The Montana Grizzlies fell from the unbeaten ranks and out of the FCS title chase Saturday, getting ground under by underdog Wofford 23-22 on Michael Hobbs' 6-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds left.
Hobbs' TD was one of two by the Terriers in a wild fourth quarter. They then had to weather one final Grizzly charge on a cold afternoon inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
He missed left, and the stunned Griz ended up 11-1. The No. 11 Terriers celebrated while several Grizzlies embraced Carpenter, whose third field goal gave UM a 16-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“Their kicker - the best that I've seen,” said Wofford coach Mike Ayers, who became emotional. “You're in a situation with four seconds left and that guy has got an opportunity to kick it. To say I was hoping he would miss it is an understatement.
“At the same time, you hope that the Lord's will is done, and what happens, happens. Š”
What happened leading up to Carpenter's final kick was just as crucial. Montana was undone by a maddening Wofford triple-option that wouldn't let its defense off the field, and a Griz offense that wasn't as opportunistic as in past weeks.
The Grizzlies' first two possessions started at the Wofford 42 and their own 47, following a fumble forced by Colt Anderson on the game's first play, and an Anderson interception on the Terriers' fourth offensive snap.
They netted no points on either turnover, or off a third-quarter interception by Quinton Jackson. Their drive to open the second half started at midfield, but was sidetracked by a holding penalty and ended in a failed fake punt.
“We've been pretty capitalistic in the turnover program,” said fifth-year Griz coach Bobby Hauck. “We're getting them and not giving them up to a large degree, and we're making people pay.
“There are so many plays in the game that are just pivotal for us.”
Carpenter's third field goal was telling as well. The Grizzlies put together a promising drive, starting with five straight runs by Lex Hilliard from their 40. An 18-yard pass from Cole Bergquist to Eric Allen and runs of 19 and 6 yards by Hilliard set the Grizzlies up first-and-goal at the Wofford 3.
But Bergquist was dragged down on a first-down option play, and a false start penalty led to third-and-goal from the 6. When Bergquist and Allen couldn't hook up on a slant, Carpenter came on.
“That wasn't the only time we let it get away,” said Bergquist, whose 9-yard touchdown pass to Dan Beaudin capped the Grizzlies' best drive and gave them a 13-10 halftime lead. “We had to kick a couple field goals. If we could've punched it in, it might have been the difference in the game. I definitely feel like that.”
Wofford, down 16-10, launched a five-minute drive that began with the Terriers' first pass completion, of 34 yards to Andy Strickland. It included an 18-yard run by senior Kevious Johnson, who piled up 145 yards Saturday, and ended with Strickland hauling in a 6-yard pass from Josh Collier.
Patrick Mugan's PAT kick made it 17-16, Wofford, with 7:47 to play.
Montana was far from dead, driving 51 yards to a go-ahead TD of its own. Bergquist's perfect 32-yard pass to Allen was key, and Hilliard, who ran for 119 yards in his final college game, stepped on the right pylon for a TD on the next play.
A two-point conversion pass failed, leaving UM with a 22-17 lead with 6:00 to play. In many games the Grizzlies had squeezed the clock in this position; on this day Wofford controlled play.
The Terriers ran for two first downs and then used a Collier-to-Justice Joslin pass to convert a third down. Johnson's 17-yard run put Wofford in the red zone, before Anderson blew up a first-down reverse and tackled Jeremy Marshall for a 9-yard loss back to the 25.
But on the next play Wofford, running its offense with precision, got 13 yards from Marshall on an option pitch. Two plays later Hobbs scored.
Hobbs, the fullback, ran for 67 yards. Halfback Dane Romero ran for 57 yards and another score. Collier added 54 yards, stepping out of the grasp of defenders to make cut-backs or pitches.
“It's really a game of inches,” Hauck lamented. “We couldn't get the quarterback down. We were there, and he'd get out. We didn't do a particularly good job stopping their option.
“It's a play here or there that probably really swings the tide in our favor.”
Bergquist threw for 211 yards, completing 18 of 30 passes. Allen caught seven passes for 90 yards. It wasn't enough, even on a day when the Grizzlies' average drive started at their 45 - a stat reminiscent of the Eastern Washington game in October.
Carpenter rescued the Griz that day, kicking a last-minute, 34-yard field goal for a 24-23 win over the Eagles. That he couldn't do it again Saturday put him in some excellent company: Chris Snyder, whose FCS career points record Carpenter surpassed, had his final field goal attempt blocked in Montana's 43-40 playoff loss to Western Illinois in 2003; Snyder's predecessor, Kris Heppner, missed a game-tying field goal in a 30-27 playoff loss to Youngstown State to end his career.
“We reminded him how good he is and how many kicks he's made,” said Bergquist.
“What I did tell Dan was, ‘Remember the 100 kicks you made, and not the one you missed,' ” Hauck said. “He's been awfully good.”
So were the Griz, who skipped singing their fight song and made their way to the locker room after their second loss in 25 games.
“Remember the season for what it was,” Hauck told them. “We're a great football team. It was a great season.”
Wofford 3 7 0 13 - 23
Montana 0 13 0 9 - 22
First quarter
Wofford - FG Patrick Mugan 31, 1:27.
Drive - 16 plays, 80 yards, time of possession 7:30.
