CHENEY, Wash. — The famous — or infamous — red turf known as the Inferno at Roos Field is home to the Eastern Washington Eagles, who of course are the opponents for the Montana Grizzlies this Saturday as both teams officially begin Big Sky play.
The No. 8 Grizzlies (3-1) make their return to the red turf for the first time since 2021, when Montana lost a top-10 thriller in a night game.
In fact, the talk all week has been about how UM has never won on the red turf since its installation in 2010, with Montana being 0-6 atop the Inferno. The Grizzlies' last road win against the Eagles was 2008.
"I grew up in Seattle so I always knew about Eastern and their run they had in the 2010s and they had Cooper Kupp and those guys," UM defensive end Hayden Harris said. "I've had some historical background with them.
"They recruited me a little bit in high school as well as the transfer portal, but that's pretty much all I know. They're a good football team and we're excited to get after it on Saturday."
In terms of Eastern Washington, the Eagles (1-3) sport a similar style to Eagle teams of the past.
The offense ranks among the top half of the Big Sky and as one of the better ones in the FCS. The defense however struggles, ranking near the bottom of both the Big Sky and the FCS at large.
The Eagles are led by the 1-2 punch of quarterback Kekoa Visperas and wide receiver Efton Chism III, two dynamic playmakers as Chism is another in a long line of Eastern Washington All-America wide receivers, while Visperas is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the FCS.
It's a similar style of game as UM's last opponent in Western Carolina: A high-powered offense but a struggling defense. So the question is, which one rises to the occasion, or becomes the biggest liability, against the Grizzlies?
It's the first meeting since 2022 between these familiar foes. Since being one of the most explosive teams in the country in 2021 — a season where UM and EWU rematched in the playoffs in Missoula where the Griz came out on top — EWU has gone 8-18 since.
The Eagles went 4-7 last year with four losses by one score, and this year they're 1-3 with two FCS losses again by one score.
Montana will look to keep its momentum going from the win over the Catamounts with its own forceful offense and a defense that began to settle in last week.
"We're 3-1. We were up 24-7 a couple of weeks ago (at North Dakota) and feel like we probably let that one go so I kind of like where we are but it's all about the Big Sky Conference play now," UM head coach Bobby Hauck said.
