Or four. Or five.
In front of 24,018 fans, the largest crowd in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history, the second-ranked Grizzlies again used a healthy dose of defense on Saturday to subdue Montana State 13-7 in the 106th Cat-Griz football game.
That it once again didn't come easy - and that MSU had a solid chance at a go-ahead score in the final minutes - made little difference to MSU coach Mike Kramer.
“I think I've heard every coach that's coached against the Grizzlies this year sit up here and say, ‘You know, we're better than those guys, and we can beat those guys,' ” said Kramer, now 3-4 against the Griz. “You know what? The truth is you ain't. So shut. The heck. Up.
“I feel strongly about that. The simple fact is, this is a great Grizzly football team.”
Josh Swogger and Eric Allen provided the winning points, hooking up on a 54-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline with 7:12 left in the third quarter. That made it 10-7 Montana, and the Griz added a 42-yard field goal from Dan Carpenter with 6:53 left to cap the scoring.
But the game was far from over. After Allen's touchdown the No. 15-ranked Bobcats had five possessions, the last after Swogger's scrambling throw was picked off by MSU's Andre Fuller.
That gave the Cats the ball at the Montana 40-yard line with 4:40 left. A third-down, 16-yard pass from Cory Carpenter to Donell Wheaton moved the ball to Montana's 19. That marked just the second time MSU had breached the red zone. The Cats got no farther.
A handoff to Aaron Mason went nowhere, and Carpenter, in for the injured Jack Rolovich, threw two incompletions - though the latter was tantalizingly close to being caught by Wheaton in the end zone.
On fourth down Carpenter was swarmed under by UM's interior tandem of Kerry Mullan and Craig Mettler with 1:52 remaining.
Ball game.
“It was a good stop by our defense,” fourth-year Griz coach Bobby Hauck said. “At the end, I wished we hadn't turned it over. That was the big play - throwing them a comeback (route) late is not what we want to do.
“Josh made a mistake, but he made some good plays, too.”
Swogger was having a fair game before suffering the first of two interceptions late in the third quarter. He'd just completed a 32-yard strike to Ryan Bagley when Michael Beach picked him off.
His previous pass ended with six points, Allen faking a slant and losing Kory Austin up the left sideline. Swogger gave all the credit to Allen.
“He told me on the sideline, ‘Hey, I'm going to run at them and them I'm going to run by them,' ” Swogger said. “So that wasn't me. That's what he did.”
Allen was so open that Fuller, playing the other side of the field, was the closest corner. The Oklahoma State transfer hauled in the pass, stumbled, then recovered and leaped into the end zone.
After a first half full of missed opportunities - among other things UM turned it over on downs at the Bobcat 2-yard line just before intermission - the Griz were back in front.
That it didn't go easier is a credit to the Bobcat defense.
“I felt we played one of our best games of the season,” MSU linebacker Bobby Daly said. “We tried to come up with as many plays as possible. Wasn't enough, today.”
After UM got a 37-yard field goal on its first possession, the game turned spectacularly defensive. Colt Anderson, Torrey Thomas and Quinton Jackson all intercepted passes for UM. Montana's Jimmy Wilson inverted Wheaton on a pass play late in the first quarter; in the same series Van Cooper, Jr., walloped MSU receiver Michael Jefferson, and another Bobcat caught Jefferson's helmet in mid-air.
Early in the second quarter Bradshaw got popped and the ball tumbled 15 yards before Fuller recovered for MSU. Another UM drive ended when Chambers had the ball poked loose after a 19-yard gain. Austin recovered.
The trend continued with little variation until the end. Only five third downs were converted on the day. Montana State's lone score was set up by a 43-yard pass from Rolovich - who left the game with what may be a kidney injury - to Josh Lewis. The Cats' next-longest play was the final completion to Wheaton.
It came back to UM's defense after Swogger tried to hit Allen in front of the Bobcat bench and Fuller intercepted. The Washington State transfer said his thoughts were clear.
“Please don't score,” Swogger said. “It was a mistake. I didn't even see the guy. I think he came off he sideline to pick it off.
“Again, I thought our defense was going to step up. I wasn't worried about it because our defense has been lights out all season.”
It was again Saturday, and the Griz (10-1) have another win to show for it. That's all that matters.
“With a couple minutes left to go in the game, we're standing on the doorstep,” Kramer said. “And it's us against them. And it was them. Congratulations.”
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