Key plays - Dane Romero gains 31 yards on a third-and-6 reverse; Michael Hobbs rushes for 6 yards to convert a fourth-and-4; Kevious Johnson rumbles 12 to UM's 18 on third-and-8.
Second quarter
UM - FG Dan Carpenter 37, 14:45.
Drive - 7 plays, 38 yards, 1:37.
Key play - Cole Bergquist's third-down pass to Marc Mariani covers 27 yards down to Wofford's 26.
Wofford - Dane Romero 3 run (Mugan kick), 10:07.
Drive - 9 plays, 68 yards, time of possession 4:33.
Key play - Johnson kickstarts the march with a 35-yard run into UM territory.
UM - FG Carpenter 25, 5:51.
Drive - 12 plays, 50 yards, time of possession 4:11.
Key plays - Bergquist completes third-down passes of 13 yards to Mike Ferriter and 12 yards to Eric Allen, moving UM inside the Terriers' 25.
UM - Dan Beaudin 9 pass from Cole Bergquist (Carpenter kick), :24.
Drive - 10 plays, 73 yards, time of possession 4:18.
Key plays - Lex Hilliard runs for 11, 10 and 9 yards to begin drive; Bergquist's 20-yard strike to Beaudin moves the ball to Wofford's 11.
Fourth quarter
UM - FG Carpenter, 12:59
Drive - 14 plays, 54 yards, time of possession 6:34.
Key plays - Bergquist hits Allen for 18 yards to convert a third down; Hilliard gashes Wofford for 18 yards to move UM inside the 20.
Wofford - Andy Strickland 6 pass from Josh Collier (Mugan kick), 7:47.
Drive - 9 plays, 81 yards, time of possession 5:03.
Key plays - Strickland hauls in a 34-yard pass from Collier to begin the drive; Johnson adds an 18-yard run down to the Grizzly 11.
UM - Lex Hilliard 1 run (pass failed), 6:00
Drive - 5 plays, 51 yards, time of possession 1:39
Key plays - Mariani returns a kickoff 34 yards to set UM up near midfield; Bergquist's 33-yard pass to Allen gives the Griz first-and-goal.
Wofford - Michael Hobbs 6 run (pass failed), :32
Drive - 12 plays, 69 yards, time of possession 5:22
Key plays - Collier hits Justice Joslin for 8 yards on third-and-5; Johnson adds a 17-yard run to get the ball to UM's 16.
WOFF UM
First downs 22 18
Rushing 18 7
Passing 4 11
Penalty 0 0
3rd down efficiency 8-13 8-16
4th down efficiency 2-3 1-2
Total yards 386 325
Plays 67 68
Average gain 5.8 4.8
Rushes-yards 60-333 38-114
Average per carry 5.6 3.0
Yards passing 53 211
Comp-Att-Int 4-7-2 18-30-0
Sacks by-yards lost 4-32 0-0
Return yards 0 16
Punts 0-0 0-0
Interceptions 0-0 2-16
Fumbles 0-0 0-0
Kickoff returns 6-106 5-123
Punting 1-39.0 3-43.7
Penalties-yards 3-15 4-40
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Time of possession 32:32 27:28
Wofford
Rushing
No.-yards
Kevious Johnson 20-145
Michael Hobbs 15-67
Dane Romero 5-57
Josh Collier 13-54
Jeremy Marshall 4-9
Adrian Young 1-2
Justice Joslin 2-(-1)
Passing
Comp Att Int Yds
Josh Collier 4 7 2 53
Receiving
No.-yards
Andy Strickland 2-40
Justice Joslin 1-8
Fenn Allen 1-5
Tackles
Unassisted-assisted-total
U A T
Jason Leventis 6 8 14
Seth Goldwire 4 7 11
Kevin Adleman 3 7 10
James Mitchell 1 4 5
Mitch Clark 2 2 4
Gary Blount 2 2 4
Matt Norcia 1 3 4
Sacks by-yards lost
Jared McCollough 1-9, Layton Baker 1-8, Seth Goldwire 1-8, Matt Norcia 1-7.
Fumbles forced-recovered
None.
Interceptions-return yards
None.
Missed field goals
None.
Montana
Rushing
No.-yards
Lex Hilliard 29-119
Tyson Johnson 1-9
Cole Bergquist 8-(-14)
Passing
Comp Att Int Yds
Cole Bergquist 18 30 0 211
Receiving
No.-yards
Eric Allen 7-90
Mike Ferriter 4-36
Dan Beaudin 3-5
Marc Mariani 2-38
Lex Hilliard 2-12
Tackles
Unassisted-assisted-total
U A T
Colt Anderson 8 2 10
Tyler Joyce 1 9 10
Kyle Ryan 3 6 9
Kroy Biermann 1 8 9
Loren Utterback 4 3 7
Craig Mettler 2 4 6
Chris Clark 4 1 5
Van Cooper, Jr. 1 4 5
Quinton Jackson 3 1 4
Shann Schillinger 2 2 4
Torrey Thomas 3 0 3
Kelly Kain 1 2 3
Sacks by-yards lost
None.
Fumbles forced-recovered
Anderson 1-0, Mike Stadnyk 0-1.
Interceptions-return yards
Quinton Jackson 1-16, Anderson 1-0.
Missed field goals
Carpenter 47 (wide left).
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