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MISSOULA – What was expected to be a close game between two top-five teams wasn't even close. Griz stomped the Cats 37-7 in Saturday's Cat-Griz game was a lopsided contest, giving the Montana Grizzlies sole possession of the Big Sky trophy for the first time since 2009. A record crowd of 27,178 attended the game.

In the last four years, Montana has a 27-2 record on their home field.

The Grizzlies consumed almost 6 minutes after the opening kickoff, methodically marching down the field and scoring a TD. The drive yielded a touchdown from freshman Eli Gillman, who is on the watch list for the Jerry Rice award.

The Jerry Rice Award is awarded to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors.

Montana State's next possession resulted in a three-and-out and a punt. UM scored on their next drive, taking a 14-0 lead and dominating time of possession in the first quarter.

It didn't get any better for MSU.

At the end of the 2nd quarter, with MSU trailing 0-17 the Cats' quarterback was sacked on fourth down, giving UM possession with .01 second left in the half. Griz kicker Grant Glasgow was roughed up on the play, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. This gave Nico Ramos a shorter field, and his kick was good. Thus the second half ended with the Griz up 20-0.

The Bobcats saw a brief spark of life on the opening drive of the second half when they utilized several long runs to score a touchdown, making the score 20-7.

However, UM scored on the next possession, and the Bobcats never scored.

The final UM touchdown was a 64-yard run from Nick Ostmo. The Griz O-line opened a huge hole and Ostmo wasn't even touched as he sprinted for the final Griz score.