Brawl of the Wild Breakdown: Montana’s Best Offensive Answers
RPO windows, red zone sequencing, and the changeups that kept the Griz alive
Montana State versus Montana is not just a rivalry game. It is the rivalry game. The Brawl of the Wild Part 2 turned into a full-on event, with tickets climbing as high as $675 on game day. The atmosphere matched the price tag, and the football matched the hype.
In this piece, we are going offense first. We’ll walk through a handful of Montana’s best answers in the Montana offense vs Montana State defense matchup and highlight what the Griz did well, how they created leverage, and where the big plays showed up.
What went right for the Montana Offense
RPOs
Montana lives in split zone and zone lock, so the pass game has to live there too. If you are going to major in those schemes, you need answers built in for the extra hat and the late rotation looks. That is where the RPO world shows up.
On this one, the quarterback uses the speed out as the first look, then works back to the tight end on the seam. That sequencing matters. The speed out forces the flat defender to declare and it makes the safety hesitate just long enough.
Montana State shows a Cover 2 picture, and Montana hits the tight end in that seam window before the safety can work back over the top. It is a clean example of stealing a throw in the hole off a run look.
I’m calling this one an RPO, so hear me out before you yell “that’s just QB draw.”
Yes, the end result is the quarterback pulling it and getting downhill, but the decision is tied to the weakside linebacker. Watch the timing. The quarterback is patient and holds it just long enough to see that linebacker work out of the core. Once that second level defender expands, the QB becomes the answer.
If the linebacker hangs inside and stays in the fit, I think Montana rips the slant behind him. That is the tell. The draw is not the call, it is the outcome based on the linebacker’s behavior.
It reminds me of what 2019 LSU built with that same sequencing. They would show push motion screen, pair it with a Burrow draw, then eventually punish the hesitation by tagging the glance behind it. Same concept, same stress point, same idea: you can’t play both.
Passing Game
Goal line stick is a great call down there because it can hit fast if the throw is clean. It doesn’t connect on this rep, but it shows up early for a reason. Later, the Griz come back to it and it turns into the touchdown.
Same look, same set, and this time Montana finishes it.
The quarterback catches it, confirms the picture, and rips the stick immediately for the touchdown. No extra hitch, no drifting, no waiting on the window to get smaller. Just quick decision, quick ball, points on the board.
Montana also hit a nice sail variation off unbalanced sprint out. They showed this set multiple times, and on this rep, the throw is the story. Montana State is sitting in a Cover 2 look, the corner is gaining depth and working back toward the sail, and the quarterback still layers it right in the gap. Ball just inside enough, and away from the corner’s recovery angle. That is a grown-up throw off the move.
Montana also leaned on a few escort variations to the flat, where one receiver becomes the lead blocker for a swing or shoot. It is simple, physical, and it forces the defense to trigger downhill.
But the Griz had the changeup ready. On this rep, they show the same escort look, then the escort player stays patient and releases late into the seam. The defense reacts to the flat action, the second level widens, and the seam pops wide open.
That is a great beater, and even better timing. Same picture, different ending, and Montana pulled it out right when Montana State was starting to overplay the easy throw.
Run the ball!
Like we said earlier, Montana did a good job running the football at times and probably should have leaned on it even more. This touchdown is a perfect example.
They hit a zone lock for six, and Montana State doesn’t quite sling the fits correctly out of quarters. One bad exchange, one gap opens up, and the Griz have a clean runway. When you get that kind of lane on a zone concept, it is lights out.
Screens
Montana State controlled the night up front, so Montana had to find ways to slow the rush and make those D linemen run sideways. Screens were a big part of that answer.
The best one was a creative double-screen look, paired with running back push motion pre-snap. The motion sells one thing, the release sells another, and it forces the defense to hesitate just long enough for Montana to get the ball out and let blockers work in space.
Montana had bright spots on the night and a handful of answers that were clearly good football. The RPO package did what it is supposed to do, protect the run game and steal easy throws when the picture is right. The goal line plan showed sequencing and patience, and the later stick touchdown is the exact “show it early, hit it late” payoff you want. Even the screen game had intent. When the front is winning, you have to change the math and change the launch point, and the Griz did that in spots.
But rivalry games do not hand out style points. They reward consistency, finishing drives, and surviving the moments where the other side has momentum. Montana had chunks, but not enough sustained control to swing the result. The Bobcats made them earn everything, and over four quarters that margin matters.
Part 2, we’ll flip the lens and look at what went right for Montana State.