Tough openers for Bobcats, Grizzlies

Fall camp is over. Depth charts have been released. Press conference are done. All that's left for the Montana State Bobcats and Montana Grizzlies is to kick off the 2019 season.

And for both teams, that comes Saturday afternoon on the road.

The 14th-ranked Bobcats will play their season-opener at Big 12 Juggernaut Texas Tech Saturday afternoon, while the No. 25 Grizzlies kick off year two of Bobby Hauck's return with a rivalry game at Missouri Valley Conference power South Dakota.

Both games will be tough, but, both teams feel ready.

Montana State, under fourth-year head coach Jeff Choate, will feel little pressure against the Red Raiders. After all, MSU is 22-point underdogs against the FBS power. And while the Cats aren't going to Lubbock expecting to lose, they know, despite a defense that boasts stars like Bryce Sterk, Troy Andersen and Brayden Konkol, the Red Raiders are traditionally one of the highest-scoring teams in the FBS. Tech has a run-and-shoot spread offense, and it will certainly give the Bobcats plenty of fits on Saturday.

Montana State is also an underdog because, not only are the Cats and FCS school, they are also breaking in a red-shirt freshman quarterback against a Big 12 opponent. Casey Bauman is making his first college start under the most intense of circumstances, so, expect a heavy dose of sophomore tailback Isaiah Ifanse, as well as plenty of carries for Andersen.

And while the Bobcats are, in the eyes of many, supposed to lose their season-opener, the same can not be said for the Grizzlies against USD.

Montana is looking to set the tone for 2019, and will do it against a traditional FCS rival. The Griz are also trying to put last year's 6-5 record, a bitter third straight loss to the Bobcats, and a third straight year of no playoffs behind them, but, doing it at USD won't be easy.

Sure, Montana is bringing a high-powered offense, led by star QB Dalton Sneed and a bevy of talented receivers, and certainly, the Griz are confident on defense, with the return of All-American linebacker Dante Olson, as well as senior DT Jesse Sims among others. But, USD has a star QB of its own in Austin Simmons, who threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for 500-plus more in USD's 4-7 campaign a season ago. The Coyotes also return a total of eight starters on offense, and while their defense is young, they too have high hopes for the 2019 season, and have no intentions of losing their home-opener, especially to a Montana squad that has traditionally torutred them over the years.

"It starts with their quarterback," Hauck said at this week's football presser. "He's a really fine player. He threw for a ton of yards throughout his career and a lot last year. They have all their skill players back, for the most part, on that side of the ball. So, you know, they'll be hard to get a handle on. They have the ability to put points up in bunches. I think when your best player is your quarterback, it makes you a dangerous football team offensively."

Montana will beet South Dakota at 1 p.m. M.S.T. Saturday in Vermillion, South Dakota. The game can be viewed locally on SWX affiliates. The Bobcats play at Texas Tech at 2 p.m. M.S.T Saturday in Lubbock. That game can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest. The Cats make their home debut next Saturday night against Western Illinois, while the Griz are also home next Saturday night to face North Alabama.