Montana shocks North Dakota State 38-35 on late TD
The college football season kicked off in grand fashion Saturday as No. 12 Montana upset No. 1 North Dakota State 38-35 with a late touchdown to seal the win.
North Dakota State came into the game as the four-time defending FCS champion. The loss marked only the fourth defeat for the Bison since 2011.
Montana ran a simple run off the left side from the 1-yard line for the game-winning score with 2 seconds remaining. The Griz started the game-winning drive from their own 20-yard line with 1:39 left. It took three attempts to get the ball into the end zone on fourth down.
“We only had a couple plays we were gonna consider and we ran them both and our guy just wanted it,” coach Bob Stitt said during the on-field interview. “I thought about changing the last one, they said ‘Coach, just run iso, we’ll get it in.'”
It was a heck of an FBS debut for Stitt, who came over to the Griz from Division II Colorado School of Mines. Many FBS schools have patterned their offenses after Stitt’s style of play, which seemed to keep the North Dakota State defense on its heels throughout the game.
The teams essentially traded touchdowns throughout the game before NDSU took a 35-28 lead in the fourth quarter. Montana cut that lead to 35-31 with a field goal with 2:47 remaining and the hope that the defense could get a crucial stop.
The Montana defense not only forced a three-and-out, it forced North Dakota State into two incomplete passes, which enabled the Griz to save all of its timeouts.
Montana ran 17 plays on its final drive, which capped a 92-play day for 544 yards and a 5.9 yards-per-play average.
An elated Stitt said after the game that he had no problem allowing his team to celebrate this upset victory.
“I may call in sick tomorrow,” Stitt said.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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