MISSOULA, Montana – After struggling to find an offensive identity for the first four games of the 2023 season, the Montana Grizzlies finally found something to lean into.
And while a bruising run game spearheaded by once-again starting quarterback Clifton McDowell helped close out a homecoming win on a drizzly afternoon at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, a pass from a graduate transfer punter proved to be the most important play of the afternoon for the host Griz.
An improved Idaho State squad came to Missoula searching for their first-ever win at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and their first win in the Garden City since 1983. Cody Hawkins, the youngest head coach in the Big Sky Conference, and his raw but impressively talented quarterback Jordan Cooke scored what could and should have been a game-tying touchdown less than a minute into the fourth quarter.
A shaky snap into a botched hold ensured that Idaho State’s 12-play, 82-yard drive ended with just six points instead of seven as the PAT failed, helping Montana maintain a 21-20 lead.
The hosts drained nearly half the fourth quarter clock on the game-sealing drive powered by the hulking McDowell and the run game. UM also forced a pair of final frame turnovers — one on downs and the other when Corbin Walker snared a Cooke sideline throw to slam the door on Idaho State’s upset bid — to emerge with a soggy yet much needed 28-20 victory in front of a crowd of 26,678.
Montana piled up 24 first downs and possessed the ball for nearly 35 minutes as McDowell and Eli Gilman combined to bruise their way to 117 of UM’s 174 rushing yards despite the Griz managing just 3.3 yards per carry against Idaho State’s suddenly physical defense.
While the emergence of an offensive identity was progress — and the win was much needed after last week’s 28-14 abomination against previously winless Northern Arizona — the key play for the Griz once again came on a well-drawn up, excellently executed fake punt pass that helped Montana avoid the embarrassment of losing to a team that has won twice in its last 15 games.
Travis Benham, a graduate transfer from San Jose State, threw a strike to senior safety Garrett Graves, who then broke a tackle on the way to a 15-yard gain to convert a 4th & 1 that started in Montana territory.
“I don’t know if that’s the smartest call and it’s good to have some guts once in a while,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. “It was well-executed by those guys.
“We are back in our own end, up one…I don’t know, that’s a good job by those guys making that happen.”
That conversion overcame a calamity of errors, including a holding call on Journey Grimsrud and a personal foul on tight end Evan Shafer that many of the soaked, maroon-clad crowd wondering if the hosts would hit a new rock-bottom against one of the struggling teams in the Big Sky.
“We are certainly excited to be 4-1 and get a big win on homecoming,” Hauck said. “It was a great game and it was a fun game to be a part of. There was a lot of things going on and I think our guys did a great job of taking some things at halftime and going out and taking a win. I’m proud of our team and I’m certainly glad to get our fourth win.”
Shafer’s illegal crack-back block erased a 19-yard gain on an inside screen pass from McDowell to Gilman. And the fake punt came a play after Gilman ripped off a 17-yard gain when the Griz needed 18.
After Graves converted, Montana continued marching, using the momentum to finally put Cooke and the Bengals away. Following the fake, McDowell ran the ball four times for 16 yards, Nick Ostmo added an 11-yard scamper off the edge and Gilman rushed twice for 12 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown followed by an effusive flex at the Griz student section to put Montana up by the final margin.
“When the offense got the ball in the second half, we took control of the line of scrimmage and made some plays,” Hauck said. “We had some pretty good plays that came back and that seems to be our way a little bit right now. But I thought at halftime, our team did a nice job of taking some coaching points – everything from go get the ball on defense to control the line of scrimmage on offense – and I thought our guys did a nice job handling that.”
Idaho State went 0-3 against one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the Big Sky losing to San Diego State and Utah State of the Mountain West before losing at home to perennial FCS contender Northern Iowa at home. Hawkins, the son of UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins, won his first Big Sky contest, beating Northern Colorado 35-21 last week before coming to the Garden City for the first time as a head coach.
“I’m super disappointed that I couldn’t give the guys what they deserved today,” Hawkins said. “As a head coach, you want to be able to give the guys smiles. You want to give them results. But at the same time, you understand that while the world wants results, all success is process-oriented.”
