MISSOULA — November is here, and believe it or not it's the 10th game of the season Saturday for the Montana Grizzlies. They're back at home at Washington-Grizzly Stadium as they welcome the Portland State Vikings.
Montana (6-3, 4-2 Big Sky) bounced back in a big way last weekend with a victory over Eastern Washington, its first win in nearly a month.
WATCH THE VIDEO
2:12Now it's back home against a Portland State (2-7, 2-4) team that is led by a new coach in Chris Fisk — who UM saw last year when he was guiding the successful program at Central Washington.
"There's a reason why he got that job, right?" UM coach Bobby Kennedy said. "And I thought they played well against us last year. And this guy's going to get it going there. Hopefully not this week, right? But the thing is, it's like he's a quality coach and I got to know him a little bit at the Big Sky meetings. I've got a lot of respect for him and what he's doing there."
Portland State has wins over Weber State and Utah Tech this season, and went toe-to-toe with UC Davis.
Though it's been a challenging opening season, the sign of growth and fight under Fisk is there for the Vikings as the new staff starts to leave its mark.
"They're a gritty group. I think they're good up front," Kennedy said. "I think also in his first year taking over a new program, they're going to eventually take on his personality. I think he's a no-nonsense guy. He's a tough guy. And Like I said, you look at that game against Weber. I mean, that was impressive because Weber's a good team. And so I definitely think they're growing and they're a quality opponent."
The biggest story coming out of Saturday was Montana's defense playing better against Eastern Washington, as it racked up 11 sacks and added three takeaways with an aggressive, attacking style.
Continuing that against Portland State will be key as UM looks for win No. 7 this season.
"It felt amazing. This game is just another game, just a different team, a different colored jersey," UM linebacker Colton Lentz said. "We're going to keep rolling. I mean, obviously get the win would be the goal, but it's going to be big for the team. Just keep rolling, week-by-week."
"We're going to come here, obviously a little chip on our shoulder because I feel like we have more to prove," Griz receiver Landon Ransom-Goelz said. "We're not a finished product, so we're still getting better. And going out there and just showing out what we're working on week through week to the fans."