Northern Iowa's Ben Boothby celebrates after recording a sack against Indiana State. / BILL NEIBERGALL / REGISTER PHOTO
QUARTERFINALS
Friday, Dec. 9
7:00 -- Northern Iowa (10-2) at Montana (10-2), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10
11 a.m. -- Montana State (10-2) at Sam Houston State (12-0)
1:00 -- Maine (9-3) at Georgia Southern (10-2)
3:00 -- Lehigh (11-1) at North Dakota State (11-1)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 16 or Saturday, Dec. 17
-- Northern Iowa-Montana winner vs. Montana State-Sam Houston State winner
-- Maine-Georgia Southern winner vs. Lehigh-North Dakota State winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Friday, Jan. 7 at Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas
Noon -- Semifinal winners
The Northern Iowa football team normally plays on busy Saturdays when there are dozens of games on television.Friday, Dec. 9
7:00 -- Northern Iowa (10-2) at Montana (10-2), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10
11 a.m. -- Montana State (10-2) at Sam Houston State (12-0)
1:00 -- Maine (9-3) at Georgia Southern (10-2)
3:00 -- Lehigh (11-1) at North Dakota State (11-1)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Dec. 16 or Saturday, Dec. 17
-- Northern Iowa-Montana winner vs. Montana State-Sam Houston State winner
-- Maine-Georgia Southern winner vs. Lehigh-North Dakota State winner
CHAMPIONSHIP
Friday, Jan. 7 at Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas
Noon -- Semifinal winners
Not this time.
The second-ranked Panthers and fifth-ranked Montana Grizzlies will have the national stage all to themselves Friday night when they clash in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
The battle at Washington-Grizzly Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (Central time) and will be televised by ESPN. If you want to watch a college football game on TV Friday night, this is the one.
All of the major college teams in the country have the weekend off, and all the other quarterfinal games in the FCS playoffs will be held Saturday.
“It’s great for our program and it’s awesome for our university,” Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley said. “To me, every sports bar in the country will have that football game on, because I believe it’s the only game that night.”
Northern Iowa will get three hours of free exposure on the most prominent sports network in the country.
“For our university and for our program, we can’t simulate that,” Farley said. “That’s why this is not only a great opportunity for our players, but also for us to demonstrate about the University of Northern Iowa. So it’s a neat deal for everybody.”
It also could be a tough deal for the Panthers, because Montana has an imposing 18-1 record in home playoff games in December. Overall, the Grizzlies are 28-6 in home playoff games and 2-8 in road games, which is why the seeding for the FCS playoffs was so important.
Northern Iowa (10-2) is ranked No.2 and No.3 in the major polls, yet drew the No.5 seed for the playoffs. Montana (10-2) is ranked No.5 in the polls, but drew the No.4 seed. The Grizzlies got the home game because they have the higher seed.
Farley has refused to complain, but admitted he found the whole thing “very odd.”
It will be cold in Missoula, Mont. on Friday night, with the temperature possibly dropping into the teens, and the Grizzlies will have a vocal crowd of more than 25,000 fans.
Northern Iowa will be battling the elements, battling the crowd, battling the home-field advantage and battling an extremely good football team. Montana beat then-No.1 Montana State in its final game of the regular season to claim a share of the Big Sky Conference title.
“They’re actually better than I anticipated, and I anticipated a great football team,” Farley said.
Montana linebacker Caleb McSurdy and defensive back Trumaine Johnson were named to the FCS All-America team this week. McSurdy was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.
Northern Iowa counters with defensive tackle Ben Boothby, who also was named an FCS All-American, and linebacker L.J. Fort, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson has passed for 1,927 yards and 17 touchdowns. He likes to spread the ball around, and 11 different Grizzles have caught at least nine passes this season. Peter Nguyen leads their running attack with 768 yards.
Northern Iowa relies heavily on quarterback Tirrell Rennie, who has passed for 1,709 yards and run for a team-best 834 yards. Rennie has accounted for 22 touchdowns with his arm and legs.
