North Dakota State Athletics
0-1
Montana
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| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
| Montana | 10 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
Last-Second Touchdown Gives No. 12 Montana 38-35 Win Over No. 1 NDSU
8/29/2015 7:09:00 PM | Football
MISSOULA, Mont. – The No. 12/13 ranked Montana Grizzlies scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Joey Counts with two seconds remaining to defeat No. 1 North Dakota State, 38-35, on Saturday afternoon in front of a record crowd at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
NDSU senior quarterback Carson Wentz threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more. He completed 16-of-28 passes for 198 yards and added 70 yards on the ground.
Junior running back King Frazier led NDSU with 91 yards on 15 carries.
Montana outgained NDSU 544-427 for the game, and the Griz converted 4-of-6 attempts on fourth down. Montana quarterback Brady Gustafson went 30-of-55 passing for 434 yards.
Neither team led by more than eight points the entire game, with NDSU holding a 21-13 advantage in the second quarter after Wentz's second rushing touchdown with 7:26 left in the half.
Montana tied the game at 21-21 with a 38-yard scoring strike in the next minute, but NDSU responded with 10-yard TD pass from Wentz to senior Zach Vraa with 0:26 left in the half. The Bison led 28-21 at halftime.
With the game knotted at 28, Frazier bulled into the endzone from seven yards out to give the Bison a 35-28 lead with 10:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Montana got a 28-yard field goal from Daniel Sullivan with 2:47 left to cut its deficit to 35-31. The Grizzlies' winning drive measured 16 plays and 80 yards, lasting only 1:37. Counts cut through the left side of the line on 4th-and-goal, scoring the winning touchdown with two seconds on the clock.
A stadium record crowd of 26,472 witnessed the upset.
Senior cornerback Jordan Champion led the Bison defense with a career-high 14 tackles. Junior linebacker Nick DeLuca recorded an interception, and junior defensive end Brad Ambrosius recovered a fumble for the NDSU defense.
NDSU junior receiver Eric Perkins had 5 kickoff returns for 155 yards to average 31 per attempt, including a 43-yard return in the second quarter.
NDSU will hold its home opener against Weber State on Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. in the Fargodome.
Team Stats
NDSU 7, MONT 0
NDSU - Chase Morlock 27 yd pass from Carson Wentz (Ben LeCompte kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:21
NDSU 7, MONT 7
MONT - Jamaal Jones 7 yd pass from Brady Gustafson (Daniel Sullivan kick) 8 plays, 86 yards, TOP 1:55
NDSU 7, MONT 10
MONT - Daniel Sullivan 22 yd field goal 8 plays, 15 yards, TOP 2:08
NDSU 14, MONT 10
NDSU - Carson Wentz 19 yd run (Ben LeCompte kick), 8 plays, 69 yards, TOP 3:53
NDSU 14, MONT 13
MONT - Daniel Sullivan 24 yd field goal 12 plays, 68 yards, TOP 4:01
NDSU 21, MONT 13
NDSU - Carson Wentz 11 yd run (Ben LeCompte kick), 4 plays, 52 yards, TOP 2:05
NDSU 21, MONT 21
MONT - Ben Roberts 38 yd pass from Brady Gustafson (Ben Roberts pass) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:10
NDSU 28, MONT 21
NDSU - Zach Vraa 10 yd pass from Carson Wentz (Ben LeCompte kick) 7 plays, 43 yards, TOP 1:26
NDSU 28, MONT 28
MONT - Ellis Henderson 62 yd pass from Brady Gustafson (Daniel Sullivan kick) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:38
NDSU 35, MONT 28
NDSU - King Frazier 7 yd run (Ben LeCompte kick), 7 plays, 79 yards, TOP 4:12
NDSU 35, MONT 31
MONT - Daniel Sullivan 28 yd field goal 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 3:33
NDSU 35, MONT 38
MONT - Joey Counts 1 yd run (Daniel Sullivan kick), 16 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:37
