Saturday, October 3
Missoula, Mont.
2 PM
Montana
vs
Northern Colorado
Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/Montana Photography
Griz to host Bears on Homecoming
9/29/2026 4:24:00 PM | Football
It's the Grizzlies versus the Bears this week as Montana returns home from a two-game road swing to face Northern Colorado on Homecoming Weekend at the University of Montana.
The Griz (4-1, 2-0 BSC) return to Missoula running at full stride after a cathartic and dominant top 10 win over UC Davis that cleansed the collective palates Griz fans with a record-breaking response to the loss at Oregon State.
They host a Northern Colorado team that's been stuck in the basement of the Big Sky standings for nearly a decade. This year, however, the Bears come to town with a newfound growl under head coach Ed Lamb, now in his fourth season at UNC with a Big Sky title under his belt from his time leading Southern Utah.
Northern Colorado enters the weekend sitting 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, but very easily could be sitting at 5-0 after three narrow losses to start the year against Weber State, South Dakota and Wyoming. They'll bring some momentum of their own, riding a two-game win streak into town with the No. 2 total defense in the Big Sky balanced with big play ability on offense.
The Grizzlies have had UNC's number in the last three meetings, however, with UM riding a streak of its own that is almost unheard of in modern college football – three consecutive shutout victories over the Bears. (More on that later)
Kickoff from Washington-Grizzly Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network/Scripps Sports stations around the state this week, with the Northern Colorado game available on basic cable, satellite options, free-to-air channels, and online streaming.
This week's game will be shown exclusively on "The Spot - MTN" around the state. "The Spot" is a new independent television network that serves as the secondary home of Big Sky Conference games and will carry specific UM games in specific markets. This week's game can also be seen on "The Spot" in Phoenix, Boise, Twin Falls, and Local 3 in Denver.
The Spot is available around the state free-to-air for viewers with antennas in Billings (2.2), Butte/Bozeman (4.2/7.2), Great Falls (3.2), Helena (12.2) and Missoula (8.2). It is also available on Spectrum Cable, Tongue River Cable, TCT West Cable, Montana Opticom, Access Montana, DIRECTV, the DIRECTV streaming platform, and FUBO TV.
The Griz also return to ESPN+ this week, with streaming available without blackout nationwide. ESPN+ serves as the primary streaming home of Montana Athletics again this season.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender and former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp return to the broadcast booth to call the game. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines. For complete broadcast details visit GoGriz.com/WhereToWatch.
LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his 11th season behind the mic at Montana and will once again bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its sixteen affiliate stations around the state.
Joining Corcoran in the booth this season is Chase Reynolds – a Montana native, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer, five-year NFL veteran and one of the most decorated players in UM history – who brings his knowledge of the game to the airwaves as the Grizzlies' new radio analyst.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and Reynolds take over 30 minutes to kickoff.
Griz fans outside the radio footprint can stream all of Montana's broadcasts on their mobile device LIVE and FREE of charge with the Varsity Network App, powered by Learfield and Sidearm Sports.
BOBBY KENNEDY RADIO SHOW: The Grizzly Coaches show returns to The Den on Upper Miller Creek Road each Wednesday at 7 p.m. this season as Coach Kennedy and Corcoran provide an exclusive breakdown of this week's opponent and relive all the highlights of last week's win. The Coaches Show can be heard on select Grizzly Sports Radio Network stations around the state, originating from 98.3 FM and 1290 AM KGVO Missoula.
GRIZZLY INSIDER: The Grizzly Insider takes fans inside the huddle every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on The Spot – MTN. Corcoran and Scripps TV sideline reporter Kyle Hansen break down that week's game with Kennedy and a featured player each week with up-to-date features on other Grizzly sports as well.
HAPPENINGS: It's Homecoming week at the University of Montana, with thousands of alumni, family, and friends of the institution set to return to Missoula to cheer on the Griz. The UM Alumni Association hosts a weeklong schedule of Homecoming events to celebrate. Highlights include the annual Yell Night Pep Rally in the Oval on Friday at 8 p.m. featuring the entire Griz football team, and another community favorite - the Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m. downtown Missoula and ending on University Ave. near the UM campus. A full list of Homecoming Events can be found at GrizAlum.org.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
HAPPY HOMECOMING: Homecoming has historically brought the good vibes back to campus and the wins to Washington-Grizzly Stadium as UM celebrates the 105th edition of the week.
