ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

Montana football’s three home opponents have combined for 11 false starts. That’s more, the team’s official game notes detail, than home games at Montana State, Idaho, North Dakota State and South Dakota State combined (nine).

The Big Sky’s imbalanced schedules mean only one current Weber State player has traveled to face the Griz in Missoula: senior receiver Jacob Sharp, who traveled but did not play, was on the sideline when No. 4 Montana beat up No. 3 Weber State 35-16.

This year’s trip is daunting enough, with Montana (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky) ranked No. 8 and seemingly rolling on offense. Washington-Grizzly Stadium has a capacity of just more than 25,000 and is rocking more often than not, one of the premier venues in FCS football.

But several WSU coaches have been there before, including Brent Myers many times. The associate head coach and offensive line coach says the best thing to do is simply give players the facts.

“You paint a picture of what it will be like,” Myers said. “We showed a clip of their playoff game last year against Furman, and how loud it was, and the big play by Montana on the punt return … We cannot give up that big play; we need to make plays that give us energy and keeps the crowd out of it.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

“You just give them the truth,” he continued. “The sidelines are very tight, the fans are right above you and they’re yapping at you the whole time … you just have to focus on what’s going on inside the white lines and ignore the rest.”

Weber State (2-3, 1-0) makes yet another attempt to “start fast” as it resumes Big Sky play.

Myers says Montana plays a “multiple” and “movement” defense, tough for offenses to prepare for.

“They’re a respected team but I feel like we can go in there and compete,” junior center Terrance Caldwell said. “The game plan we’re setting up … that’s going to be a big part of it is if we can get things sparked up front, open holes, give Richie (Muñoz) time. That’s going to lead to explosive plays and a successful offensive game.”

MEET THE GRIZ

Much like it did early last season, Montana is winning games while still having a quarterback battle. Redshirt freshman Keali’i Ah Yat (No. 8) — yes, longtime Big Sky observers, he’s that Ah Yat’s son — was primarily the starter through four games but junior Logan Fife (No. 12), a Fresno State transfer, got the ball last week.

Fife helped Montana win a 52-49 shootout at Eastern Washington, a game in which the Griz gained 701 yards. Fife was 30 of 42 for 364 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

UM’s backfield is Eli Gillman (No. 10) and Nick Ostmo (No. 26). While no WSU players have appeared in a game at Montana, Ostmo took eight carries in the big 2019 matchup. Gillman is the featured back, averaging 10.1 yards per carry (113 yards per game, seven touchdowns). Ostmo adds 78 yards per game. Freshman Malae Fonoti (No. 7) also took 24 carries for 176 yards in one appearance against Morehead State.

Montana is a run-first squad but playmaker Junior Bergen (No. 5) leads the receiver group at 67 yards per game, a season-long of 55 and a team-high 15.7 yards per catch. Last week against EWU, 111 of his 150 receiving yards came after the catch. Bergen and Xavier Harris (No. 13) make a potent punt-return duo, averaging 21.8 yards per return.

Senior linebacker Ryan Tirrell (No. 44) leads the Griz with 43 tackles. Senior backer and San Diego State transfer Vai Kaho (No. 0) has 29 tackles with three for loss. Senior defensive end and UCLA transfer Hayden Harris (No. 48) has racked up 6.5 sacks.

TEAM VS. TEAM METRICS

Through five games, Weber State has scored 25.4 points per game, averaging 394 yards on 5.6 yards per play. Defensively, WSU has allowed an average of 19.2 points on 337 yards per game, with an average of 5.2 per play.

The Wildcats have five defensive takeaways (three fumbles, two interceptions) and two turnovers on offense (one interception, one fumble) for a plus-three turnover margin.

In five games for Montana, the Griz average 42 points on 499 yards per game and 6.7 yards per play. Defensively, Montana has allowed 27.4 points on 354 yards per game, with an average of 5.1 yards per play.

The Griz have a plus-one turnover margin. Montana has turned it over three times (two interceptions, one fumble) while forcing four turnovers (four interceptions, zero fumbles).

ODDS & PREDICTIONS

Jeff Sagarin ranks Weber State at No. 139 (down six from last week) in all of Division I (FBS and FCS, 263 total teams). Montana is No. 100. Accounting for home-field advantage, his formula favors Montana by 12 points.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks Weber State at No. 15 (same as last week) in FCS (129 teams) and Montana at No. 6. His formula predicts a Montana win 30-20.

D Ratings predicts a Montana victory of 34-19 at 85% probability.

WEATHER

For the first time in four weeks, Weber State will play a game where the temperature is below 90 at kickoff. In fact, due to a Friday storm, Saturday’s high in Missoula, Montana, is slated for 65 degrees. A cool, cloudy morning will give way to sunny skies and a temperature of 56 degrees at the 1 p.m. kickoff. That will rise to about 63 when the game ends.

TV & RADIO

The game airs on broadcast TV through the Big Sky’s media deal with Scripps. In Utah, it will air on Utah 16 with Jay Kohn and Marty Mornhinweg on the call, and Kyle Hansen and Meghan Robinson on the sidelines. The broadcast also streams on the ESPN+ subscription service.

Carl Arky and Jerry Graybeal have the WSU radio call on 103.1 FM over the air in Utah and online at 1031thewave.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The two charter members of the Big Sky have played each other 58 times. Montana dominates the series 41-17 but Weber State is 4-1 over the last five matchups, including 1-1 in Missoula. The Wildcats won the last matchup in 2022 (24-21, in Ogden). Montana won its last home game in the series (35-16, 2019).