On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Weber State University Football Team was in Montana to face the University of Montana Grizzlies. The Wildcats turned the ball over four times and came away with a 31-10 loss to the No. 2 ranked team in the FBS.

 “We got outplayed that’s all,” Head Coach Ron McBride said. “They were just a much better team than we were today on both sides of the ball.”

 The night started off with a 29-yard completion between quarterback Cameron Higgins and receiver Joe Collins, but the game went downhill from there. Over the next three plays the Wildcats lost a yard and were forced to punt on fourth and 11.

The Grizzlies took possession on their 25-yard line and scored on a 3-yard Dan Beaudin reception.

 Neither team’s defense gave up a first down for the next four possessions until the Wildcats had a 16-yard drive, but Higgins’ pass was intercepted by Jace Palmer. Palmer ran the ball back 57 yards for a touchdown, making the score 13-0.

 Early in the second quarter WSU strung together a 29-yard drive and, thanks to good field position, were able to get on the board with a 36-yard field goal by kicker Mike Snoy.

 “The kicking game was a positive,” McBride said. “Mike Snoy was really good. I felt like all parts of the kicking game were good.”

 Late in the second half it looked as if the Grizzlies were going to score again when they had a first and goal on the WSU 1-yard line. The Wildcats managed to stop UM four consecutive times at the line of scrimmage and took possession on the 1-yard line.

 In the second half the Wildcats scored their only touchdown on a flea flicker. Higgins handed the ball off to running back Trevyn Smith who pitched it back to Higgins. Higgins then found a wide-open Mike Phillips in the end zone.

 “I really don’t think that they were that much better than us,” Phillips said. “I think on offense we had a lack of focus, made too many mistakes, the opportunities we did have to sustain a drive we weren’t able to and we couldn’t punch it in for a touchdown. I think the defense was on its heels too long and we didn’t play well enough on offense.”

 The rest of the game didn’t go well for the Wildcats. WSU threw three more interceptions and UM scored 18 second-half points. Receiver Tim Toone had five receptions for 73 yards, Phillips had three for 82 and Joe Collins also had three for 35 yards. Smith had 20 carries for 64 yards.

The Wildcats had possession of the ball for 22:36 compared to 37:24 for the Grizzlies. WSU turned the ball over four times while UM didn’t turn the ball over once.

 “Our offense was never able to take any pressure off of our defense,” McBride said. “The defense actually got worn down because the offense wasn’t doing anything. The offense kept the defense on the field too long.”