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The Montana Grizzlies of the Big Sky Conference will gun for their third Division I Football national championship on Friday night against the Richmond Spiders of the Colonial Athletic Association.
The national championship game begins at 8 p.m. EST, and will be televised live by ESPN2 and ESPN2/HD. For the 12th straight season the game is being played at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Montana enters the championship with a 14-1 record and riding a 10-game winning streak. Richmond (12-3) has won eight straight games. The Spiders are making their first apperance in the title game.
Montana, led by sixth-year coach Bobby Hauck, last appeared in the championship game in 2004, falling to James Madison 31-21. The Grizzlies won national titles in 1995 in Huntington, West Virginia, and in 2001 in Chattanooga. The Grizzlies are in the championship game for the sixth time since 1995, and the fourth time since 2000.
The fourth-seeded Grizzlies advanced to the championship game with an 35-27 upset of top-ranked and top-seeded James Madison in a semifinal game. Richmond edged third-seeded Northern Iowa 21-20 in the other semifinal.
For more on the championship matchup, please click here.
National Championship Game
Friday, Dec. 19....................................................... Time
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Venue: Finley Stadium/Davenport Field (20,066).
Series:Montana leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Montana beat Richmond 34-20 in a 2000 quarterfinal game in Missoula, Mont.
TV: ESPN2/ESPN2 HD
Video Stream: www.espn360.com
About the Schools: The University of Montana is located in Missoula, Mont, and has an enrollment of 14,207. The University of Richmond is a private school located in Richmond, Virginia. It has an enrollment of 4,325.
A Big Sky Conference team is in the national championship game for the 11th time in the 31-year history of the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
Big Sky Conference teams are 5-5 in the national championship game.
Montana is making its sixth national championship game appearance. Montana beat Marshall in 1995 and beat Furman in 2001. The Grizzlies lost to Marshall in 1996, Georgia Southern in 2000, and James Madison in 2004.
Boise State (1980), Idaho State (1981) and Montana State (1984) are the other Big Sky teams to win national titles.
A Big Sky Conference team advanced to the semifinals for the 18th time in the 31 years of the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
With last week’s 35-27 win over James Madison in the semifinals, the Grizzlies are 3-3 against teams from the Colonial Athletic Conference in the playoffs. The teams in the CAA formerly played in the Atlantic 10, prior to that the Yankee Conference. Montana lost a first-round game to Delaware 49-48 in 1993 in Missoula. In 2000, Montana beat Richmond 34-20 in a quarterfinal. In 2004, Montana beat New Hampshire 47-17 in a quarterfinal game. Montana lost to UMass 19-17 in a 2006 semifinal. All of those games were played in Missoula. The Grizzlies lost the 2004 National championship game to James Madison 31-21 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Bobby Hauck is the second Grizzly coach to lead a team to two national championship games. Joe Glenn coached Montana to the title game in 2000 and 2001. Hauck led Montana to the title game in 2004.
Hauck is the fourth coach to lead the Grizzlies to the national championship game. Don Read guided UM to the 1995 national championship. Mick Dennehy led UM to the title game a year later.
Hauck has an overall record of 66-15 in six seasons. His winning percentage of .815 ranks second in Big Sky history. His 66 victories ranks fourth in league history behind Nevada’s Chris Ault (111), Montana’s Don Read (85) and Eastern Washington and Montana State’s Mike Kramer (77)
Since the start of the 2006 season, Montana has compiled a record of 37-4. Montana went 12-2 with losses to Iowa and UMass in 2006. Montana’s only loss in 2007 was to Wofford. Montana’s only loss this season came on Oct. 4 to Weber State. Since losing to the Wildcats, Montana has won 10 straight games. Montana has won at least 10 straight games in each of the last three seasons.
Montana kicker Brody McKnight will become the third straight freshman kicker to play in a national championship game for the Grizzlies. Chris Snyder kicked in the 2000 championship game as a true freshman. Current Miami Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter kicked for the Grizzlies as a true freshman in 2004.
This was the third time in five years two Big Sky teams have advanced to the quarterfinals. In 2006, Montana and Montana State both won first-round games. Montana State lost in the quarterfinals, and Montana lost in the semifinals. In 2004 Montana and Eastern Washington both won first-round games. EWU lost in the quarterfinals, while Montana lost the national title game to James Madison.
Montana sophomore running back Chase Reynolds has rushed for at least 100 yards in eight straight games. Reynolds had a career-high 233 yards on 38 carries with two touchdowns in the first-round win over Texas State. The 233 rushing yards was the most by a running back in the first round. Reynolds added 185 yards on 33 carries with two touchdowns in the 24-13 quarterfinal win over Weber State. Reynolds had 123 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the semifinal win over James Madison.
In his last eight games, Reynolds has rushed for 1,253 yards and 17 touchdowns. Reynold’s 1,526 yards ranks second in single-season school history. His 21 rushing touchdowns are a school single-season record.
Since losing 45-28 to Weber State in Ogden, Utah, on Oct. 4, Montana has won 10 straight games. During the winning streak, Montana has outscored its opponents 331-118
Montana’s defense allowed six touchdowns in the Oct. 4 loss to Weber State. Since that loss, Montana’s defense has allowed a total of 11 touchdowns. UM has allowed just five touchdowns in three playoff games, and eight touchdowns in the last seven games.
Montana has enjoyed 23 straight winning seasons. The Grizzlies have been ranked in the Sports Network Top 25 Poll for 147 consecutive weeks.
Montana has outscored opponents 120-29 in the third quarter of games this season. Richmond has outscored opponents 102-53 in the third quarter this season.
The Grizzlies’ 10-game winning streak is tied with Grambling for the longest active in the FCS. Richmond’s eight-game winning streak is tied for the third-longest with Albany and Harvard.
Montana QB Cole Bergquist is 31-5 as a starter at Montana. His 31 wins ranks second in school history, behind only Dave Dickenson, who guided Montana to the 1995 national championship.
Richmond is ranked third in the nation in turnover margin. Montana is ranked 13th. Montana is +25 in turnover margin during its 10-game winning streak.
Montana ranks eighth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 17.3 points per game. Richmond ranks sixth at 16.2 points per game.
Richmond ranks 24th in the nation in rushing offense at 185.6 yards per game. Montana is 25th at 184.2.
With a win Montana can finish 15-1, tying the 2001 national championship team for most wins in a season in school history.