Cats, Griz face familiar rivals in FCS round two

Round two. The Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are both still alive as the FCS playoffs continue this weekend.

The Grizzlies (8-4) stormed back to beat Southeast Missouri State 34-24 in Missoula late last Saturday night, and the win advanced Montana to the next round, where the Griz will face defending FCS champion North Dakota State Saturday in Fargo.

The Griz and Bison have a rich history as two of the winningest programs in the FCS history, but they haven't squared off since 2015. That season, the Griz and Bison met twice, with Montana winning the season-opening FCS showdown in Missoula, but the Bison got revenge with a 37-6 win the second round of the playoffs in Fargo.

Montana was an underdog then, and the Griz will be a heavy underdog against the third-seeded Bison Saturday. Despite injuries, NDSU has once again been a rushing juggernaut this season, led by fullback Hunter Luepke. TaMerik Williams is also a big running threat behind NDSU's massive offensive line, while quarterback Cam Miller can run it but is also an accurate passer.

Defensively, NDSU is as good as it gets in the FCS as well, and Montana's banged-up offense will need to play much better than it did in last week's win against SEMO, where the Griz got a pair of special teams touchdowns. Still, quarterback Lucas Johnson, tight end Cole Grossman and receivers Malik Flowers and Mitch Roberts will look to play the way they did in the second half of last Saturday's comeback win, and if they do that, the Griz look to be in contention in the fourth quarter in what should be another historic meeting with the Bison.

"I hope when they see us, they see a tough football team." UM head coach Bobby Hauck said of the Bison.

Montana is a tough team and so is Montana State. But the fourth-seeded Bobcats (10-1) have a tough playoff-opener as well. After a bye in the first round, MSU is set for a rematch against Weber State. The ninth-ranked Wildcats lost in Bozeman back in October, in what was a wild game in which the Wildcats gave up four safeties.

Still, Weber State (10-2) went on to post a strong season, and is coming to Bozeman fresh off a hard-fought, 38-31 win over North Dakota at home last Saturday. A strong running team behind tailback Josh Davis and a big offensive line, the Wildcats also look to quarterback Bronson Barron and return specialist Abraham Williams to make big plays against Montana State's top-notch defense, led by linebacker Callhan O'Reilly.

Of course, defense is what Weber State will need to play, because the Bobcats are rolling on offense. Last time out, MSU rushed for 429 yards in its record-breaking 55-21 win over Montana two weeks ago in Bozeman, and now, the Cats may be even better. That's because injured running back Isaiah Ifanse plans to play for the first time since a knee injury sidelined him all the way back in November of 2021. Ifanse only added to an incredible MSU running attack, spearheaded by All-Conference quarterbacks Tommy Mellott and Sean Chambers.

"We've built him up physically, endurance-wise over the last several weeks," MSU head coach Brent Vigen said to 406 sports about Ifanse. "What is he compared to what he was last year physically? I think he's got a chance to be better."

That's a scary thought for Weber State and the rest of the FCS, because even without Ifanse, MSU's offense was pretty much unstoppable. And in front of a sold-out Bobcat Stadium Saturday afternoon, the rematch with Weber State will be intense.

The Bobcats and Weber State will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Bozeman. The Grizzlies meet NDSU Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Fargo. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.