Griz Face the Gauntlet, Can Cats Continue Perfection?

The FCS Playoffs continue to heat up this weekend for the Cats and the Griz.

Both beasts of the Rockies will be active this Saturday, as Montana and Montana State continue their hunt for the FCS Champion title. The Grizzlies (ranked #14) took on Tennessee State last week, and they will be facing a gauntlet as they have to go through South Dakota State this week before facing a possible matchup with North Dakota State later on. Meanwhile, the Cats will be taking on UT Martin after a first-round bye last week.

UM had a strong performance last week against Tennessee State, with their defense recovering after the performance against the Cats and holding the Tigers to just 3 total first-half points. Their ground game was the key contributor on offense, nearly hitting 300 yards on the day behind the legs of Eli Gillman

The Griz face SDSU on Saturday.

SDSU sees their 13th consecutive FCS Playoffs appearance this year, the second longest streak in the nation. The Grizzlies look to cut the Jackrabbits’ run short, having historically dominated South Dakota State, leading the series against the SDSU 8-1.

Not included in that stat however is that the two have only met 2 times in the last 10 years, with the single SDSU win coming in last year’s championship game where the Jackrabbits won 23-3.

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The Grizzlies are looking to get revenge for last year, but they’ll have their hands full with the 10-2 SDSU squad on the hunt for the threepeat. Kickoff will be on Saturday the 7th at 2:00 pm EST, with the weather predicted to be 46 and have up to 30 mph gusts.

The Cats host Tennessee's UT Martin.

The Cats will look to pounce on UT Martin after getting a well-deserved week of rest after going perfect on the regular season. Montana State will look to add a national title to the 2024 accomplishments list, with their playoff campaign beginning at 3:00 pm EST on Saturday the 7th.

The #1 offense in FCS will look to continue to run over the competition, boasting 400 more rushing yards than the #2 team in Davidson (3471). The only time these two met was in 2021 when the Cats took the victory 26-7. UT Martin will be looking to write a Cinderella story, but they’ll have to brave the Rockies under a 49-degree and overcast Big Sky.