College Football: Grizzlies storm past Bobcats

MISSOULA The University of Montana's football team wore the Treasure State's outline on its helmets as if to say only one team represents Montana on the football field.

The Grizzlies left no doubt in Saturday's 34-7 drubbing of archrival Montana State before a record crowd of 26,352 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Montana's defense forced seven Bobcat turnovers, rushed out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

UM head coach Mick Delaney put it bluntly.

"We shut them down dominantly," Delaney said.

Grizzlies quarterback Jordan Johnson put together a stellar day, tossing three touchdown passes and amassing 313 yards through the air. He rushed for 80 more as the Grizzlies scored on five of six possessions in the first half.

The Bobcats, by contrast, turned the football over on five of six first-half possession.

"You can't underestimate the magnitude of ending drives that way time after time," Montana State head coach Rob Ash said.

Especially with an experienced and talented quarterback like Johnson taking the pigskin the other direction.

"Tonight reminded me of that run we had in 2011 when we were just rolling people," Johnson said with a smile. "It just felt like we could do no wrong."

Saturday was a far cry from Tuesday, when the senior was relegated to a walking boot for media day behind a sprained ankle. Even Johnson wasn't sure he was going to be able to play.

"Early on, I didn't think I was going to be able to play, but it just kept getting better and better," the quarterback said. "I wasn't going to miss this game for anything."

There wasn't any doubt after his 10-yard first-down scramble on the third snap of the game. He later ripped off runs of 29 and 43 yards.

The Bobcats didn't have the same results at quarterback. C.M. Russell High product Jake Bleskin was intercepted five times by the Montana defensive unit. He also fumbled late in the second quarter inside the Grizzlies' 5-yard line.

Ash said he didn't lose confidence in Bleskin, filling in for injured starter Dakota Prukop. The Great Falls native wasn't replaced by third-stringer Quinn McQueary until the fourth quarter.

"We were moving the ball, and I just kept thinking the last one was the last one," Ash said. "… I never got discouraged about our ability to find ways to move (the ball). They're very good on defense, but we can do some things."

The Grizzlies were good on offense, too. Montana scored 31of its 34 points after Montana State turnovers.

"Anytime you come in here and turn the ball over (seven) times, you're probably not going to win," Johnson said. "And we did a great job taking advantage of that."

The Grizzlies rushed for 198 yards on the ground, a statistic Delaney was ecstatic about afterward.

"You know me, that's all I harp about is we've got to run the ball because then we can throw the ball and a bunch of other things," Delaney said.

Montana didn't let up after the fast start either. The Grizzlies' approach didn't change in a 10-point second quarter.

"We just wanted to keep it going," Johnson said. "… We just wanted to keep pushing because we thought their offense was going to put up points. But our defense played unbelievable."

That performance was highlighted by safety Matt Hermanson, who snagged Montana's first, fourth and fifth interceptions of the day and moved to fourth on the Griz' all-time tackling list with 338 career snares. He passed the likes of current Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordan Tripp.

All-American defensive end Zack Wagenmann made his presence known as well. The senior from Missoula moved to the top of the Grizzlies' all-time sacks list at 33 ½.

"It's surreal," Wagenmann said of the record. "If you would have told me that I'd be in this situation three years ago, I would have laughed at your face."

On the FCS playoff bubble heading into the 2014 edition of the rivalry, the Grizzlies seem safely in after the dominant performance. They'll find out for sure Sunday at 9 a.m. with the FCS Selection Show.

Nobody in the Bobcat locker room was laughing postgame. The mood seemed more shock than disappointment.

But Montana State – still hoping for a postseason bid – wants to put Saturday behind them.

"I'm not going to sit here and say it doesn't hurt because it does," MSU linebacker Cole Moore said. "… But as soon as tomorrow comes around, this is history. This is in the past."

Ash couldn't help but speculate about what went wrong, though.

"It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we'd have scored a couple times inside the 2-yard line there," the coach said, wondering about Bleskin's fumble and a first-quarter interception in the red zone.

"It seemed like we just were forcing things," Ash added. "Jake was forcing things a little bit, trying to make a play. That was the difference from this week to last week."

And Montana State will certainly be able to chalk up Saturday – the Bobcats' worst performance of 2014 by far – as a learning experience if nothing else.

"I think it will be a great motivator for us all week, a tremendous motivator for us to show that we can play better than we just played today," Ash said.

The Grizzlies don't seem to need any motivation.

"We're back to playing Montana football," Delaney smiled.

First Quarter

Mont—FG Sullivan 42, 12:04.

Mont—Canada 1 run (Sullivan kick), 6:12.

Mont—Canada 4 pass from J.Johnson (Sullivan kick), :50.

Second Quarter

Mont—FG Sullivan 29, 9:18.

Mont—Saylor 4 pass from J.Johnson (Sullivan kick), 3:05.

Fourth Quarter

Mont—Janssen 9 pass from J.Johnson (Sullivan kick), 12:53.

MtSt—Newell 1 run (Daly kick), 5:59.

A—26,352

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Montana St., Newell 17-67, Brekke 7-47, McQueary 4-13, Bleskin 8-13, Gates 1-10, Knight 2-3. Montana, Canada 27-119, J.Johnson 6-80, Nguyen 1-1, Smithwick-Hann 1-(minus 1), Team 1-(minus 1).

PASSING—Montana St., Bleskin 15-28-5-145, McQueary 2-3-0-16. Montana, J.Johnson 22-36-0-313, Burke 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING—Montana St., Griebel 5-41, Salanoa 4-34, Roderick 3-27, Herbert 3-15, Newell 2-44. Montana, Van 7-109, Saylor 6-103, Ja.Jones 5-67, Janssen 3-30, Canada 1-4.