Griz use ground game to beat high-flying Bengals

Saturday, September 30

Missoula, Mont.

2 PM

Montana

4-1 , 1-1

Idaho State

1-4 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Idaho St.

Montana

9/30/2023 6:25:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana football bounced back on Homecoming and defeated an explosive Idaho State team 28-20 to improve to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in Big Sky play. The Grizzlies never trailed in the game and picked up their ninth win in the past 10 Homecoming games.

It may not have been the prettiest of games on a rainy day in Missoula, but head coach Bobby Hauck is glad to get back in the win column.

"It was a really fun game," Hauck said. "Exciting, certainly, and I think we just have to accept the fact that we have a hard time getting away from people. There weren't enough plays to get away from them, but winning by eight in that game is great, and I'm very happy to be at 4-1."

The Grizzlies outgained the Bengals 394-334, holding the best passing attack in the Big Sky to 289 yards through the air. The game was a battle of styles with Montana running the ball 51 times and the Bengals passing it 47 times. In the end, Montana did enough to remain undefeated against Idaho State inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Clifton McDowell started the game and took the majority of the reps at quarterback, helping spark Montana's rushing attack. McDowell had 20 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown and added 160 yards and another score through the air. He completed 65 percent of his passes with no turnovers.

"He did a good job with a good portion of it," Hauck said of his quarterback. "There were some things in there that weren't good enough, but you learn football by playing it and he will continue to learn. He did a good job today and I was proud of him coming in and producing like that."

Gallery: (9-30-2023) FB: Montana vs Idaho State

Freshman running back Eli Gillman followed his quarterback with 16 carries for 51 yards and a score, while Nick Ostmo had eight totes for 49 yards on a 6.1 average.

Montana pulled out a pair of trick plays for momentum-changing plays. Sawyer Racanelli threw a touchdown pass to Evan Shafer on a reverse, and punter Travis Benham converted a fourth down with a pass to Garrett Graves.

The offense was balanced with 220 yards coming in the air and 174 on the ground.

Junior Bergen hauled in seven catches for 100 yards on the day, gaining 40 of those after the catch. Keelan White added five catches, including two spectacular first-down grabs that are sure to make the highlight reel, for 54 yards.

"It's absolutely good for us when we can (get the ball) to Junior," Hauck said. "He got a little banged up today, so we have to temper our want of how many times he can get the ball because he's not had a history of staying healthy."

Montana's defense forced a pair of turnovers, both coming in the second half. Ronald Jackson had his first career interception on the first play of the half and Corbin Walker added another for a pair of important defensive stops. Braxton Hill led the Griz with eight tackles, one of them for a loss, and added a pass breakup.

Jaxon Lee also played well with six solo tackles and seven total. He had a big-time stop on a third and short that forced a Bengal punt.

Montana had a workmanlike drive to open the game, marching down the field 58 yards in 11 plays and taking more than five minutes off the clock. McDowell completed both passes on the drive, but it was the ground game that did the heavy lifting. The Grizzlies ran it nine times for 48 yards (5.3 ypc), and McDowell scored from eight yards out on a designed quarterback run to the outside.

Griz on the board first! @_Cliff10 with the easy money 💸#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/eXeocTUTAI
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) September 30, 2023

The Bengals were able to score on the final drive of the opening quarter to tie the game up at 7-all, and then Montana missed a 48-yard field goal to give the ball back to the visitors near midfield.

The visitors couldn't generate any offense, and lined up on fourth-and-one to attempt a conversion but jumped early on the play and were forced to punt.

The teams traded possessions the rest of the way and entered the halftime break tied at seven.

There were few big plays in the opening half with no turnover and just a score each. Mostly a positional battle through a half hour, the game was waiting for a big moment to turn the momentum. Montana got one quickly in the second half, intercepting a pass on the first offensive play of the half.

Ronald Jackson stuck with the receiver and hauled in a deep ball that was overthrown to give Montana the ball right at midfield. It was the first career interception for the Akron transfer. The good field position provided the spark the Grizzly offense needed. They drove half the field in six plays, connecting on a 39-yard pass from McDowell to Junior Bergen. He nearly found the end zone, but was tripped up from behind on the two-yard line.

First play of the half ⏩⏩ PICKED by @RJRonaldJackson 👏#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/9QgB66YrUD
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) September 30, 2023

Two plays later, McDowell hid the ball on a play-action to perfection, and when he peeled out to the right there were no defenders between himself, Aaron Fontes, and the end zone. He could have kept it, but dumped a quick pass to Fontes for his second receiving touchdown in as many games.

The lead would not last long. Idaho State drove 75 yards in seven plays on the ensuing drive to tie it again at 14-all with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The offensive momentum that Montana gained on the short touchdown drive carried over the next time the Griz got the ball. McDowell found Bergen for another big gain and then Keelan White hauled in his second highlight-reel catch of the game to put Montana deep in Idaho State territory.

A reverse to Fontes led to a 19-yard gain down to the Bengals' five, but a holding penalty moved Montana back. Facing first down from the 15-yard line, Montana went to the trick play section of the playbook.

McDowell pitched to Sawyer Racanelli on the reverse, who then threw to a wide-open Evan Shafer in the end zone for the second touchdown of the year for the tight end.

🪄 How about the razzle-dazzle to @EvanShafer6!#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/zRUJq4VfLb
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) September 30, 2023

For the second consecutive drive, Idaho State responded. The Bengals needed 82 yards this time and got them on 12 plays. Cyrus Wallace pulled down his eighth catch of the game for a touchdown. Instead of kicking the extra point, Idaho State attempted a fake PAT but the holder tripped on the rollout. As a result, Montana held onto a 21-20 lead with 14:11 left to play in the game.

The Grizzlies had penalties stall the following drive, and they faced a 3rd-and-18 deep in their own territory. Gillman picked up 17 yards on the play, putting Montana near midfield with a decision to make on fourth down. They lined up for the punt, but Travis Benham, a former high school quarterback and junior college baseball pitcher, went to the air with his arm instead of his foot.

The punter threw a quick pass out to Garret Graves, picking up 15 yards and moving it into Bengal territory. They kept it on the ground the rest of the way. McDowell had a couple big runs, Ostmo broke one for 11 yards and Gillman capped off the drive to give Montana a 28-20 lead.

Idaho State made it to the Grizzly 30-yard line on the next drive but stalled out. They went for it on 4th-and-10 knowing they needed the touchdown, but threw an incomplete pass to give it back to Montana with just under six minutes remaining in the game.

Montana drove into Bengal territory but was forced to punt, giving the visitors one final chance on offense to try to drive and score. The defense made sure that opportunity was short-lived.

On the third play for the Bengals, Corbin Walker jumped a quick out for an interception to finish off the 28-20 win for Montana.

Montana now prepares for perhaps the toughest stretch of the schedule this year with back-to-back road games against ranked opponents UC Davis and Idaho.

"It was good, and the guys were excited to gut out a good win over a conference team coming off a loss that was pretty bitter for us last weekend," Hauck added.

"It was a nice rebound for the guys to come back and get it. They are happy to win, and we're excited for next week."