Here we go again - UM vs. MSU surge to annual battle

By DAVID LESNICK/The Daily Inter Lake

Some play for an Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana vs. Purdue).

Then there is the Milk Can (Fresno State vs. Boise State).

And don't forget about the Iron Skillet (TCU vs. SMU), the Peace Pipe (Bowling Green vs. Toledo), or the Keg of Nails (Cincinnati vs. Louisville).

Those are just a few of the bizarre trophies college football teams play for in their NCAA rivalry games.

Well, Montana's version - The Divide Trophy -takes place Saturday with Montana State visiting Montana in a critical Big Sky Conference showdown. The game is called Brawl of the Wild.

Montana State (5-2 league, 7-4 overall) is unranked, but a victory over No. 5 Montana (6-1, 10-1) would surely take care of that. It would also tie both teams for second place in the league standings, and almost assure the Bobcats an at large spot in the playoffs, which begin next week.

The Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoff pairings will be announced Sunday. Montana is already in the postseason picture, along with league champion Weber State (7-0, 9-2).

"I've been coaching a long time, and certain years you can just feel it coming together for a team, when the players get it," MSU coach Rob Ash said of his squad's recent success in a press release.

"They play together, there's a flow and a chemistry, and the team gets better every week. It's a great feeling when that happens, and that has really been the case with this team in the last five weeks."

This will be the 108th meeting for the Cat-Griz game. UM has dominated the series, leading 67-35-5. Montana is 21-8-3 at Bozeman, 28-14-1 in Missoula and 18-3-1 in Butte.

MSU is 1-10 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,200).

Kickoff is set for 12:05 p.m. The game is sold out.

MSU broke UM's 16-game win streak in the series with a 10-7 win in Missoula in 2002. That was also the last time the Bobcats won there.

Kalispell's Lex Hilliard rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns a year ago, leading Montana to a 41-20 victory in the mud in Bozeman.

The largest victory margins in the series are 79-0 for Montana in 1904, and 38-0 for Montana State in 1966.

Montana won the first battle in 1897, 18-6, and has prevailed in 19 of the last 22.

"Montana is a very good football team," Ash said.

"What really impresses me about that team is that they show a great mix of playing hard and with great passion, and doing things right. They're in the right spot all the time. They play really hard all the time, but they play under control and are always where they need to be. We have to handle the situation there on Saturday with a lot of discipline and poise. Montana has done a good job of jumping on teams early in that stadium, and we'll need to be calm, but aggressive at the same time."

Montana State leads the Big Sky in rushing, averaging 171.8 yards per game.

MSU also leads in total defense, allowing 316.9, and have allowed only 175 first downs, which is a league best.

MSU's Demetrius Crawford has rushed for 1,111 yards to date on 225 attempts for a 4.9-yard per carry average. He is averaging 101 yards per game.

UM quarterback Cole Bergquist has completed 163 of 254 passes (64 percent) for 2,301 yards and 23 touchdowns. He's been intercepted five times.

Bergquist is sixth in UM career passing yardage with 6,549, and fourth in career TD passes with 53.

His 23 TD passes this year puts him 10th on the career list, one behind former Griz great and current Glacier High School football coach Grady Bennett. Bennett is third in career TD passes with 55.

Bennett will be a member of the Montana's News Stations television crew broadcasting Saturday's game. Joining him in the booth, and providing color commentary, will be former MSU player Mike Callaghan. KPAX-TV sports director Phil Buck will handle play-by-play duties.

Three area players are on the rosters.

Kalispell's Dan Ogden, a 6-foot, 270-pound sophomore defensive tackle, and Beau Watkins, 6-2, 205, sophomore safety, play for Montana State, and Libby's George Mercer, 6-3, 235 junior, is a defensive end for UM.

Ogden had five tackles last week in a 49-32 victory over Portland State. He has 31 tackles (19 solo and 12 assisted) and five sacks through 10 games.

Watkins is a special teams player. He has appeared in two games and has two tackles.

Mercer has played in nine games. He has eight tackles and one sack.