Reading the distance totals for Montana this year was a bit like tracing a seismometer during an earthquake: confusing, whiplash-inducing and a little scary. The Grizzlies have run for a whopping 410 yards in a game (against the ridiculously outmatched Morehead State). They’ve thrown for as many as 364 (against Eastern Washington and the Eagles’, shall we say, sometimes relaxed approach to defense).

They were almost perfectly balanced (198 yards rushing and 197 passing against Northern Colorado) and hilariously lopsided (268 passing but only 68 rushing against Cal Poly).

It’s a statistical record designed to generate debates on the radio and on social media that the Griz offense has generated in droves over the past three months: Should Logan Fife or Keali’i Ah Yat (or both) play quarterback ? Will running back Eli Gillman, the reigning Jerry Rice Award winner, get enough touches? And, most relevant as the Griz enter the 123rd Brawl of the Wild against Montana State this week, that staggering statistical record is indicative of a balanced offense that can evolve based on what the defense throws at it — or one without an identity. ?

The Grizzlies’ offensive players – Gillman and Nick Ostmo at running back, plus Junior Bergen, Keelan White, Aaron Fontes and Sawyer Racanelli at wide receiver – are among the best in the country, and so is their offensive ceiling. They scored 45 or more points for a month of games at the end of the non-conference schedule and the start of Big Sky play.

But Montana’s offense was affected by instability at quarterback, as the coaching staff fluctuated between Ah Yat and Fife, and on the offensive line.

After a Week 2 loss to North Dakota, the Griz switched from center Liam Brown to left guard Cade Klimczak, giving the newly arrived Central Michigan transfer the responsibility of getting the ball.

Left tackle Cannon Panfiloff has missed time in recent weeks with injury, leaving Whitefish product Dillon Botner in the starting lineup at left tackle, while redshirt junior Declan McCabe and redshirt freshman Lucas Frietas have entered the mix at the interior spots.

Entering the 123rd Brawl of the Wild, the Griz are third in the Big Sky Conference in rushing and fifth in passing. They’ve given up the third-most sacks in the conference (though they’re in good company at the bottom of the standings — UC Davis’ prolific offense has even given up a sack in 11 games).

Against Portland State last week, Montana was shut out in the first half with Ah Yat at quarterback, then scored four touchdowns in the first 16 minutes of the second half with Fife at QB — a maddening microcosm of the Grizzlies’ inconsistency all season.

Now the Griz are taking the entire volatile apparatus to the biggest game of the year. Unsurprisingly, Fife is expected to start at quarterback against Montana State this week, but there are plenty of questions elsewhere.

Bergen has been struggling with a groin injury all season. White is expected to return after missing the game against Portland State entirely. Fontes has had issues with drops, and All-American tight end Cole Grossman has not fully reintegrated into the offense over the past two games after missing all of last season and most of this season for undisclosed reasons.

Despite averaging over 200 rushing yards per game, the Griz haven’t broken that mark since September. Gillman, after a month without going over 100 yards in a meet, finally broke out with 134 against Portland State last week.

“(Gillman and Ostmo) are both really impressive backs,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said. “They break tackles and I think they are both decisive guys so we have to be good at tackling. … We’re going to have to be in the right places. We will have to play with a good pad level and try to get them to go sideways as much as possible.”

This week they go up against the conference’s most impressive defense.

Montana State ranks first in the conference overall in scoring and rushing defense. The Bobcats allow just 113.3 yards per game on the ground, and have given up more than 150 rushing yards to an FCS opponent just once this season – 225 two weeks ago against Eastern Washington. That total included a 75-yard rushing TD from Wildcat quarterback Michael Wortham.

That, admittedly, comes against a weak slate of opponents, often putting the Bobcats in the lead early in the second half.

The unit has had several players step up when starters have been lost to injury. Senior defensive tackle Blake Schmidt and senior linebacker Danny Uluilakepa are both out for the season.

DT’s Paul Brott and linebacker’s Bryce Grebe and Neil Daily have stepped into those roles.

“I think the good thing about where we are with our nose (tackle) is that Paul (Brott) can play more, and Paul is playing at a very high level,” Vigen said. “Hunter Sharbono and Talon Marsh, two freshmen, both came in and did some stuff. The linebacker piece, Neil Daily, Bryce Grebe, those two guys have done really well, and McCade (O’Reilly) himself has continued to play at a very high level. We were able to resist that.”

The front seven continues to be anchored by O’Reilly, who leads the Bobcats with 54 tackles, and Bryce Grebe’s older brother Brody, a two-time All-American defensive end.

With offenses involving the “Melstone Cowboy” this year, he has just six sacks, but opposing D-end Kenneth Eiden has added four more, and Montana State as a team is third in the conference in sacks.

“The one guy who really stands out is Brody Grebe,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. “I got to spend time with him at the league meetings this summer and really enjoyed him. He has had a very good season and a good career. It seems like forever since he was in camp and we were watching the Roundup High movie and watching him. Now he’s playing in his last one and he’s had a very productive year.”

Montana State matched a season high with six sacks against UC Davis last week, but the 28 points the Aggies scored against them in a furious second-half comeback matched the most by an FCS opponent all year.

At its best, Montana’s offense has the necessary firepower to challenge the ‘Cats in the same way UC Davis did.

But which version of the Grizzlies’ offense shows up in Bozeman on Saturday may be the biggest question they’ve faced all season.

“They’ve had some success running the football this year,” Montana State Security Officer Rylan Ortt said. “They have outside talent, and they have some quarterbacks who are very talented and can run that offense at a high level at times. We will have to be able to tackle and overcome blocks and ultimately just execute our game plan on Saturday.