Montana football advances to defeat Northern Colorado in its third straight meeting, defeating the Bears 24-0 at Nottingham Field

Interceptions were Northern Colorado's undoing on Saturday afternoon against nationally ranked Montana.

Bears quarterback Kia'i Keone threw three interceptions, including two in the Montana red zone, and the Grizzlies beat UNC 24-0 at Nottingham Field in Greeley.

The win was No. 9 Montana's third straight against UNC and third straight shutout against the Bears. Montana beat UNC 40-0 in Missoula last year and 35-0 in Greeley in 2021

The Grizzlies have won 17 of 19 series games with the Bears since 1976 and 12 of 13 since November 2006.

Montana improves to 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference and 6-2 overall. UNC falls to 1-3 in the conference and 1-7 overall.

The Grizzlies entered the game as one of the highest scoring offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision of Division, averaging 41.29 points. Montana missed an early field goal, UNC's defense played well overall, but the Bears just couldn't generate enough offense.

“I think that’s a simplistic way to look at it,” UNC coach Ed Lamb said after the game. “In order to win a defensive battle like this, we have to play better defense. Montana played shutdown defense. We didn’t play shutdown defense.”

Lamb said while the Bears' passing game has improved – the game was Keone's third start after previously dealing with injuries to some quarterbacks – the running game needs to get better.

The Bears managed just 65 yards on the ground. UNC had 218 total yards to Montana's 395 (198 rushing, 197 passing). Nick Ostmo led Montana with 107 yards on 13 carries – a stellar average of 8.2 yards per rush.

The game was the first in two weeks for UNC, which had a week off after its Oct. 12 victory over nationally ranked Weber State in Ogden, Utah, to end the program's 18-game losing streak.

The Bears were missing at least three key starters and key performers. Offensive lineman Aidan Moe was sidelined with a leg injury and defensive lineman Marcus Howard and defensive back Noah Mangham also did not play. Moe, a redshirt sophomore at Parker, stood on the sidelines with crutches and a leg brace.

Keone's third interception came late in the third quarter. The Grizzlies then went on a 16-play, 87-yard drive over nearly 9 minutes. Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat connected with running back Eli Gillman in the right flat for a 10-yard touchdown and a 24-0 lead with 1:38 left in the quarter.

Keone threw a pick in both the first and second quarters, and both came from tipped passes.

Keone's second interception was a drive-killer with 8:50 left in the second quarter. The Bears were only down 7-0 at the time and were preparing for first down at the Montana 13-yard line.

Big plays put UNC in position to score the game-winning score.

Keone connected with linebacker Tama Tuitele for 23 yards to advance into Montana territory. Two plays later, Keone threw a small dump pass across the line of scrimmage to running back David Afari for 29 yards.

Afari made it to the 13, fumbled the ball, but was bailed out with receiver Jordan Riles at the spot to recover.

Running back Caden Meis lost four yards on a first-down rush attempt. Keone threw two incompletions, and Caleb Otlewski intercepted Keone's third pass attempt at the 3-yard line – capping the five-minute, 11-play, 66-yard drive.

Lamb said the ball was overturned in the interceptions and Montana's defense did a good job disrupting the Bears' coverage.

“I think Kia'i was trying to throw a catchable pass down the field and make shots,” Lamb said. “And that’s part of the game. It is part of the aggression, the risk-reward ratio that we must be prepared for. But we have to win it. And we didn’t win that one, Montana did, but that was definitely a big difference in the game, the interceptions.”

Two weeks ago, in a win at Weber State, UNC capitalized on six fumbles by the Wildcats and the Bears recovered four.

Montana coach Bobby Hauck said the Grizzlies' offense didn't change at all when they got the ball back after the interceptions.

“I think every defense in America tries to take the ball away,” the coach said. “We did it three times today, with three interceptions. That's how UNC beat Weber, they took the ball away from them. It’s a big deal in the game and it was a big deal today.”

Gillman also scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter and finished the game with 89 yards from scrimmage (39 rushing and 50 receiving yards). Ah Yat was 14 of 22 for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Ah Yat connected with receiver Ian Finch on a 2-yard pass with 31 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Grizzlies a 14-0 lead. Finch's catch was his first career catch.

Montana 24, Northern Colorado 0

AT – 7- 7 – 10 – 0 – 24

UNC – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Summary of points

1st Q, 2:49 – UM – Eli Gillman 4 run (Jo Silver kick), 7-0. 8 plays, 54 yards, 3:59 time of possession.

2nd Q, 0:31 – UM, Ian Finch 2 pass from Keali'i (Silver Kick), 14-0, 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:39.

3rd Q, 12:41 – Ty Morrison 47 FG, 17-0, 4 plays, -5 yards, 2:09.

3rd Q, 1:38 – Gillman 9 pass from Ah Yat (Silver Kick), 24-0, 16 plays, 87 yards, 8:57.

Originally published: October 26, 2024 at 6:19 p.m