Griz outlast Missouri State in opening game grind

(Montana Sports Information) Head coach Bobby Hauck said it best himself.

"Enthusiasm is at a record level."

The sell-out crowd in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, dressed to match the Blackout theme under the lights, came in still riding the high of the national championship appearance last season. They were treated to a thriller on Saturday night as Montana defeated Missouri State 29-24 to win their 13th consecutive home game.

The result is what matters in a game that was far from perfect for the hosts. There will be improvements to make in a variety of areas, but at the end of the day Montana finished with more points and leaves the stadium 1-0.

"Anybody can win when they are playing really well," Hauck said. "When you have things going against you, good teams can find ways to win, and this team found a way tonight. I hope that can continue through the season."

It's the 10th straight season opening win and the 21st straight win in home openers for UM. The Grizzlies also improved to 11-0 in night games under Hauck since his return to Montana.

The game was evenly matched with nearly matching total yardage. The Bears actually outgained Montana 356-347 and had the ball for 13 minutes longer than the Griz did. It was the ground attack from Montana that provided the difference maker as they averaged nearly five yards per run, led by an impressive start to the sophomore season for Eli Gillman.

The 2023 FCS Freshman of the Year ran for 89 yards and two scores, averaging nearly six yards per carry. Nick Ostmo also toted it eight times for 36 yards while the two quarterbacks ran for a combined 34 yards.

Hauck delivered on his promise to play both Keali'i Ah Yat and Logan Fife at the quarterback position. Ah Yat started the game and played into the second half, completing 9-of-19 passes for 90 yards and running for 19 more. His numbers could have been better, but there were a handful of drops in the opening half that hampered his completion percentage.

Fife ended the game under center, completing 5-of-7 passes for 90 yards and a score. Fife also carried it three times for 15 yards.

"They did, at times, do a really good job with their reads and running the ball when things broke down. We didn't miss too many throws," Hauck said. "They're both pretty inexperienced so there's a lot to clean up, but they did a nice job. They ran the ball really well, and that's an element that we've got to have, and they showed they can do it."

There were some areas where Montana typically excels that caused problems on Saturday night, most notably on third downs. The Griz finished the night just 2-of-9 on third down and allowed the Bears to convert on several third and longs to extend drives.

"It could have been a little easier if we would have got off the field on third and extra long," Hauck said. "They converted three of those on us tonight and that's a problem. Some of it was missed tackles, some of it was busted coverage by a variety of people, and then some of it was just, you know, we probably didn't get into the right defense. We've got blame to go around on that, starting with me. We will get that squared away."

The defense made some huge plays, however, with Ryder Meyer intercepting a pass in the first half and the defensive line combining for four sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Hayden Harris had 2.5 sacks and three tackles for loss, including a big sack on the final drive of the game for Missouri State.

Missoula product Ryan Tirrell led the Grizzlies with 10 tackles. Transfer linebacker Vai Kaho added seven stops, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Safety Chrishawn Gordon also had seven tackles, five of which were solo.

In the end, Montana did enough in all three phases of the game to come away with a victory of an experienced Missouri State side.

"Nobody wanted to listen when I said, 'Hey, these guys are pretty good.' Their running back is for real, he's a good player, and they were very composed," Hauck said. "They came in and were bleeding the clock out and we helped them by letting them stay on the field in third down and falling behind, dropping the punt in the first quarter," Hauck said.

"They did a good job of playing keep away, we helped them do it, but in the end the Griz fought their way out of some bad situations and found a way to win."

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