Or they will be - the University of Albany football team is the final cog to the Montana Grizzlies' 2007 schedule, which was released Thursday.
The Division I-AA “mid-major” out of New York state will be one of seven home games for the Griz this fall. Montana will have four road games, all in the last six weeks of the season.
Games against Weber State on Sept. 29 - that is Homecoming - and Eastern Washington on Oct. 6 complete a five-game road stand.
There are no guarantee games against BCS schools, though Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said Kansas State was a distinct possibility. There were attempts to set up games with an Ivy League school, two-time Division I Football Championship Subdivision champion Appalachian State and Great West powers North Dakota State and Cal Poly.
Dates and location were problems: Appalachian State's schedule didn't match up, and NDSU and Cal Poly were trying to find home games.
Which brings us back to Albany and Southern Utah.
“Southern Utah and Albany should bring contrasting styles to Washington-Grizzly Stadium since they are from other FCS conferences, which could be valuable to our team down the road,” Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said in a release. “Both are very well-respected and should be very competitive opponents.”
It will be Albany's second trip to Missoula. The Great Danes ventured west of the Mississippi for the first time in 2002, and absorbed a 45-7 loss to the Griz. The mid-major tag goes on FCS programs that offer few or no athletic scholarships. Most stay home when the playoffs roll around.
But the 2007 Great Danes should be much better. They went 7-4 last year, including wins over then-No. 11 Delaware (17-10) and No. 23 Central Connecticut (19-14). Albany also boasts a pair of Sports Network Mid-Major All-Americans in linebacker Colin Disch and defensive end Andre Coleman.
The 220-pound Disch is a two-time mid-major All-American, and the two-time defensive player of the year for the Northeast Conference. He led a defense that ranked third in the FCS - formerly I-AA - in scoring defense at 13 points per game, and fourth in total defense with an average 240.8 yards allowed per game.
Southern Utah of the Great West Conference is also back on the schedule after a four-year absence. The Griz last played the Thunderbirds in 2002, winning a 68-45 slugfest. Southern Utah returns 19 starters from a team that went 3-8 in 2006. The T-Birds had three common opponents with the Griz, and ended up with close losses to Weber State (18-13), Cal Poly (18-14) and South Dakota State (31-21). Montana beat all three.
Fort Lewis, a Division II program, made its first trip to Missoula just two seasons ago, and lost 55-0. The Skyhawks will be replacing quarterback Matt Gutierrez and 16 other seniors off a team that went 7-4 in 2006.
“Fort Lewis is a program on the rise, as is evident by their success last year,” O'Day said. “They are definitely much improved over the last time that the Skyhawks visited Missoula.”
The Grizzlies' eight-game Big Sky Conference slate begins Sept. 29 with Weber and ends Nov. 17 in Bozeman, with the 107th Griz-Cat game. No I-A/BCS teams dot the schedule with “money games,” so the most daunting part is the end.
A home game against Northern Colorado is bracketed by road games at Sacramento State on Oct. 13 and Northern Arizona on Oct. 27. Then the Griz set up they hope is a 15th consecutive run to the FCS playoffs with a home game against powerful Portland State on Nov. 3., and road games at Idaho State and Montana State.
“Although the road schedule is only four games, all will be very challenging,” said O'Day, who saw fifth-year coach Bobby Hauck lead UM to a 12-2 mark in 2006, including an 8-0 record in Big Sky play. “Especially the 107th meeting between the Griz and Cats in Bozeman.”
NOTES: The Griz are 2-1 all-time against Southern Utah. The Thunderbirds beat Montana 45-35 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in 1998. Š There is no home-and-home with Albany, which is getting $125,000 to come to Missoula. Š The Grizzlies open spring drills on March 12, and conclude them with a scrimmage in Billings on April 14. Š Montana's 14 straight playoff appearances is an FCS/I-AA record.
2007 Montana Grizzlies football schedule
All times MST/subject to change
Date Opponent Time (Mtn.)
September 1 Southern Utah 1:05 p.m.
September 8 Fort Lewis College 1:05 p.m.
September 15 Open
September 22 Albany 1:05 p.m.
September 29 Weber State* (HC) 1:05 p.m.
October 6 E. Washington* 1:05 p.m.
October 13 at Sacramento State* 3:05 p.m.
October 20 Northern Colorado* 1:05 p.m.
October 27 at Northern Arizona* 3:05 p.m.
November 3 Portland State* 12:05 p.m.
November 10 at Idaho State* TBA
November 17 at Montana State* 12:05 p.m.
November24 1st Round Playoffs TBA
December 1 Quarterfinals TBA
December 8 Semifinals TBA
December 14 Championship Chattanooga, Tenn.
Home games in bold *Big Sky Conference game
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