Cats, Griz will play on national tv again this fall

With Root Sports no longer in the picture, so to speak, there will be some new viewing options for fans of Montana State and Montana football this fall.

But for the second-straight season, both the Grizzlies and Bobcats will be on nationally-televised games on the ESPN Networks.

Montana State, which made it all the way to the FCS national championship game back in January, will host UC Davis in a national TV game on ESPN2 or ESPNU Oct. 1 at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. The game will kick off at 8:15 p.m., which will be the second known night game for the Cats this coming fall.

Last year, MSU beat Weber State in a night-game thriller in Ogden, Utah, a game that was televised on ESPN2 on a Friday night.

For the second-straight season, the Montana Grizzlies will also be on TV under the lights on ESPN. The Grizzlies play at defending Big Sky champion Sacramento State Oct. 22, a game that will be aired nationally on ESPN2 and kick off at 9 p.m. M.S.T. Like the Cats, it's the second-straight ESPN game for the Griz, who lost a 34-28 matchup at Eastern Washington on ESPN2 on a Friday night last fall.

ESPN began partnering with the Big Sky Conference last fall as the premier streaming service for the league. All Big Sky games are carried live on ESPN+ again this season. Television rights for all other Big Sky games are being worked out for the remainder of the season.

The Bobcats open their season Sept. 3 against McNeese State in Bozeman, while the Grizzlies open their season on the same night at home against Northwestern State. Most game times and TV options have not been released for either program.