MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies won their first Big Sky Conference championship in 14 years with a 37-7 rout of archrival Montana State in the 122nd Brawl of the Wild on Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Grizzlies finished the regular season with a 10-1 record, a 7-1 mark in the Big Sky and the outright league title. Montana State finished 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the league.
Griz quarterback Clifton McDowell threw for 200 yards, rushed for 69 and accounted for two total touchdowns. Montana's defense limited the Bobcats to just 280 total yards of offense and held them to a 1-for-14 success rate on third- and fourth-down plays.
With the win, the Grizzlies are in prime position to claim the No. 2 seed for the upcoming FCS playoffs, which will guarantee them home field advantage throughout the postseason. Both the Cats and Griz will find out their playoff positioning on Sunday with the FCS championship selection show at 10:30 a.m. Mountain time on ESPNU and ESPN+.
For full highlights from Saturday's game, see the video player above.
