Montana running back Marcus Knight (21) carries the ball as Weber State safety Preston Smith attempts to tackle him during an FCS playoff quarterfinal game Friday, Dec. 14, 2019, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

No matter the sport, it usually feels like a big matchup when Weber State and Montana tangle.

The No. 11 Griz (5-2, 2-2 Big Sky) come to Stewart Stadium looking to avoid a three-game losing streak while the No. 5 Wildcats (6-1, 3-1) aim to bounce back from their first loss of the season for a 1 p.m. Saturday contest.

While also highly ranked like last week’s WSU opponent Montana State, the Griz sport a different sort of team than the Bobcats. Montana’s offense is less explosive but, using a whole-team approach with a strong, stifling defense, the team has still found ways to put up points in most games.

Montana lost at home to now-No. 14 Idaho before losing last week on the road at No. 2 Sacramento State, an overtime contest Montana led for most of the game by dominating time of possession until the Hornets surged late.

Now the Griz travel to Ogden, where it last took a 41-27 loss in the regular season (2017) and fell in the FCS quarterfinals 17-10 (2019).

“This is a very good football team. Two weeks ago they were the No. 2 team in the country. I think it goes to show how good the league is right now. Montana’s still a very good team,” WSU head coach Jay Hill said. “They’re physical on both sides of the ball. They do a good job of running it on offense, they do a great job of stopping the run on defense. They make you earn what you get.”

Both teams are nursing injuries that may affect what Saturday’s game looks like.

Chief among those is Montana quarterback Lucas Johnson, a graduate transfer from San Diego State who was knocked out of last week’s game at Sac State due to a targeting foul from the Hornets. Starting defensive lineman DeAri Todd and receiver Junior Bergen also went down in Sacramento. The status of these players is unknown.

As of Tuesday, WSU running back Josh Davis continued to recover from an ankle sprain and is trending toward playing, but how much is not known, Hill said. Receiver Jacob Sharp and kick returner Abraham Williams were being evaluated day to day. Running back Dontae McMillan, who got dinged up late in the loss at MSU, is fully active and ready to play.

Johnson throws for 179 yards per game on a 64.5% completion clip with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. If he can’t go, sophomore Kris Brown will get the call. Brown has thrown 48 passes over four games for 242 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Johnson was also the team’s third-most-used rusher. Nick Ostmo (69 carries, 314 yards, two touchdowns) and Marcus Knight (60 carries, 253 yards, four touchdowns) lead an important run attack that must succeed in order for UM to score points against Weber State.

Mitch Roberts has been the top passing target (34 catches, 386 yards, four touchdowns) along with fellow receiver Aaron Fontes (23 catches, 244 yards, two touchdowns). The rest of the passing production has been spread fairly evenly to Malik Flowers, Bergen, Cole Grossman, Keelan White and Xavier Harris, who all have between 11 and 16 receptions this season.

Defensively, it’s safety Robby Hauck (62 tackles), and linebackers Patrick O’Connell (54 tackles including 11.5 for loss, 7.5 sacks, two interceptions and five QB hurries), Marcus Welnel (53 tackles, 4.5 sacks) and Levi Janacaro (46 tackles, 6.5 for loss) to watch. Montana will make it difficult to run the football.

Weber State’s offense averages 37.4 points and 422.9 yards per game. Montana’s defense averages allowing 16.9 points and 293.6 yards per game.

Montana’s offense averages 34.6 points and 383.9 yards per game. Weber State’s defense allows 15.6 points and 308.9 yards per game.

Jeff Sagarin, longtime college football computer ratings guru, ranks all of FBS and FCS together. His system ranks Weber State No. 88 out of 261 Division I teams. Montana is No. 91 overall. Using his predictive element and accounting for home-field advantage, Sagarin favors Weber State by 3 points.

Bill Connelly, another longtime CFB statistician now at ESPN, publishes weekly predictions using his SP+ system. SP+ ranks Weber State No. 11 in FCS (down five spots) and Montana at No. 3. The system predicts a Montana win at 29-28.

DRatings favors Weber State 29-25 at 66% probability.

Kickoff at Stewart Stadium is at 1 p.m. The forecast in Ogden calls for a high of 56 degrees. It will be about 52 degrees at kickoff.

Saturday’s game will air on KJZZ TV in Utah and stream via the ESPN+ subscription service. A TV crew from Montana Television Network (MTN) will produce the broadcast with Jay Kohn on play-by-play, former NFL coach Marty Mornhinweg on color commentary and Kyle Hansen on the sideline.

Steve Klauke and Jerry Graybeal will have the Weber State radio call locally on 103.1 FM and streaming online at www.1031thewave.com.

Montana leads the all-time series 40-16 but Weber State has won two of the last three, including the last two times in Ogden where UM holds an 18-9 all-time advantage.

Bobby Hauck is in his 12th overall season at Montana, split into two segments, and is 65-16 in Big Sky games. Hill is in his ninth season at Weber State with a 47-18 Big Sky record.

The string of weeks where highly ranked teams face off continues as elsewhere in the Big Sky, No. 14 Idaho travels to No. 2 Sacramento State. Both are undefeated in the Big Sky and against FCS teams. UC Davis hosts Cal Poly looking to continue a winning streak while Portland State visits Eastern Washington in a matchup of listless teams.

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