Griz Football Weekly: Eli Gillman Breaks Cooper Kupp's Big Sky Scoring Record |
Four touchdowns on nine touches against Portland State, and the last one — an 84-yard run — made him the Big Sky's all-time leading scorer. |
Montana beat Portland State 57–24 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, and the fifth-year senior in the backfield spent the afternoon rewriting the record book.
Eli Gillman scored four touchdowns on nine touches of the ball — tying a school single-game record — and the fourth one made him the Big Sky Conference’s all-time leading scorer. His 78th career total touchdown broke a record held for a decade by NFL All-Pro Cooper Kupp.
It was an 84-yard run. The second-longest in the Big Sky this season, and the second-longest in Montana history — behind his own 85-yarder at UC Davis in 2023.
Nine touches, 244 yards
Gillman rushed for 196 yards on eight carries, a 24.5-yard average, and caught a 48-yard pass on the third play of the game for 244 all-purpose yards. The touchdowns came from 48 yards through the air and 45, 15 and 43 on the ground before the 84-yard score that broke the record.
On Monday he swept the week: Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, shared with Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard; Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this year and the fifth of his career; and the East-West Shrine Bowl’s Offensive Player of the Week, an award for the all-star-eligible player showing the most NFL traits.
What he now owns
Gillman holds Big Sky career records for total touchdowns, points scored and rushing touchdowns. He is one of only five players in league history to rush for 5,000 yards, and sits at 5,034. His 1,357 rushing yards this season are a third straight 1,000-yard year, and his 25 touchdowns tie Marcus Knight’s single-season school record.
He leads the FCS in all-purpose yards, total touchdowns, points scored, rushing yards and rushing yards per game, and remains the NCAA’s active career leader in rushing and all-purpose yards.
Where the season stands
The win puts Montana at 7–3 overall and 5–2 in the Big Sky, winners of two straight and 5–1 at home. Two regular-season games remain:
Montana’s athletics department calls Saturday a pivotal conference showdown. For a group of seniors, it is also the last home game.
Last week: Brooks Davis swept the awards after a 231-yard day — two different Griz have now taken national player of the week in a fortnight.
Sources
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