Brawl of the Wild “is as alive as ever,” while the realignment alters other rivalries

MISSOULA — Realignment in recent years separated traditional rivals into different conferences, no longer guaranteeing annual games.

The Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State was scheduled as an early non-conference game for five years. So did the Civil War between Oregon and the State of Oregon for two years. Beyond that, the future is murky as the Huskies and Ducks left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten this year.

Oklahoma’s move to the Southeastern Conference this year ended the Bedlam with Oklahoma State, which remained in the Big 12. There is no non-conference play there. Texas made the same move, which reunited it with Texas A&M, a rivalry that was suspended in 2011 when A&M moved to the SEC.

These are just a few of the historic rivalries that have been affected by the recent realignment. Other long-running rivalries were shut down more than a decade ago, many lying dormant as a result of the race for lucrative TV money.

Not the case in the Brawl of the Wild between Montana and Montana State, which began playing each other in 1897. The 123rd performance will take place at noon Saturday in Bozeman between the No. 9 Griz and No. 2 Cats.

“I hope one of us doesn’t leave the league and end up disappearing on this one,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said of the two teams that were charter members of the Big Sky in 1963. “That would be terrible. .”

Hauck watched the rivalry games growing up in the Big Timber before becoming the coach of the Griz. He also spent time coaching at UCLA, Colorado and Washington, which all had rivalries affected by realignment.

MSU head coach Brent Vigen grew up in North Dakota and played tight end at North Dakota State, which competed for the Dakota Marker (vs. South Dakota State) and Nickel Trophy (vs. North Dakota) during the to Vigen as a player and coach at NDSU. The Nickel Trophy rivalry took breaks from 2004-14 and 2016-18.

Seeing so many realignment-altered rivalries has made Brawl “something I don’t take for granted,” Vigen said Monday.

“You better be thankful you have a rivalry these days,” he said, adding, “With the transactional nature of FBS football, I don’t think those rivalries are valued as much within those programs — I mean, within the structure of those rosters – almost as much as it would have been in time.

“That rivalry — within our roster, within our team — I think is as alive as ever.”

Montana cornerback Trevin Gradney was also a fan who tuned in to the games as a child before playing in the rivalry the past four seasons. He grew up a Bobcats fan as his father played for them on the defensive line.

He is now the first cornerback and the first Billings native to wear the legacy jersey no. 37 of Montana. He is also the first Montana native to start at cornerback for the Griz since Tuff Harris in 2006.

“Growing up, it was always fun to watch,” he said. “I always tuned in whenever they played. But playing in it is much more fun. And I’m looking to get my third win in this one. It will be fine.”

Montana running back Nick Ostmo wasn’t well versed in the Brawl of the Wild when he came to Missoula. He grew up in Portland, Oregon, a state where the Ducks and Beavers enjoyed a high-profile rivalry.

He found out about Brawl and was embraced as an adopted Montanan by his peers. He also overcame injuries to become one of the top five players in program history after deciding to return for his sixth and final year.

“It’s important,” he said. “I wasn’t from Montana, it was weird to watch because all I had was Oregon-Oregon State, which isn’t like a big national rivalry. It’s a big deal around here. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”

Shoot or blast?

Could this be the highest scoring game in the rivalry’s history?

Montana State has the first scoring offense in the FCS at 41.3 points per game. Montana is 11th with 36.1 points per game.

If both teams live up to those averages, it would make this one of the most important shootouts in series history. But the defense will have a lot to say about that.

“I think we’re a team that hasn’t really blossomed yet in all aspects of the game,” Ostmo said. “We will go and try to do that on Saturday. We are delighted.”

In series history, the teams have combined to score over 50 points in 25 games, over 60 in 13 games, over 70 in eight games and over 80 twice.

The highest-scoring game was Montana’s 54-35 win in 2015, which totaled 89 points. The 1986 game totaled 87 points, a 59-28 Griz victory.

The third-highest point total came in 1904, when UM scored all points in a 79-0 victory. The highest total in a Cats victory was the fourth-best combined score in the series: 76 points in a 55-21 victory in 2022.

Could this game be one of the most unbalanced in the series?

