Montana hosts South Dakota State in FCS playoffs

Posted November 23, 2015 6:00 am

The Associated Press

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - The Montana football team, which struggled to a 3-3 record in mid-October, finished its regular season with a three-game winning streak and earned a spot in the FCS playoffs.

The 16th-ranked Grizzlies (7-4) will play host to No. 10 South Dakota State (8-3) Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner will play at four-time defending champion and second-ranked North Dakota State (9-2) on Dec. 5.

Quarterback Brady Gustafson missed six games with an injury, but returned to help Montana beat Eastern Washington 57-16 and Montana State 54-35.

South Dakota State opened the season with a 41-38 win over Kansas, beat Big Sky Conference champion Southern Utah 55-10 and lost 28-7 to North Dakota State - a team Montana beat 38-35 in the season opener.

Montana has a 7-0 record against South Dakota State, including a 61-48 win in the 2009 playoffs. Montana had trailed 48-21 with 5:40 left in the third quarter before running off 40 straight points.

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