Cooke, a former junior college player who only played five high school games and five JC games before coming to ISU, showed off his rare arm talent from start to finish. He completed 31-of-47 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Chedon James caught seven passes for 79 yards and two scores while Cyrus Wallace finished with eight catches for 79 yards and the touchdown that nearly tied the game early in the fourth quarter.
“Usually if you play these guys, offenses that attack them have success,” Hawkins said of his decision to go exclusively with Cooke and not play Hunter Hays.
“They do a lot up front and they have six guys in the box, the whole game. That’s why we had success throwing it.
Idaho State’s next possession moved into Griz territory but sputtered out with a turnover on downs. Montana’s next drive lasted less than two minutes, giving Cooke and the Bengals one more chance.
But Walker stabbed the final dagger, intercepting a sideline pass for sure (he nearly picked one off earlier in the 4th quarter) and the Griz did not give Idaho State the ball back.
“They were throwing back-shoulders all game so it was really just being good on the line and seeing the ball thrown,” Walker said.
“We gave up a fake punt and then we threw an interception. That’s the entire difference,” Hawkins said.
With 2:28 left, the Griz were able to run out the clock, vanquishing the demons of last week’s mistake-riddled, spiritless loss in Flagstaff, at least for a moment.
“The goal is to go 1-0 every week,” Walker said. “We have to take our mistakes, learn from it and go into next week.”
McDowell finished 13-of-20 for 160 yards and a touchdown pass to Aaron Fontes to give Montana a 14-7 lead right after halftime.
“We knew it was going to be what the defense gives us, a lot of four and five-yard gains, driving the ball down the field,” McDowell said.
“It just felt good, getting the win.”
McDowell rushed 20 times for 92 yards but finished with 66 positive yards because ISU rolled up three sacks, bringing the number of sacks given up by UM to 16 so far this season.
“If you watched the game last week, you knew they were going to try to run the ball and No. 17 (McDowell) being the biggest tailback in the conference, I think he can throw well enough to do good stuff and I think ideally, probably when they envisioned him coming here, ideally Sam plays and Clifton does that Wildcat stuff but I know how the people up here in Montana are,” Hawkins said. “If you look at what our defense has been vulnerable to and what Montana tried to do last week, they probably thought about putting Ostmo back there. They wanted to run the ball and they probably made enough plays throwing it to win.”
Montana still has issues to be sure. The Griz haven’t gotten a quarterback sack during conference play. Montana has seven sacks this season and has given up 16. At times, Cooke, a junior who’s playing in his 15thever football game at any level, looked like the most talented player on the field. The Giz run game piled up 174 yards but it took more than 50 carries to get there and averaged 3.4 yards per tote.
UM started Liam Brown at left guard instead of senior Hunter Mayginess, a first-team All-Big Sky selection a year ago. The former Washington State transfer was nowhere to be found on the Griz sideline, although Hauck declined comment other than to confirm Brown started.
Still, Montana goes into October with a 4-1 record, its first Big Sky win and the ability to focus on the positives. McDowell seemed to galvanize the offense more than forlorn sophomore Sam Vidlak, who was sacked seven times last week against NAU. Even though McDowell’s abilities in the passing game are limited, Junior Bergen still became the first Griz receiver to surpass 100 yards in a single game since Samori Toure did it in the playoffs in 2019.
And the Griz held off a spunky Bengals squad by an identical 8-point margin and the exact same score as Montana’s 28-20 win over Idaho State in Pocatello last fall.
Last year’s win at Holt Arena, and the lack of ability to finish, was a harbinger of struggles to come. Montana lost its next three games, falling at home to Idaho and on the road at Sac State and at Weber State.
Although the scoreboard was the same, Saturday’s win felt different if only because Montana found an identity to lean into and the Griz finished the game rather than hanging on for dear life.
“We didn’t have a very good performance last week and that’s mildly stated,” Hauck said. “We needed to play assignment football, do our jobs. Their second scoring drive, we had guys slide back into that world where they weren’t doing their assignments and let things get away.
“But for the most part today, we played assignment football and I’m proud of our team. I like our guys.”
