Move over Cooper
FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 hours, 8 minutes AGO
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) is recognized at midfield after setting the Big Sky Conference record for touchdowns with an 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. At left is Montana head coach Bobby Kennedy. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) sets the Big Sky Conference record for touchdowns with an 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) is recognized at midfield after setting the Big Sky Conference record for touchdowns with an 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) leaps over a Portland State defender at the goalline on a 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) celebrates after a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) scores a touchdown on a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) scores a touchdown on a 45-yard run in the first quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) celebrates with running back Eli Gillman (10) after Gillman's 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana defensive lineman Isaac Keim (48) celebrates after a stop in the fourth quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Hashim Jones (28) scores a touchdown on an 8-yard run in the first quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) drops back to pass in the second quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies linebacker Nai Mose (38) celebrates after a stop in the second quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
SPORTS EDITOR Fritz Neighbor is the Sports Editor for the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees sports coverage across the Flathead Valley, including high school athletics, youth sports, and regional competitions. In his leadership role, he helps shape the newspaper’s sports coverage and editorial direction. Fritz’s column, Full Count, taps into his decades’ long career covering Montana sports. You’ll also see Fritz sharing his thoughts and insights on the Big Sky Now podcast. IMPACT: Fritz’s work celebrates the athletes and teams that bring Northwest Montana communities together. | November 7, 2026 11:00 PM
MISSOULA — Eli Gillman already had about every conceivable University of Montana rushing record going into Saturday's Big Sky Conference game with Portland State.
Now he's one-upped Cooper Kupp.
Gillman ran for four touchdowns in the No. 12 Grizzlies' 57-24 thumping of the Vikings, exemplifying Montana's explosive offense with some amazing numbers: eight carries for 198 yards; one catch for 48.
His fourth rushing TD, a reverse-the-field 84-yard jaunt in front of 25,079 delirious fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, was the 78th of his college career. Kupp, the peerless receiver out of Eastern Washington, headed for the NFL with 77 to his credit.
Immediately afterward, with the Grizzlies up 43-10 on the Vikings, the game was halted while the crowd feted the senior out of Dassel, Minnesota at midfield.
"I didn't even think that was a reachable goal when the season started," Gillman, who has 25 touchdowns this season, said. "But it's crazy to me. It will be crazy to me forever, probably."
"How many times do you get to be around one of the all-time greats," first-year Grizzlies coach Bobby Kennedy said. "We are really fortunate to have him."
While Gillman was continuing his season-long assault on the record book, Montana (7-3 overall, 5-2 in the Big Sky) was cruising. Gillman's long pass reception set up an 8-yard touchdown off a fly sweep from Hashin Jones to give UM an early 7-0 lead.
Portland State (2-8, 2-5 in league) answered with a ponderous, 20-play drive in which the Vikings picked up six first downs. Eventually Nai Mose stopped Delon Thompson on a third-and-6 run, and the Vikings settled for a Joshua Hossman Lees field goal.
That's as close as the Vikings got. Gillman capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with a 45-yard burst in which his younger brother Monte made a great, sealing block. Brooks Davis then ran in the two-point PAT and it was 15-3 at 1:24 of the first quarter.
Gillman added a 15-yard run out of the Wildcat formation at 9:00 of the second quarter and tore off a 43-yard TD burst at 10:26 of the third. That third TD, in which he split two safeties, made it 36-10.
The Grizzlies' defense then got a 3-and-out, and the offense — Gillman — put together a 1-play, 84-yard drive that took 16 seconds.
"What's his number at now?" asked first-year PSU coach Chris Fisk, who got a big dose of Gillman a year ago when UM beat Central Washington 42-17. Told it was 78, he said: "I feel like he's had nine or 10 of those on me."
It's seven — three in 2025 — but you get the point. Gillman looks good on film and even better in person.
"He's special, and the things I love about him are subtle," Fisk said. "Not only is he a good football player, but man the guy is unflappable. He's never too high, he's never too low. He's always somewhere in the middle, has ice in his veins and is hard to tackle."
And he had help, of course. Chase Cook, a freshman out of Red Lodge, had his first Griz touchdown to cap a first-half clock drive. He caught a 1-yard pass from Keali'i Ah Yat to put UM up 29-10 with 17 seconds left. Portland State had scored on a 12-yard TD pass by John-Keawe Sagapolutele less than two minutes before.
Ah Yat, who helped set up Cook's TD with a 21-yard third-down scramble, added a 9-yard scoring run at 14:20 of the fourth quarter. That capped a 78-yard drive.
Columbia Falls' Cody Schweikert got his first Griz touchdown with 5:30 left, a spinning 35-yard run out of the Wildcat.
"It was really cool to see Cody do what he did, because he ran through a couple arm tackles and he was very determined," Kennedy said.
A week after seeing the Grizzlies rack up 11 sacks and three interceptions at Eastern Washington, Portland State had no turnovers and surrendered no sacks. They also scored three TDs, including a 16-yard run by Zul Shelton in the third quarter and a 2-yard run by Niall Raby in the fourth.
But there was no hanging with the Griz offense, which racked up 644 yards. Ah Yat was 19 of 28 passing for 259 yards, and he ran five times for 44. The backups didn't let up: Fynn Ridgeway of Whitefish ran four times for 28 yards; Jones had five carries for 36. Glacier product Gage Sliter came in late and completed both his passes for 22 yards.
Davis had eight catches for 88 yards; 11 Grizzlies caught passes.
The only bummer came after Shelton's TD. Monte Gilman fielded the ensuing kickoff and took it 95 yards to the paint, only to have the return negated by offsetting penalties. A banner day could have been even better.
Eli Gillman smiled.
"I think my mom's heart would have exploded," Eli Gillman said. "Probably a good thing it got called back. I didn't think she was going to make it."
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) sets the Big Sky Conference record for touchdowns with an 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) is recognized at midfield after setting the Big Sky Conference record for touchdowns with an 84-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) leaps over a Portland State defender at the goalline on a 15-yard touchdown run in the second quarter at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) celebrates after a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) scores a touchdown on a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) scores a touchdown on a 45-yard run in the first quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) celebrates with running back Eli Gillman (10) after Gillman's 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana defensive lineman Isaac Keim (48) celebrates after a stop in the fourth quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Hashim Jones (28) scores a touchdown on an 8-yard run in the first quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) drops back to pass in the second quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies linebacker Nai Mose (38) celebrates after a stop in the second quarter against Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
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