The Griz released their football schedule for next season, and it's safe to say it'll be tough: They open at Cal Poly on Sept. 6, have three nonleague home games and then play four of their first six Big Sky Conference games on the road.
“It'll be a challenging one,” Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said Friday. “Cal Poly will be really good. Eastern Washington will be really good. There will be a lot of good games on that schedule.”
“We wanted to make sure we were allowing for critical time, in case any extra is needed for the addition,” O'Day said. “It is scheduled to be finished Aug. 15. But if there are any delays, two more weeks can make a big difference.”
The trip to Cal Poly would be the Grizzlies' first since 2001, when they prevailed 31-17 in San Luis Obispo. It's the start of a five-game contract with the Mustangs, who'll play three games in Missoula from 2009-11, then host the Griz again in 2012.
Cal Poly went 7-4 last season, and returns three players who were critical to the Mustangs' 35-21 win over the Griz in the 2005 FCS playoffs: receiver Ramses Barden, a Walter Camp All-America, running back James Noble and quarterback Matt Brennan, though Brennan lost his starting job to JC transfer Jonathan Daily, the top-rated passer in the FCS.
That 2005 win is the Mustangs' only victory over Montana in 12 games, but Cal Poly coach Rich Ellerson has something good going. The Griz needed a last-minute field goal from Dan Carpenter to beat Cal Poly 10-9 at WGS in 2006.
After hosting Southern Utah, a team the Griz beat 37-17 in 2007, Montana hosts a third Great West Conference team, UC-Davis, for homecoming on Sept. 20. The Aggies will play the Griz for just the third time, and first since 1995. Montana beat UC Davis 41-20 en route to its first FCS title that season.
Central Washington, which lost to two-time national champ Grand Valley State 41-21 on Saturday in the D-II quarterfinals, is scheduled to visit Sept. 27. We should note here that Montana scheduled the Wildcats for the 2005 and 2006 seasons, and bought them out both times. The Wildcats have yet play the Griz in football.
Yet O'Day seems to be happy with seven home games.
“We have a basic philosophy that we follow, (though) that can change from year to year,” he said. “We try to find the best possible opponents while at the same time try to attract six or seven opponents to Missoula, which isn't always possible.
“Any time we get seven, it's a real asset to the community and helps us out in so many ways.”
The conference slate is daunting, starting with road games against two of the Big Sky's hotter teams at the end of 2007, Weber State and Eastern, on Oct. 4 and Oct. 11. The Griz, who have 16 straight wins in league play, are also at Northern Colorado on Oct. 25 and at Portland State on Nov. 8.
Montana hosts Sacramento State on Oct. 18, Northern Arizona on Nov. 1 and finishes with home games against Idaho State and Montana State. The 108th “Brawl of the Wild” will be at 12:05 p.m. on Nov. 22.
“Most likely, we will host more home football games than any other FCS school,” O'Day said. “This is a real testament to the support provided by our fans.”
They should appear in record numbers again. The Grizzlies' seven regular-season games in 2007 drew an average of 23,596, above the listed capacity of 23,183.
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