Griz go Prime Time in FCS semis
The Daily Inter Lake
The Football Championship Subdivision semifinal playoff contest - Montana versus James Madison - is not only set for Prime Time on Friday, but it's a rematch of the 2004 championship game.
The Grizzlies and Dukes will go at it this time at 6 p.m. in Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field (15,500) in Harrisonburg, Va.
ESPN2 will televise the contest. Bob Wischusen will do the play-by-play, with Brock Huard handling the color commentary.
James Madison won the first meeting with Montana, 31-21, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Montana (13-1) is fifth ranked and has posted home-playoff victories over No. 23 Texas State, 31-21, and No. 12 Weber State, 24-13.
Top-ranked James Madison (12-1) has advanced by defeating No. 8 Wofford, 38-35, and No. 6 Villanova, 31-27.
The Grizzlies have qualified for postseason play 16 straight seasons, 19 overall. They are 26-15 overall, 24-5 at home, 1-8 on the road and 1-2 at neutral sites.
This marks Montana's ninth trip to the semifinals, where it is 5-3. The Griz won five straight semifinal games before losing to Massachusetts 19-17 in 2006.
Montana is 2-3 versus teams from the Colonial Conference in the playoffs.
The Griz captured national championships in 1995 and 2001, and were runners-up in 2004, 2000 and 1996.
The victor advances to the national championship game Dec. 8 at Chattanooga.
No. 7 Richmond, 11-3, and No. 4 University of Northern Iowa, 12-2, will meet in the other semifinal contest on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Northern Iowa owns playoff victories over No. 20 Maine, 40-15, and No. 10 New Hampshire, 36-34, while Richmond eliminated No. 21 Eastern Kentucky, 38-10, and No. 2 Appalachian State, 33-13.
Montana has won 13 games only five times in school history. The best mark was 15-1 in 2001.
James Madison is riding a team-record 12-game winning streak. The lone loss was to Duke.
The Dukes, Colonial Athletic Association champions (8-0), have advanced to the semifinal round for just the second time.
JMU senior quarterback Rodney Landers is a finalist for the Walter Paytyon Award, which will be awarded Dec. 18 in Chattanooga. Landers, a 6-foot-1, 200-pounder from Virginia Beach, Va., was the Colonial player of the year.
Landers has rushed for 1,543 yards, which ranks him seventh nationally, and has passed for 1,362. He has 18 TD passes and four interceptions while completing 97 of 153 passes.
He averages 128.6 yards per game, or 6.9 yards per carry.
Montana has allowed just two touchdowns in two playoff games, five in its last six outings. The Griz are first in FCS scoring defense, allowing 16.64 points per game.
Montana QB Cole Bergquist, a 6-2, 220, senior from San Clemente, Calif., is ranked No. 8 in passing efficiency (155.42).
His 30 wins in 35 careers starts is second best in UM history.
Bergquist has passed for 2,747 yards this season, 25 touchdowns and thrown just seven interceptions. He's completed 195-of-318 passes for 61.3 percent.
He has 7,991 career yards, fourth best in school history.
Chase Reynolds leads the Griz in rushing with 1,413 yards, while Marc Mariani is the top receiver with 1,086 yards.
Reynolds is averaging 5.8 yards per carry, and Mariani 18.5 yards per catch.
Reynolds has 19 rushing touchdowns, and Mariani 15 TD receptions.
The Grizzlies were scheduled to leave for Virginia this morning. They planned a practice from 5-7 p.m.