MISSOULA — Realignment in recent years has separated traditional rivals into different conferences, no longer guaranteeing annual games.
The Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State was scheduled as an early nonconference game for five years. Ditto the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State for two years. Beyond that, the future is murky as the Huskies and Ducks departed the Pac-12 for the Big Ten this year.
Oklahoma’s move to the Southeastern Conference this year ended Bedlam with Oklahoma State, which stayed in the Big 12. There’s no nonconference game there. Texas made the same move, which reunited it with Texas A&M, a rivalry that had been put on hold in 2011 when A&M moved to the SEC.
Those are just some of the storied rivalries that have been impacted due to recent realignment. Other long-standings rivalries were halted over a decade ago, many going dormant as a result of the race for lucrative TV money.
That’s not the case for the Brawl of the Wild between Montana and Montana State, which started playing each other in 1897. The 123rd rendition will take place at noon on Saturday in Bozeman between the No. 9 Griz and No. 2 Cats.
“I hope one of us doesn’t leave the league and end up having this one go away,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said in regards to the two teams who were founding members of the Big Sky in 1963. “That’d be terrible.”
Hauck watched the rivalry games growing up in Big Timber before he became a coach for the Griz. He also spent time coaching at UCLA, Colorado and Washington, which have all had rivalries affected by realignment.
MSU head coach Brent Vigen grew up in North Dakota and played tight end at North Dakota State, which competed for the Dakota Marker (against South Dakota State) and the Nickel Trophy (against North Dakota) during Vigen’s days as a player and coach at NDSU. The Nickel Trophy rivalry took hiatuses from 2004-14 and 2016-18.
Seeing so many rivalries altered by realignment has made the Brawl “something I don’t take for granted,” Vigen said Monday.
“You better be grateful that you have a rivalry in this day and age,” he said, adding, “With the transactional nature of FBS football, I don’t think those rivalries are as valued within those programs — meaning within the makeup of those rosters — nearly as much as they maybe were back in time.
“This rivalry — within our roster, within our team — I think is as live as ever.”
Montana cornerback Trevin Gradney was also a fan who tuned into games as a child up before playing in the rivalry over the past four seasons. He grew up as a Bobcats fan because his father played for them on the defensive line.
He’s now the first cornerback and first Billings native to wear Montana’s No. 37 legacy jersey. He’s also the first Montana native to start at cornerback for the Griz since Tuff Harris in 2006.
“Growing up, it was always fun to watch,” he said. “I always tuned in whenever they were playing. But playing in it is a lot more fun. And looking to get my third win in this one. It’ll be good.”
Montana running back Nick Ostmo wasn’t well-versed in the Brawl of the Wild when he came to Missoula. He grew up in Portland, Oregon, a state where the Ducks and Beavers made for the big-time rivalry.
He’s learned about the Brawl and been embraced as an adopted Montanan by his teammates. He’s also overcome injuries to become a top-five rusher in program history after he decided to return for a sixth and final year.
“It’s important,” he said. “Me not being from Montana, it was weird looking in because all I had was Oregon-Oregon State, which is not like a national, big rivalry. It’s a big deal around here. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”
Shootout or blowout?
Could this be the highest-scoring game in the history of the rivalry?
Montana State has the No. 1 scoring offense in the FCS at 41.3 points per game. Montana is 11th at 36.1 points per game.
If both teams live up to those averages, that would make this one of the top shootouts in series history. But the defenses will have a lot to say about that.
“I think we’re a team that has yet to really flourish in all aspects of the game,” Ostmo said. “We’ll go try to do that on Saturday. We’re excited.”
In series history, the teams have combined to score 50-plus points in 25 games, 60-plus in 13 games, 70-plus in eight games and 80-plus twice.
The highest-scoring game was Montana’s 54-35 win in 2015, which totaled 89 points. The 1986 game totaled 87 points, a 59-28 Griz victory.
The third-highest combined point total came in 1904, when UM scored all the points in a 79-0 win. The top total in a Cats win was the fourth-best combined score in the series: 76 points in a 55-21 victory in 2022.
Could this game instead be one of the most lopsided in the series?
