In the FCS Game of the Week, No. 16 North Dakota heads to No. 5 Montana. The Fighting Hawks knocked off the Grizzlies 27-24 last year in comeback fashion. The Griz were ranked No. 4 at the time.
A Big Sky vs. Missouri Valley Football Conference clash always draws intrigue. And when it includes two ranked teams with playoff aspirations, the stakes get even higher.
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Montana vs. UND On TV
The matchup between Montana and UND can be watched on ESPN+, Midco Sports, and Montana Television Network stations.
The game will kick off at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday, Sept. 13. The contest is taking place at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana.
Montana vs. UND Preview
A good barometer for two teams that have moved up in the national rankings.
UND drew headlines when it nearly beat FBS No. 17 Kansas State, losing 38-35 in the final minute. The Fighting Hawks then thrashed Portland State 50-20, with PSU’s two touchdowns coming in garbage time.
After a Week 1 bye, Montana is 1-0, defeating D2 Central Washington 42-17. The Grizzlies led 21-17 at halftime before dominating the second half and pulling away.
Montana’s offense has a chance to be very good and exciting. Keali’i Ah Yat has the reins at quarterback, and while he made some inexperienced errors last week, he showed good command of the offense. Coupled with an experienced offensive line, the elite Eli Gillman at running back, and all-purpose king Michael Wortham giving defensive coordinators headaches, the Griz look like an exciting unit.
My concern with Montana in this one is run defense.
It’s what cost the Griz last year, blowing a 24-7 lead at UND and losing 27-24. Montana couldn’t get off the field as the Fighting Hawks chipped away on the ground to the tune of 253 rushing yards. Montana has certainly upgraded at linebacker this year. Its d-line is still uncertain, though. Last week, Central Washington ran for 221 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
UND’s offensive line is one year better than last season, returning most of its unit. The Hawks are just as good at running back, going three deep with Xavier Leigh, Gaven Ziebarth, and Sawyer Seidl. UND also upgraded at quarterback. Jerry Kaminski is just a sophomore, but he hasn’t looked like one in his first two starts. He has thrown for 395 yards and five touchdowns (no interceptions) while rushing for 74 yards and three scores.
Going into Missoula is no easy feat. Things can avalanche quickly in the best home environment in the FCS. Montana’s defense especially feeds off of it. So you combine the crowd noise and the pressure-heavy Griz defense, and opposing offenses can struggle to tread water.
I was leaning Montana for most of this week. But similar to my gut feel last week in successfully calling West Georgia to beat No. 22 Nicholls, I have a feeling the Hawks pull off the upset this week. UND’s ground game is the perfect antidote to the crowd noise — slowing the game down and controlling time of possession. The Hawks have already performed well in a hostile road environment this year. Montana, meanwhile, has had some slow starts and upset losses in previous seasons. With so many new players, the same may happen this year.
Prediction: UND 28-24
