Getty Sean Chambers of the Montana State Bobcats .
The Big Sky Conference championship will be on the line when the Montana Grizzlies (9-1 overall, 6-1 BSC) host the Montana State Bobcats (8-2 overall, 6-1 BSC) at Washi-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, November 18.
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Cat-Griz 2023 Live Stream Guide
The game will be televised locally on Scripps/MTN TV, but if you don’t live locally or don’t have those channels, you can watch a live stream of the game on ESPN+:
ESPN+ includes hundreds of college football games in 2023, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch the Cat-Griz 2023 live stream on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Cat-Griz 2023 Preview
This will be the 122nd Brawl of the Wild, and it should be a doozy. The winner will be crowned the Big Sky champ, while also likely receiving a high seed in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The Griz are fresh from taking down the Portland State Vikings, 34-10, last weekend. Montana quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat completed 10-of-15 passes for 131 yards, and the team’s running game was in full effect once again. The Grizzlies finished with 231 yards on the ground. They were also successful on third down attempts, going 9-of-16.
Montana is scoring 29.9 points and 390.1 total yards of offense per game. On the defensive side, the Grizzlies I’ve had a stingy defense this season, surrendering under 16.0 points per contest.
On the other side, the Cats are coming off a 57-14 win over Eastern Washington last weekend. Montana State QB Sean Chambers tossed three TDs, and wideout Ty McCullouch caught two of them.
Montana State is averaging 43.8 points and 488.8 total yards a game on offense. On defense, the Cats are giving up 19.0 points and 317.3 yards per contest.
One key matchup to watch will be the run defense of the Griz, which is allowing just 84.8 yards a game. The Cats are averaging over 301 yards a game on the ground, so something will be bound to give.
Ex-NFL head coach Marty Mornhinweg and Jay Kohn will serve as analysts during the live television broadcast. Kyle Hansen, Ty Gregorak and Scott Breen will serve as sideline reporters.
Montana vs Montana State: What They’re Saying
“This game is big for a lot of reasons and there’s all those Montana natives that are down in our locker room that this game means so much to,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said. “I know the rivalry certainly grows on our guys from out of state. And then by the nature of it being the last game, there’s generally going to be Big Sky Conference and playoff implications on the line. And that’s the way it’s going to play out next Saturday. We have to have a great week of preparation and then go give it EVERYTHING we possibly can.”
“It’s always a scary week with the rivalry coming next and lots of stuff that’s not just the game that people are talking about,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. “Our guys are pretty mature but they hear all of it and you worry about the focus and you worry about the performance. Our guys came out and performed so I was really pleased for them.”