Griz, Cats football capsules

Western Carolina (No. 24/unranked) at Montana (No. 9/10)  

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.; TV — MTN. Web — ESPN+; Radio — Grizzly Radio Network 

Where: Washington-Grizzly Stadum (25,217, SprinTurf) 

Records: Western Carolina is 1-2. UM is 2-1.
When the Catamounts have the ball: Cole Gonzalez threw for 254 yards last week, but his numbers have yet to catch up with 2023, when he had 28 passing touchdowns and his team led the FCS in total offense. He did have his second career rushing TD in WCU’s road win over Elon last week. AJ Colombo is a standout punt returner and averages 69 receiving yards a game. Branson Adams is the top running back.

When the Grizzlies have the ball: Junior Bergen’s No. 5 jersey showed up last week, and that will help an offense that stalled the second half at North Dakota, but was unstoppable Saturday against Morehead State.  Keali’i Ah Yat continues to get most of the reps at quarterback, and completed 66 percent of his passes. Bergen gives him another way to boost his TD pass total, which sits at 2. Eli Gillman has been dynamic, rushing for 9.1 yards a carry in three games. 

Notable: Drew Deck is averaging 10.8 yards per punt return for the Griz. ... True freshman Malae Fonoti is suddenly second on UM in rushing at 176 yards, all of them against Morehead. ... Standout LB Riley Wilson returned to the Griz starting lineup last week. ... This is the teams’ first meeting, and WCU’s first game against the Big Sky program. ... Kade Bell, the Catamounts OC last season, left for Pittsburgh and took top running back Desmond Reid (897 yards last year) and receiver Censure Lee (46-792, 8 TDs) with. 

The Pick: Griz, 38-21.  

Mercyhurst at No. 3/3 Montana St.

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.; TV — MTN (5 p.m. in Missoula-Kalispell). Web — ESPN+; Radio — Bobcat Radio Network 

Where: Bobcat Stadium (17,777, SprinTurf) 

Records: Mercyhurst is 1-2. MSU is 3-0.
When the Lakers have the ball: Quarterback Adam Urena has eye-popping stats — .669 completion percentage, 704 yards, eight touchdowns and one INT. Cameron Barmore has caught six of those TDs, and has leads the team with 19 receptions and 237 yards. Earnest Davis (163 yards on 29 carries, a 5.6 average), Brian Tobel and Aaron Rodriguez have combined for 422 yards and four TDs rushing. 

When the Bobcats have the ball: Scottre Humphrey (351 yards through three games), Adam Jones (316) and Tommy Mellott (174) are all averaging at least 8.3 yards a carry. Jones averages 9.3 yards and has a team-high 4 touchdowns. Mellott’s completion percentage is 68.7, and he’s thrown for 4 touchdowns and run for three. Ty McCullough, Lenyatta Alexander and H-back Rohan Jones have combined for 26 catches and two TDs.  

Notable: Mercyhurst of Erie, Pennsylvania, plays in the limited (45-) scholarship NEC. ... This first meeting between the schools, and the Lakers will play at Bozeman again next season. ... Look for the Cats to pad their season sack total, which sits at 3. ... MSU’s Taco Dowler is averaging 14.2 yards on 12 punt returns. ... Meanwhile no one has returned either a punt or kickoff by the Cats’ Brendan Hall so far. ... Brent Vigen is 35-9 in his fourth season as the Cats’ head coach. ... Ryan Riemedio is 5-20 in his third year at Mercyhurst. ...  

The Pick: Cats, 55-7.