BILLINGS — The FCS playoff confrontation between Montana and Montana State on Saturday in Bozeman is the first of its kind.
Never before have the the longtime rivals met in the football postseason, much less the semifinal round. All that's at stake is a berth to the national title game Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tenn.
The scope of the matchup may be unique, but it still can be framed in a historical context.
The first thing to note is that the semifinals have been especially kind to Montana through the years. The Grizzlies are making their 12th all-time appearance in the semis; they are 8-3 in the previous 11, a winning percentage of .727.
But eight of those 11 games were played at the friendly confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium — Montana is 1-2 in road semifinal games with the only victory being a 35-27 win at former FCS power James Madison in 2008.
As for Bobby Hauck, he is 4-1 in semifinal games in his double-tenured stint as the Grizzlies' coach and, more importantly, 1-0 on the road in the semis (at JMU in '08). Hauck is 21-12 all-time in the playoffs at Montana.
From a pure playoff perspective, the Griz are 41-26 in FCS/Division I-AA playoff games since 1982. That's a heck of a run. But of those 41 victories, only two have come in true road games — in 2008 at James Madison and in the national title game in 1995 against homestanding Marshall.
UM, one of the most prolific programs the subdivision has ever seen, is just 2-14 all-time in road playoff games.
By contrast, the Bobcats don't nearly have the semifinal history — or playoff history — Montana does. Saturday's game will mark Montana State's sixth FCS/I-AA semifinal appearance and its seventh playoff semifinal of any kind. The Bobcats are 4-2 in the previous six.
MSU is a perfect 3-0 in semifinal home games dating to its storied national championship season of 1984. Amazingly, the Bobcats went 35 seasons between semifinal appearances from '84 to 2019, and missed the playoffs outright for 17 seasons between 1985 and 2001.
But things are different now. This will be the Cats' third home semifinal game just in the past five years. They beat South Dakota State 31-17 to advance to the national title game in 2021, then topped South Dakota also by a 31-17 score last season to make a return championship appearance.
The Bobcats played in just 10 playoff games total between 2002 and 2017 but have appeared in 19 in the years since. This will be the 15th postseason game alone for MSU in the five-year tenure of coach Brent Vigen.
To date, Vigen is 9-1 in home playoff games with his only loss coming on a blocked extra point in overtime to North Dakota State in the second round in 2023. He has won both of MSU's home semifinal games in his tenure; his lone defeat in the semis came at South Dakota State in 2022.
The home-field advantage the Bobcats have built also can't be discounted going into Saturday. In five years under Vigen, Montana State is 39-2 at home — a winning percentage of .951. And Vigen has still not lost at home to an opponent from the Big Sky Conference in all 20 of his tries.
In a historical context, it's Montana's broad semifinal success versus Montana State's recent home dominance. Which trend will hold on Saturday?