The Grizzlies hold a 70-33-1 in the previous 104 Homecoming games, and since moving into Washington-Grizzly Stadium 40 years ago in 1986, have piled up a 35-4 record. It's been one-way traffic for Montana on homecoming as well, outscoring opponents 3,038-1,579 in 104 meetings, an average score of roughly 29-15.
2026 marks the third time Montana has played Northern Colorado on Homecoming, winning 55-28 in 2011 and 38-13 in 2014. The Griz have played 5 Homecoming games from teams from the State of Colorado since 1919, however, going 2-1 against Colorado State in 1947, 1953, and 1959.
GILLMAN GREATNESS: Already sitting at the top of Montana's record books Eli Gillman had his best game ever as a Grizzly on Saturday night, rushing for a school record 275 yards and four touchdowns to become the Big Sky Conference's outright all-time leader in rushing TDs.
Gillman's day at UC Davis was one the best in all of college football this season and he earned his flowers on Monday, sweeping the weekly awards as both the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive player of the Week and the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week.
Surprisingly, it was the first time Gillman has been named the FCS Offensive Player of the Week by Stats Perform after earning a Freshman of the Week award in 2023. It's also just the fourth Big Sky weekly award of his career, and his second in the last three weeks.
Gillman's 275 yards broke Montana's 25-year-old single-game rushing record of 265 set by Yohance Humphrey against Weber State in 2001 with 38 carries. Those 275 yards are also the most in a single game in the Big Sky, the FCS, and all of D-I football so far this season.
His four rushing touchdowns are also tied for the most in D-I football. They brought his career total to 60 rushing touchdowns, moving him past Sacramento State's Charles Roberts to become the league's all-time rushing touchdown record holder.
With a new total of 4,361 career rushing yards, Gillman also extended his school record and moved him into the league's top eight rushing yards list.
With four touchdowns, Gillman has now scored 396 career points, passing former Grizzlies Brody McKnight and Chris Snyder for third place on the Big Sky's all-time scoring list. Only Dan Carpenter's 413 points, and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp's 464 points remain ahead of him. He is also now second on Montana's all-time points list, only behind Carpenter.
Gillman's four touchdowns also moved him closer to Kupp's Big Sky record of 77 total touchdowns. He now has 66 career total TDs, 11 away from breaking Kupp's Big Sky record.
• Gillman is closing in on another impressive school record this season. With, 5,085 career all-purpose yards to his name, Gillman needs just 356 more to break Hall of Famer Marc Mariani's
program mark of 5,441. Gillman is second in the league and third in the FCS in all-purpose yards this season
• After scoring 4 TDs last week he leads the FCS in both rushing & total TDs, scoring (by TD), and total scoring (including kickers) this week. He's also tied with Florida's Jadan Baugh (who is in the conversation for Heisman Trophy contenders) for the most rushing TDs in all D-I football with 11 this season.
• Gillman remained the active career leader in all of college football (FCS, FBS, D-II, and D-III) again this week in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also third in all-purpose yards this week behind Arizona's Ismail Mahdi and Alfred State's (D-III) Noah Currier with 5,085 career all-purpose yards.
• He is one of only two players in the FCS to have scored on both a 75-plus yard pass and rush, joining North Alabama's Xavier Johnson who had a 95 TD catch and a 75-yard rush this season. Gillman took his first touch of the season 85 yards for a receiving score on week one, and scored from 75 out against Utah Tech.
DAVIS DIALED-IN: Receiver Brooks Davis logged his fourth-consecutive 100-plus yard receiving game at UC Davis with 121 yards on nine catches and one touchdown. He now leads the FCS in receptions per game, averaging nearly nine per contest (8.8). He also sits top three in the FCS in receiving yards with 567 and is averaging 113.4 yards per game at the halfway mark.
