CORVALLIS, Ore. — Late Saturday evening at Reser Stadium, it was a long night at the office for the Montana Grizzlies as they suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Oregon State 52-17 in a game where Montana occasionally had moments. But at the end of the day, the Grizzlies were overmatched by the Beavers.
All in all, Oregon State was in complete control from start to finish on Saturday night.
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2:56"I think our preparation during the week, you know, I think we executed pretty well. I don't think it was up to our standard," UM wide receiver Brooks Davis said. "There was a lot of things that we could have done better, like even for myself, I dropped the touchdown second drive. So I think we just need to go into that film and correct our mistakes from (Saturday)."
That fourth-down shot between Davis and Keali'i Ah Yat from the Griz was one of many missed opportunities that they could've used to give themselves a fighting chance.
Instead, an untimely holding call deep in OSU territory hurt a promising drive, which finished with a Jo Silver field goal, and a targeting hit and ejection on linebacker and captain Peyton Wing were other troubling mistakes.
Plus, OSU quarterback Braden Atkinson dazzled as a former FCS standout turned FBS starter, who had UM's defense perplexed and overmatched all game.
"I think we just at the beginning, we need to communicate better and that falls on me, that falls on everyone," UM safety Tanner Huff said. "That's not our standard. And we're going to go back to work on Monday. We're going to get better every day because we're a bunch of hard workers and that's what we want to do, is get better."
"We've got good guys who fight their ass off," Montana head coach Bobby Kennedy added. "So obviously it's disappointing because we have high expectations and that's what we have at the University of Montana. And so when we fall short, we fall short, but we're going to go back to work.
"If they lay it all on the line, I can live with that."
While the start was flat, the Griz did string together drives and kept battling through the finish, as Ah Yat connected with Reese Brooks and Davis for touchdowns in the second half to build on.
Running back Eli Gillman also shattered another record, as he became UM's all-time leading rusher for career yards. He surpassed Yohance Humphery's 25-year-old school record and now has 4,086 rushing yards for his career.
"I hope they learn that they don't ever want to lose again, right?" Kennedy said. "It's disappointing, but on the other hand, bringing our A-game every week and doing it in practice and making sure that we execute at the highest level possible, that's what's going to win football games, right? We have guys that bust their butt and want to do really well. And as long as I see the effort and their tenaciousness and their never-give-up attitude, then me sitting in this chair, I'll be satisfied."
While proud of the effort and no-quit attitude, Kennedy said he knows there's work that needs to be done and changes to make.
But he offered perspective, as Kennedy noted how Montana State fell to Oregon last year before going on an eventual run to the national title.
So while the loss stings, the defeat to an opponent in the FBS means little in the grand scope of both Montana's season and state of the program. There will be no rest either, as UM packs back up and heads to California next weekend in a huge Big Sky clash with UC Davis.
The Aggies are currently ranked No. 11 to UM's No. 3 slot. UC Davis soundly defeated Stetson 45-7 on Saturday, and like Montana, sits at 3-1 with its lone loss coming at the hands of an opponent from the FBS.
"But there's another team last year that lost to a really good FBS opponent, right?" Kennedy said. "And they stayed together as a team. They bounced back. They went on a tremendous run. And I just believe we have the character in this group of players that we can do the same thing. But it's going to take hard work every week, right? Like, we can't as coaches, as players, we can't give an inch. We've got to keep demanding out of our guys.
"It's our effort, right? It's our togetherness as a team. There's no moral victories or anything like that. We lost (Saturday). But on the other hand, too, I like this team and we're going to continue to fight. I really believe we're going to win a lot of games here."