|
|
By B.J. Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor
SouthernPigskin.com Senior Editor B.J. Bennett looks at the unique setting Appalachian State will be playing in this weekend on the road at Montana. Follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin.
Washington-Grizzly Stadium isn't your typical FCS venue. Montana football has roughly 20,000 season ticket holders, the attention of the state media and a rabid home venue that rivals many BCS Conference sites. Recent expansions have pushed the capacity of Washington-Grizzly Stadium to 25,200. For a point of reference, Duke's season finale against Wake Forest had an attendance of 21,420. Griz Vision, a 26 x 36 foot television screen, is the largest in FCS football and was brought in from Times Square in New York City.
Needless to say, a trip to Missoula, Montana to face the Griz is unlike any other road trip in FCS football.
The weather is another factor that makes playing at Washington-Grizzly Stadium so tough. Temperatures in the 4th quarter of the Appalachian State/Montana football game will be in the low 20s with snow flurries -- and that's t-shirt time for the folks in Missoula. At the time this column was published, the weather in Missoula, Montana was a nippy 1 degree. Seriously, 1 degree.
Appalachian State, with Boone being in the Mountains of North Carolina, has a bit of an advantage over a Southern Conference foe like Georgia Southern or The Citadel, for example. The weather at publish time in Boone, NC was 43 degrees. Chilly, frosty even as the night arrives. But not 1 degree. The Saturday forecast is expected to be in the mid 30s.
The game itself will be a clash of FCS titans with a national championship game bid on the line. Montana won 14 games last season and lost in the FCS championship game to Richmond. The Grizzlies earned a vote in the national top 25 this past week.
"We're not afraid here stating that winning the national championship is one of the main goals of our football program," Montana head football coach Bobby Hauck told Kevin Thomas in an exclusive interview.
Saturday's game will air on ESPN with kickofff at 4:00pm. The two winningst programs of the decade in FCS football, playing in one of college football's most unique and challenging venues. Southerners don't do much when the weather dips into the 20s. Appalachian State will have to come to play.
.....
Share your thoughts on the SouthernPigskin.com Message Boards or email us at
|
Comments
Make Yourself Heard
|
|