• Fellow Grizzly receiver Landon Ransom-Goelz caught his first touchdown pass in maroon and silver on Saturday. The Rice transfer has emerged as one of UM's top targets with 17 catches for 140 yards.
AH YAT ON TARGET: Quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat continues to deliver a clean ball and consistently move the chains for the Griz, leading the Big Sky this week in passing yards to balance out Gillman's impressive rushing totals.
Ah Yat has now thrown for a league high 1,249 yards, completing 115 of 174 passes with only one interception… on the first play of the season. That season completion percentage of .661 is currently the seventh best of any quarterback in program history.
KEEPING HIM CLEAN: The offensive line continues to impress this week, leading the Big Sky again in sacks allowed and top 10 in the FCS after not giving one up against Davis.
Ah Yat has been sacked just three times in four games behind UM's debutant O-Line that has also paved the way for Gillman's record-setting rushing attack that is averaging over 100 yards on the ground.
OTHER SATURDAY STARS: • Defensive end Tyler King tallied 2.5 sacks on three total tackles to lead Montana's defensive effort in a dominant win at UC Davis, helping hold the Aggie's potent offense to just eight points in the first half and 15 points through three quarters.
King now leads the Big Sky and is top 15 in the FCS in total sacks with 4.5 this season. He also leads the league in total yards lost by sack with 26 and in solo sacks as well with 4. He earned Montana's nomination for Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week
• Kicker Jo Silver hit field goals of 39 yards and 50 yards to go along with eight PATs to earn a personal haul of 14 points in Montana's win over UC Davis. His 50-yarder was the second of his career, the longest kicked by a winning team in the Big Sky this week, and one of the four longest in the league this season.
Silver is currently third in the Big Sky in scoring by kick this week with a total of 37 points scored and a perfect record kicking PATs at 25-for-25 – the best percentage in the league.
CAN'T WIN WITHOUT THE BALL: Montana jumped on two UC Davis fumbles on Saturday and did not suffer a giveaway to improve to +4 in the all-important turnover differential and have taken advantage of the extra possession, scoring 17 points off turnovers to just three for opponents.
The Griz lead the Big Sky and are second in the FCS this week in fumbles recovered with seven on the season and have picked off one pass for a total of eight takeaways. That makes the +4 turnover margin the third best in the league and a top 20 FCS mark.
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS: Montana logged a season-high seven explosive plays against UC Davis, defined as 20+ yard rushing or passing plays. Interestingly, only one of those plays resulted in a touchdown as the Griz marched down the field in a 62-22 rout of the Aggies.
Coordinator Brent Pease and the Grizzly offense have logged 20 explosive plays of 20+ yards so far this season and scored touchdowns on eight of them. Four of those 20 plays belong to Eli Gillman.
Conversely, UM's defense has given up 18 explosive plays of 20+ yards, but if you take out the loss at FBS Oregon State, the Griz have only give up 11 at the halfway mark of the season.
600-YARD DAYS: Pease and Montana's offense had an all-time day in several ways on Saturday, racking up 607 total yards at UC Davis. It's one of just 23, 600-plus yard days for the Griz in modern program history, dating back to 1990.
It was also one of 14, 600-plus yard games that has featured Pease on the Grizzly offensive staff, including five when he was calling the plays as coordinator. In his last four seasons as coordinator (2023-26) he's called one 700-plus yard game, two 600–699-yard games, and eight 500-599-yard games. He also helped produced some of UM's most potent offenses as coordinator from 1996-98.
FINDING BALANCE: At the halfway mark of the season Pease has found his trademark balance in the Grizzly offense, rushing for a total of 1,025 yards on 161 attempts and passing for just 200 more at 1,276 yards on 182 attempts.
UM-UNC SERIES HISTORY: Montana holds a commanding 17-2 record over Northern Colorado dating back to the first meeting between the two in 1976. UNC got the best of the Griz in that first meeting, but it's been all UM since, winning 15 of the next 16 games and the only other loss occurring in 2016 at UNC.
