Montana clamps down on Portland State offense as Grizzlies win 34-10

Quarterback Clifton McDowell ran for three touchdowns, Eli Gillman added 97 yards rushing and Montana won its sixth consecutive game with a 34-10 victory over Portland State on Saturday night at Hillsboro Stadium.

Montana put up 489 total yards and held the Vikings to 93 yards rushing and 255 yards overall.

Portland State took an early 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal, but the Grizzlies then scored 31 points in a row before the Vikings finally answered. Dante Chachere threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Braddock in the third quarter for Portland State (4-6, 3-4 Big Sky Conference).

The Grizzlies (9-1, 6-1), ranked third in the FCS coaches poll, will host rival and fifth-ranked Montana State (8-2, 6-1) next Saturday for the outright Big Sky title. A win next week would give Montana its first conference title since 2009.

McDowell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, and his 20-yarder stretched the Grizzlies’ lead to 21-3 midway through the second. McDowell added an 8-yard TD run to cap a 75-yard drive with 8:29 left in the third. He finished with eight carries for 72 yards and was 9 of 14 passing for 127 yards.

— The Associated Press