The Cats pair their top scoring offense with the No. 7 scoring defense in the country, holding teams to 17.5 points per game. The Griz have allowed points in bunches and are 49th, giving up 24.2 points on average.
“I think we haven’t quite put it all together yet,” Gradney said. “But I think we can. And I’m looking forward to this team just taking this week by storm and doing what we can to try and get this win.”
The past four games in the rivalry have all been blowouts. Montana won 37-7 in 2023 and 29-10 in 2021. MSU won 55-21 in 2022 and 48-14 in 2019. That’s an average margin of victory of 29.25 points per game.
There’s potential this year’s game could get ugly and be another beatdown. Montana is the betting underdog at 16.5 points. It’s the first time this season the Griz have been the underdog at the sportsbooks.
The series has had 21 games with a score differential of 30-plus points. Montana’s 79-0 win in 1904 is the most lopsided. The second and third on that list are the only other games with a differential of 40-plus: a 55-7 Griz win in 1987 (48 points) and a 49-3 Griz win in 1999 (46 points).
The biggest differential in a Montana State win is a four-way tie for fourth place on the list. The Cats won 38-0 in 1966, 38-0 in 1902 and 38-0 in 1899. The Griz also won 38-0 in 1951.
Montana has scored 40-plus points 10 times in the series, while Montana State has scored 40-plus five times. The Griz have topped out at 79 points, while the Cats have hit as high as 55 points.
Trends
One trend in the past four games is the home team has won every time.
Montana heads to Bozeman having not won there since 2015. The Griz lost in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
Their three-game skid at MSU is their fourth-longest losing streak in Bozeman. A fourth-straight loss would tie them for the second longest along with losses in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1979, as well as 1899, 1901, 1903 and 1908.
Their longest road losing streak in the series is six games in 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965 and 1967.
The Griz have been road warriors recently. They’ve won six consecutive road games against Big Sky Conference teams. A seventh would tie them for the longest streak since the 2008-09 teams strung together seven in a row.
“I think coach Hauck does a really good job of us when we go on the road, it’s just us, no distractions and just taking that game and doing what we can to win on the road,” Gradney said. “We always enjoy going there. It’s fun being the underdog. It’s always good.”
Another trend is the team that has scored first in the past four games has also been the team to win the game.
The Griz haven’t led in Bozeman since the 2017 game, when Brandon Purdy’s 20-yard field goal put them up 3-0 with 10:13 left in the first quarter.
Montana State took the lead for good on Troy Andersen’s 2-yard TD run with 12:18 remaining in the second quarter. That means the Griz have not led for the past 162 minutes, 18 seconds in Bozeman.
It also means that no player on the Griz roster has ever held a lead in the Brawl in Bozeman.
“I think it doesn’t really hurt being the underdog,” Ostmo said. “It’ll be really cool to be the underdog and go get a win. It’s not a bad title to have.”
Ranking review
This is the fifth game in the series in which both teams are ranked in the top 10 of the FCS Top 25 poll. Montana State is No. 2 and Montana is No. 9.
The first instance was 2011, when the No. 7 Griz beat the No. 1 Cats, 36-10. In 2019, the No. 8 Cats knocked off the No. 3 Griz, 48-14. In 2021, the No. 7 Griz upset the No. 3 Cats, 29-10. In 2023, No. 3 UM beat No. 4 MSU, 37-7.
This year’s game also features the fourth-lowest combined ranking in series history with the teams totaling an 11. It was seven in 2023, eight in 2011, 10 in 2021 and 11 in 2019.
Montana hasn’t had much success against teams ranked in the top two of the FCS Top 25 poll in recent years.
The Griz last beat a top-two team when they took down No. 1 North Dakota State, 38-35, on Aug. 29, 2015, in Missoula. They’ve gone 0-4 against top-two teams since then.
They last beat a top-two team on the road on Nov. 19, 2011, when they defeated No. 1 Montana State, 36-10, in Bozeman. They’ve lost five consecutive road games against top-two teams.
406 MT Sports’ Montana State Bobcats beat writer Victor Flores contributed to this story.
Frank Gogola is the Senior Sports Reporter at the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @FrankGogola or email him at [email protected].