The Bears have never beat the Griz in Missoula, with UM 10-0 all-time at home and 8-0 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
BLANKING THE BEARS: Montana enters game riding an almost unprecedented streak of three-straight shutouts of Northern Colorado, with the Bears not scoring a single point against the Griz in the last three meetings.
Montana has outscored UNC 99-0 in that three-game stretch and 143-14 in the last four meetings dating back to 2017. UM has been generally dominant against the Bears since they joined the Big Sky Conference in 2006, outscoring them 518-167 in their 13 meetings as league members.
• Northern Colorado has not scored a point against Montana in nearly a decade. Due to an unbalanced Big Sky schedule, the Griz and Bears have only played each other three times since 2017. Each of those three meetings since have been a shutout.
• UNC enters this week's game having played 12 consecutive quarters of football against UM without scoring.
• The last time the Bears scored against UM was with 11:10 left to play in the 4th quarter of the 2017 meeting in Missoula – roughly 4 PM on Nov. 11 that year. When UM and UNC kick off on Saturday, it will have been 3,248 days since the Bears last scored on the Griz. That's 8 years, 10 months and 22 days, nearly 107 months, 464 weeks, 77,952 hours, or 4,677,120 minutes to be exact.
LAST MEETING: Montana opened a two-game road stretch with a 24-0 win in Greeley on week eight of the 2024 season. The Griz improved to 6-2 on that day with a defensive effort that rose to the occasion, holding Northern Colorado to just 218 total yards and no points.
They intercepted three passes and stopped the Bears on a fourth down attempt to keep the scoreless streak rolling. Two of the interceptions led to Montana touchdowns on the other side of the ball, providing momentum swings in favor of the Griz.
The offense converted 66.7 percent on third down, picking up 10 first downs on 15 attempts. The defense was again dominant in that area, holding the Bears to just 3-of-11 on third down. Northern Colorado was also 0-for-2 in red zone appearances as the Griz defense came up clutch at the most important times.
Jace Klucewich, Caleb Otlewski, and Jaxon Lee had interceptions for the Griz. Ryder Meyer led the team with eight tackles. They held UNC quarterback Kia'i Keone under 50 percent passing with the three interceptions.
Nick Ostmo ran 13 times for 107 yards, averaging 8.2 yards per carry with a long of 25. Eli Gillman had 12 rushes for 50 yards but went over 100 total yards with four catches and 50 yards through the air. He was the top receiver for Montana on the day and found the end zone once on the ground and once through the air.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana jumped back up in the FCS national polls on Monday, returning to No. 3 in the Stats Perform media poll and claiming the No. 4 slot outright in the AFCA coaches' poll after dominating in a top 10 win at UC Davis. UM slid back from No. 5 in the media poll and was tied for 4th in the coaches' poll last week after falling at Oregon State.
The Grizzlies remain the second highest of five ranked teams in the Big Sky Conference this week, with last week's opponent UC Davis falling to No. 15/16 and next week's opponent Northern Arizona coming in at No. 19. The Grizzlies travel to Flagstaff next week for their second top 20 showdown in three weeks at the always-tricky Walkup Skydome at NAU.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana sits at No. 3 in this week's FCS Massey Ratings, up 5 spots from last week's spot. The Sagarin Ratings place UM at No. 115 overall in college football, the second-highest ranked team in the Big Sky and, interestingly, the ninth highest in the FCS.
The Sagarin and Massey ratings are computer calculations that take into account strength of schedule, among other variables, to rank teams, and can be used in tiebreaking scenarios for championships and the postseason.
QUICK HITS: • Grizzly senior receiver Ian Finch scored the first and only touchdown of his career against Northern Colorado back in 2024 from two yards out.
• Montana put together its longest scoring drive of the season at UC Davis (and naturally, tied for the longest of all-time) with a 99-yard march down the field in the second quarter that took just six plays and 2:35 off the clock.
• Eli Gillman rushed for a school record 275 yards last week. The last Grizzly to rush for 200+ yards was Nick Ostmo who piled up 221 yards in a 2022 win over Cal Poly.
