Montana’s first win on the eye-burning red turf known as “The Inferno” was a record-setting victory to be sure. The Griz gutted out a 52-49 victory to win for the 17th time in the last 19 overall.
The record-setting coin has two sides. That lining is silver and rust. It’s a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde scenario. You pick the polarizing cliché you want.
The fact of the matter is this version of the Griz is as offensively prolific, at least thus far, as any team coached by Bobby Hauck or really any UM team in the 21st century. And the Montana defense is also a far cry from a unit that gave up a shade more than two touchdowns a game last year as UM surged to its first Big Sky Conference title since 2009, appearing in the national title game for the first time in that same 15-year time span thanks to a 10-game winning streak.
Montana won 13 games last season while only scoring 40 points twice and by never giving up more than 29. That was a continuation of a trend.
For years and years, the Grizzlies have leaned into their high-energy and largely Montana-made defense to set the pace within individual games and throughout most of the last 25 seasons. That’s particularly true in the 12 previous seasons under Bobby Hauck.
The Griz have always earned an edge in the kicking game and with its dynamic kick and punt return teams. Montana literally advanced in the playoffs last season in the quarterfinals in a 35-28 overtime win over Furman and in a 31-29 double-overtime win the following week in the semis against North Dakota State because of Junior Bergen’s returning heroics.
The defensive and kick team consistencies are worth noting because the 2024 Griz, at least to this point of the season, are a complete departure. And Saturday evening in Cheney was like “Freaky Friday” for Montana. The Griz looked like Eastern Washington of yesteryear, setting offensive records while also giving up points in bunches.
The record-setting parts of Saturday’s 52-49 Griz win at Roos Field on the plus (offensive) side of the coin: Montana piled up 701 yards of total offense, the second-most in program history. Logan Fife played stem to stern at quarterback for Montana and became the first Griz quarterback to throw for more than 350 yards or to throw five touchdowns in a single game since Dalton Snead did it in the playoffs against Southeastern Louisiana in 2019.
“That was a great football game, a wild game and probably not….defensive fans are probably not as thrilled by it but it was a wild game and a great game,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said after his team moved to 4-1, including 1-0 in Big Sky play. “We had them on the ropes numerous times in that game and we couldn’t make them give. They fought it out to the and we were holding on for dear life until the end of it and we found a way to get the job done.”
Now for the offensive marks of high repute.Bergen hauled in seven grabs for 150 yards, including an electrifying 47-yard touchdown on a 4th down that gave UM a 24-14 lead midway through the second quarter. Bergen’s yardage total marks the first time since that SELA explosion (a 73-28 Montana win) that a Griz receiver has surpassed 150 yards receiving. It also marked Bergen’s career high in receiving yards.
“We just trusted in the offense and trusted in (UM offensive coordinator) Coach (Brent) Pease’s calls and we trusted it all week, we had a great week of practice, a lot of good execution and we found a good flow throughout the game,” Fife said. “We knew that it was going to come down to us scoring more points and the offense took that head on.”
Fife, a former Fresno State transfer who has technically “split time” this season but has not gotten nearly the reps freshman Keali’i Ah Yat has, received a chance to steer the ship from start to finish on Saturday. Ah Yat suffered an undisclosed injury in UM’s 46-35 win over Western Carolina. Shaun Rainey of SWX Montana reported Ah Yat was on the sideline that afternoon without his helmet talking to trainers.
In his first full go, Fife completed 30-of-42 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns.
“I thought Logan played great,” Hauck said. ‘We needed every point. He handled a lot of things. There’s some things that might have been a little grey for him and I think when we go back and watch the film, we will see that he made a lot of good decisions throughout the game. Well played by Logan. He did a nice job.”
In the Griz run game, senior Nick Ostmo and sophomore Eli Gillman both rushed for more than 100 yards, marking the second time in three weeks two different backs have surpassed the century mark. Before Gillman and freshman Malae Fonoti did it in a 59-2 win over Morehead State, it had been since 2013 when Jordan Canada and Tre’Von Van each rushed for more than 100 yards.
And that’s all been a part of a pulverizing running game that is averaging 285 per game and 7.0 per carry. Over the last three games, Montana has rushed for 1,098 yards, the most prolific three-game total since the late 1960s when UM was still running the wishbone.
On Saturday, UM rushed for 339 yards while also adding 364 passing yards, marking the single-best accumulation of total yards in the Bobby Hauck era.
“I knew our offense was capable of doing that (putting up huge passing yards) since we’ve shown we can run the ball so well in weeks’ past,” Fife said. “As far as throwing the ball, we know we have a ton of capable receiver and our tight ends showed up well tonight (Erik Barker caught two touchdowns, Jake Olson caught the game-winner). I think we are clicking on all facest of our offense and it was fun to be a part of.
“I just have to get our play-makers the ball and let them win the game.”
Now for the defense….
Saturday marked the most points ever allowed by a Griz team in a victory. According to Frank Gogola of the Missoulian, since UM’s first football game in 1897 over the span of 1,181 games played, Montana has won three times while giving up 48 points: in 1993, a 52-48 win over South Dakota State (Dave Dickenson game); in 2009, 61-48 against SDSU in the first round of the FCS playoffs; and in 2013, 51-48 in overtime at Sacramento State.
The 49 points are tied for the second-most given up by a Hauck-coached team. The Griz gave up 49 in an avalanche loss to UC Davis at home that was part of a three-game losing streak in 2018 that kept the Griz out of the playoffs for the third season in a row. And UM gave up 49 in a loss at Sac State when Snead got knocked out of the contest. The most points allowed under Hauck came in a 55-21 loss at Montana State in Bozeman in 2022.
“I don’t think as a unit, we are particularly executing well,” Montana senior linebacker Ryan Tirrell said after the EWU game. “I think we have to get back to who we are as a defense and try to gut it out. The offense helped us along.”
Against Division I opponents, Montana is surrendering 34 points per game while the offense is averaging 39.5 points per contest. The Griz are giving up 177 rushing yards per game against Division I opponents, while allowing 4.7 yards per carry. UM has made a habit of giving up less than 3 yards per carry and less than 100 yards per game since Hauck returned to the helm ahead of the 2018 season for his second stint leading his alma mater after winning 80 of 97 games between 2003 and 2009.
The Griz defense is allowing nearly 27 first downs per game against Division I opponents. That same group of four teams have converted nearly 49 percent of their third downs against the Griz.
“We did not play as well as…especially in the second half…as well as we have on defense,” said Hauck, who’s team took a 31-14 lead into halftime. “We were down a significant number of players. And we just didn’t execute as well as we needed to on the defensive side of the ball. And I think they out-played us in the kicking game, too, frankly. They just did a really good job, a great job by them and I’m as pleased as I can be that we got a win this week.”
Eastern Washington, traditionally an offensive powerhouse who has been good but not record setting or trend setting the last two-plus seasons, entered the game averaging 28 points per game. The Eags nearly doubled that as quarterback Kekoa Visperas threw for 265 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 61 yards and two scores. EWU piled up 551 yards, 31 first downs and converted 9-of-14 tries on third down. The Eags averaged 6.7 yards per rush, 12.5 yards per completion and 6.8 yards per play.
“It was awesome seeing the offense perform in all facets,” Tirrell said. “The offensive line did a great job, Logan did a great job, tight ends showed up today. The offense was fun to watch.
“Defense needs to get back to work and bring it all together for four quarters.”
