It's about THAT time.

The South Dakota Coyotes, fresh off of a stunning shutout win at Mercer (over the Bears), take their talents out West to take on the bigger, badder (and higher-seeded) Grizzlies of Montana.

The two programs collide on Saturday at 2:30 on ABC, with radio coverage beginning at 1:30 on the Coyote Sports Network from Learfield.

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Here's your nuts and bolts preview of what's ahead from the Coyote perspective, as they travel to Missoula to take on the 3rd-seeded Montana Grizzlies on Saturday.

Before we get there, here's your fun facts about Missoula and the Grizzly Bear:

Missoula, Montana is home to 78,000+ residents, known as 'Missoulians.' Notable residents in the past include John Elway, JK Simmons, and Michael Punke, who authored the book, The Revenant.

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And your 'Did You Know?' Grizzly Bear fact:

Despite their mammoth proportions and lumbering gait, grizzly bears are excellent runners and can dash up to 35 miles per hour. They are mostly proficient as short-distance runners, covering more than 45 meters in 3 seconds! Now you know why you should never try to run away from a grizzly if you ever happen to come across one during one of your hiking expeditions!

Now, back to the game:

TV/Radio

TV - ABC, coverage beginning at 2:30pm

Radio - Coyote Sports Network from Learfield, pregame coverage begins at 1:30pm

Odds

*Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change.

Montana favored by 7 points, O/U 59.5 points

#3 Montana Grizzlies (12-1, 7-1 Big Sky)

Wins: Central Washington, North Dakota, Indiana State, Idaho, Idaho State, Cal Poly, Sacred Heart, Sacramento State, Weber State, Eastern Washington, Portland State, #14 South Dakota State (50-29 last weekend). 3 ranked/seeded wins total.

Lone Loss: vs. #3 Montana State 31-28 on November 22nd.

The Coach: Bobby Hauck (8th Season of 2nd Stint): Coached at Montana from 2003-2009, 2018-Present. HC at UNLV from 2010-2014. 165-91 Overall Record.

Key Stats

Offense - 41.5 PPG, 179.5 Rush YPG, 41 Rush TDs, 286.6 Pass YPG, 31 Pass TDs

Defense - 23.9 PPGa, 136.2 Rush YPGa, 22 Rush TDa, 263.6 Pass YPGa, 17 PaTDa

Turnovers - Offense - 8 INT Thrown, 4 FL - Defense - 20 INT, 4 FR (+12 TO Margin)

Key Players:

Offense - Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (Kaneohe, HI)

69.6%, 3,514 Pass Yds, 29 TD - 8 INT, 77 rush Yds, 7 TD

Redshirt Junior Running Back Eli Gillman (Dassell, MN)

216 carries, 1,396 Rush Yds, 6.5 ypc, 19 TDs - 171 Rec Yds, 2 TDs

Defense - Redshirt Senior Safety TJ Rausch (Missoula, MT)

65 total tackles, 1.0 TFL, 3 INT

*Note: The Montana defense has 30 total sacks this season, and 20 interceptions. The Grizzles have 6 players with 50 or more tackles, 5 with 3 or more sacks, and 6 with multiple interceptions.

Here's the preview from GoYotes.com:

VERMILLION, S.D. — The story continues for the 2025 South Dakota football team, adventuring to the state of Montana for the second-straight FCS Playoffs as they head to Missoula, Montana to battle the No. 3-seeded Montana Grizzlies on Saturday, December 13 in the FCS Quarterfinals from Washington-Grizzly Stadium led by the new South Dakota career passing leader Aidan Bouman.
YOTES IN THE FCS PLAYOFFS

South Dakota makes their fifth trip to the FCS Playoffs this season (2017, 2021, 2023-25) and third-straight trip.
It's the first trip for head coach Travis Johansen in his first season as head coach, though he's been a part of four total trips now as defensive coordinator and/or head coach.
Six of the 10 total FCS Playoff games for South Dakota have been played in the DakotaDome, while Saturday's game at Montana will be the fifth road FCS Playoff game.
The Yotes are set to clash with what's proven to be the most frequent conference in the FCS Playoff with their fourth meeting against a Big Sky school in the playoffs.
QB Aidan Bouman is just one of two USD QBs to play in multiple FCS Playoff games (Streveler, 2017). He's the only QB to throw for 1,000+ yards in the playoffs.
South Dakota is undefeated in FCS Playoff games when they score first (4-0), lead at halftime (5-0), force 3+ takeaways (4-0), and/or holds the ball for 30+ minutes of game action (3-0).

KEY STORYLINES

South Dakota and Montana are set to meet for the 21^st time in program history on Saturday with the first-ever meeting in the FCS Playoffs.
This season South Dakota is 7-2 when scoring first, 7-0 when leading at halftime, 7-1 when not committing a turnover, 5-0 with a rusher over 150+ yards in the game, and 5-0 with a receiver having 100+ yards in the game.
The Yotes are 4-2 against top-25 FCS opponents this season with all four wins coming in the months of November and December.
USD had a stretch of not committing a turnover in six-straight games did not commit a turnover in six of the eight MVFC games this season. It's now eight games this season without a turnover, following the Mercer game (Dec. 6).
PACING THE FCS: L.J. Phillips Jr. LEADS the FCS net rushing yards (1,847), fourth in carries (279), fourth in rushing yards per game (131.9), T7th in rushing touchdowns (18), and sixth in yards per carry (6.62).
Phillips Jr. has climbed the top-10 single-season all-time list for rushing yards, sitting SECOND entering heading to Missoula. He needs 115 yards to set a new single-season program record.
Phillips Jr. became the 12^th Coyote – and third in the Division I FCS era – to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season against Northern Iowa (Oct. 18).
Aidan Bouman holds a 32-13 (45 games) record as the starting quarterback at South Dakota and has thrown a touchdown pass in 12 of the 14 games this season with a new season - and career-high five touchdowns in the regular season finale at Southern Illinois.
After the Mercer game, Bouman is now the South Dakota career passing yards leader (9,047) and SECOND all-time in career passing touchdowns (66).
Bouman has now thrown 11 touchdown passes in the last three games.
With 11 100-yard rushing games this season (nine from Phillips Jr., two from Fletcher), South Dakota now has had 78 100-yard rushing games in the Division I FCS era with Phillips Jr.'s 301 yards against Northern Colorado being the Division I single-game record.