Montana closes pre-league schedule at Western Illinois

The Montana football team will face its third still-inexperienced squad in as many weeks when they play their final match of the non-conference slate on Saturday.

Yet Saturday’s road trip to Western Illinois may still be the toughest test yet for a 2-0 Grizzly team that played 14 true or redshirt freshmen in last weekend’s win over Drake.

“We’ve talked a bit about that as a team, and I’m excited to go on the road with these guys and see how they perform,” head coach Bobby Hauck said Monday. “We need to understand that it’s a different environment, but the field’s the same size.”

Despite a 26-23 loss, Western Illinois gave Montana State everything it could handle to open the season two weeks ago; last week, the Leathernecks took a 7-0 lead on FBS Illinois before ultimately falling 34-14.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 2 pm. The Grizzlies will open their Big Sky schedule at home the following Saturday versus Sacramento State.

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