The Cats complement the top-scoring offense with the No. 7 defense in the country, holding teams to 17.5 points per game. The Grays have allowed points in the group and are 49th, giving up an average of 24.2 points.

“I don’t think we’ve put it together yet,” Gradney said. “But I think we can. And I’m looking forward to this team storming out this week and doing everything we can to try and get that win.”

The last four games in the rivalry have all been blowouts. Montana went 37-7 in 2023 and 29-10 in 2021. MSU went 55-21 in 2022 and 48-14 in 2019. That’s an average margin of victory of 29.25 points per game.

There is the potential for this year’s game to turn ugly and be another blowout. Montana is the weakest bet to 16.5 points. It’s the first time this season that the Griz are underdogs at the sportsbooks.

The series had 21 games with a score differential of more than 30 points. Montana’s 79-0 victory in 1904 is the most uneven. Second and third on this list are the only other games with a 40-plus margin: a 55-7 Griz win in 1987 (48 points) and a 49-3 Griz win in 1999 (46 points).

The biggest margin in a Montana State win is a four-way tie for fourth on the list. The Cats won 38-0 in 1966, 38-0 in 1902 and 38-0 in 1899. The Griz also won 38-0 in 1951.

Montana has scored more than 40 points 10 times in the series, while Montana State has scored more than 40 points five times. The Griz reached 79 points, while the Cats reached 55 points.

trend

A trend in the last four games is that the home team has won each time.

Montana heads to Bozeman having not won there since 2015. The Grizzlies have lost in 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Their three-game skid at MSU is the fourth-longest losing streak in Bozeman. A fourth losing streak would tie them for second-longest, along with losses in 1973, 1975, 1977 and 1979, as well as 1899, 1901, 1903 and 1908.

The longest streak in the series is six games in 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965 and 1967.

Griz have been road warriors recently. They have won six straight road games against Big Sky Conference teams. A seventh would tie them for the longest streak since the 2008-09 teams combined for seven in a row.

“I think coach Hauck does a really good job of us going on the road, it’s just us, no distractions and just taking that game and doing everything we can to win on the road,” Gradney said. “We always love going there. It’s fun to be the underdog. It’s always good.”

Another trend is that the team that scored first in the last four games was also the team that won the game.

The Grizzlies haven’t led in Bozeman since the 2017 game, when Brandon Purdy’s 20-yard field goal made it 3-0 with 10:13 left in the first quarter.

Montana State took the lead for good on Troy Andersen’s 2-yard TD run with 12:18 left in the second quarter. That means the Griz haven’t led in the last 162 minutes, 18 seconds in Bozeman.

It also means no player on the Griz roster has ever held a lead in the Brawl in Bozeman.

“I think it doesn’t really hurt to be the underdog,” Ostmo said. “It will be really cool to be the underdog and get a win. Not a bad title to have.”

Ranking review

This is the fifth game in the series in which both teams are ranked in the top 10 of the FCS Top 25 poll. Montana State is No. 2 and Montana is No. 9.

The first instance was in 2011, when the No. 7 Griz defeated the No. 1 Cats, 36-10. In 2019, Cats no. 8 knocked down Gray no. 3, 48-14. In 2021, the No. 7 Griz upset the No. 3 Cats, 29-10. In 2023, No. 3 UM defeated No. 4 MSU, 37-7.

This year’s game also has the fourth-lowest combined ranking in series history, with teams totaling 11. It was seven in 2023, eight in 2011, 10 in 2021 and 11 in 2019.

Montana hasn’t had much success against teams ranked in the top two of the FCS Top 25 poll in recent years.

The Griz last beat a top 2 team when they defeated no. 1 North Dakota State, 38-35, on Aug. 29, 2015, in Missoula. Since then, they have gone 0-4 against the top two teams.

They last beat a top 2 team on the road on Nov. 19, 2011 when they defeated then-No. 1 Montana State, 36-10, at Bozeman. They have lost five straight games on the road against the top two teams.

406 MT Sports Montana State Bobcats writer Victor Flores contributed to this story.

Frank Gogola is a senior sports reporter at the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports. Follow X @FrankGogola or email at (email protected).