• Montana has scored evenly through each quarter of the season so far this year, putting at least 45 points on the board in each quarter but no more than 48. The Griz have outscored their opponents 187-119 at the halfway point of the season.
The Griz (4-1, 2-0 BSC) return to Missoula running at full stride after a cathartic and dominant top 10 win over UC Davis that cleansed the collective palates Griz fans with a record-breaking response to the loss at Oregon State.
They host a Northern Colorado team that's been stuck in the basement of the Big Sky standings for nearly a decade. This year, however, the Bears come to town with a newfound growl under head coach Ed Lamb, now in his fourth season at UNC with a Big Sky title under his belt from his time leading Southern Utah.
Northern Colorado enters the weekend sitting 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play, but very easily could be sitting at 5-0 after three narrow losses to start the year against Weber State, South Dakota and Wyoming. They'll bring some momentum of their own, riding a two-game win streak into town with the No. 2 total defense in the Big Sky balanced with big play ability on offense.
The Grizzlies have had UNC's number in the last three meetings, however, with UM riding a streak of its own that is almost unheard of in modern college football – three consecutive shutout victories over the Bears. (More on that later)
Kickoff from Washington-Grizzly Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network/Scripps Sports stations around the state this week, with the Northern Colorado game available on basic cable, satellite options, free-to-air channels, and online streaming.
This week's game will be shown exclusively on "The Spot - MTN" around the state. "The Spot" is a new independent television network that serves as the secondary home of Big Sky Conference games and will carry specific UM games in specific markets. This week's game can also be seen on "The Spot" in Phoenix, Boise, Twin Falls, and Local 3 in Denver.
The Spot is available around the state free-to-air for viewers with antennas in Billings (2.2), Butte/Bozeman (4.2/7.2), Great Falls (3.2), Helena (12.2) and Missoula (8.2). It is also available on Spectrum Cable, Tongue River Cable, TCT West Cable, Montana Opticom, Access Montana, DIRECTV, the DIRECTV streaming platform, and FUBO TV.
The Griz also return to ESPN+ this week, with streaming available without blackout nationwide. ESPN+ serves as the primary streaming home of Montana Athletics again this season.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender and former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp return to the broadcast booth to call the game. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines. For complete broadcast details visit GoGriz.com/WhereToWatch.
LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his 11th season behind the mic at Montana and will once again bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its sixteen affiliate stations around the state.
Joining Corcoran in the booth this season is Chase Reynolds – a Montana native, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer, five-year NFL veteran and one of the most decorated players in UM history – who brings his knowledge of the game to the airwaves as the Grizzlies' new radio analyst.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and Reynolds take over 30 minutes to kickoff.
Griz fans outside the radio footprint can stream all of Montana's broadcasts on their mobile device LIVE and FREE of charge with the Varsity Network App, powered by Learfield and Sidearm Sports.
BOBBY KENNEDY RADIO SHOW: The Grizzly Coaches show returns to The Den on Upper Miller Creek Road each Wednesday at 7 p.m. this season as Coach Kennedy and Corcoran provide an exclusive breakdown of this week's opponent and relive all the highlights of last week's win. The Coaches Show can be heard on select Grizzly Sports Radio Network stations around the state, originating from 98.3 FM and 1290 AM KGVO Missoula.
GRIZZLY INSIDER: The Grizzly Insider takes fans inside the huddle every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on The Spot – MTN. Corcoran and Scripps TV sideline reporter Kyle Hansen break down that week's game with Kennedy and a featured player each week with up-to-date features on other Grizzly sports as well.
HAPPENINGS: It's Homecoming week at the University of Montana, with thousands of alumni, family, and friends of the institution set to return to Missoula to cheer on the Griz. The UM Alumni Association hosts a weeklong schedule of Homecoming events to celebrate. Highlights include the annual Yell Night Pep Rally in the Oval on Friday at 8 p.m. featuring the entire Griz football team, and another community favorite - the Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m. downtown Missoula and ending on University Ave. near the UM campus. A full list of Homecoming Events can be found at GrizAlum.org.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
HAPPY HOMECOMING: Homecoming has historically brought the good vibes back to campus and the wins to Washington-Grizzly Stadium as UM celebrates the 105th edition of the week.
