Both Montana and Montana State will host first-round playoff games in the upcoming FCS playoffs.
Montana (8-4) received an at-large bid and will host the University of San Diego (7-5) on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Montana State (8-4) also received an at-large berth and will host South Dakota State (8-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Bobcats’ selection for the playoffs marked the fourth time in five seasons MSU has moved into the playoffs, and the ninth time overall.
Montana will be making a record 23rd appearance in the playoffs.
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The winner of the Montana-USD game will play Eastern Washington on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Cheney, Wash., with kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
The winner of the MSU-SDSU game will play three-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State.
NDSU (11-1) lost earlier this season at Northern Iowa — ending an FCS-record 33-game winning streak — and is the No. 2 overall seed in the playoffs, behind New Hampshire (10-1). The Bison will play in the Fargodome on Dec. 6 against the winner of this Saturday’s first-round matchup between South Dakota State and Montana State in Bozeman.
The Bison beat SDSU 37-17 earlier this season. NDSU’s last meeting with Montana State was in 2010, when the Bison beat the Bobcats 42-17 in the playoffs.
SDSU is making its third consecutive appearance in the FCS playoffs.
“I’m really proud of our football program, and I’m really proud of our seniors with what they’ve accomplished in their careers here,” coach John Stiegelmeier said in a statement.
This year’s playoff field, announced Sunday, includes 11 conference champions who automatically qualified and 13 teams with at-large bids. The winner will be crowned Jan. 10, in Frisco, Texas.