MISSOULA — In the age of the transfer portal, it has become more challenging for fans to remember the names and numbers of players on their favorite college football teams.
Montana has the same conundrum many programs do. The Griz returned zero defensive starters from 2024, a complete overhaul. One of the best ways for fans to become familiar with and recognize these new faces is a signature moment. A long touchdown catch, an interception snag, something that is etched into the program’s memories.
Linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu had his signature moment Saturday afternoon at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Late in the second quarter, with the Indiana State Sycamores backed up in their own territory, Tuliaupupu beat the ISU left tackle around the edge and drilled quarterback Keegan Patterson. The hit jarred the ball lose, and, as the ball slowly dribbled to the goal line, safety TJ Rausch pounced on it and fell into the maroon grass for six points.
The play helped break open the game for Montana in the second quarter — a period in which UM outscored ISU 21-0 — and generated one of the loudest crowd pops of the contest.
“It felt great,” Tuliaupupu said of the play. “Shoutout Coach Coop (Roger Cooper) and Coach Tim (Hauck). They drew it up, and all I had to do was just run it. It was there, so thank you to them.”
The 6-foot-3, 242-pound linebacker transferred to Montana after a seven-year stint at USC that was plagued by injury troubles. Tuliaupupu did record a fumble recovery in 2024 in the Trojans’ Oct. 19 loss at Maryland, but he was sidelined with an illness after just seven games.
Getting to Missoula and being able to make a huge moment happen for the Griz, Tuliaupupu said, is “awesome.”
“Fans show out (here), we hope to give them a good product,” he added. “I want to thank the coaches and, shoot, even the guys for welcoming me in here.”
The fumble recovery for a score was the first for Rausch, a Missoula Sentinel graduate, as well. He has recorded a forced fumble, though, on Oct. 26, 2024, at Northern Colorado.
The score broke a 19-game streak Montana had gone without a defensive touchdown. Prior to Saturday, the last came in a Dec. 3, 2023, playoff matchup against Delaware. Nash Fouch forced a fumble that was taken to the house by Jaxon Lee.
The last forced fumble before the Indiana State game came against South Dakota State last winter. Henry Nuce forced a fumble that was recovered by Ronald Jackson.
“He came off the edge, made a nice play,” Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory said. “Ball’s on the ground, scoop and score, good play by them.”
The play involved one of three first-half sacks the Griz recorded. The first came at the hands of Peyton Wing and Hayden Schwartz, who flew past the Sycamore offensive line to bring Patterson down deep in the ISU backfield on third-and-4. The third and final sack, after Tuliaupupu forced the second for six points, came from Elijawah Tolbert and Hunter Peck.
Montana had just one sack on the season entering its third game, credited to Geno Leonard and Kade Cutler in the opener. Griz head coach Bobby Hauck noted after the Indiana State game that the opposing quarterback in week two, North Dakota’s Jerry Kaminski, operated at a fast tempo and got the ball out of his hands before UM could break into the pocket.
The quick trigger helps explain the lack of sacks, though Montana did still force three quarterback hurries against North Dakota after four against Central Washington. Still, getting home to the quarterback helped both the defense and the energy of the crowd ramp up.
“This guy (Patterson) had a little more courage,” Hauck added. “Kind of hung in there, and we got there a few times because he was holding (the ball) a little bit longer.”
Patterson completed just 15 of his 27 passes, throwing one touchdown and one interception each. Indiana State rushed for 198 yards on paper, but that number comes down to 64 when two 50-plus-yard rushes in garbage time against Montana’s backups are removed from the equation.
Sycamores head coach Curt Mallory complimented the Grizzilies’ front line after the game, specifically its ability to bring pressure from a variety of options.
“They bring pressure, and when you get behind like you are, blood was in the water,” Mallory added. “They just kept coming after us.”
The Griz welcome Idaho next weekend in what should likely be an FCS top-ten matchup. Getting the Vandals’ quarterback on the ground could play a large role, not just on the field but on the environment of the 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
Tuliaupupu, in his first year wearing maroon and silver, said the front line has no plans of slowing down.
“We gotta get after it,” Tuliaupupu said. “We’re going to do our best to get after the quarterback as much as possible. We’re going to keep working harder in practice, and we want to put out a good product.”
Carson Cashion is a sports writer for 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @CarsonCashion or contact him at carson.cashion@406mtsports.com.
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