DILLON — Whether it's due to proximity, the very different feel of the towns and universities the programs reside in, or simply the fact that when they meet it's often between two teams battling for position near the top of the conference standings, the rivalry game between Montana Tech and Montana Western football always seems to have a little extra intensity.
"It's incredible, the last several years and the game's we've been playing against Montana Tech," said Bulldogs head coach Ryan Nourse. "To be playing meaningful football in the Frontier Conference and the state of Montana. It's awesome for the state, it's awesome for our universities and the conference."
When the Orediggers and Bulldogs meet in Dillon this Saturday they'll do so in a Top 15 matchup, as No. 7 Western (3-1 overall, 1-1 Frontier) hosts No. 12 Tech (4-1, 2-1) in a meeting between one-loss teams looking to bolster their playoff resumes while remaining in the race for the conference title as the regular season reaches the midway point.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. as both teams look to keep pace with Carroll College, which is 3-0 in league play.
"This is why you coach, this is why you play," said Tech head coach Kyle Samson. "Two great teams going at it. It should be a lot of fun, it should be a great atmosphere. For our players this is why they come here to play in big-time games."
Tech is coming off a 42-35 win over a seventh-ranked Southern Oregon team that saw the Orediggers buildt a three-score lead and then hold on for the win to deal the Red Raiders their first loss of the season. It was Tech's second top-10 victory after upending No. 3 Georgetown (Ky.) on Aug. 29.
But Tech's sole focus is now on the task that awaits them in Dillon.
"The challenge every week is being able to reset, start from ground zero, and keep getting better every week in practice." said Samson. "And knowing that we had a big win doesn't mean nothing this week. It's a whole different team. That's what's fun about college football is you get one game per week and you gotta be ready for it."
It'll be the Bulldogs first game at their new on-campus stadium since rolling then-No. 3-ranked College of Idaho 42-35 on Sept. 14. Western then split a pair of road games, rolling past Lewis and Clark College 56-39 before falling to No. 14 Southern Oregon 28-26.
Western was on a bye last weekend and has had plenty of time to fine tune the things that cost them in Ashland, Oregon.
"When you lose a close, tight game like we did you've got immediate things that you can go and work on and improve upon," said Nourse. "I felt like our players and our coaches did an excellent job of identifying those things and accepting the responsibility and moving forward to building the best team we can this season."
