HELENA, Mont. — The University of Montana gets a first-round bye in the 24-team FCS playoffs while Carroll College has advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA playoffs after weekend wins.
Montana beat Montana State 28-14 on Saturday, moved up to fourth in The Sports Network poll and was seeded eighth in the FCS playoffs. The Grizzlies (10-2) will be at home on Dec. 7 against the winner of Saturday’s game between Bethune-Cookman and Coastal Carolina.
The Griz players are thankful for the bye week.
“I think it’s huge because, you know our (first) bye was really early in the season, so we’ve played a ton of games in a row,” said quarterback Jordan Johnson. “I think it will be big for us to get back to really healthy.”
Montana offensive lineman Alex Bienemann is looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner at home and gaining some perspective on the season while linebacker Jordan Tripp said the break will be good for the team’s mental outlook.
“It’s just a plus to recharge your batteries, sit back and learn what we have to correct,” Tripp said. “There’s always stuff we have to correct, every single week. It will be great to get better mentally and physically.”
Big Sky champion and third-ranked Eastern Washington (10-2) was seeded third and will play the winner of this weekend’s game between league runner-up Northern Arizona (9-2) and South Dakota. Southern Utah meets Sam Houston in the first round Saturday.