#1 Montana Pulls Away From UNC For 31-14 Victory :: After game is tied at 14, NCAA Division I-AA power scores 17 unanswered points for the victory. (Sept. 14, 2002)

After game is tied at 14, NCAA Division I-AA power scores 17 unanswered points for the victory. (Sept. 14, 2002)

Sept. 14, 2002

MISSOULA, Mont. - The University of Northern Colorado Bears football team was not intimidated by NCAA Division I-AA defending national champion the Montana Grizzlies on Saturday. UNC played toe-to-toe with the current No. 1 team in Division I-AA as the game was tied at 14 with UNC possessing the football in the third quarter. A fumble deep in Montana territory, however, turned the tide of the game and Montana, coached by former UNC head coach Joe Glenn, scored 17 unanswered points to win 31-14.

Montana (3-0) broke onto the board first scoring the game's first 14 points. Off a Montana punt, UNC's Vincent Jackson fumbled the ball and Montana defender Joel Rosenberg recovered it for a touchdown for the Griz. Later in the quarter, David Gober ran eight yards for a touchdown to extend the advantage to 14-0.

Northern Colorado (1-1) would not bow down to the Grizzlies, as quarterback Mark Passard led a five-play drive that he capped with his one-yard run to cut the Montana advantage in half as UNC went into halftime trailing 14-7.

In the third quarter, backup quarterback Steve Cutlip hooked-up with senior wide receiver George Carroll for a 43-yard strike that put the ball at the Montana 1-yard line. After three failed attempts to score, Cutlip finally got the ball over the goal line on fourth down to tie the score at 14 with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter. Carroll caught four balls on the day, pushing his career total over the 100 mark (101) and into fifth place on the Bears all-time list.

UM would respond, when Brad Weston scored on an eight-yard pass from quarterback John Edwards early in the fourth quarter to put Montana back on top for good. The Griz added a 23-yard field goal on its next possession and capped the scoring on a 23-yard run but J.R. Waller with 5:34 to play.

The game was played in front of 19,386 fans, the second largest crowd in University of Montana football history.

Montana outgained UNC 320-218 for the game and held a large margin in net rushing yards, holding the Bears to only eight yards, after sacking the UNC passing duo of Passard and Cutlip eight times on the afternoon.

Redshirt freshman Reed Doughty recorded 10 tackles (7 solo) on the day, made an interception and deflected a pass.

Next week, UNC will host defending NCAA Division II national champion North Dakota at Nottingham Field. Gametime is set for Noon.