Paul Brott, Montana State’s senior defensive tackle, was asked Monday how he educated out-of-state players on the rivalry that is the Brawl of the Wild.

“I tell them to watch ‘Miracle in Missoula’ first,” Brott said, then added: “They don’t really understand it until they’re in it, and then they start to get it.” 

Saturday will mark the fifth straight Cat-Griz game that decided the Big Sky Conference football title. Kickoff is at noon Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. 

There was less at stake in 2018, which was Bobby Hauck’s first season of his second tenure as Griz coach. Montana had trouble holding leads that season, and that included the Brawl: The Bobcats rallied from a 22-0 deficit to lead 29-25 on a touchdown from Glacier High product Logan Jones with 2:19 left. 

The Griz returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield and got to MSU’s 1-yard line in the closing seconds. Everyone at Washington-Grizzly that day remembers what happened next, including Brott: Tucker Yates and Grant Collins jarred the ball loose from UM running back Adam Eastwood and Derek Marks recovered. 

The Griz ended up 6-5 while the Bobcats ended up with a playoff berth and a documentary about the game. 

“I was still pretty young when Tuck made that play,” Brott said Monday. “I remember my mom jumping out of the stands and juking a security guard to go celebrate with my brothers.” 

Mitch Brott was an offensive tackle on that MSU team; Wilson Brott lined up at tight end. 

Sons of Grizzlies 

The Grizzlies also have legacies, including running back Talon Reynolds (son of Chase), Kash Goicoechea (son of Sean), linebacker Geno Leonard (grandson of Gene) and linebacker Grady Walker (son of Travis). 

The Griz legacy with the largest footprint this season is senior safety TJ Rausch, son of Troy and the former Ann Lake, a Lady Griz who was the 1993-94 Big Sky Conference MVP. 

Rausch is fourth on the Grizzlies with 48 tackles; his two interceptions in last week’s 63-17 Griz win at Portland State were his first of 2025, to go with a fumble recovery. 

Leonard has 14 tackles to go with an interception.  Walker has two tackles; Reynolds has four rushes for 6 yards.

Old Friend Alert 

Craig Haley of theanalyst.com has an interesting bracketology: The Grizzlies get a No. 3 seed and a bye in the FCS playoffs and draw the winner of a first-round game between Stephen F. Austin and Southeastern Louisiana. 

Stephen F. Austin is where Sam Vidlak landed following his 2023 transfer from Montana. Now a senior, Vidlak — a finalist for the 2024 Walter Payton Award — has thrown for 1,883 yards and 15 touchdowns for a team that has won nine straight. 

The 9-2 Lumberjacks are ranked 14th and 13th in the FCS polls and have earned the Southland Conference title.  

Vidlak spent single seasons at Oregon State and Boise State before landing at UM. 

Miss the Rohan 

Speaking of transfers, one wonders how much Rohan Jones might have helped this year’s Montana State offense. 

He was a main target of Tommy Mellott a year ago, catching nine touchdown passes. 

Then he transferred to the Arkansas. The Razorbacks, 2-8 and under the interim leadership of Bobby Petrino, Jr., have seen Jones average 31.6 yards on his 11 receptions, four of which have gone for TDs. He also has one rushing touchdown. 

This isn’t to say MSU’s current offense isn’t humming with Justin Lamson at quarterback. 

“A year ago it was like watching Navy,” Hauck said of the Mellott-led Bobcats of 2024. “This year it’s more of a spread offense.” 

Arkansas is Jones’ third program; the Canadian transferred to MSU after two seasons at Maine.