The Grizzlies hold a 70-33-1 in the previous 104 Homecoming games, and since moving into Washington-Grizzly Stadium 40 years ago in 1986, have piled up a 35-4 record. It's been one-way traffic for Montana on homecoming as well, outscoring opponents 3,038-1,579 in 104 meetings, an average score of roughly 29-15.
2026 marks the third time Montana has played Northern Colorado on Homecoming, winning 55-28 in 2011 and 38-13 in 2014. The Griz have played 5 Homecoming games from teams from the State of Colorado since 1919, however, going 2-1 against Colorado State in 1947, 1953, and 1959.
GILLMAN GREATNESS: Already sitting at the top of Montana's record books Eli Gillman had his best game ever as a Grizzly on Saturday night, rushing for a school record 275 yards and four touchdowns to become the Big Sky Conference's outright all-time leader in rushing TDs.
Gillman's day at UC Davis was one the best in all of college football this season and he earned his flowers on Monday, sweeping the weekly awards as both the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive player of the Week and the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week.
Surprisingly, it was the first time Gillman has been named the FCS Offensive Player of the Week by Stats Perform after earning a Freshman of the Week award in 2023. It's also just the fourth Big Sky weekly award of his career, and his second in the last three weeks.
Gillman's 275 yards broke Montana's 25-year-old single-game rushing record of 265 set by Yohance Humphrey against Weber State in 2001 with 38 carries. Those 275 yards are also the most in a single game in the Big Sky, the FCS, and all of D-I football so far this season.
His four rushing touchdowns are also tied for the most in D-I football. They brought his career total to 60 rushing touchdowns, moving him past Sacramento State's Charles Roberts to become the league's all-time rushing touchdown record holder.
With a new total of 4,361 career rushing yards, Gillman also extended his school record and moved him into the league's top eight rushing yards list.
With four touchdowns, Gillman has now scored 396 career points, passing former Grizzlies Brody McKnight and Chris Snyder for third place on the Big Sky's all-time scoring list. Only Dan Carpenter's 413 points, and Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp's 464 points remain ahead of him. He is also now second on Montana's all-time points list, only behind Carpenter.
Gillman's four touchdowns also moved him closer to Kupp's Big Sky record of 77 total touchdowns. He now has 66 career total TDs, 11 away from breaking Kupp's Big Sky record.
• Gillman is closing in on another impressive school record this season. With, 5,085 career all-purpose yards to his name, Gillman needs just 356 more to break Hall of Famer Marc Mariani's
program mark of 5,441. Gillman is second in the league and third in the FCS in all-purpose yards this season
• After scoring 4 TDs last week he leads the FCS in both rushing & total TDs, scoring (by TD), and total scoring (including kickers) this week. He's also tied with Florida's Jadan Baugh (who is in the conversation for Heisman Trophy contenders) for the most rushing TDs in all D-I football with 11 this season.
• Gillman remained the active career leader in all of college football (FCS, FBS, D-II, and D-III) again this week in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also third in all-purpose yards this week behind Arizona's Ismail Mahdi and Alfred State's (D-III) Noah Currier with 5,085 career all-purpose yards.
• He is one of only two players in the FCS to have scored on both a 75-plus yard pass and rush, joining North Alabama's Xavier Johnson who had a 95 TD catch and a 75-yard rush this season. Gillman took his first touch of the season 85 yards for a receiving score on week one, and scored from 75 out against Utah Tech.
DAVIS DIALED-IN: Receiver Brooks Davis logged his fourth-consecutive 100-plus yard receiving game at UC Davis with 121 yards on nine catches and one touchdown. He now leads the FCS in receptions per game, averaging nearly nine per contest (8.8). He also sits top three in the FCS in receiving yards with 567 and is averaging 113.4 yards per game at the halfway mark.
• Fellow Grizzly receiver Landon Ransom-Goelz caught his first touchdown pass in maroon and silver on Saturday. The Rice transfer has emerged as one of UM's top targets with 17 catches for 140 yards.
