The Griz blew a 17-point halftime lead and lost 20-0 in the final two quarters after building a 24-7 halftime lead. They dropped their record in non-conference play to 1-1 as they lost their first road game and their first game against a higher-ranked opponent.

Montana was outgained 204-34 yards in the second half and 340-305 yards for the game as a whole. The Griz ran 17 offensive plays in four drives in the second half, managed three three-and-outs and had the ball for 5:53. Their final drive went 34 yards and included their only first down of the second half after gaining zero yards on the first three possessions of the half.

“We didn’t perform very well, especially in the second half,” Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said. “You can’t do what we did in the second half and hope to hold a big lead or win in any way shape or form. Poor performance from us. That starts with me. We’ve got to do a better job of figuring out how to get a first down.”

The Griz completed 4 of 8 passes for 9 yards in the second half and ran eight times for 25 yards, including a 32-yard run by quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat on fourth down to extend their final offensive drive. UM finished the game 20 of 30 passing for 145 yards and 29 runs for 160 yards. Eli Gillman led the running game with eight runs for 86 yards and a TD.

Ah Yat completed 20 of 28 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Two of his three second-half drives ended in three-and-outs, while his last resulted in Ty Morrison missing a 54-yard field goal in the final minute to force overtime.

QB Logan Fife’s only drive of the second half ended in a three-and-out. He completed 0 of 2 passes and ran for 5 yards twice.

“We didn’t get any first downs,” Hauck said. “We missed throws. We missed blocks. We didn’t lose the ball. We managed the noise. We did all of that. I thought the guys did a really good job. I was excited about how we did that. But we didn’t make any plays.”

North Dakota rushed for 243 yards on 49 carries, led by Gavin Ziebarth, who rushed for 88 yards on 22. Sawyer Seidl added 51 rushing yards and Isaiah Smith 48. Montana limited Missouri State to just 99 rushing yards last week.

Ziebarth’s 2-yard touchdown run cut UM’s lead to 24-14 in the third quarter, on a drive in which the Griz committed two pass interference penalties for 22 yards.

UND quarterback Simon Romfo ran seven times for 57 yards. All seven of his rushing attempts came in the second half, when the Fighting Hawks were looking for every advantage.

He scrambled for a 19-yard touchdown after botching the snap as the Grizzlies’ lead was cut to 24-21 in the third quarter. The Griz were assessed a 15-yard penalty for a face mask penalty on that drive.

“They have some issues at the quarterback position, so we didn’t really expect them to use him much in this game,” Hauck said. “We just didn’t think they would. That was probably part of it in the second half.”

“We didn’t rely on the quarterback’s run defense, although we have some things we like against teams that do that a lot. But we didn’t really expect them to do that, but they did.”

Romfo completed 11 of 24 passes for 97 yards and one interception. He completed six of 10 passes in the second half.

UND picked up at least one first down through the air on its last two drives. CJ Elrichs made back-to-back field goals of 19 and 40 yards in the fourth quarter to put the Griz behind for the first time.

“They did a good job of turning some second-and-longers into third-and-shorters, which gave them an opportunity to run because they weren’t throwing very well,” Hauck said. “I don’t know if they can throw. In the second half, we didn’t get them to. In the first half, it didn’t look like they could throw very well.”

The Griz, favored by 4.5 points, had scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives in the first quarter to build a 24-7 lead. Ah Yat showed off his slick maneuvers when he escaped pressure from three defenders and threw a pass to Xavier Harris, who caught the ball on the left sideline and outwitted a defender as he ran into the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Montana linebacker Riley Wilson made an immediate impact upon his return to the field, putting heavy pressure on Romfo and forcing him into an incomplete pass on fourth-and-5 attempts from the UM 30-yard line. Two plays later, running back Gillman ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run that gave Montana a 14-0 lead less than nine minutes into the game.

UND responded with a touchdown drive of its own, capped by Smith’s 30-yard touchdown run. UM didn’t let it get to them and responded with a touchdown drive of its own, which was extended when Ah Yat used his wheels to evade pressure and convert a third-and-3. Two plays later, Aaron Fontes ran an end-around 18 yards into the end zone, scoring his first point of the season and putting the team up 21-7.

After Fife’s only first-half drive ended in a punt, Ah Yat returned to run the 2-minute drill he excelled at last week. He switched sticks again as UM settled for a 30-yard field goal from Morrison after Ah Yat was penalized for intentional grounding, leading 24-7 at halftime.

“The crowd helped tonight,” said North Dakota head coach Bubba Schweigert. “It was a great atmosphere. In the first half, we couldn’t get the crowd involved. You have to play well. We always tell our guys that they have to make plays to get the crowd excited. But it’s special. We just believe in it.”