Griz give up 493 yards to Idaho in second straight loss
(Montana Sports Information) The Montana Grizzlies traded blows with the Idaho Vandals throughout the afternoon but came up short in a 42-35 loss at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday.
Despite five touchdown passes from quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat, the Griz were unable to complete the comeback as Idaho scored touchdowns on six of its nine possessions to secure the victory.
Montana's offense continued to produce at a high level but was held scoreless in the first quarter. UM still managed to put up 35 points and 481 yards of total offense while playing a clean game and committing just two penalties. UM tied the score three times in the second half, but the two-minute drill for one more tie or a possible win at the end was stymied by the Idaho defense.
The loss drops Montana to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Big Sky Conference play, while Idaho improves to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in conference action.
The Vandals converted 11 of 14 third-down opportunities and won the time-of-possession battle against a UM defense missing six players that have started at least one game this year, then dealt with the loss of another on the first drive of the game.
"After the game I told the team, number one, that I love them. These guys put it all on the line every week and in practice. Today was a failure on my part, and I've got to get my message better. I'll take responsibility for this loss because we have good kids in our program, and they want to do the right thing," said head coach Bobby Kennedy.
"We knew coming in that their quarterback was a really good player. He was accurate, made plays with his feet and with his arm, and they have good wide receivers. But I still believe in my guys and have confidence that we can play better and do better."
Ah Yat completed 25 of 31 passes for 338 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, tying his career high for touchdown passes in a game. Wide receiver Brooks Davis delivered a bounce-back performance with eight catches for 104 yards and three touchdowns, tying his career high for touchdowns in a game.
Running back Eli Gillman rushed for 139 yards and added 31 receiving yards and a score. The senior also recorded his 20th career game with at least 100 rushing yards and surpassed former Grizzly great Marc Mariani's program record of 5,441 career all-purpose yards. Gillman now has 5,505 career all-purpose yards.
Montana struggled to get the defensive stops it needed against an efficient Idaho offense. The Vandals passed for 335 yards and went six-for-six in the red zone. When the Grizzly defense finally came up with a key stop late in the fourth quarter, Montana was unable to capitalize on its final opportunity to tie the game.
The Grizzlies also had to overcome an early turnover that helped Idaho establish control. Montana appeared to have an early takeaway when cornerback Chris Johnson II intercepted a pass but then fumbled the ball back to the Vandals during the return. Idaho capitalized on the opportunity and turned it into a touchdown.
"It would have really been nice to not fumble the interception. We've got to do a better job of ball security," Kennedy said. "I think that was a huge moment in the game because then they went down and scored, and it was disappointing."
The Griz eventually found their rhythm offensively, scoring five touchdowns through the air and repeatedly answering Idaho's scoring drives. However, Montana was unable to get the decisive stops or complete their final scoring drive opportunity.
"It was a shootout. We finally got it back to even after half, and I thought we had a little momentum," Kennedy said. "But they've got some big guys, and they do a good job with their RPOs. They do a good job when you have guys covered. The quarterback breaks the pocket, and he's able to make those plays with his feet."
Despite the loss, Kennedy praised his team's offensive performance and its ability to respond to adversity throughout the game.
"Idaho did a great job. They answered every challenge except a couple of times in the fourth quarter, where we had a chance to go down and either tie the game or win the game," Kennedy said. "I was actually planning on going for two if we would have scored, but we gave up the sack. It was just unfortunate."
Game Day Photos
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