OGDEN, Utah — Donte McMillan cut back against the grain against one of the most ferocious defenses in the country, breaking a tackle right at the line and finishing a 23-yard burst into opposing territory with authority, sending a Montana defensive back flying at the end.
Bobby Hauck admitted following the game that even he could “feel the dam breaking.” At that moment, it became very clear not even Montana’s previously impenetrable defense could save these Grizzlies.
McMillan’s long run was part of a touchdown march that helped No. 5 Weber State put the final nail in the coffin of a University of Montana football team that is officially reeling.
When Hayden Meacham coasted into the end-zone to put the host Wildcats up 24-13 against the 11th-ranked Griz, most Montana enthusiasts could be forgiven for changing the channel, turning off the TV or starting the 480-mile trek North on I-15 back to Missoula.
An 11-point lead seemed insurmountable even if almost six minutes remained on the game clock. That’s the status of a Griz offense without its starting quarterback that managed just 114 yards on 55 plays on Saturday afternoon in front of 11,722 at Stewart Stadium.
And even when Malik Flowers took the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown to cut the margin to three, 24-21, Montana’s defense didn’t have enough left in the tank to emerge with one more stop.
Weber State went for it on fourth and short from midfield after UM used its final timeout. Kris Jackson plowed forward for a four-yard gain. Weber had the bounce-back win it needed. And the 24-21 victory pushed Montana’s season to the brink.
“We are in a rough spot,” Hauck said. “We have lost three in a row. We are certainly not where we want to be.
“But I look at it academically and we just lost twice on the road to Top 5 teams in the nation. We have to remain confident that we have a good football team. They played their tails off.
“We were down a lot of key players and those are good football teams that have gotten the best of us. Last week, it was overtime (31-24 at No. 2 Sac State) and a lot of things went against us. Today, there were a lot of things working against us today and we fought and it came down to the last possession again. It’s where we are.”
The Grizzlies, a team touting Big Sky Conference and national championship expectations a month ago, are now in the midst of the second three-game losing streak in Hauck’s 11 total seasons (2003-2009, 2018-present) at the helm. The previous skid came in October of 2018, Hauck’s first season back.
Once upon a time, Hauck led the Grizzlies to heights unseen, at least within the scope of dominating Big Sky competition. UM’s lone league loss between 2006 and 2009 came here in 2008 in a torrential downpour when Cam Higgins, Trevyn Smith and the Wildcats beat down the Griz. Otherwise, UM went 31-1 during that stretch. And Montana avenged that loss here 14 years ago by ousting WSU from the 2008 FCS playoffs.
In present times, with each year that passes, that history becomes more distant. And Hauck’s slogan of “RTD- Return to Dominance” becomes more elusive.
Saturday’s loss drops Montana to 2-3 in Big Sky Conference play and 5-3 overall. Hauck went 47-6 in league play and 80-17 overall during his first stint with the Griz.
“It’s tough dropping any game and every game is a must-win for us so this is not a feeling we want,” said Montana senior cornerback Justin Ford, who snared a pick in the third quarter to set up a UM field goal (that was tipped but still went through the uprights) that gave the Griz their last lead, 13-10.
“But ultimately, we think our big goal is still in the picture. We have three games left and we have to win all those games and see where the ball falls and hopefully get in the playoffs. Once you get in the playoffs, it’s anybody’s ball game.”
The easy answer to Montana’s skid stems from the injury suffered last week by super senior starting quarterback Lucas Johnson. The former San Diego State transfer took a sharp shot to the side of the head that resulted in a targeting penalty and a Sac State defensive end getting ejected.
For the fourth time in as many years since Hauck’s return, Montana was forced to go with its backup quarterback. Saturday, Kris Brown again got the call. And Saturday, Montana’s offense again looked completely stagnant in scheme, play calling, operation and execution.
The Grizzlies managed just 10 first downs, including just three after halftime. Montana rushed the ball 38 times for 42 yards, a stat line that seemed unfathomable during UM’s dominant times of yesteryear but has been an Achilles heel more often than not the last few seasons.
