Great 8s: Keali'i Ah Yat, Justin Lamson lead Montana, Montana State. Who has the edge?

BILLINGS — What's the most memorable quarterback-related statistical anomaly in recent Brawl of the Wild history?

It could be when unproven backup John Edwards averaged 18.1 yards per completion — with a 91-yard TD pass to Jimmy Farris — in a Montana win in 2000.

Or maybe it was Jake Bleskin's five interceptions as part of a seven-turnover day for Montana State in 2014 (he had been solid filling in for the injured Dakota Prukop that year).

Or perhaps it's even when Travis Lulay had just 64 passing yards on a frigid day in Bozeman in 2003 when the Cats won two in a row in the series for the first time since 1984.

Really, though, nothing truly compares to 2016 when Montana State's Chris Murray completed just two passes in a 24-17 Bobcats victory in Missoula.

The Bobcats made up for it that afternoon with 368 rushing yards and two Murray TDs on the ground — one on which he was famously flipped head over heels into the end zone. But two completions and you still win?

That's not supposed to happen. Not in modern football, anyway. UM's Edwards completed only eight passes in the 2002 game and the Cats were able to snap a 16-game losing streak to the Griz partly because of it.

If anything, that 2016 win by the Bobcats proved how important "complementary football" really is.

This year's matchup between Montana and Montana State — the 124th edition will be contested Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula — features quarterbacks that have meant everything to their teams: Keali'i Ah Yat for the Grizzlies and Justin Lamson for the Bobcats.

Ah Yat, a sophomore, has been a revelation this season.

The son of former UM gunslinger Brian Ah Yat has broken out as the Grizzlies' full-time starter with 2,968 yards and 24 touchdowns. He's thrown a TD pass in every game this season and has passed for multiple scores in five straight.

A finesse-type thrower, Ah Yat puts great touch on his passes and he has been especially steady late in the season. He hasn't thrown an interception in four weeks and his TD-to-INT ratio since mid October is 15 to 1.

Lamson, meanwhile, has proven to be a huge transfer-portal pickup for the Bobcats in the wake of Tommy Mellott's graduation.

He hasn't lit it up quite like Ah Yat statistically but he also he protects the football. Lamson's thrown only two interceptions while completing 71% of his throws, third-best in the country. He is yet to throw a pick in a Big Sky Conference game.

(Keep this in mind: Montana's defense has intercepted 18 passes through 11 games, by far the most in the Big Sky and second most in the FCS.)

A little more rugged and a little more eager to tuck the ball and run, the former Stanford signal-caller has 509 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Lamson has a rushing touchdown and a passing TD in each of the past six games.

And when he gets into the open field he's not afraid to hunt up a linebacker or a safety and lower his shoulder.

That's somewhat in contrast to Ah Yat, who certainly isn't afraid to run but is probably best suited when he slides or ducks to mitigate contact. One of the scarier moments of Montana's season occurred against Sacramento State when Ah Yat rolled far to his left, then drifted back right and was pummeled just after releasing the ball.

It looked like a devastating hit. But Ah Yat eventually got back up and seemed no worse for wear.

One big stat heading into the game is that Montana doesn't lose in the friendly confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium when Ah Yat starts at QB. The Grizzlies don't really lose there when anyone starts, but Ah Yat is so far 11-0.

Relative to that, another thing to consider is that this will be Lamson's first appearance in a Cat-Griz game, and it will be the most hostile road environment he's seen this year ... although he has faced difficult surroundings at places like Clemson and Notre Dame.

Lamson's ability to operate under that kind of din — along with how effective the running game is — will be key for the Bobcats.

Quarterback play is magnified in any rivalry, and Saturday's tilt will be no exception. But as we've seen, it isn't always make or break. The 2016 game is one very good example.

And needless to say, this year's matchup is about as high-stakes as it gets. No. 2 Montana comes in 11-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Sky. No. 3 MSU is 9-2 and also 7-0 in league play. The winner takes home the outright conference crown.

Beyond that, the team that prevails will likely sew up a top-two seed for the FCS playoffs, which would guarantee home-field advantage through the semifinal round — and a home game in the event the Bobcats and Grizzlies end up playing each other for the first time in the postseason. Which is a real possibility.

Whoever performs better between Ah Yat and Lamson will give his team a big lift. Bold prediction: Both will have more than two completions.