BILLINGS, Mont.- The Battlin' Bears look to play spoiler as they host the sixth-ranked Bulldogs on Herb Klindt Field. 

Game Information

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Rocky Mountain College (1-5) vs #6 Montana Western (4-1)
Saturday, October 19th, 2024 | 1:07 pm
Herb Klindt Field
Pack the Place in Pink - Presented by Stockman Bank

Scouting Report - #6 Montana Western

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The Bulldogs come into the weekend following a top-10 victory at home over Montana Tech, 27-21. This season, they have a 4-1 record that includes two wins over ranked teams, with their lone loss coming to then-No. 14-ranked Southern Oregon on the road, 28-26, on September 28th. Montana Western has scored at least 42 points in three of their five games this season but has yet to hold an opposing offense to less than 21 points. 

Montana Western enters Saturday's matchup as the sixth-ranked team in the NAIA. Their surge in the NAIA polls has been led by one of the top offenses in the country this season. Quarterback Michael Palandri ranks seventh in the nation in QB Efficiency (186.1), while the Bulldogs are one of eight teams in the NAIA averaging over 500 yards of total offense a game. Sophomore receiver Eli Nourse has been the top target in the passing game, ranking seventh in the NAIA in receiving yards per game (114.5) with five touchdowns. 

Game Notes

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Protect Herb Klindt Field
The Battlin' Bears host their fourth of five home games of the 2024 season on Saturday versus Montana Western. Since the 2021 season, the Battlin' Bears hold a 10-8 record on Herb Klindt Field. 
Beat The Bulldogs
The Battlin' Bears have a 1-1 record against the Bulldogs at home in their last two matchups. They dropped the final game of the 2022 season 44-21 but defeated Montana Western 41-31 in the 2021 season. 
Limit Mistakes
So far this season, the Battlin' Bears are the least penalized team in the Frontier Conference by yardage per game and have had the third-fewest total penalties called against them through six games, at 31. 
Safety Blankets
The Battlin' Bears have benefitted from two sure tacklers in the secondary, as Kaysan Barnett (35) and Dylan Deines (28) rank inside the top five individually in solo tackles this season. 
Force in the Backfield
Senior John Aragon still holds the conference lead with eight tackles for loss this season. Aragon is tied for the NAIA lead on special teams with three blocked kicks this season. 
Party at the Quarterback
The Battlin' Bears rank third in the Frontier Conference in sacks this season with 15. A committee of defensive players has determined the sack total, as nine different Rocky defenders have totaled at least half a sack, while four have at least 2.5 sacks this season.