MISSOULA MAULING: Griz 29, Cats 10

MISSOULA - Records, point spreads, predictions, winning streaks, none of it ever seems to end up mattering when it comes to the Brawl of the Wild. Instead, it's usually big plays and stunning moments that come to define the rivalry game between Montana and Montana State.

And so it was again.

In the most anticipated meeting of the series, in front of a record-setting crowd at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the seventh-ranked Grizzlies shocked the third-ranked Bobcats on just the second play of the game when Cam Humphrey found a streaking true freshman, Junior Bergen, for a 74-yard touchdown pass, which ultimately led to a 29-10 win for the Griz in the 120th Brawl of the Wild Saturday afternoon in Missoula.

The Griz, which would end up with a 9-2 record, also snapped a four-game losing streak to the Bobcats, who fell to 9-2 and were denied the Big Sky Conference championship with the loss.

"I'm very happy for our players," Griz head coach Bobby Hauck said. "They did a great job getting ready for this game. I thought that the tenor leading up to this, and just the temperament of our team was absolutely perfect and, boy, they played good today.

"The first touchdown was sweet, that was something we had dialed up for this specific team and this gameplan," Hauck added. "It wasn't something we've shown, and they bit on it he was in the end zone. The punt return game was awesome, I thought he was going to come out on that last one, but that was great.

All totaled, 6,856 fans attended, got loud and proud and backed up the pesky red zone defense of Montana late in the first quarter. Montana State drove it deep and faced a third and short from the five-yard line, but back to back false starts pushed the Bobcats back. Then Patrick O'Connell and Alex Gubner got home to the quarterback and the sack forced a fourth down, limiting the Bobcats to just three points. It would be the only points the Bobcats would score until their final offensive play of the game.

  Humphrey took to the air again on the following drive for big plays, finding Grossman and Bozeman-native Ryan Simpson for a total of 46 yards. The Grizzlies would stall out in Bobcat territory, but Kevin Macias knocked a 42-yard field goal through to put Montana back ahead by a touchdown.

And while the game was tense until the final whistle, Montana State never got closer.

"We never got that momentum back, and it's unfortunate.," MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. "You feel terrible for (the) guys, because you could hear it in their voices, they want this. This isn't a matter of us not understanding the gravity of this game or wanting it. Sometimes football just takes its twists and turns, and we just didn't make enough plays. They did and here we are."

The Griz did make all the plays, especially on defense. UM held MSU's offense to just 204 yards, and 96 on the ground. The Cats were far and away leading the Big Sky in rushing, but, UM's defense was relentless all game long, especially in shutting down star running back Isaiah Ifanse, and running quarterbacks Matt McKay and Tommy Mellot.

And for good measure, when Justin Ford tacked on a touchdown after recovering a botched MSU fake field goal near the end of the third quarter, the defensive masterpiece UM put on was all but complete. And it was especially gratifying considering, MSU had rushed for over 300 yards in three straight Cat-Griz games.

"I'd be hard pressed to name a Montana defense that was ever as good as this one, and it might not be close," Hauck said. "This is a great defense. They play together. They have great understanding. They play kind of mean. They're good tacklers, they're good coverage guys. They get off blocks. They run to the ball. It was a really nice performance by them today."

O'Connell led the UM defense with 11 tackles, while Marcus Welnel had six and a sack. McKay finished just 12-of-25 passing for 108 yards and an inconsequential 20-yard touchdown strike to Nate Stewart, which came in the final minute of the game with UM up 29-3. That was his longest pass of the day, while his favorite target, Lance McCutcheon, was held to 30 yards.

"The feeling was amazing," Ford said.. "I kind of told some of the guys I had a great feeling about the game before it even happened. We expect to win every game we play, and it just so happened. Like coach said, this is just the biggest one out of the 11, so it was great to get the win."

On the other side of the ball, MSU's league-leading defense was really good, too. The Griz rushed for just 51 yards, and mustered just 288 yards of offense. But Montana did move the ball well enough to get Macias in range for field goals of 42, 33, 40, 50 and 37 yards, while Humphrey finished the game with 237 yards and two interceptions, including one to Bobcat legend Troy Andersen, who finished with an MSU-high 10 tackles.

"Feel terrible right now obviously. Cat-Griz, it's a huge game for the state of Montana," Andersen said. "Being from Montana and just being able to play in the rivalry, it's been awesome. It's been an honor, and obviously we didn't come out on the right side of things this game."

A big reason why ended up being Bergen, who originally committed to Montana State before switching last summer. Bergen would not only have UM's lone TD of the day, but, he had two long punt returns and three grabs for 82 yard sin his first Cat-Griz game.

"I'm glad that he figured it out," Hauck said with a smile about Bergen's big day. "Liked having him on our side."

Indeed. Bergen and the Griz, who earned the No. 6 seed in the upcoming FCS playoffs, but who have had a tumultuous and injury-filled season, were ecstatic that the Divide Trophy is back in Missoula for the first time since 2015. The win was also Montana's first over the Cats, who will be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, in Missoula, since 2014.

"It was surreal for sure," Humphrey said of playing in his first rivalry game. "I've been here for a handful of years now, and it's been unfortunate that it hasn't gone our way in the past. So, to see it go our way, and in a dominant fashion like it was, it was really exciting. I couldn't have drawn it up any better."