Cats, Griz play big home games

It’s homecoming week in Montana, and both the Montana State Bobcats and the Montana Grizzlies have huge showdown at home on Saturday.

In Bozeman, the No. 8 Bobcats host No. 16 Northern Arizona in a critical Big Sky Conference clash, and both teams are riding high coming into Saturday’s tilt at Bobcat Stadium.

Last Saturday, MSU (1-0, 3-2) opened Big Sky play with a thrashing of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. In that game, the Cats welcomed back senior quarterback DeNarius McGhee from a shoulder injury, and he lit the Green and White up in one half of football. Cody Kirk also scored five first-half touchdowns. But MSU will have to ramp up its play on both sides of the ball Saturday. NAU (1-0, 3-1) trumped Montana 34-16 in Flagstaff, Ariz., and the Lumberjacks did it with a stingy defense. NAU’s defense is second in the Big Sky in total defense, while MSU’s defense will be on high alert, as the Jacks are led by All-American running back Zach Bauman and sophomore quarterback Kyren Poe.

The No. 10 Grizzlies (0-1, 3-1) meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from last Saturday night’s devastating loss. UM’s top-rated defense yielded 400 yards of offense to NAU and on offense, Montana lost three fumbles, including two that were returned for touchdowns.

Now comes Portland State, which possesses the Big Sky’s top scoring offense. The Vikings average 41 points per game and are led by star running back D.J. Adams. PSU is a run-first team and Adams is gaining 126 per outing so far this season, so for the second straight week, Montana’s defense, which allows just 17 points and 105 yards rushing per game, will be challenged. The Griz can also ill-afford to fall to 0-2 in the Big Sky so Saturday us a must-win.

Saturday’s game in Bozeman between MSU and NAU kicks off at 2:05 p.m. and can be seen statewide on Max Media. The Griz’ game with Portland State Saturday in Missoula is slated to kick off at 1:35 p.m. and will be televised on Root Sports.