MISSOULA, Mont. — It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the University of Montana Grizzlies take the field at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, and fans will have to wait another week to cheer on the maroon and silver at home as the Grizzlies wrap up their road trip. in San Luis Obispo, California to take on Cal Poly.

The Mustangs are coming off their bye week, which gives them an extra week to prepare for Montana’s strengths and weaknesses. Coach Bobby Hauck said you can see more unique play calls when facing a team so Montana is ready for anything.

Despite their 2-5 record, Cal Poly has been a thorn in the side of a number of teams this year. The last time they took the field, they almost finished out of frustration with Idaho. So this team has been put to the test.

Their quarterback Bo Kelly tends to be a roller coaster, but as a sophomore who got a lot of playing time as a freshman, he has the ability to lighten some defenses.

Defensively, Cal Poly was strong this year in releasing the ball. Coach Hauck emphasized this because he values ​​the turnover game as much as anyone, so it’s safe to imagine that ball security for one of the best backfields in the FCS has been a major talking point this week.

Once again, we don’t know who will take the most snaps at quarterback for Montana. Logan Fife seemed to be in control of the offense, but last week Northern Colorado’s Keali’i Ah Yat got the majority of the share. Both QBs have shown they are capable, but it was Fife who has kept Montana in a number of shootout games this season.

The Griz will enter Cal Poly as a 20-plus point favorite, but they can’t let that be an excuse to look ahead to a big top 10 matchup against UC Davis next week.

Kickoff is at 3:00 PM MT from San Luis Obispo, California.