GAME #11: Bobcats Travel West To Renew Ancient Rivalry

Saturday, November 20

Missoula, Mont.

12 p.m. (Noon)

Montana State University

Montana

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Photo by: Garrett Becker

11/19/2021 8:35:00 AM | Football

MSU Game Notes vs. UM

It's been a long time, but when the Cats and Griz get together Saturday everything will seem normal

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Montana – Brent Vigen didn't need much time on the job as Montana State's head football coach to hear about the importance of the annual Cat-Griz football game.

"It wasn't my first day but it might have been my second day" when Vigen began receiving messages and hearing from people how where the rivalry showdown should fit on his priority list. "It became clear pretty early on where this game stands in this state. I may not have heard about it every single day, but it's been almost every day."

Vigen gets a first-hand taste of the Treasure State's rivalry on Saturday when his Montana State Bobcats (9-1 overall, 7-0 Big Sky) visit Montana (8-2 overall, 5-2 Big Sky) with a share of the Big Sky Conference title on the line. A win clinches that for the Bobcats. Kickoff is at 12 noon.

Focus is sharper and emotions perhaps more raw this week, but Vigen said the attention in the Bobcat program is where it belongs. "It's important for me," he said, "and I understand that, but it's really about the players, and those guys winning the game, those guys doing everything they can. And it's about us as coaches putting them in the right position with good decision-making on Saturday. That's what it's all about."

For essentially the entire state, the week leading to the 120^th meeting of the state's two Division I universities is as meaningful as the hype implies. Vigen embraces that. "It obviously runs deep, not only with the Montana kids but with our entire team," he said. "And that's what you want, you want to be at programs with rivalries like this. I haven't been part of one of these games yet, but I suspect this is right up there with the best (rivalries) in the country. When it's an in-state deal, it doesn't cross state boundaries, and when there are so many Montana kids on both sides, it brings that level of intensity to a place where a lot of rivalries don't see."

The Bobcats face powerful Montana on Saturday, a team that whipped a nationally-ranked Washington Huskies team in the season's first game and has mostly kept on winning in spite of a spate of injuries that could cripple other programs. The Grizzlies dropped mid-season games at Eastern Washington, in a game that went down to UM's final play, and at home against Sacramento State. Both those teams appear locked into playoff berths.

Vigen calls Montana a squad with similar end goals as his team's, even if the approaches are different. "I think they'd like to be balanced on offense, and defensively stop the run and get after the passer," he said. "They do it differently (than MSU), but I think it's a lot of the things that we'd like to say about the makeup of our team. They're playing really good football right now."

Montana's mid-season losses came with starting quarterback Cam Humphrey battling injuries, and that piled onto a squad that had previously lost starting offensive linemen and a host of running backs. Rebuilding on the fly, Xavier Harris (68.7 yards per game) and Junior Bergen (46.1) have turned into solid rushing threats, while Humphrey's return has established a diverse aerial attack featuring Mitch Roberts (team-high 40 catches and 581 receiving yards), Samuel Akem (41 for 524) and Cole Grossman (30 for 407).

"Offensively they've gone through a lot of personnel," Vigen said. "Whether they're back to being settled in I'm not sure, but whether it's been Humphrey or Brown at quarterback they've both been able to run their offense and they're not so different that their offense has to change a whole lot. They've played a host of young running backs and it seems like they're getting healthier at that position. They have a few different targets at receiver and a tight end that's emerging."

UM's defense is likely the best in the FCS at stopping the run. While safety Robby Hauck (101 tackles), edge Patrick O'Connell (17.5 TFL) and linebacker Jace Lewis (76 tackles, 12 for a loss) garner headlines and awards, the team features run-stuffers up front that set the tone for the Grizzlies defense. Alex Gubner has 7.5 tackles-for-loss. As a team, UM has 84 tackles-for-loss.

"They're a very aggressive on defense, they play an attack style, they have a couple of guys in O'Connell and Lewis that are Buck Buchanan Watch List guys and it's well-deserved," Vigen said. "Robby Hauck has over 100 tackles, I think, and he's literally all over the place, and then he realigns. (Justin) Ford has all those (eight) interceptions, I think it's eight games straight now. They're finding ways to disrupt, tackle well, then turn people over. Those are things we're going to have to contend with."

Montana enters Saturday's game on a four-game win streak, having largely survived their injuries. The Bobcats, riding a nine-game surge of wins, were hit hard by injuries last weekend. The status of running backs Isaiah Elijah Elliott are murky as rivalry week dawns, and starting right tackle TJ Session is out for at least the next couple of weeks. Ifanse's presence, with over 3,000 rushing yards in his career, is a foundational element of MSU's offense.

Defensively, the Bobcats ride disruptive nose tackle Chase Benson inside, while ends Daniel Hardy and Amandre Williams have combined for 23 tackles-for-loss and 12.5 sacks. Troy Andersen (104 tackles) and Callahan O'Reilly (61) form a linebacker duo formidable in its own right, and safety Ty Okada (63 tackles, four for a loss, two interceptions) is arguably the best at his position in the conference.

Big games are often decided by special teams, and UM's Malik Flowers rivals Weber State's Rashid Shaheed as the top return men in the FCS. Montana State counters with punter Bryce Leighton and kicker Blake Glessner, who have both effectively limited opposing return specialists. "On special teams," Vigen said, "in Flowers they have as dangerous a returner as there is in our conference. There's a lot to contend with."

The stage is set for what could be a classic Cat-Griz clash, one which Vigen knows about but has never actually felt. "Going around to a lot of communities across the state this spring, that's the first thing people mention. And I get it. In each one of those communities there's a divide, and you want to be on the right side of that matchup every year. As a competitor these are the games you want to be a part of."

And he knows the annual rivalry showdown is not a one-day-a-year proposition. "This is not just one Saturday in November. It's an every-day affair when you start when you talk about recruiting and all that goes into trying to gain the edge across the state in every corner, in every small town and every big town. You want to have that edge, and it ultimately plays out on a Saturday but it's something that plays out every day."

Saturday's game airs on ROOT Sports throughout the Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions, and AT&T Sports Net in Pittsburgh. The game streams on ESPN+ in all other areas, and is available on the Bobcat Radio Network throughout Montana and the Varsity Network on-line.

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