MISSOULA — Montana running back Eli Gillman dropped the football after he scored a touchdown, acted out a baseball swing, and receivers Drew Deck and Brooks Davis joined the performance by pretending to admire the home run.
Deck, Davis and other Grizzlies joined in on another end zone celebration when receiver Michael Wortham displayed some dancing skills following his touchdown in the win over Idaho on Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
“I’m going to give all of ’em a 10 out of 10, shoot,” Wortham said Saturday with a laugh and a smile that was probably as wide as those of Griz fans, who have seen their team get off to one of the hottest starts in the entire country.
Montana has raced out to a 4-0 record for the first time since the 2022 season and just the second time since the 2009 season, the final year of head coach Bobby Hauck’s first stint leading his alma matter.
A win this week would match the 2022 team’s 5-0 start, which would tie the best start to a season since that 2009 squad began the year 14-0 before losing in the FCS national championship game.
“I enjoy the preparation,” Hauck said Monday ahead of Montana’s game against Idaho State at 6 p.m. Saturday in Pocatello, Idaho. “I enjoy being around the guys. And certainly we enjoy winning.”
Adding to the fun of the winning is the way the Griz are doing it. It’s a bit of a throwback to 2019, when they relied on their offensive playmakers — quarterback Dalton Sneed, running back Marcus Knight and receiver Samori Toure — to average 36.7 points, still the most ever by one of Hauck’s teams.
This year’s team may threaten that while leaning on their stars in Gillman, Wortham and quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat. They’re averaging 42.5 points, which would be the highest average since the 1999 squad averaged 44.8 points.
“It was a lot of fun in the offseason, just kind of roll it right into the season,” Deck said. “Like coach Hauck said, we really enjoy winning, so it’s been good. Looking forward to building on that.”
Safety TJ Rausch added: “It’s been a good experience so far. I love playing with this team. These guys are great. Everybody comes to work every day and it’s just a fun experience when everybody wants to work hard.”
Montana’s four wins include two victories over ranked opponents: then-No. 8 Idaho and then-No. 16 North Dakota. They’re also 1-0 to start Big Sky play as they chase their second league championship in the past three seasons.
This week will be the first time they play outside Wa-Griz this season after being at home for their first four games. It’ll also be their first time playing in a dome since the second game of the 2024 season, at North Dakota.
“Obviously playing at home is a huge advantage for us, but we just got to bring our own energy and be our own hype men this week,” Rausch said.
Deck added: “Looking forward to getting on the road with the guys for the first time. Should be a lot of fun.”
Montana is 19-16 on the road compared to 43-7 at home and 0-1 at a neutral site since Hauck returned to UM in 2018. The Griz have a 6-4 record playing in six different domes in that stretch.
They’ll look to carry their exciting brand of football on the road. As they continue finding the end zone, the seemingly choreographed celebrations showcasing their character come with a word of caution from Hauck.
“Better not get a penalty,” he said Saturday after Wortham graded the celebrations. “That’ll be your last one.”
He added Monday: “Those are all great until somebody gets a penalty and then they won’t be playing anymore.”
First look
Montana moved up one spot to No. 4 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll after its 41-30 win over then-No. 8 Idaho. That’s a season-high ranking and makes the Griz the highest-ranked Big Sky team for the first time this year.
They remained at No. 4 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. They also were named the Stats Perform FCS national team of the week for their win over Idaho to retain the Little Brown Stein in the 90th all-time meeting.
Idaho State comes into the matchup with a 2-3 overall record, a 1-0 mark in conference and a 1-1 showing against the FCS. The Bengals are unranked in the both the media and coaches polls.
In their first FCS game, they lost 46-24 at Southern Utah, which plays in the United Athletic Conference. ISU allowed the Thunderbirds to rush for 323 yards on 6.5 yards per carry while giving up 240 yards on 76 percent passing.
Last week, the Bengals won their Big Sky opener 26-18 on the road against upstart Northern Colorado. They had their most balanced outing on offense with 289 rushing yards and 250 passing yards.
ISU got quarterback Jordan Cooke back in a larger role against UNC as he threw for 209 yards and one touchdown on 12-of-33 passing. He had played only two drives the previous week on Sept. 20, which was his first game since Aug. 30 due to an injury that required surgery, ISU coach Cody Hawkins said.
Cooke had helped the Bengals put a scare into FBS team UNLV in the season opener in a 38-31 loss on the road. The gunslinger threw for 380 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions on 30-of-50 passing (60 percent).
The next week, against Southern Utah, he threw for 334 yards, one score and one pick on 23-of-45 passing (51.1 percent). Without him, Davis Harsin and Jackson Sharman split reps in another close FBS loss, 32-22 at New Mexico.
The Bengals also posted a 90-0 win over Lincoln, an independent, traveling team from Oakland, California, which skewes their stats. The teams had agreed to play eight-minute quarters after ISU built a 69-0 halftime lead.
The Griz lead the all-time series against Idaho State, 48-13, going back to the first meeting in 1921. They’re 33-3 at home compared to 15-10 on the road.
They’ve won 15 consecutive games against the Bengals since a double overtime loss in 2003 on the road. That extends to winning 23 of the past 24 meetings and 33 of the past 35 contests dating back to 1985.
Montana opened as a 17.5-point betting favorite with an over/under of 65.5 points on Tuesday, according to Sports Bet Montana.
Wing grounded
UM starting linebacker Peyton Wing will miss the first half of Saturday’s game at Idaho State after the Grizzlies lost their appeal of his targeting penalty.
Wing was ejected for targeting on the final play of the third quarter against Idaho. No flags were visible on the TV broadcast and the announcement of his disqualification came right as the fourth quarter was set to begin.
“Montana requested an appeal of the targeting call in question, which the conference office supported and forwarded to the NCAA for appeal,” the Big Sky Conference said in a statement to the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports.
“The call was reviewed by a committee — comprised of select coordinators of football officials from other conferences as well as the national coordinator of football officials — which upheld the call.
“The player in question will be ineligible to play during the first half of Montana’s game at Idaho State this Saturday.”
A targeting penalty in the first half of a contest disqualifies a player for the remainder of the game. Committing that penalty in the second half disqualifies a player for the rest of the game and the first half of the following contest.
The NCAA defines targeting as a player making “forcible contact against an opponent with the crown of their helmet” or “forcible contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent.”
Wing, an All-Big Sky player at Portland State last year, has two of the team’s four interceptions this year and two of the nine quarterback hurries. He’s tied for fifth on the Griz with 15 total tackles to go with 0.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks.
Frank Gogola is the Senior Sports Reporter at the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @FrankGogola or email him at frank.gogola@406mtsports.com.
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