Montana Griz host Furman in FCS playoffs second round

MISSOULA — The No. 2 Montana Grizzlies (11-1) will host the No. 7 Furman Paladins (10-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. It is the only one of the four FCS quarterfinal games that is taking place on Friday and is the first time a quarterfinal has been held in Missoula since 2011.

This is the Grizzlies’ third quarterfinal appearance in the past four seasons since head coach Bobby Hauck returned to the Garden City. A win would send them to the semifinals for the first time since 2011.

The Griz are the champions of the Big Sky Conference, while the Paladins won the Southern Conference. One of Furman’s losses came against an SEC opponent, South Carolina, and the other came when it was missing its all-conference quarterback and running back.

Pregame

Montana senior left tackle Chris Walker and sophomore left guard Liam Brown both going through warmups. Walker went down in fourth quarter last week. Brown got injured Nov. 11 at Portland State. Walker takes first-team reps at LT in pregame, sophomore Declan McCabe at LG.

First quarter

Montana's Junior Bergen takes the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, juking out the kicker, who falls down around the Furman 40-yard line. First career kickoff return touchdown for the Billings native.

SCORE: Griz 7, Furman 0, 14:47 left first quarter

Furman responds with a 1-yard TD run up the middle by RB Dominic Roberto. That comes one play after Tyler Huff hits freshman Colton Hinton for a 70-yard catch-and-run on third-and-6 from Furman's 29-yard line.

SCORE: Griz 7, Furman 7, 13:22 left first quarter

Montana picks up one first down on its first offensive drive before punting. Furman then goes three-and-out as tight end Mason Pline drops a wide-open pass right at the sticks. Junior Bergen calls for a fair catch on his first punt return opportunity.

Montana goes three-and-out on its second drive. Clifton McDowell bounces a pass short of his receiver for the second time early on. Griz have 8 yards on 9 plays. Cannon Panfiloff at left tackle in place of Chris Walker. He started the past two games at left guard.

Montana forces Furman into a second consecutive three-and-out. Defensive end Kale Edwards comes up with a sack on third-and-7 from the Furman 25-yard line. After a short punt, Montana takes over the Furman 48-yard line.

Montana QB Clifton McDowell rips off a 40-yard run and rushes for an 8-yard TD one play later. The Griz turn the short field from a 31-yard punt into a two-play, 48-yard TD drive. Ninth rushing TD for McDowell this season.

SCORE: Griz 14, Furman 7, 6:44 left first quarter

Furman QB Tyler Huff keeps the ball and runs for a 53-yard touchdown on third-and-3. Both Furman TD drives have included a play of 50-plus yards on third down.

SCORE: Griz 14, Furman 14, 5:21 left first quarter

Griz will be facing a fourth-and-3 from the Furman 22-yard line to open the second quarter.

End first quarter: Montana 14, Furman 14

Second quarter

Montana seventh-year senior kicker Nico Ramos drills a 39-yard field goal. He's now 8-for-8 this season after taking over kicking duties the last week of October.

SCORE: Griz 17, Furman 14, 14:56 left second quarter

Montana kicker Nico Ramos hits a 28-yard field goal. Second consecutive lengthy drive that ends with a field goal for the Griz. This drive: 12 plays, 61 yards in 4:48. Previous drive: 11 plays, 53 yards in 5:25.

SCORE: Griz 20, Furman 14, 8:15 left second quarter

Montana's defense stuffs a couple of Furman runs near midfield, including the first tackle of the season for defensive end and Kalispell native Hank Nuce, who had offseason surgery. Personal foul roughing the punter gives Furman a first down at the Montana 44-yard line.

Montana's defense rises up again to force the punt, taking over at its own 29-yard line after a 20-yard punt. Furman QB Tyler Huff is 4-of-12 for 88 yards, with 70 of those yards on one pass. He overthrew a receiver deep on third down.

Montana kicker Nico Ramos misses a 42-yard field goal wide right. That's his first miss in 10 attempts this season.

Montana linebacker Riley Wilson sacks Furman QB Tyler Huff on third-and-6 from the Furman 46-yard line. Wilson had switched from the left side of the defensive front to the right side when Furman checked over to the sideline.

End second quarter: Montana 20, Furman 14

Third quarter

Montana's defense starts the second half by forcing a three-and-out. Furman had 156 yards on 30 plays in the first half. Take out the 70-yard pass and the 53-yard run, and the Paladins totaled 33 yards on their other 28 plays.

