Griz, Cats win to set up massive showdown in Missoula

It's official. It's Cat-Griz week, and the stakes couldn't be higher.

But, they're only high because both the No. 3 Montana Grizzlies and No. 5 Montana State Bobcats easily took care of business Saturday.

The Grizzlies rolled to a 34-10 win Saturday night at Portland State. The victory was Montana's sixth straight, pushing its record to 6-1 in the Big Sky and 9-1 overall.

Quarterback Clifton McDowell ran for three touchdowns, Eli Gillman added 97 yards rushing. McDowell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, and his 20-yarder stretched the Grizzlies' lead to 21-3 midway through the second. McDowell added an 8-yard TD run to cap a 75-yard drive with 8:29 left in the third. He finished with eight carries for 72 yards and was 9-of-14 passing for 127 yards.

Montana put up 489 total yards and held the Vikings to 93 yards rushing and 255 yards overall.

Montana State did its part, too.

Celebrating senior day Saturday in Bozeman, the Cats crushed rival Eastern Washington 57-14 to improve to 6-1 in the Big Sky and 8-2 overall.

Senior QB Sean Chambers threw for three TD's and rushed for 92 yards as MSU outgunned EWU 559-334 in total yards.

With the wins Saturday, and an Idaho loss, the Big Sky championship will belong to a Montana team this season, as the winner of this Saturday's Cat-Griz game will take the title and the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. The game will also be the highest-ranked meeting between the Cats and Griz, likely ever.

The 2023 Brawl of the Wild will kick off at Noon this Saturday in Missoula. For more coverage, see the Havre Daily News Thursday and Friday.