MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies are back at home for their third and final home game of the opening stretch, and on Saturday they welcome Utah Tech to Missoula. Utah Tech is new to the Big Sky Conference, but this game will serve as a non-conference contest.
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Scripps Sports will once again carry the game's broadcast.
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2:07The No. 3 Griz saw improvements from Game 1 to Game 2, as last week UM (2-0, 1-0 Big Sky) took charge against Drake and closed it out quickly, with the defense stepping up when needed and the offense finding more of a rhythm.
"There are some real positive things that we're doing. We've got to eliminate the negatives. We're a work in progress. Our work is never done," UM head coach Bobby Kennedy said. "And we're trying to get better and better each week to have those two games test us. I am pleased with our progress, but we're not a finished product."
Next up is Utah Tech (0-2, 0-1 Big Sky), a team the Griz last saw in 2023 in St. George and first saw in Missoula in 2021 in the Trailblazers' first year at the FCS level.
Utah Tech, under head coach Lance Anderson, joined the Big Sky this year, but this will be a previously scheduled non-conference matchup for the two.
"It has been a breath of fresh air. I mean, usually you're preparing against some players that you've played against in the past, but going against these newer schools, it's people you've never seen before, coaches you've never gone against," UM safety Kade Boyd said. "You just have to take it day by day to kind of trust what your coordinators have in mind for the game plan that they put together. So just excited for that."
Utah Tech has had a challenging start to the season, as the Trailblazers opened the season against top-ranked Montana State and followed that up with a matchup against BYU.
Between the two games, Utah Tech has been out-scored 117-7.
So for the Griz, their aim is to stay focused, take Utah Tech seriously, not look ahead to big upcoming road games at Oregon State and UC Davis and handle the task at hand if they want to improve to 3-0.
"Here in the past, we've dropped games where we might have been looking ahead in the future," Boyd said. "So we really can't overlook any opponent. They've played two great teams. They're a good team. So you just have to take it day by day, week by week. You can't overlook any opponent that you go against, so we're gonna prepare accordingly."