Getty Montana seeks a key early-season Big Sky Conference win.
Montana takes on Portland State in a key early-season Big Sky Conference matchup on Saturday, September 24.
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The game (4 p.m. ET start time) will be televised locally on MTN, but if you don’t live locally or don’t have that channel, anyone in the US can watch Portland State vs Montana live on ESPN+ right here:
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Portland State vs Montana Preview
Second-ranked Montana (3-0) faces Portland State (0-2) in a Big Sky Conference matchup that the Grizzlies can ill afford to lose on Saturday.
Montana made easy work of Portland State last year 48-7, but recent history shows that the Vikings can hang with the Griz. In 2019, Montana only won 38-23, a bounce-back win from a 22-20 loss in 2018.
This year’s Montana squad has won comfortably in three games thus far. The Griz dominated Northwestern State 47-0 in the season opener followed by a 24-7 win against South Dakota. Montana also beat Indiana State 49-14.
“It’s been fun. All of these guys are awesome, they make coming to practice really fun and going out there and being able to play with them,” Griz quarterback Lucas Johnson said via Montana Sports’ Kyle Hansen. “Now that conference is about to start, we’re all ready to turn it up a notch and get going.”
Portland State might come in winless, but the Vikings have only played FBS teams in that span. The Vikings nearly upset San Jose State before losing 21-17 in the season opener. The Spartans scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:11 left in the game. The Vikings couldn’t cause the same trouble at Washington in 52-6 on September 10.
Vikings quarterback Dante Chachere leads the offense with 320 yards passing and two touchdowns versus two interceptions. He also has 88 yards rushing this fall.
Jalynnee McGee leads Vikings running backs with 78 yards on 16 carries. Beau Kelly is the Vikings’ go-to receiver with 11 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Vikings defensive back Tyreese Shakir is a playmaker. He has three sacks, an interception, and 13 tackles this season.
Johnson can avoid Shakir with his mobility and taking care of the ball. Johnson threw for 620 yards and eight touchdowns versus an interception in the first three games. He also rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries.
“I feel like we could still grow in a lot of areas,” Johnson said via Montana Sports. “I think we’ve done some good things, we’ve also had some bad plays, so it’s just we’re going to go in and we’re going to continue to grind on the film and continue to get better.”
Montana also has reliable rushers in Nick Ostmo and Xavier Harris, who both average 4.9 yards per carry or higher. Mitch Roberts is a go-to receiver for the Griz with 12 catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow receiver Junior Bergen leads the team with three scores.
Griz linebackers Patrick O’Connell and Marcus Welnel are a dangerous tandem on defense. O’Connell has 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, an interception, and 18 tackles this season. Welnel has 1.5 sacks and 14 tackles this year.
Vikings head coach Bruce Barnum will have his offense adjust to the Griz offense and a raucous crowd in Missoula. A packed house of 25,000-plus at Washington-Grizzly Stadium rivals an FBS crowd.
“I’m trying to prepare them for that,” Barnum said via 406 MT Sports’ Frank Gogla. “I told him they’re going to know your mom’s name, your girlfriend in first grade, they’re going to know everything about you. If you pay attention to them, they’re going to bury you.”