MISSOULA — The last time the Montana Grizzlies hosted a regular-season top-five, head-to-head matchup in Washington-Grizzly Stadium was in 1994 when the No.5 Grizzlies took down the No. 2-ranked Idaho Vandals.
Now this week, Montana sits fifth in the rankings again, but this time they face the No. 3 team in the nation in Weber State.
"We know a lot of the guys on their coaching staff -- they have a lot of talent on that staff, as well as the guys wearing the helmet. So, they are a good outfit. I think they are physically mature, they look big and strong on film and I just think that we have our hands full with a real veteran outfit," said Montana head coach Bobby Hauck.
Saturday's game not only will have an impact on the FCS playoff rankings but the Big Sky Conference title, as well. Weber State currently has the edge as it's undefeated at 6-0 in the conference while Montana is 5-1. Sacramento State is also 5-1 in the conference but holds the tie-breaker with the win over Montana on Oct. 19. Weber State also holds the advantage over Sacramento State in a tie-breaker with its win against the Hornets on Nov. 2.
"Obviously, it's a big game. You can ask anybody around here and they are going to tell you the same thing. It's a big game for where we are going to sit in the conference afterwards. And it's a team that we lost to last time we played them down in Weber, so it's a big game for us," said senior defensive tackle Jesse Sims.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. from Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
