Griz set to open against Missouri State

(Gogriz.com) The time for talk is over, and now the Montana Grizzlies officially begin the tall task of working toward a second-straight Big Sky Championship and meeting sky-high expectations after last year’s run to the national championship.

Talk is cheap, and to meet those expectations the Griz will have to, as the saying goes, take it one game at a time if they are to reach the same highs as they did a year ago.

Standing in their way this week are the Missouri State Bears, a formidable foe out of the always-salty Missouri Valley Football Conference that is set to move up to the FBS level next year and make some noise on the way out the door as they bring 20 returning starters with them on their first-ever trip to Missoula.

Montana head coach Bobby Hauck has his Grizzlies right where he wants them, however, with UM returning in 2024 as the defending Big Sky Champion after winning the program’s 19th league title and advancing to the FCS Championship game for the 8th time in school history.

With 16 starters and 35 lettermen back from that team, plus 18 players with FBS experience on their resumes, Montana has reloaded and is gunning for another shot at a title. The Griz are picked to win the Big Sky, but nowhere are expectations higher than in the locker room where the goal since Jan. 8 has been a return to Frisco.

Missouri State is the first of two MVFC teams UM has on the nonconference slate, and a third team lined up to come to Missoula who made a playoff appearance last season in Western Carolina. To reach their goals, the Griz will have to bring their A-game from the start this season, and Missouri State will the team’s first tough test of the new year.

It’s a blackout in Missoula, with the Griz and Bears set to kick off at 7 p.m. under the lights at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. It’s a venue that has been playing host to parties for the last week, with Pearl Jam, Tyler Childers, and P!nk playing sold-out shows in the home of Griz football.

Montana is hoping to put on a show of its own and move to 1-0 on the season.