Senior quarterback Josh Swogger directed a 16-play, 76-yard drive, capped by Dan Carpenter's 21-field goal with five seconds remaining, as Montana (8-1) extended its winning streak to eight.
Ellerson said he didn't rein in his unconventional, Double-Eagle Flex defense after UM, trailing 9-7, took possession at its own 20-yard line with 3:52 remaining. Up until then, the Griz had managed just 11 first downs and 214 yards of total offense against the third-ranked defense in Division I-AA.
Swogger, dropping back to pass on the first 11 plays of the decisive drive, suffered two sacks - bringing Cal Poly's total to seven - but also completed
4-of-8 passes for 68 yards. Running back Reggie Bradshaw gained 15 yards on a draw to the Cal Poly 10, then busted 8 yards to the 2. After two more runs by Bradshaw lost 2 yards, Carpenter booted the game-winning field goal.
“We were on the edge, and we were going to try and get pressure,” said Ellerson, whose Mustangs of the Great West Conference notched a 35-21 playoff victory at UM last season. “They managed that pressure well enough to get a couple of good throws off. As gifted as they are at receiver and as gifted as they are at quarterback, they are going to get open. We know that.
“We just had to make the quarterback feel us before he found them. Give them credit. They protected well.”
After UM was penalized for having 12 players on the field, Swogger converted second-and-15 from the Griz 15, threading a 29-yard completion to receiver Eric Allen on the left sideline. The two sacks then put UM in a fourth-and-13 hole at its 41, but Swogger connected with Ryan Bagley on a game-saving, 14-yard completion to the Cal Poly 45. That was followed by a 17-yarder to Allen, converting third-and-7 from the Mustang 42, to set up the dramatic finish.
“Honestly, I don't even think about it,” Swogger said when asked about his pressure throws. “The only one I knew we had to come up with was the fourth-and-13, and Ryan (Bagley) did a great job on the play. He ran the route, turned around and he was wide open.
“The others, we were in four-down territory, so I had confidence and faith that if we didn't get it on third down we would've got it on fourth down.”
UM coach Bobby Hauck said the Griz came in with nothing but respect for the Cal Poly defense, led by linebacker Kyle Shotwell, nose tackle Chris White, cornerback Courtney Brown and free safety Kenny Chicoine.
“That's the best defense in the country, I think,” Hauck said. “They've got four All-Americans on their defense, so we knew we weren't going to score a lot of points. It would take some huge breaks to get a bunch of points on that defense.”
The Griz did get some breaks.
Their only touchdown came late in the third quarter, after defensive end Dustin Dlouhy forced a fumble that linebacker Tyler Joyce recovered at the Cal Poly 25. Two plays later, Swogger hit Bagley down the middle for a 27-yard touchdown to give the Griz their first lead, 7-6.
After Nick Coromales' 47-yard field goal put Cal Poly (6-3) back in front, 9-7, with 3:56 to play, the Griz benefited from a generous spot on Bagley's key fourth-down reception that kept the final drive alive.
Hauck said he considered punting rather going for it on fourth down, calling timeout with 2:11 remaining to make sure “we had the right call.” The result was the completion to Bagley.
“We thought about punting it and didn't, and I'm glad we didn't,” Hauck said.
The Big Sky title will be decided Nov. 18 in Missoula when Montana plays host to Montana State in the 106th meeting of the intrastate rivals. But Hauck insisted the Griz are only concentrating on this Saturday's game at last-place Northern Colorado.
“The important ones are the next two weeks,” said Hauck, whose Griz have won or shared eight straight Big Sky championships. “This one was a fun game, I've been saying it all week. It was two great football teams going at it.”
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