Photo GalleryMISSOULA, 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.
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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.
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Junior running back
King Frazier led NDSU with 91 yards on 15 carries.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A stadium record crowd of 26,472 witnessed the upset.
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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.
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NDSU will hold its home opener against Weber State on Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. in the Fargodome.
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