MISSOULA — Last week Montana made a statement against UC Davis, and now after back-to-back weeks on the road, it's about not letting up in the encore as UM hosts Northern Colorado this weekend for homecoming.
Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday, and Scripps Sports will broadcast the game.
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2:11It was a statement-making win for No. 3 Montana last week on the road in Davis, Calif., but with that in the past, the focus is on proving it once again and showing Montana can be a team that consistently puts together complete games.
"Every week's a new week, right?" UM head coach Bobby Kennedy said. "We can't buy into the rat poison with everybody patting us on the back, including me, right? I've had more people in my office the last two days. And it's nice because they're proud of what these guys do and how hard they work, but every week is a new challenge. And Northern Colorado wants to win, too. And so hopefully what we can do is put great efforts back-to-back and see the fruits of those labors."
Historically, Northern Colorado is a team that resides at the bottom of the Big Sky standings, but fourth-year head coach Ed Lamb has the Bears fighting, as UNC is 2-3 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky play. Northern Colorado is riding a two-game winning streak into the contest, its latest a win over Utah Tech. Close losses to Weber State and FBS Wyoming also highlight the schedule as those games could've easily swung the way of the Bears.
"I just think they're a good team. They're a quality opponent," Kennedy said. "He's been able to recruit those guys and develop them. They're doing a nice job. Then also defensively, they're making plays. They're playing with great effort. They run to the ball well. They're physical. They're good."
The Bears' defense ranks second in the Big Sky in total defense at 354 yards allowed per game and third in scoring at 23.8 points per game as that group has been strong and guided the way.
A quarterback change to Brayten Silbor has given the offense some juice in these last two wins, so the Bears pose a credible threat that could bite UM if the Griz relax.
"I think we just have to go into this game with the same mentality as we did last week," UM defensive lineman Zekiel Seumalo said. "Just getting after the quarterback, trying to shut their pass game down, but also respecting their run. And just try to play both at the same time, pretty much try to shut down both."
The Griz took a big step forward last week, and now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky play, they'll look to keep the momentum going.
"Like just keep growing as a group and, I mean, just gotta keep going into it with the same mentality," UM right tackle Austin Buehler said. "We wanna win and we wanna win week-to-week, so just gotta keep doing things and grinding it."