrounding that day will only add to the mystique and lore of the Griz-Cat game.

 

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