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the FCS semifinals next weekend against Sam Houston State or Montana State. If Northern Iowa wins, it would host Montana State in the semifinals but would travel to Sam Houston State.
Northern Iowa's scores and game stats
Montana's season scores and game stats
WHEN: 7:05 p.m. (Central time), ESPN.
WHERE: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,200), Missoula, Mont.
THE MATCHUP: Northern Iowa is 0-4 all-time against Montana, including 0-3 on the road and 0-2 in the playoffs. The Panthers are 7-4 in the FCS quarterfinals, but 1-3 on the road. Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort leads the nation in tackles (167) and is four stops away from setting a school record. The Panthers have been outgained by 450 yards in their last two games, yet managed to defeat Illinois State (23-20 in 2 OTs) and Wofford (28-21). Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley is seeking his 100th victory in 11 years with the Panthers. Montana coach Robin Pflugrad is 16-6 in two years with the Grizzlies and was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year.
Northern Iowa's individual stat leaders
Montana's individual stat leaders
“For our university and for our program, we can’t simulate that,” Farley said. “That’s why this is not only a great opportunity for our players, but also for us to demonstrate about the University of Northern Iowa. So it’s a neat deal for everybody.”
It also could be a tough deal for the Panthers, because Montana has an imposing 18-1 record in home playoff games in December. Overall, the Grizzlies are 28-6 in home playoff games and 2-8 in road games, which is why the seeding for the FCS playoffs was so important.
Northern Iowa (10-2) is ranked No.2 and No.3 in the major polls, yet drew the No.5 seed for the playoffs. Montana (10-2) is ranked No.5 in the polls, but drew the No.4 seed. The Grizzlies got the home game because they have the higher seed.
Farley has refused to complain, but admitted he found the whole thing “very odd.”
It will be cold in Missoula, Mont. on Friday night, with the temperature possibly dropping into the teens, and the Grizzlies will have a vocal crowd of more than 25,000 fans.
Northern Iowa will be battling the elements, battling the crowd, battling the home-field advantage and battling an extremely good football team. Montana beat then-No.1 Montana State in its final game of the regular season to claim a share of the Big Sky Conference title.
“They’re actually better than I anticipated, and I anticipated a great football team,” Farley said.
Montana linebacker Caleb McSurdy and defensive back Trumaine Johnson were named to the FCS All-America team this week. McSurdy was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.
Northern Iowa counters with defensive tackle Ben Boothby, who also was named an FCS All-American, and linebacker L.J. Fort, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson has passed for 1,927 yards and 17 touchdowns. He likes to spread the ball around, and 11 different Grizzles have caught at least nine passes this season. Peter Nguyen leads their running attack with 768 yards.
Northern Iowa relies heavily on quarterback Tirrell Rennie, who has passed for 1,709 yards and run for a team-best 834 yards. Rennie has accounted for 22 touchdowns with his arm and legs.
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the FCS semifinals next weekend against Sam Houston State or Montana State. If Northern Iowa wins, it would host Montana State in the semifinals but would travel to Sam Houston State.
Northern Iowa's scores and game stats
Montana's season scores and game stats
FRIDAY'S GAME
WHAT: Northern Iowa (10-2) at Montana (10-2) in quarterfinals of FCS playoffs.WHEN: 7:05 p.m. (Central time), ESPN.
WHERE: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,200), Missoula, Mont.
THE MATCHUP: Northern Iowa is 0-4 all-time against Montana, including 0-3 on the road and 0-2 in the playoffs. The Panthers are 7-4 in the FCS quarterfinals, but 1-3 on the road. Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort leads the nation in tackles (167) and is four stops away from setting a school record. The Panthers have been outgained by 450 yards in their last two games, yet managed to defeat Illinois State (23-20 in 2 OTs) and Wofford (28-21). Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley is seeking his 100th victory in 11 years with the Panthers. Montana coach Robin Pflugrad is 16-6 in two years with the Grizzlies and was named the Big Sky Coach of the Year.
Northern Iowa's individual stat leaders
Montana's individual stat leaders
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