Griz fall short of title bid in loss to MSU

(Montana Sports Information) In a game between two of the top three teams in the nation with the two best offenses squaring off against the two best defenses and over a century of pent-up rivalry aggression between them, the 124th Brawl of the Wild was always going to come down to a few plays.

In the biggest game of the year, it was those few plays that made the biggest difference as No. 3 Montana State upset No. 2 Montana 31-28 in a Griz/Cat thriller in front of a record crowd at Washington-Grizzly stadium of 27,340.

The game's only turnover proved to be pivotal as a pass slipped through the fingertips of a UM receiver on a promising Grizzly drive and straight into the waiting hands of an MSU defensive back who was able to return it for the Bobcat's go-ahead score at 24-21 in the third quarter.

With the Griz knocking on the door of a reply score, two offensive penalties, including a holding call that negated a touchdown, stalled the drive and a blocked field goal attempt sealed Montana's fate as a fourth quarter comeback fell short and UM suffered its first loss of the season.

"That's a heck of a game and good job by them coming in and finding a way to get it. The tip-ball, pick-six touchdown, calls back on the hold, a low kick, all those things contributed. I felt like we certainly could have won it, but we didn't," said head coach Bobby Hauck.

"I was proud of our offense. I thought they did a great job. I thought the defense did a good job. If you take away the pick-six it's a 24-28 game for us and we feel pretty good about things. So, we messed it up. I thought we had a good game plan and they didn't have a lot of great answers for us, but we came up three points short."

Montana now falls to 11-1 on the season and 7-1 in conference play with sole possession of second place in the Big Sky standings at the end of the regular season. Montana State improves to 10-2 and claims the league title outright for a second-straight year.

Despite the loss, Montana remains in contention for a first-round bye and homefield advantage in the second round of the FCS playoffs as UM prepares for its first bye week of the season after playing 12 straight through the year.

Montana now looks to flush Saturday's result and turn its attention to the playoffs where the No. 2 Griz still hope to make a deep postseason run. To do it they have to look no further than the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes for inspiration, who dropped their rivalry game before marching their way through the postseason to a national title.

"The deal is we have a prime example: last year, Michigan beat Ohio State, upset them and all was lost for Ohio State," said Hauck. "Then they got back to winning, went to the national championship, and won that. That's got to be our mantra. We want to be Ohio State this year."