Montana QB Clifton McDowell is up to 85 rush yards after the Grizzlies' first drive of the third quarter. That's a single-game career high for him. His previous best was 83 yards against Sacramento State on Nov. 4.

Furman false starts on third-and-1 from its own 15-yard line. That's the 19th false start by an opposing team at Washington-Grizzly Stadium this year. Tyler Huff escapes pressure on third-and-6, throws incompletion. Another short punt sets up Griz at Furman 42-yard line.

Montana wastes good field position early in the third quarter after taking over at the Furman 42-yard line following a punt. QB Clifton McDowell is sacked for the second time today and the Griz lose 5 yards before punting.

Furman QB Tyler Huff misses wide receiver Joshua Harris deep down the left sideline. He's now 6-of-21 passing (28.6%) for 109 yards.

Montana QB Clifton McDowell is intercepted by Micah Robinson at the Furman 47-yard line. Robinson returns it 34 yards to the Montana 19-yard line. Just the third interception for McDowell in 197 attempts this year, but the second in the past two playoff games.

Furman converts the turnover and short field into a 1-yard touchdown run by RB Dominic Robinson, his second score today. First time Montana has trailed in the second half since Sept. 23 at Northern Arizona in its lone loss this year.

SCORE: Furman 21, Griz 20, 6:22 left third quarter

Montana gets down to the Furman 24-yard line but RB Nick Ostmo is dropped for a 1-yard loss on third down. Nico Ramos lines up for a 42-yard field goal and misses his second consecutive kick. Griz trail 21-20 late third quarter.

End third quarter: Furman 21, Montana 20

Fourth quarter

Montana goes three-and-out. The Griz have 64 yards in the second half. The Paladins have 42 yards but got a short field on the interception.

Montana WR Aaron Fontes drops a wide-open pass at the first-down marker on third-and-3 from the Grizzlies' 46-yard line. Travis Benham pins Furman at the 3-yard line with a 51-yard punt. Griz trail 21-20 with 11:22 left in the game.

Montana forces a three-and-out and a punt with the punter standing in end zone. Junior Bergen returns the punt 59 yards for a TD, his second special teams TD today. He opened the game with a kickoff return TD. 2-point pass to Sawyer Racanelli.

SCORE: Griz 28, Furman 21, 9:40 left fourth quarter

Furman converts a fourth-and-1 at the 50-yard line with a 1-yard QB keeper by Tyler Huff. Corbin Walker breaks up a third-and-14 pass to force the punt, which goes for a touchback. Griz up 28-21 with about 5 minutes left in the game.

Furman goes for it on fourth-and-10 from the Montana 43-yard line and Griz cornerback TraJon Cotton intercepts the pass with 2:03 left in the game. Griz up 28-21. Furman QB Tyler Huff is 11-of-34 for 146 yards, 1 INT.

Montana leads Furman 28-21 with 0:36 left in the game. The Paladins have a first down at the Grizzlies' 13-yard line after a 15-yard pass interference penalty called on Ryder Meyer.

Furman QB Tyler Huff from the Montana 13-yard line: 1st: Incomplete pass into end zone on 1st down; 2nd: Throwaway under pressure from Braxton Hill; 3rd: Overthrow in back of end zone; 4th: Tyler Huff under pressure throws TD to Mason Cline.

Furman lines up for the 2-point play but is called for a false start. The Paladins then opt to kick the extra point.

SCORE: Griz 28, Furman 28, 0:13 left fourth quarter

End fourth quarter: Montana 28, Furman 28

Overtime

Griz are headed to overtime for the first time this season. First OT game for UM since 2022 at Sacramento State. First OT game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium since 2015 against Weber State.

Furman wins the coin toss and chooses to go on defense. Montana starts with the ball 25 yards from the north end zone. Both teams will get a possession in the first overtime session.

Montana #GrizFB in top of 1st OT:

Eli Gillman 6-yard gain on toss

Clifton McDowell 7-yard keeper

Gillman run minus-1 yard

McDowell 13-yard touchdown pass to Keelan White on second down

Nico Ramos extra point good

SCORE: Griz up 35-28. Furman gets the ball 25 yards from the end zone.

Furman in bottom of 1st OT:

Alex Gubner 5-yard TFL of Wayne Anderson Jr.

Corbin Walker breaks up Tyler Huff pass in end zone

Incomplete pass on 3rd down, dropped

Jaxon Lee pass breakup on fourth down

Final: Montana 35, Furman 28 (OT)

Griz to host a semifinal next week