The Montana Grizzlies host a preview of the Weber State Wildcats

The no. The Wildcats dropped out of the Top 25 poll after losing last week.

The Griz are on a 15-game home winning streak and are 3-0 in Wa-Griz this year as they play seven home games in the regular season. The Wildcats are 1-2 on the road, one of those losses coming against an FBS team.

UM opened as the betting favorite at 13.5 points.

“They’re a tough team,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said of Weber. “They are disruptive on defense. Their offensive line is extremely well coached. They are skilled at wide receiver and running back. It’s going to be a handful for us this weekend.”

Here are five things to watch during the game, which will be broadcast on the Montana Television Network and streamed on ESPN+.

Montana's offensive line has found its footing in run blocking in recent weeks following a change on the offensive line, and the offense had its best passing game in nearly five years last week. The Griz will now see one of the best defenses they have faced to date.

However, Montana's ground game might be the best Weber has seen to date. The Griz are averaging 283.2 yards rushing per game, third in the FCS. The Wildcats are giving up 171.4 per game, which is 77th in the nation.

Eli Gillman has been a deep threat, ranking second in all NCAA tiers with 10.09 yards per rush attempt. Nick Ostmo has also had his share of long wins this season as he found gaps in the defense.

The Griz want to have a clean pocket for whoever plays quarterback, whether it's Keali'i Ah Yat or Logan Fife. They are averaging 214.6 passing yards per game while Weber is giving up 166 per game, which is 15th in the FCS. Their receivers should have a size advantage over cornerbacks, both of whom are listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds.

Defensive end Kemari Munier-Bailey ranks first in the Big Sky with 10.5 tackles for loss (2.1 per game) and is third with five sacks (one per game). Six of those TFLs and three sacks came in a 39-0 win at Northwestern State as he was named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.

Defensive end Brayden Wilson, a preseason All-Big Sky pick, ranks second on the team with 25 tackles and 2.5 TFLs. Linebacker Garrett Beck is the team leader with 27 tackles and two TFLs. Both have a bag.

Weber has the best rushing offense in the Big Sky that isn't on a Montana State team. The Wildcats rank a distant third with 202.2 rushing yards per game, an average that also ranks 15th nationally.

Damon Bankston has been a workhorse for them with 85 carries and is averaging 6.1 yards per rush. He ranks third in the conference with an average of 103.4 rushing yards per game and is tied for fourth with five rushing touchdowns.

Davion Godley is averaging 7.2 yards on 21 carries and Clarence Butler is averaging 5.4 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Richie Munoz shows some agility, gaining 156 yards and 107 yards on 34 carries when factoring in sacks. Adrian Cormier is second with 37 rush attempts, averaging 3.9 yards.

“They have the ability to move the ball on the floor, play multiple personnel groups and give you a lot of different looks,” Hauck said. “As far as their running game goes, they’re not standard at all. They have a lot of running game.”

Montana's rush defense ranks seventh in the Big Sky, allowing 138.8 yards per game. Improved tackling could help the Griz limit ground play after allowing big runs last week because they didn't finish well on tackles.

A better push on defense could help them prevent those runs from going beyond the line of scrimmage in the first place. Weber's five starting offensive linemen average 299 pounds.

“Everyone has a big O-line,” Hauck said. “They are active. You have a good temperament. This applies to the entire team. But the tone is set by their front.”

Montana's secondary, which lost two players last week, will have to limit big plays after giving up big plays in the air each of the last two weeks.

Munoz is averaging 11 yards on 87 completions for 957 yards. His 191.4 passing yards per game ranks third in the Big Sky. He isn't particularly efficient, hitting 56.9% of his attempts, but isn't prone to errors with seven touchdowns and one interception.

Wide receiver Jacob Sharp was a major threat, averaging 14.1 yards per reception. His 24 receptions are the fifth-most in the Big Sky, while he ranks fourth with 67.6 receiving yards per game and two touchdowns.

Sharp has 338 total receiving yards, which is more than the next three players on the team combined. He has the same number of catches as players Nos. 2 and 3 (Jayleen Record and Jaden Thrower) combined.

UM is allowing 215 passing yards per game, which ranks sixth in the Big Sky and 62nd in the FCS, but has allowed an average of 331 in the last two games. The Griz were penalized again for roughing the passer and interfering with the pass.

“There were a lot of things,” Hauck said of that game and what needs to be cleaned up. “A lot of guys aren’t in the right position. You have to fulfill your mission. This is defensive football. You have to do your 1/11, and if you don't it can look bad, and sometimes it has, especially giving up some big plays.

He added: “In terms of coverage, you have to be in your zone. We're in zone coverage, you can't give up your zone coverage. Man coverage, you have to have man eyes, you can't have dirty eyes.' And then I thought our second containment of the scramble wasn't good enough.

Montana's defense suffered multiple injuries last week at Eastern Washington due to long returns. The Griz now rank 98th in the FCS allowing 23.61 yards per kickoff return. This is an unusual sight for a team coached by Hauck.

The Griz will be tested again as Clarence Butler ranks third in the Big Sky with an average of 26 yards per kick return. He is also fourth with 10.8 yards per punt return. The Griz are giving up 8.2 yards per punt return, which is 56th in the country.

“We have to get out of the blockages and tackle things better,” said Hauck. “The punt coverage was good, even though we didn't punt much. We didn’t get out of the blocks very well at the point of attack and we didn’t get the guy on the floor.”

“We have to kick better. We have to give these guys a better chance by holding onto the ball better and creating more waiting time. But we have to get out of the blockages.”

Montana kicker Ty Morrison split his two field goal attempts last week and is 7 of 11 this season. Weber has used two kickers: Kyle Thompson, who is 6 of 11 with a long of 46, and Sloan Calder, who is 2 of 3 with a long of 28.

Montana has improved its third-down offense, converting 19 of 41 attempts (46.3%) in the last three games after hitting 6 of 22 attempts (27.3%) in the first two games.

The Griz are now 39.7% on third downs, ranking sixth in the Big Sky and 44th nationally. They will face a Weber defense that gives up third-down conversions at a rate of 38.8%, which is seventh in the league.

When the Griz can't get a third down, they rank second in the FCS with 11 fourth down conversions. They convert fourth downs at a rate of 78.6%, which ranks 12th nationally but third among teams that attempt at least two per game.

On the other side of the ball, Weber's offense was poor at converting third downs, finishing 106th in the FCS and last in the Big Sky at 29.6%. Montana's third-down defense is 61st, allowing teams to convert at a rate of 41.2%.

Take out the non-scholarship game against Morehead State and the teams are hitting 48.2% on third downs. The Griz allowed nine third-down conversions and a 64.3% conversion rate last week, both season highs.