Bears Fall at No. 3 Montana in Front of Record Crowd

Saturday, October 3

Missoula, Mont.

2 p.m. MDT

University of Northern Colorado

2-4 , 1-2

Montana

5-1 , 3-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northern Colo.	0	0	6	8	14
Montana	7	8	14	7	36

Photo by: Jesus Ayala, UNC Athletics

10/3/2026 6:31:00 PM | Football

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By: Aiden Tank, Director of Strategic Communications

MISSOULA, Mont. – Northern Colorado ran into the most complete team on its schedule Saturday, falling 36-14 to No. 3 Montana at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in front of 27,131 fans, the third-largest crowd in the stadium's history.

The Bears are now 2-4 overall and 1-2 in Big Sky play.

"We got our butts handed to us. We were not ready for the overall challenge today," head coach Ed Lamb said. "Coaching, playing, we had some opportunities there in the first half and survived, and to be down by two scores, I thought we had some life there. But the reality is we needed to execute those first two drives deep into the opponent's territory."

Fast Start for the Grizzlies
Montana scored on its opening possession, with Keali'i Ah Yat finding Ian Finch for a 24-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the game. The Grizzlies extended the lead early in the second quarter on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Ah Yat to Brooks Davis, followed by a successful two-point conversion run by Davis, making it 15-0.

Northern Colorado's best chance to answer came in the first half, when the Bears drove deep into Montana territory twice without scoring. On the first trip, a false start on fourth-and-one and a substitution error pushed the Bears out of field goal range, wiping out a chance to break a nine-year scoring drought against the Grizzlies. On the second, a fourth-down rollout produced a clean pocket and an open receiver, but the route was run incorrectly.

"The self-inflicted wounds, one of the times we got down in there, we had a fourth-and-one situation, very makeable, and we false start and then have an error on substitution, kind of ice our own kicker for the chance to break a nine-year streak of not scoring on the Griz," Lamb said. "We really shot ourselves in the foot. We didn't even give ourselves an opportunity in those moments to shine."

Montana Pulls Away After the Break
Ah Yat found Eli Gillman for a 9-yard score midway through the third quarter, then connected with Davis again on a 25-yard touchdown less than three minutes later to push the lead to 29-0.

The Bears finally broke through with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Kenny Lueth capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, ending the scoring drought in a game where the Bears had moved the ball but stalled repeatedly. Lueth scored again in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run, then ran in the two-point conversion to make it 36-14.

Lueth finished with 58 rushing yards on six carries, including a 36-yard run. Brayten Silbor completed 18 of 30 passes for 194 yards with one interception, connecting with eight different receivers. Trey Olsen had 54 yards on three catches, including a 35-yard grab. Justin Guin rushed for 51 yards on 15 carries.

Defensive Stands and Breakdowns
The Bears forced two red-zone stops in the first quarter, including a fourth-down stop. Ezra Ekuban said the group's approach in those moments reflects the defense's identity.

"Our whole defensive philosophy is just next play, keep fighting," Ekuban said. "In the red zone is when we really have to come together and find a way to force three points or force a turnover. That's part of our culture."

But Montana's skill players proved decisive, with Brooks Davis finishing with nine catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

"All week we knew they had playmakers that could make dudes miss and break tackles," Ekuban said. "A big emphasis this week was keeping the shape of the defense and tackling, and we didn't do either of those well today. We let a few big plays get out on us, and we also let a lot of plays that should have been stopped for short or no gain get out for extra yards."

Lamb echoed that assessment and pointed to the coaching staff.

"We had a backside player there unblocked, and we saw it happen on film over and over last week," Lamb said. "Really frustrating when an unblocked player loses the shape and allows something like that to get out. We've got good players who should have matched up better today than the score. That's got to be on us as coaches."

Up Next
The Bears hit the road again next Saturday, traveling to Eastern Washington for a 5 p.m. MT kickoff.

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