Oct. 28, 2006
Final Stats
Missoula, MT --- In a game predicated by defense, Montana's defense was just a little bit better than Idaho State's, and it added up to a heart-wrenching 23-10 loss at Montana's Washington-Grizzly Stadium, keeping the Bengals winless in 13 tries in the facility.
The game was a defensive battle as Montana didn't break the 300-yard mark until just over five minutes remaining in the game, and Idaho State finished with just 92 total yards, 46 rushing and 46 passing.
Idaho State's defense and special teams kept them in the ballgame the whole time, forcing three field goals and blocking a trio of kicks, two field goals and one a punt. That blocked punt, by Pago Togafau, led to a 1st-and-goal at the 5-yard line, and Josh Barnett punched it in for a 7-3 lead. With 6:47 left in the first
After the Bengals blocked Dan Carpenter's 33-yard field goal while leading 7-6, ISU gave the ball right back as Josh Barnett fumbled. The Griz scored three plays later on an 8-yard run by Reggie Bradshaw for a 13-7 lead. Second-ranked Montana tacked on another field goal when Carpenter hit from 41 yards with just under seven minutes left in the half.
The Bengals caught a break on the second half kickoff, as after an offsides penalty forced ISU to rekick, Dan Zeidman pooched a kick to the 24-yard line, where a Griz offensive lineman could not field the ball cleanly, and Terrence Calloway picked it up after Clint Knickrehm hit a Montana player just before he recovered the kick.
ISU turned that play into a 38-yard field goal by Branden Jones to make it 16-10, and the game stayed that way for almost the rest of the game.
Still down 16-10, the Bengals got the ball back with 3:11 left, but ISU couldn't move the ball and elected to punt it away. The defense, which was stout all game, forced a punt, and Idaho State had one last shot from their own 10 with 44 seconds left, but on the first play, Gutierrez was picked off by Torrey Thomas, who returned it for a clinching score.
The Bengals never got anything doing on offense, going just 9-for-25 passing, including zero for their last nine pass attempts with the one interception. Gutierrez ended the day as the teams' leading rusher with 27 yards.
Defensively however, ISU played its best game, limiting Montana's passing attack for 157 yards and under 50% in completions. Montana did gain 157 yards on the ground, but it came on 44 carries, including a 108-yard effort from Brady Green on 23 carries.
NOTES: Akilah Lacey left the game in the first quarter after an injury, and he did not return until midway through the third quarter, but he was held to just one catch ... Idaho State gained just 11 yards in the fourth quarter ... Dan Zeidman tied a career-long with a 58-yard punt in the second quarter, equaling a 58-yarder he hit last year in the same state, that one at Montana State ... Pago Togafau finished with a game-high 14 tackles ... Clint Knickrehm returned kickoffs for the Bengals, returning four for 66 yards, his first four returns of his career.
