Missouri State football's final season as an FCS program will begin with a trip to a hostile environment against the defending FCS national runner-up.
The FCS No. 3 Montana Grizzlies will host the Bears on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Missoula, Montana. The game will kick off the program's second year under head coach Ryan Beard and its last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Montana is a Big Sky member who went 13-2 last year and fell 23-3 in the FCS National Championship against South Dakota State . The Griz enter the game days after announcing it broke a season ticket record for Washington-Grizzly Stadium with nearly 19,000 packages sold.
Montana has only three expected starters on offense without starting experience while the defense will have four newcomers set to make their debut for one of the subdivision's top defenses from a year ago.
What should you know about Montana? Here's our scouting report and prediction ahead of Saturday's opener:
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Montana football will play two (or maybe even three) quarterbacks against Missouri State
The Griz have teased in the days leading up to the game that they may play up to three quarterbacks against the Bears and they declined to say who will take the first snap.
Fresno State transfer quarterback Logan Fife is the hot name in Missoula. He's a redshirt junior who played in 21 games for the Bulldogs as their primary backup across three seasons. He completed 61% of his passes for 1,585 yards and six touchdowns.
Redshirt freshman Keali'i Ah Yat is Fife's main challenger. He appeared in three regular-season games and two postseason contests. He was a 68.4% passer for 271 yards and a score.
"I thought both those guys performed well," Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. "We're going to play them both. The offensive staff will sit down midweek and have our discussion on what that will be exactly."
Fife and Ah Yat are the expected one-two punch. Hauck left the door open for redshirt sophomore Kaden Huot to see action. He did not appear in any games over the last two seasons.
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Missouri State football will face one of the FCS' top secondaries
Missouri State's two public scrimmages saw its receivers locked down by the Bears' secondary. Much improvement will be needed when they face one of the FCS' top secondaries.
Montana had the fifth-best team passing efficiency defense last season and allowed just 206.2 yards per game. The defense created the 10th-most turnovers in the country and was the third-best on third downs with opponents succeeding only 29.2% of the time.
The Griz have a pair of all-Big Sky members in the secondary including safety Ryder Meyer and All-American corner Trevin Gradney.
"We have some really good defensive backs and I think when you can go real speed on real speed, it can really help you get used to the pace and tempo of what it's going to be in Montana," Beard said. "They do have an elite defensive back core. They've been together for a long time."
Missouri State football's banged-up offensive line will be in for a challenge
The Bears are down one starter on the offensive line entering the season with right tackle Erick Cade out with a hip injury. Grant Goodson will start in his place with Cristian Loaiza starting at left tackle.
Missouri State expected more continuity heading into Week 1 but will have to make do against a defensive line that averaged 2.3 sacks and allowed 108.5 yards on the ground per game last season. The Bears' o-line has often been under a microscope and took strides a year ago but still has plenty of room to grow.
Bears starting running back Jacardia Wright said he turned down Name, Image and Likeness offers during the offseason at bigger schools to run more behind an improved offensive line. He averaged 69.6 yards per game last season.
"They're coming together as a group," Bears starting running back Jacardia Wright said. "I turned down bigger schools and a lot more money. I feel like (the offensive line) really took that to heart and will work as hard as they can every day."
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What did Montana head coach Bobby Hauck say about Missouri State?
"I think Missouri State is a good football team. They have many returning starters and I always think veteran football teams are good football teams. They're very veteran so I know it'll be a major challenge this weekend. I really think at the end of October, we'll see them as a contender in the Missouri Valley. I think they're going to have a good season. We've got our hands full on Saturday."
Score prediction: Montana 30, Missouri State 17
Missouri State will have quite the challenge to kick off the season and will need a lot of things to go right to pull off an upset. Montana is a top-caliber FCS program with plenty of experience on both sides of the ball and might need this win late in the season for FCS Playoff seeding purposes.
There are questions about Missouri State's wide receivers and offensive line entering the game while starting quarterback Jacob Clark plays in his first action since leaving last season four games in requiring shoulder surgery. Against an elite secondary and a defensive line that doesn't allow much on the ground, Missouri State will have its hands full.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State football vs. Montana: Scouting report, score prediction
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