Griz outlast T-Birds in Kennedy’s debut
(UM) Bobby Kennedy improved to 1-0 as Montana's 38th head coach on Saturday night as the Grizzlies used a late touchdown and big special teams plays to fend off an up-for-it Southern Utah squad and take a 28-21 victory at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Kennedy era opened with an offensive flourish as Montana's attack built a 14-3 first-half lead despite an interception on the Grizzlies' first play from scrimmage.
The Thunderbirds thundered back in the second half, however, tying the game at 21 with 11 minutes to play with the steady drum beat of a rushing game with big play ability in the air.
In the end though it was All-American quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat who found speedster Lekeldrick Bridges for a 53-yard strike down the right sideline for his first career touchdown catch that sealed the victory for the Grizzlies. That, and some big-time special teams moments as the UM defense held firm on a pair of SUU two-point conversion attempts and blocked both a field goal and PAT attempt.
The victory improves the Grizzlies to 1-0 in 2026, extends their home opener winning streak to 23 games and their FCS-best season opener winning streak to 11, coming in the first Big Sky Conference opener for Montana in 40 years.
Eli Gillman, as he's known to do, paced the Griz in nearly every way, racking up 169 all-purpose yards with 76 on the ground and 93 in the air and a touchdown each way.
But a pair of Grizzly turnovers paired with 259 SUU rushing yards, over 43 minutes of possession and over 500 yards of total offense put the Griz on their heels late in the game before the Ah Yat to Bridges connection sealed the win.
"We made it exciting, I would say that. It was a little nerve-wracking, but here's the fact of the matter. We're going to get better. We have really good kids on our team, and fact of the matter is, they just kept fighting. We made some silly mistakes, but we'll fix those this week," said Kennedy.
"Credit Southern Utah because that is a really well coached team, and I think they're going to win a lot of games. We knew they want to run the ball, eat the clock and control it. Obviously, we can't have those turnovers. Turnovers really hurt us. And anytime another team rushes for that many yards and they win the turnover battle, you usually you lose.
"But I really believe we have good kids that want to do well. They wear that Montana on the front of their jersey, and they're really proud to do it. So, I'm excited for these guys, and hopefully we make our biggest improvement from week one to week two."
With two touchdowns, Eli Gillman powered his way further up the Grizzly all-time greats list in the season opener. With one rushing TD he's now tied with Lex Hilliard for second in program history with 50, and his receiving TD on top of that brings his career total to 55 scores – now just five from breaking Chase Reynolds' program mark. With 76 net yards on the ground his career total now comes to 3,753, putting him now 318 yards shy of another school record.
"I really thought the defense played really well in in the first half, and they did some great things. Even though they were giving up some yards they never stopped believing. And we were very basic in terms of our scheme this week because we knew how they run the ball. They did a great job, and Coach White and the special teams, they were as big as anything," added Kennedy, who relished in his first victory.
"Tonight was awesome. Washington-Grizzly Stadium is a special place, and the fans make it that way. So, I just want to say thank you to all the fans. We use the motto "The Family You Choose" all the time, and it's become a motto in our locker room. But heck, they're our 12th man. They're a part of our family. So, thank you to all the fans."
Game Photos
