Frustrating Playoff Loss Ends Montana Grizzly Football Season

A season that never really felt quite right ended quite wrong Saturday afternoon.

The University of Montana Grizzly football team got off to a decent start, forcing a South Dakota State fumble on their first possession of the game, and putting 3 points on the board. But from there, it was all Jackrabbits. Then more Jackrabbits.

South Dakota State lived up to their reputation as one of the toughest defensive team in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), particularly in stopping their opponents' running game. Even with a missed field goal and an interception later in the first half, Montana was able to do nothing on the offensive side of the ball, and suffered through a long afternoon and a 35-18 loss to the Jackrabbits Saturday afternoon in Brookings, South Dakota.

The two-time defending national champions kept the Griz to a meager point output for a second consecutive post-season. And once they found their rhythm on offense, Montana was quickly playing from far behind without much punch to answer.

Down 35-3, a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat to Sawyer Racanelli in the fourth quarter was the lone bright spot on offense for the Griz in the second half, until an Ah Yat to Keelan White pass made it 35-18 with 4 seconds left to play.

South Dakota State moves on to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, home again next Saturday afternoon. As for the Grizzlies, they end the season with an irregular heartbeat-sounding record of 9-5, and with one of the largest senior classes in school history, look to fill a lot of holes as they look ahead to 2025. The transfer portal is going to be a busy place when things open up this coming week.

Next season will certainly be an interesting one, with a record 8 regular season home games as part of another 12-game regular season schedule, and no bye week.

Here's to a fruitful off-season, guys. We will once again be packing Washington-Grizzly Stadium before you know it!