ESPN’s “College GameDay” Heading to Montana State for “Brawl of the Wild”

Early Sunday morning fans in the Big Sky heard the news they’ve been waiting nearly a year for. “College GameDay”... ESPN’s flagship college football pregame show... is making its first ever appearance at a Big Sky conference game when it heads to Bozeman, MT for the annual “Brawl of the Wild” contest between Montana State and Montana.

Fans across social media have been pushing for weeks to get the program to come to the rivalry game just as they did last year when the two teams met up in Missoula. Last season ESPN opted to send the show to Ohio State instead.

Both MSU and UM enter this game as some of the top teams at the FCS level and come in after lopsided blowout victories this last weekend. Montana State drubbed Cal Poly 72-28 on the road while Montana beat Eastern Washington 63-7 at home. The Bobcats are 9-1 overall and looking to grab at least a portion of the Big Sky title next Saturday. The Grizzlies are 7-3 and likely need a win to reach the FCS playoffs.

Earlier this season, “GameDay” visited Jackson State for the Tigers’ game against Southern. This will mark the first time since 2014 the program has broadcasted from two FCS games in the same season. That year they were on site in Fargo when North Dakota State hosted Incarnate Word and when Harvard hosted Yale.

Montana won last year’s “Brawl of the Wild” against Montana State 29-10 but MSU won the previous four before that. Kickoff for the game is set for 2:00 PM (ET) on ESPN+ with “GameDay” going on air several hours beforehand.