Aggies head to Missoula for critical Big Sky football showdown
Conference championship, FCS playoff bid on the line for Aggies and Griz
UC Davis head football coach Tim Plough says if you want to be successful in the Big Sky Conference, "both teams in Montana" are at the top of the list of who you have to beat.
The No. 4 Aggies will have the opportunity to do exactly that in the next eight days, beginning Saturday at No. 7 Montana, then coming home next Saturday against No. 2 Montana State.
"Everything is setting up for the home stretch," said Plough.
"We've worked hard all season to be in a position where these games would really mean something. We're looking forward to a great challenge playing in one of the best venues in college football at any level."
Kickoff at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, in the shadow of Mount Sentinel, is 7:15 p.m. (PST), which is 8:15 p.m. in Missoula.
The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast live on Sactown Radio, 1140 AM, with Scott Marsh and Scott Gordon on the call.
Washington-Grizzly lists 25,203 as its capacity, but when the fire marshals weren't looking, last season's Brawl of the Wild against Montana State drew 27,178.
A packed house is assured once again Saturday night. The weather forecast is for a possibility of rain with temperatures dipping into the mid-30s by game time.
Plough will be matching wits and game plans with Montana legend Bobby Hauck, a native of Big Timber who played for the Griz, graduating in 1987 before being named head coach prior to the 2003 season.
Hauck immediately repaid his alma mater for its loyalty to a native son by winning seven straight conference championships and posting a 47-6 Big Sky record during that time. He also took the Griz to the national championship game three times in those seven years, coming up short each time.
Lured away to the FBS, Hauck was head coach at UNLV for five years, spent several years assisting at San Diego State, then returned to Missoula for a second stint as head coach in 2018.
Last year Hauck had the Griz back in the title game where they dropped a 23-3 decision to South Dakota State.
Montana does have two national championships at the FCS level, the first in 1995 under Don Read and the second in 2001 under Joe Glenn.
This version of the Griz knows how to score points in bunches, with single-game totals this fall of 59, 46, 52, 48 and 42 points.
Montana is 7-2 overall and 4-1 in conference, while the Aggies are 8-1 and 5-0 and riding an eight-game win streak.
"He's obviously the greatest coach in the history of the conference," said Plough of Hauck. "You can't really think of Montana without thinking of Bobby Hauck."
Plough and Hauck, of course, will not be suited up for their respective alma maters, but there will be plenty of talent on both sides of the line of scrimmage for this one.