Egriz Dot Com Analyst Gives Edge to Grizzlies in Saturday's Brawl of The Wild

Widely respected Egriz dot com analyst Brint Wahlberg is giving the Montana Grizzlies a slight edge over the Montana State Bobcats in Saturday's 114th Brawl of the Wild.

Wahlberg provides updates on practices and game previews on the popular fan-based website on a weekly basis. Here's his analysis of Saturday's game.

"The Cats are a powerful running team," Wahlberg said. "They can pass, but what we're going to see from them all day long are five good running backs. Their main quarterback, Dakota Prukop, who is also their leading rusher, has a sprained knee ligament, so he's probably out for this game. You're going to see a lot of misdirection, some zone read plays and they're really going to try to get Grizzly defenders off their feet."

Wahlberg said the Bobcat's passing defense has been a weak spot all season, but because the team scores at such a prolific clip at over 30 points per game, that the porous pass defense hasn't hindered their winning record.

"The MSU pass defense gives up over 300 yards a game, but on the Griz side, we have an unknown. Quarterback Jordan Johnson reinjured an ankle at the Southern Utah game last week. Shay Smithwick-Hann is a good passer, but there's a reason why Johnson is the number one quarterback, he's a special player."

Wahlberg said the Grizzlies need to run the ball effectively, and keep that potent Bobcat offense off the field. He said the Griz simply can't afford to have another slow start, and then play catch-up.

Wahlberg says, in his view, the first team to hit the 30 point mark will win the game.

"I'm going to say the Griz win this thing 30-28," he said.

Interesting to note that in the last few editions of the rivalry game, the teams have traded victories on the road.

The game kicks off at 3:15 p.m. and it will be senior day.