#20 Washington (0-0, 0-0) vs. Montana (0-0, 0-0)
Saturday, September 4th @ 5:00 p.m. PT
Husky Stadium (Seattle, Washington)
Line: Washington -24
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: Seattle Sports Radio 950 KJR
The Washington Huskies will face off against the Montana Grizzlies at Husky Stadium, as they look to start out the season on a winning note.
During last season, the Huskies went 3-1 and won the Pac-12 North Division but had to let the rival Oregon Ducks play in the Pac-12 Championship game due to Covid-19 issues.
This week, the Huskies are facing an opponent who went 2-0 last season with blowout wins against Central Washington and Portland State.
It will be a huge boost for the Huskies to play in front of their loyal fans once again after having an empty Husky Stadium last year due to the pandemic.
Defensively, the Huskies will have to impose their will on Montana from the outstart and set the tone early in the trenches.
Offensively, the Grizzlies will have to find a way to put points up on the board to have a chance to stay in the game.
Something has to give, in this contest between the Huskies dominant defense and the Grizzlies playing as the underdog.
KEY PLAYERS: WASHINGTON
QB – Dylan Morris
ILB – Edefuan Ulofoshio
TE – Cade Otton
KEY PLAYERS: MONTANA
QB – Cam Humphrey
LB – Jace Lewis
WR – Samuel Akem
ESPN MATCHUP PREDICTOR
GAME NOTES
– UW played just four games last season, all of them vs. Pac-12 Conference opponents … the Montana game will mark the Huskies’ first non-conference game since their win over Boise State in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl, and their first at Husky Stadium since Sept. 14, 2019 (vs. Hawai’i)
– UW RS-freshman Dylan Morris started at QB in the opener last year, joining Jake Locker (RS-freshman in 2007) and Jake Browning (true freshman in 2015) as the only Huskies to start a season opener as a freshman in the modern era
– Washington is 17-1-1 all-time against Montana. The Huskies and Grizzlies had gone more than a half-century without playing one another before they met on week two of the 2017 season.
– Montana returns a majority of the 2019 playoff team with 14 starters from 2019 (8 O, 6 D), 20 starters (9 O, 11 D) from spring of 2021, and 87 lettermen from the 2021 spring team, contributing to a deep and well-rounded roster.
– Head coach Bobby Hauck is seeking to surpass the 100-win mark in his two-term career at Montana, entering the 2021 season at 98-26 as the Grizzly mentor. Hauck was an assistant coach at Washington from 1999-2002.
– SPEAKING OF BIG MEN: Montana’s offensive line will be one of the most veteran and sizeable of the last decade when the Griz take the field this weekend. Six of Montana’s 10 O-linemen in the two-deep are upperclassmen, and eight of the 10 have started at least one game in their careers.
PREDICTION
Jeff Wright (0-0)
Even though the Huskies went 3-1 in Jimmy Lake’s first year as head coach last year, the team will be judged off of a full season which starts this weekend. The Dawgs have had more practices and time to improve themselves and know what to expect from Coach Lake and staff. The offense looks much improved during Fall Camp recently and especially at the skill positions to go along with that talented offensive line. Defensively, the Huskies are solid all the way around and should have a dominating season once again. I expect the Huskies to come out fired up to play in front of the Husky faithful once again and win in commanding fashion. Off to Ann Arbor the following weekend for a real test!
Washington 42 – Montana 7
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