AH YAT ON TARGET: Quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat continues to deliver a clean ball and consistently move the chains for the Griz, leading the Big Sky this week in passing yards to balance out Gillman's impressive rushing totals.
Ah Yat has now thrown for a league high 1,249 yards, completing 115 of 174 passes with only one interception… on the first play of the season. That season completion percentage of .661 is currently the seventh best of any quarterback in program history.
KEEPING HIM CLEAN: The offensive line continues to impress this week, leading the Big Sky again in sacks allowed and top 10 in the FCS after not giving one up against Davis.
Ah Yat has been sacked just three times in four games behind UM's debutant O-Line that has also paved the way for Gillman's record-setting rushing attack that is averaging over 100 yards on the ground.
OTHER SATURDAY STARS: • Defensive end Tyler King tallied 2.5 sacks on three total tackles to lead Montana's defensive effort in a dominant win at UC Davis, helping hold the Aggie's potent offense to just eight points in the first half and 15 points through three quarters.
King now leads the Big Sky and is top 15 in the FCS in total sacks with 4.5 this season. He also leads the league in total yards lost by sack with 26 and in solo sacks as well with 4. He earned Montana's nomination for Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week
• Kicker Jo Silver hit field goals of 39 yards and 50 yards to go along with eight PATs to earn a personal haul of 14 points in Montana's win over UC Davis. His 50-yarder was the second of his career, the longest kicked by a winning team in the Big Sky this week, and one of the four longest in the league this season.
Silver is currently third in the Big Sky in scoring by kick this week with a total of 37 points scored and a perfect record kicking PATs at 25-for-25 – the best percentage in the league.
CAN'T WIN WITHOUT THE BALL: Montana jumped on two UC Davis fumbles on Saturday and did not suffer a giveaway to improve to +4 in the all-important turnover differential and have taken advantage of the extra possession, scoring 17 points off turnovers to just three for opponents.
The Griz lead the Big Sky and are second in the FCS this week in fumbles recovered with seven on the season and have picked off one pass for a total of eight takeaways. That makes the +4 turnover margin the third best in the league and a top 20 FCS mark.
EXPLOSIVE PLAYS: Montana logged a season-high seven explosive plays against UC Davis, defined as 20+ yard rushing or passing plays. Interestingly, only one of those plays resulted in a touchdown as the Griz marched down the field in a 62-22 rout of the Aggies.
Coordinator Brent Pease and the Grizzly offense have logged 20 explosive plays of 20+ yards so far this season and scored touchdowns on eight of them. Four of those 20 plays belong to Eli Gillman.
Conversely, UM's defense has given up 18 explosive plays of 20+ yards, but if you take out the loss at FBS Oregon State, the Griz have only give up 11 at the halfway mark of the season.
600-YARD DAYS: Pease and Montana's offense had an all-time day in several ways on Saturday, racking up 607 total yards at UC Davis. It's one of just 23, 600-plus yard days for the Griz in modern program history, dating back to 1990.
It was also one of 14, 600-plus yard games that has featured Pease on the Grizzly offensive staff, including five when he was calling the plays as coordinator. In his last four seasons as coordinator (2023-26) he's called one 700-plus yard game, two 600–699-yard games, and eight 500-599-yard games. He also helped produced some of UM's most potent offenses as coordinator from 1996-98.
FINDING BALANCE: At the halfway mark of the season Pease has found his trademark balance in the Grizzly offense, rushing for a total of 1,025 yards on 161 attempts and passing for just 200 more at 1,276 yards on 182 attempts.
UM-UNC SERIES HISTORY: Montana holds a commanding 17-2 record over Northern Colorado dating back to the first meeting between the two in 1976. UNC got the best of the Griz in that first meeting, but it's been all UM since, winning 15 of the next 16 games and the only other loss occurring in 2016 at UNC.
The Bears have never beat the Griz in Missoula, with UM 10-0 all-time at home and 8-0 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
BLANKING THE BEARS: Montana enters game riding an almost unprecedented streak of three-straight shutouts of Northern Colorado, with the Bears not scoring a single point against the Griz in the last three meetings.
