Montana

Football: Montana State Recap

Published

6 months ago

August 30, 2025

After a long off-season of anticipation Football season has finally arrived! To kickoff the season the Ducks took on the Bobcats from Montana State. Montana State is an FCS powerhouse,

Oregon got the ball to start the game and Dante Moore got the call to lead the offence as many expected. The first play of the game the offensive line got a great push and Noah Whittington hit an explosive run to get the Ducks offense moving early.

The Ducks continued to pound the ball at Montana State on the ground putting the new look offensive line to the test and early on the running game was operating clinically with 5 successful runs. Jayden Limar would cap of the drive with a 16 yard rush he would bounce to the outside to get into the endzone.

Montana State’s first drive would get started at their own 21 yard line and it was time to see the much anticipated Duck defense. Montana State came out and threw the ball on their first two plays which was a surprise to me, but the Ducks were ready and were able to force a 3 and out after a big run stuff on 3rd down.

On the ensuing punt the special teams even got into the action getting a hand on the ball to partially block the kick and set-up the Ducks 2nd drive with great field position.

True freshmen Dakorien Moore got his first collegiate touch of the ball on a jet sweep and once again the Ducks offence was rolling. Dante Moore would flip a short pass to Kenyon Sadiq on the outside for what appeared to be a chain moving efficiency play, but Sadiq decided to take things into his own hands by using his strength to shed off a small Bobcat DB and sprint to the end-zone to give the Ducks a very early 14-0 lead.

The Ducks defense picked up right were they left off on their first drive as well, forcing another Montana State 3 and out.

And just like their first opportunity the punt return team could not be contained. Jeremiah Mcclellan got in to fully block the punt and set the Ducks offence up goal to go.

The Montana State defense was able to get its first stop of the game though and force Oregon to settle for a field goal attempt which Atticus Sappington was able to easily put through the uprights to extend the Ducks lead.

Emmanuel Pregnon did have a Bobcat player land on him awkwardly on the 3rd down play and needed to be evaluated in the locker room. He was walking on his own and did return to the sideline with his helmet on.

After the Bobcats were able to move the ball into Oregon territory with a couple of passes to Taco Dowler the Ducks were able to stop the Bobcats on the ground 3 straight times to make a big stop and turn the Bobcats over on downs.

Dante Moore was able to hit Malik Benson over the middle for a chunk yardage play to get the Ducks 4th drive started.

The Offence continued methodically moving the ball down the field until true freshmen Jordan Davison was called upon to convert on 4th and 1 and then punch the ball into the end zone.

The Duck defense continued to stonewall the Bobcats, forcing their 3rd 3 and out on the Bobcats 4th drive of the day.

Dante Moore would lead the Ducks on another efficient drive taking what the defense was giving him and matriculating the ball down the field. When you can get the ball to athletes like Kenyon Sadiq and Dakorien Moore that are more than happy to jump over defenders if needed usually that will lead to good things.

Noah Whittington was able to punch the ball into the Endzone to make it a 31-0 game.

The Bobcats were able to string a couple of first downs together on their 5th drive of the game, again finding ways to get the ball to Taco Dowler. With Montana State at the Oregon 23 yard line Matayo Uiagalelei stepped up to pick up his first sack of the season and get the Bobcats behind the chains.

Oregon would get the stop and force the Bobcats to settle for a Field Goal attempt which the Bobcats kicker put through the uprights to get Montana State on the board. But the Duck offence had time for it’s first one minute drill of the season.

Dante Moore operated it like an absolute pro going 4/5 on the Drive and capping it off with a passing touchdown to Malik Benson with 3 seconds left on the clock.

That would take the game into halftime with the Ducks up 38-3 and in full control of the game. Every phase of the team was operating just as you would want to start the season. Oregon wasn’t taking any deep shots in the passing game to really show off Dante Moore’s ability to hit some rail shots but I was happily impressed with his ability to operate Stein’s offence and take what the Bobcat defense was giving him. When you score a TD on 5 of the 6 first half possessions I think it is safe to say the QB is having a good day.

What really stood out to me was the depth of Oregon’s skill talent. 4 different RB’s had carries and that didn’t even include Makhi Hughes which was shocking to me. 7 different pass catchers had a reception showing that this might be the year Oregon deploys a deep rotation of receivers.

Meanwhile the defense had an excellent first half as well forcing a 3 and out on 3 of the 5 first half drives and keeping Montana State out of the end-zone

Montana State got the ball to start the 2nd half and put a nice drive together into Oregon territory. Once again thanks to Taco Dowler who at this point in the game was giving me some Cooper Kupp vibes. Once again though the Ducks defense would hold and force Montana State to kick a 41 yard field goal to make it a 38-6 game.

Montana State had forced Oregon into a 3rd and long looking to force their first punt of the day. But as Jake Butt eluded to on the broadcast Dante Moore was able to get the Bobcat defense to show their hand, promptly make a check, and then find a wide-open Jay Harris out of the backfield to move the Ducks into the red zone. The very next play Gary Bryant Jr. would break a tackle on a screen pass and trot into the end-zone for Oregon’s 6th TD of the game.

After Montana State picked up a first down Oregon had forced them into a 3rd and long where they were attempting to set-up a screen. A mis-communication happened though and Lamson was forced to hang on to the ball and Matayo was able to pick up his second sack of the game.

The Ducks 2nd drive of the half saw Austin Novosad get into the game to get some valuable reps in case he is needed to be called upon at some point this season. And after his first pass slipped out of his hand he was able to hit a deep shot down the sideline to Kyler Kasper to set up first and goal. Jordan Davison was able to to punch it in on the next play for his 2nd TD of the game.

That essentially ended the 3rd quarter and the Big Ten Network gave us our first glimpse of Shout for the 2025 season. Duck fans are in mid-season form.

Now it was time for some young players to get in on defense and freshmen Nasir Wyatt was able to pick up his first career sack to end the Bobcats ensuing drive.

Luke Moga entered the game at QB on the next drive. He immediately showed off his patented speed with a read option keep for 28 yards. The Ducks continued picking up big chunks on the ground with younger Running Backs Da’Jaun Riggs and Dierre Hill. The Ducks did get stopped at the 1 yard line though to force a 4th and goal. Goalline specialist Jordan Davison came into the game to pick up his 3rd TD of the game for the Hat Trick.

With Oregon playing a full set of back-ups and developmental players on defense Montana State was able to march the field and score there first and only TD of the game.

Oregon would run out the clock on the ensuing possession and the first football game of the season would come to a close Oregon 59 Montana State 13

Overall it was about as great of a performance by the Ducks that fans could ask for, all phases of the team had a great day. Even though the competition will get stiffer Montana State still offered a good test for the opener and I still fully expect them to be a contender at the FCS level. Additionally not everyone in the B1G has been able to comfortably take care of weaker competition in week 1

Here are the final efficiency, and explosive rate differentials by half

1st Half

Success Rate +28% Oregon

Explosive Rate +6% Oregon

2nd Half

Success Rate +22% Oregon

Explosive Rate +17% Oregon

And the final Yards Per Play Differntial for the game +3.70 Oregon

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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