Whoever wins the second matchup will advance to the FCS quarterfinals and take on the victor of Northern Iowa and Portland State.
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On Saturday, though, the Grizzlies were limited to a season-low 235 yards of total offense and lost in one-sided fashion. They had scored 24 in the first half against South Dakota State the week prior.
The Bison scored 20 points on returns, though, two interceptions going back the other way along with Anderson’s special teams work. Anderson ran back the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and a 31-6 lead with 8:58 to play in the third. Gustafson threw another interception on Montana’s next possession as NDSU’s Jalen Allison not only snagged the pick but also took it back 30 yards for a Bison touchdown. “To finish this thing off the way we did, (I am) just so proud to be part of this thing”.
“Definitely a disappointing performance for our football program, but we went up against a very good football team today”, Montana head coach Bob Stitt said. It didn’t end the way anyone wanted it to, but these players should be proud of where they ended up. An 11-yarder from quarterback Brady Gustafson with just under 2 minutes left in the third put him at an even 3,000 for his career, only the second Griz to reach such heights after Mariani (3,018). To compound matters, the Griz were held to six yards rushing.
“When we played them the first time we were never able to get a two-score advantage”, Klieman said.
“You don’t win championships in August, you win the suckers in December”, Klieman said. Gustafson, who missed many throws high and wide early on and seemed to suffer from miscommunication with his receivers time and again, suddenly hit his stride. Set up by a 39-yard Ellis Henderson reception, Gustafson capped off a 75-yard drive with a 20-yard TD strike to Jamaal Jones. “People in the stands were absolutely insane”, Stick said of the 18,000-plus crowd inside the Fargodome. “They brought the juice and we kind of fed off them”.
“I love stopping the run”, said senior defensive lineman Brian Schaetz.
There was a load of tackles to be made up in the Grizzly defense with starting linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren sidelined with injury. “You can’t show up here and think you’re gonna redshirt, looking at the depth chart like, ‘Oh maybe as a junior I’ll get my shot.’ That isn’t how it works here”.
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“They’re tough with the run and they can grind out the clock”, Stitt said.
