MISSOULA — The Montana football team erased its largest deficit since 2022 during its Big Sky home opener on Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, then erased another deficit and another one but couldn't do it a fourth time

The eighth-ranked Grizzlies took a 48-45 lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter but allowed unranked Weber State to drive for a field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime. The Wildcats struck first in OT with a touchdown and the Griz lost a fumble on their first play to seal a 55-48 loss and send Weber's players streaming across the field in celebration.

Montana dropped to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky. The Griz have now lost three consecutive games to Weber State, this being the first one with Mickey Mental as the Wildcats' head coach. The 55 points are tied for the most allowed by Bobby Hauck in 171 games as Montana's head coach.

UM quarterback Logan Fife finished 30-of-41 passing for 344 yards and two touchdowns in his second consecutive start under center. He was strip-sacked by linebacker Garrett Beck, the second turnover by UM, on the final play.

Griz receiver Keelan White grabbed 11 catches for 163 yards, both career highs, as he and Fife continue to work well together. He had snagged the go-ahead 48-45 touchdown with 59 seconds left in the game.

"Coming into the game we knew it was going to be a fight," White said. "We knew they were going to punch us in the mouth. It was just however we responded, and I think we responded well. They just made one more play than we did in the end."

Griz running back Eli Gillman totaled 148 yards on 14 touches. He ran 12 times for 69 yards and three touchdowns and he caught two passes for 79 yards and one touchdown.

Weber State quarterback Richie Munoz finished 19-of-28 passing for 364 yards and six touchdowns. Jacob Sharp caught five passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Jayleen Record had three grabs for 105 yards and two scores.

Running back Damon Bankston caught three passes for 31 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown in overtime. He ran 17 times for 67 yards while fellow running back Davion Godley went for 97 yards on seven carries.

Montana ended with 527 yards of offense while Weber had 541. The Griz went 8 of 14 on third downs to Weber's 4 of 10. Griz linebacker Riley Wilson had a career-high 14 tackles.

Gillman got the Griz on the board first by bouncing left and ripping off a 37-yard touchdown run just under two minutes into the game. His score came one play after Fife hit White for 17 yards on third down to continue the four-play drive, which started with a 41-yard kickoff return from Junior Bergen.

Weber State answered Montana's score on the ensuing drive when Munoz connected with Record for a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown. The Griz gave up 15 yards on the five-play drive when Wilson after penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

After its offense stalled, Montana found itself trailing for the first time after giving up a six-play, 91-yard drive that included a 61-yard run by Godley, who broke two tackle attempts. Munoz connected with tight end Noah Bennee for a 6-yard tocuhdown one play after a false start as the Griz fell down 14-7 about 10 minutes into the game.

Montana found the scoreboard after Fife and Ah Yat each led an empty drive. The Griz passed on a fourth-and-5 from the 27-yard line and Ty Morrison hit a 44-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.

Weber State's Noah Kjar returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. It was the first special teams TD allowed by Montana since 2019, the first kickoff return score allowed since 2017 and the first kickoff return TD given up by a Hauck-coached UM team since 2007.

The Griz picked up one first down before punting and Munoz found Sharp for a 50-yard touchdown two plays later. Montana suddenly found itself trailing 28-10 with 7:28 left in the first half.

The Griz snapped that streak of 14 unanswered points when Fife ran in a two-yard touchdown on a drive started by Bergen's 39-yard kick return and continued by completions of 17 and 20 yards to White. That made it a 28-17 hole for them.

Montana had a chance to cut into the deficit more when defensive end Hayden Harris strip-sacked Munoz and recovered the ball with just under two minutes left in the half. The Griz couldn't move the ball and turned it over on downs, going into the half down 28-17. Montana was unable to convert the fumble recovery into points before the half as it turned the ball over on downs.

The Griz did force a turnover on downs to start the second half when Ryan Tirrell and Hank Nuce combined on a tackle for loss on fourth down. They hit their own big play three plays later as Fife scrambled before hitting Gillman down the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown that got Montana within 28-23 after a failed two-point play with 8:02 left in the third quarter.

Attempting to take its first lead, Ostmo fumbled while Montana pushed a pile of players for more yards. Trevian Trimble forced the fumble, Zeke Birch recovered it at Montana's 26-yard line and the defense held the Wildcats to a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Thompson. The Griz still faced a one-possession deficit at 31-23 with 3:00 left in the third quarter.

The Griz put together an eight-play, 70-yard drive to tie the game up. Gillman ran for a 3-yard touchdown one play after a pass interference penalty on Weber in the end zone. Gillman had caught an 11-yard pass on third-and-1 earlier that drive to extend it. They lined up to go for 2 points to tie the game but kicked the extra point after a Weber timeout, trailing 31-30 with 14:49 left in the game.

The Griz defense stepped up by forcing a three-and-out, highlighted by Wilson's third-down sack. The Griz turned that into a career-long 48-yard field goal by Ty Morrison to go up 33-31, their first lead since 7-0.

Weber State answered right back as Munoz connected with Record for a 53-yard TD catch through pass interference. Not to be outdone, Montana responded with a 4-yard TD run by Gillman after Fife and White connected for 13 and 26 yards on back-to-back passing plays. Bergen tossed a 2-point pass to Jake Olson for a 41-38 lead with 5:28 left.

Montana's pourous defense was close to getting Weber off the field on the next drive, but Munoz found Sharp for a 71-yard catch-and-run touchdown. That put the Griz down 45-41 with 4:37 left in the game.

The Griz reclaimed the lead the next drive when Fife hit Keelan White for a 13-yard touchdown. That drive included Fife using his legs to pick up seven yards on a third-and-5. Weber answered back with Thompson's 43-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.

The Wildcats struck first in the top of the first overtime period when Bankston caugth a 7-yard touchdown on third down. He was ruled to be pushed out of bounds, came back in and caught the touchdown. Montana had its chance to win or force a second overtime but Fife was strip-sacked on first down by Garrett Beck, who recovered the ball to end the game.