With loss in rearview mirror, No. 7 Montana set for massive Big Sky clash at No. 2 Sacramento State

MISSOULA — The present goes on for the Montana Grizzlies.

After UM misplaced its first recreation of the season over the weekend to Idaho, the Griz now look towards their subsequent opponent.

That, is Sacramento State, a group at the moment ranked No. 2 within the FCS, and although UM fell to No. 7 within the newest polls, it’s going to nonetheless be a High-10 conflict when the Hornets and Griz meet on Saturday night in Sacramento, California, at Hornet Stadium with a nationwide TV viewers as properly.

“They’ve simply been excellent to date so will probably be an actual take a look at for us,” UM coach Bobby Hauck mentioned. “Actually we’re properly conscious that it is a massive recreation by way of the convention schedule, has been the final couple of years so we’re excited to go down there and play our greatest recreation of the yr, hopefully.”

The Hornets are off to a 6-0 begin for the primary time since 1991, and are 3-0 in Huge Sky Convention play.

Sac State enters the sport because the two-time defending common season convention champs, and this system is 18-1 in league video games since Troy Taylor was employed as head coach.

The Hornets have the highest offense within the league in groups of yards (519.8) and factors (48.3) per recreation, they usually’re led by standout working again Cameron Skattebo in addition to the twin QB system of Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara.

“They’re completely different from each other however the offense is not completely different,” Hauck mentioned of the quarterbacks. “They’ve executed a pleasant job with that, in all probability pretty much as good as I’ve ever seen.”

The Hornets additionally have not trailed but this season, and are the one Division I soccer program within the nation to do exactly that.

However Montana’s protection leads plenty of variety of convention classes as properly — like fewest yards per recreation allowed at 263.5 and sacks with 23 — however on the finish of the day, just one stat issues to Hauck.

“It is essential we rating extra factors than them,” Hauck mentioned. “We are able to discuss crap like that however none of it has any bearing on the sport. We obtained to outplay them, outscore them. They obtained to do the identical to us. Whoever does that’s going to win.”

The Grizzlies have dropped two straight contests to Sac State, together with a loss at dwelling in 2021.

However after that loss final season, Montana responded in an enormous method with six straight victories, and it is about seeing if this yr’s squad can reply once more after Saturday’s stumble towards Idaho.

As a result of in spite of everything, shedding, is a part of the sport.

“Everyone right here has performed and coached a very long time we have all misplaced earlier than,” Hauck mentioned. “We all know we’ll lose video games in some unspecified time in the future in time. Everyone who performs a sport does that so do you simply stop or do you go play, we’ll go play. Hell, you play sports activities, you lose. We are able to play a recreation of playing cards, one among us can lose, cribbage, are we going to play the subsequent one or are we going to stop?”

Kickoff for No. 7 Montana at No. 2 Sacramento State is at 9 p.m. Mountain Time, 8 p.m. Pacific. The sport will air on ESPN2.