Montana Grizzlies Dominate Portland State 57-24 at Washington Grizzly Stadium

Montana defeated Portland State 57-24 in Saturday’s home game at Washington Grizzly Stadium.

By halftime, the Grizzlies had already established a 29-10 lead, fueled by two touchdowns from Eli Gillman, one from Hashim Jones, and another from Red Lodge native Chase Cook. The University of Montana squad returned to Missoula looking to build momentum with just three regular-season games left on the schedule.

Montana's Bobby Kennedy, Eli Gillman & Justin Eklund after 57-24 win over Portland State

Entering the day, Montana sat at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Sky Conference, sharing a fourth-place tie in the league standings with Idaho. That standing followed a 42-33 road victory at Eastern Washington, where the defense notched a program record 11 sacks and receiver Brooks Davis hauled in 231 yards alongside three touchdowns. Saturday’s final score gives the team another necessary boost as they work to strengthen their postseason resume.

Portland State arrived in Missoula holding a 2-7 overall record and a 2-4 mark in conference play under coach Chris Fisk. The Vikings had previously demonstrated an ability to threaten league opponents, securing a 44-41 win over Weber State on a last-second field goal followed by a 30-14 victory against Utah Tech, though they dropped three straight games coming into Saturday. Their recent struggles largely stemmed from a vanishing ground game, managing just 56 rushing yards against Idaho State and 13 against Idaho after churning out 248 yards against Weber State.

For the record: Eli Gillman eclipses TD mark, No. 12 Montana cruises to victory over Portland State

Saturday marks the 50th meeting between the two programs. Montana now holds a 36-13 advantage in the all-time series, having captured eight of the last ten matchups against the Vikings.

Next up for the Grizzlies is a home game against Idaho State, followed by the regular-season finale on the road against Montana State.