Last week the Bobcats and Grizzlies outclassed their Big Sky Conference football opponents on the road. 

This Saturday both are home and cautious about games against rivals that sit below them in the league standings. 

For the No. 2-ranked Montana Grizzlies, history looms. It’s hard to forget last year’s 52-49 win in Cheney, Wash., which wasn’t over until Jake Olson hauled in a fourth-and-goal TD pass from Logan Fife to put the Griz up 10 with 2:34 left.  

Check that. It wasn’t over until EWU sent its second onside kick of the game out of bounds with 51 seconds remaining. 

“It was a good road win for us, really a hard-fought one all the way into the fourth quarter,” UM tight end Evan Shafer said Monday. “First win on the red field.” 

“That wasn’t a fun game until it was a fun game,” ninth-year Eastern coach Aaron Best said this week. “Seven-hundred yards given up. ... Surprise onside kick. ... They hit a couple fourth downs that stick out.” 

Eastern has as much positive history with the Griz as anyone in the Big Sky, though UM leads the all-time series 31-18-1. Among Eastern’s wins is a 36-35 verdict over the then-No. 2 Griz in the early days of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, in 1990.  

Griz coach Bobby Hauck pointed out the Eagles, even though QB Nate Bell was knocked out of a 35-13 home loss to Sacramento State last week, have won four of six. 

The Eagles are 3-2 in Big Sky games and are 4-5 overall. 

“I know they probably think they should have won two of their first three, which they didn’t,” Hauck said. “But they’re a team that’s played really well lately and we’re well aware of that. Aaron Best does a great job and always has the Eags ready to play us, and it should be a terrific game. 

“I think it will be interesting to see how they come out.” 

Weber limps into Bozeman 

Montana State, ranked No. 3 this week, is home to face the Wildcats of Weber State, who fell behind 28-3 in a 38-17 home loss to the Griz. 

“They certainly had some breakdowns early in that game Saturday,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said. “You know, wide-open guys here and there. I know they’re capable of playing better defense than that, and that’s what we’ll anticipate.” 

Weber State played two quarterbacks against the Griz: junior Dijon Jennings and freshman Kingston Tisdell. Third-year Wildcats coach Mickey Mental implied both would see action Saturday in a radio interview 

Tisdale is among a handful of freshmen calling signals in the Big Sky, along with UC Davis’ Caden Pinnick and Eastern’s Jake Schakel, the probable starter Saturday.  

Mental told the station KSL the key for Tisdale was, “Making sure the game’s not too fast for him. Erratic decisions, turning the ball over, not managing situations.  

“I thought he did a really good job in all of those phases and gave us a chance to throw the ball down the field. Both of those guys, I feel very confident with we just need to put them in good situations going forward.” 

Vigen noted the upheaval Weber has had at QB. 

“Their starter (Jackson Gilkey, out for the season with a broken leg suffered against UC Davis) plays the first several games; their backup goes down,” Vigen said. “Fourth-string guy was in at the tail end of Saturday’s game.” 

“I will say that Jennings has really done some nice things when he’s been in their playing.” 

The Bobcats have won four straight against the Wildcats, all from 2021-2023, including a 33-25 home win in the 2022 playoffs. MSU leads the series 34-23-1. 

Ah Yat vs. History 

Sophomore quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat has passed for 2,534 yards for the Griz this season, which is currently the most in the FCS.  

He is unlikely to lead the subdivision in passing, since a couple guys (including Derek Robertson of unbeaten Monmouth) average better than 350 yards per game. 

Ah Yat’s average of 281.6 is No. 3, though, and leads the Big Sky. If he keeps that up he’d be the first Griz to lead the Big Sky since Drew Miller in 1999 and 2000.  

As for leading the FCS, the last Griz to do it was a guy named Brian Ah Yat, dad to Keali’i, who threw for 328.6 a game in 1996 — and pushed UM’s streak in that category to four seasons because Dave Dickenson did it from 1993-95. 

Oddly, Miller’s 346.1 yards per game didn’t lead the FCS in 1999. He averaged 304.9 in 2000. 

The other Griz to do it: Brent Pease, Montana’s offensive coordinator, in 1986 (305.6). 

 Hello Old Friend 

Eastern’s Best was asked about how Montana is using former Eagle Michael Wortham this season as opposed to the senior receiver’s seasons in Cheney. 

Wortham has 698 yards receiving, 237 rushing and 525 in the return game to sit No. 2 in the FCS in all-purpose yards behind Monmouth running back Rodney Nelson. The Griz have run him out of the Wildcat formation often. 

“It’s something we toyed with but we didn’t lean into it the way Montana has,” Best said. “It’s awesome to see Mike have success. I mean. ... It’d be more awesome to see him have that success in an Eagle uniform. But I cheer for that kid. 

“He’s proven what he proved here; he’s a play maker. He’s a tough tackle. He gets vertical, he makes people miss.” 

Asked if practicing against the senior for three seasons would lend his defense some confidence for Friday, Best wasn’t so sure. 

“I don’t know that that lends us a better chance to tackle him in open space in a different area code than it does in our area code,” he said. 

Cats, Griz are 2-3

The Division I Football Championship Committee released its second FCS Top 10, and the top three are: North Dakota State, Montana State and Montana. 

MSU and UM were ranked 3-4 in the previous committee vote; Lehigh moved into the Top 4 while South Dakota State fell to No. 6 with its two losses. Tarleton State is No. 5; Nos. 7-10 are Tennesee Tech, Monmouth, Harvard and UC Davis.

NOTABLE: Another old friend is Tennessee Tech Kekoa Visperas. The EWU transfer has 21 touchdown passes and just three interceptions for the unbeaten (and fifth-ranked) Golden Eagles. ... UC Davis’ PInnick has the best passing efficiency in the Big Sky at 176.47; No. 2 is MSU junior Justin Lamson at 169.70 with 16 TDs and 2 INTs. ... Lamson is 10th in the FCS and Pinnick sixth. Ah Yat (160.99) is 16th. ... Fife, who had five TD passes against EWU a year ago, was 13 of 39 passing for 112 yards Saturday in New Mexico State’s 35-16 loss at Western Kentucky. Fife has thrown for 1,831 yards and 9 TDs for the 3-5 Aggies, who have lost five of six. ... Keyshawn James-Newby, the Carroll College transfer who left Idaho along with coach Jason Eck for New Mexico, leads the bowl-eligible (6-3) Lobos with 5.5 sacks. ... The Lobos’ leading rushers are Damon Bankston (Weber transfer, 428 yards) and Scottre Humphrey (MSU, 356).