Getty Montana looks to start the season strong on Saturday.
Montana kicks off the season of enormous expectations against Northwestern State on Saturday, September 3.
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
The game (3 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch Northwestern State vs Montana live on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ includes hundreds of live college football games in 2022, 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 Northwestern State vs Montana live 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.
Northwestern State vs Montana Preview
The third-ranked Montana Grizzlies made a run in the FCS playoffs last season amid going 10-3 and looks to do more when facing Northwestern State on Saturday.
“Yeah we have a good team but we have to go out and prove it,” Montana senior wide receiver Mitch Roberts said via Montana Right Now. “Play well and put it all together and take it one game at a time.”
NSU looks to turn things around from an 3-8 season but face a big challenge at one of the toughest home fields in the FCS — Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz bring a loud home crowd of around 25,000 in one of the biggest and loudest venues at that level of Division I football.
“I think we are a tough team and I think anyone who plays us will feel that,” Graves added per Montana Right Now. “And being a tough team is all in in our preparation. We practice physical so that shows itself in the games and that just makes us comfortable for that first game and first contact because it’s not anything new for us. We have been practicing at that speed and that physicality level.”
NSU hasn’t finished at .500 since 2013, and the Southern Conference program hasn’t visited Missoula since 2004. That doesn’t mean Montana head coach Bobby Hauck expects a cake walk for his team.
“The first week is always unnerving just because you don’t know your own team,” Hauck said via Montana Right Now. “And then you add the uncertainty of prep for these guys, you don’t know what you are going to get.”
NSU head coach Brad Laird said his team is excited for the opportunity.
“Everyone is excited this time of year, but you are ready to put all that work that you have done against somebody else,” Laird said via KALBB 5. “They have a new quarterback and different pieces to the puzzle that they are putting together that kind of makes week one unnerving a little bit because you do not know. There isn’t film to watch.”