Brown completed 10-of-17 passes for 72 yards and a long completion of 20. For most of the sunny, crisp afternoon, it seemed like the Griz offense was stuck in third and long. And each time it was, it seemed like Montana would take a sack.
“It’s a team game and everybody’s got to do a little bit better,” Hauck said. “Probably if everybody did five percent better, we’d look a lot better on that side of the ball. Including me.”
Weber State ended the afternoon with six sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Montana averaged 2.07 yards per play and converted 4-of-14 on fourth down.
“(The offense) wasn’t good enough,” Hauck said flatly. “We didn’t generate enough yards, we didn’t generate enough first downs. I thought we were close on a lot of stuff but they got the best of us.”
Yet still, despite the completely anemic offense, and a defense that gave up a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 69-yard touchdown late in the third, Montana still hung around.
The Grizzlies made Weber State work for everything it got offensively aside from Damon Bankston’s 47-yard cutback burst to give WSU its first lead with 26 seconds to go and Ty MacPherson’s 69-yard catch and run against what Hauck called a broken coverage.
“We had a guy out of position on the long run in the first half where we should wrap there and make it,” Hauck said. “And the second one, that’s just coverage and just a bust.”
Weber was able to capitalize when needed, hit gash plays that have been absent for Montana’s offense all season and control the game in the second half. WSU finished with 192 yards rushing and 345 yards of total offense.
Part of that success was aided by the fact that All-American linebacker Patrick O’Connell, one of the best players in the country, left the game in the first half with a leg injury and never returned.
For those that have followed Griz and Big Sky Conference football since Hauck’s first tenure, it was surreal to see a Wildcat team play opportunistic football that led to being able to pound the ball straight down the opponent’s throat the second half of the fourth quarter to seal a hard-fought victory.
Weber got the ball with 5:56 left after Flowers’ TD return. And the Wildcats did not give the ball back.
That’s what Hauck’s teams used to do to the rest of the league.
“We have to run it better than that, especially in a game like this,” Hauck said. “We need to get the run game going.
“The last drive, they grinded it out and we didn’t get them stopped.”
Weber State’s win is a big one for the Wildcats, who started 6-0 this season, a surge that included a 35-7 win over Utah State of the Mountain West. WSU suffered its first loss of the season last week at Montana State in a wild game that included Weber’s long snapper snapping the ball out of the back of the end-zone for safeties in favor of MSU four different times.
After that 43-38 heartbreak to the third-ranked Bobcats, now the Wildcats are back on track. Saturday’s win moved WSU to 4-1 in league play, 7-1 overall.
“So many positives about this game,” Weber State ninth-year head coach Jay Hill. “If you look at the overall stats of this game, I thought the defense played outstanding. They did a great job of tackling, they were very gap sound and they did a good job of knocking out the room, forcing them into third downs.
“That’s a very good Montana team and you have to give them credit: for them to come in here with their backup quarterback and have a chance to win is impressive.
“I’m very proud of our guys. They fought, they clawed. It wasn’t perfect. It never is going to be when you play a great team. But I’m happy with how we responded.”
But the story of the day around the league and the Big Sky is that Montana is all of a sudden spiraling. The Grizzlies will likely have to win out to make the FCS Playoffs.
A 7-4 Montana team would be alluring for the FCS playoff selection committee given the overall opinion of the Big Sky on a national level and the fact that Montana is one of the subdivision’s leaders in attendance.
But three wins in a row, including a win over the Bobcats in Bozeman, will leave no doubt. And Hauck knows it.
““We’ve put ourselves in a must-win situation,” Hauck said. “Which is fine. We know it will be a must-win.”
Ford, for one, said the locker room is fully embracing the narrative that Montana’s primary goal still lies in front of the Griz. And it starts next Saturday in Missoula with Cal Poly coming to Washington-Grizzly Stadium for a night game that all of a sudden has huge ramifications.
“Before the season, our main goal was a national championship and as of right now, it hasn’t changed,” Ford said. “It’s still possible. That’s what we are still going for. We can’t drop another game. That’s very important.”
Photos courtesy of Weber State athletics. All Rights Reserved.
