MISSOULA — Eli Gillman rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns, the defense contributed a pair of touchdowns and Montana defeated Northern Colorado 40-0 on Saturday.
The Grizzlies, ranked No. 5 in the FCS Coaches poll, had two punts and missed two field goals before Jaxon Lee returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.
It took Junior Bergen’s 19-yard punt return and his 21-yard reception from Keali’i Ah Yat four plays after that to give Montana (7-1, 4-1 Big Sky Conference) a 14-0 lead late in the first half.
The Grizzlies finally found some consistency in the second half with Gillman scoring on a pair of short runs, Braxton Hill returning an interception 34 yards and Clifton McDowell hitting Sawyer Racanelli for a 20-yard touchdown.
Montana ended up with 455 yards, 285 on the ground, and held the Bears (0-8, 0-5) to 94 yards, 18 on the ground. The teams last met in 2021 with Montana winning 35-0, allowing 245 yards.