Griz Football Weekly: Idaho Edges Montana 42-35 Before the Bye |
Keali’i Ah Yat threw five touchdown passes, but Idaho controlled the clock and the Little Brown Stein went back to Moscow. |
Idaho 42, Montana 35.
The Montana Grizzlies lost a home shootout to the Idaho Vandals on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, in front of a crowd of 26,567, according to Idaho Athletics.
Idaho took the Little Brown Stein back to Moscow, and Montana dropped to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Sky Conference.
By the numbers
Quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat completed 25 of 31 passes for 338 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, according to the ESPN box score. MTN Sports reported that the five scores tie his career high.
Running back Eli Gillman ran 19 times for 139 yards and caught four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Receiver Brooks Davis caught eight passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense, Kade Boyd had 12 tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, and Devin Dunn added 11 tackles.
Why it slipped away
Montana moved the ball, gaining 481 yards to Idaho’s 493.
The difference was on third down: Idaho converted 11 of 14 and held the ball for 35:43 to Montana’s 24:17, according to Idaho Athletics.
That kept Montana’s offense on the sideline for long stretches: the Griz had the ball for less than 25 minutes.
Late in the game, a missed 34-yard field goal and a fourth-down incompletion from the Idaho 19 with 39 seconds left ended Montana’s comeback hopes, MTN Sports reported.
Montana Athletics described the Griz as “shorthanded” in its game headline. Chris Johnson II was injured in the first quarter and did not return, MTN Sports reported.
Season context
It was Montana’s second straight loss after a 49-44 defeat at Northern Arizona on Oct. 10, the first time the Griz have lost back-to-back games since 2022, according to the Big Sky Conference.
Montana is fourth in the Big Sky standings, behind Northern Arizona (4-1), Weber State (4-1) and Montana State (3-1).
The Griz fell from No. 7 to No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
Records worth knowing
Eli Gillman passed Marc Mariani’s school record for career all-purpose yards against Idaho, reaching 5,455, MTN Sports reported.
Entering the Idaho game, the Big Sky Conference noted that Gillman held the league’s career record for rushing touchdowns, and that Brooks Davis led the league in receiving yards per game.
What’s next
Montana has a bye on Saturday, Oct. 24.
The Griz return Saturday, Oct. 31, at Eastern Washington (Roos Field, Cheney, Washington), with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. Mountain time, according to the season schedule.
After that: Portland State at home on Nov. 7, Idaho State on Nov. 14 and the Brawl of the Wild at Montana State on Nov. 21.
Sources
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