Montana has outscored UNC 99-0 in that three-game stretch and 143-14 in the last four meetings dating back to 2017. UM has been generally dominant against the Bears since they joined the Big Sky Conference in 2006, outscoring them 518-167 in their 13 meetings as league members.
• Northern Colorado has not scored a point against Montana in nearly a decade. Due to an unbalanced Big Sky schedule, the Griz and Bears have only played each other three times since 2017. Each of those three meetings since have been a shutout.
• UNC enters this week's game having played 12 consecutive quarters of football against UM without scoring.
• The last time the Bears scored against UM was with 11:10 left to play in the 4th quarter of the 2017 meeting in Missoula – roughly 4 PM on Nov. 11 that year. When UM and UNC kick off on Saturday, it will have been 3,248 days since the Bears last scored on the Griz. That's 8 years, 10 months and 22 days, nearly 107 months, 464 weeks, 77,952 hours, or 4,677,120 minutes to be exact.
LAST MEETING: Montana opened a two-game road stretch with a 24-0 win in Greeley on week eight of the 2024 season. The Griz improved to 6-2 on that day with a defensive effort that rose to the occasion, holding Northern Colorado to just 218 total yards and no points.
They intercepted three passes and stopped the Bears on a fourth down attempt to keep the scoreless streak rolling. Two of the interceptions led to Montana touchdowns on the other side of the ball, providing momentum swings in favor of the Griz.
The offense converted 66.7 percent on third down, picking up 10 first downs on 15 attempts. The defense was again dominant in that area, holding the Bears to just 3-of-11 on third down. Northern Colorado was also 0-for-2 in red zone appearances as the Griz defense came up clutch at the most important times.
Jace Klucewich, Caleb Otlewski, and Jaxon Lee had interceptions for the Griz. Ryder Meyer led the team with eight tackles. They held UNC quarterback Kia'i Keone under 50 percent passing with the three interceptions.
Nick Ostmo ran 13 times for 107 yards, averaging 8.2 yards per carry with a long of 25. Eli Gillman had 12 rushes for 50 yards but went over 100 total yards with four catches and 50 yards through the air. He was the top receiver for Montana on the day and found the end zone once on the ground and once through the air.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana jumped back up in the FCS national polls on Monday, returning to No. 3 in the Stats Perform media poll and claiming the No. 4 slot outright in the AFCA coaches' poll after dominating in a top 10 win at UC Davis. UM slid back from No. 5 in the media poll and was tied for 4th in the coaches' poll last week after falling at Oregon State.
The Grizzlies remain the second highest of five ranked teams in the Big Sky Conference this week, with last week's opponent UC Davis falling to No. 15/16 and next week's opponent Northern Arizona coming in at No. 19. The Grizzlies travel to Flagstaff next week for their second top 20 showdown in three weeks at the always-tricky Walkup Skydome at NAU.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana sits at No. 3 in this week's FCS Massey Ratings, up 5 spots from last week's spot. The Sagarin Ratings place UM at No. 115 overall in college football, the second-highest ranked team in the Big Sky and, interestingly, the ninth highest in the FCS.
The Sagarin and Massey ratings are computer calculations that take into account strength of schedule, among other variables, to rank teams, and can be used in tiebreaking scenarios for championships and the postseason.
QUICK HITS: • Grizzly senior receiver Ian Finch scored the first and only touchdown of his career against Northern Colorado back in 2024 from two yards out.
• Montana put together its longest scoring drive of the season at UC Davis (and naturally, tied for the longest of all-time) with a 99-yard march down the field in the second quarter that took just six plays and 2:35 off the clock.
• Eli Gillman rushed for a school record 275 yards last week. The last Grizzly to rush for 200+ yards was Nick Ostmo who piled up 221 yards in a 2022 win over Cal Poly.
• Montana has scored evenly through each quarter of the season so far this year, putting at least 45 points on the board in each quarter but no more than 48. The Griz have outscored their opponents 187-119 at the halfway point of the season.
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