MISSOULA, Montana – Eli Gillman did the unthinkable on Saturday.
The transcendent, unforgettable tailback surpassed the most peerless player in Big Sky Conference history, breaking Cooper Kupp’s total touchdowns record as his Griz routed Portland State.
The Griz fifth-year senior running back entered the first UM home contest of November needing 162 yards to become just the fifth running back in Big Sky Conference history to surpass 5,000 career rushing yards.
He did that easily, and on single-digit carries.
But the part of Saturday’s performance that confirmed legendary status for Gillman came when he continued his onslaught of the end zone.
The transcendent talent continued to affirm himself as a Griz great, a Big Sky record-setter and a first-ballot College Football Hall of Fame candidate during a 57-24 rout of Portland State at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Gillman entered the game needing four total touchdowns to pass the previously incomparable Kupp, the Eastern Washington supernova (2013-16) who rewrote the college football record books before becoming a Super Bowl MVP.
Eli shattered the 5,000-yard barrier on eight carries, rushing for 196 yards on that many totes. And he scored in a barrage — four touchdowns, enough to pass the man many consider the Big Sky GOAT in trips to the end zone. Gillman finished with 244 yards on nine offensive touches, boosting his season touchdown total to 25, tying Marcus Knight for Montana’s single-season record.
“I’m very aware of Cooper Kupp,” Gillman said while flashing his million-dollar smile. “I didn’t even think that was a reachable goal when the season started, but the fact that it’s here is still crazy to me. I still think Cooper’s a stud. It’ll be crazy to me probably forever, honestly.”
Gillman set the table on Montana’s first possession. His 48-yard catch-and-run put the Griz in the red zone, and Hashim Jones finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, his first score of the season for the second-year back from Connecticut who’s been banged up all year.
Portland State answered with a 20-play, 85-yard march that ate 9:35 off the clock but ended in a 25-yard field goal.
“Anytime you play 20 plays, it’s a lot,” said Montana edge rusher Justin Eklund, who had 1.5 sacks. “But at the end of the day, we held them to three points, and we’ll take that.”
Then Gillman went to work. His 45-yard touchdown run and a Brooks Davis two-point conversion made it 15-3 late in the first quarter. His 15-yard score early in the second pushed the lead to 22-3 on an afternoon where the game that looked like it could be a dogfight turned into a runaway.
Portland State tight end Tanner Beaman’s 12-yard touchdown catch gave PSU a bit of hope, cutting the lead to 22-10. But Keali’i Ah Yat hit Chase Cook for a 1-yard score with 17 seconds left before halftime. Then Gillman ripped off a 43-yard touchdown run to make it 36-10 and needed exactly one play on the next drive — an 84-yard rip that put the game on ice at 43-10 midway through the third quarter.
The 84-yarder is now the second-longest rushing touchdown in program history, behind only Gillman’s own 85-yarder at UC Davis earlier this season.
Montana head coach Bobby Kennedy and the Big Sky officials had planned for the moment before kickoff. After the record-breaking score, the officials called timeout so Kennedy could present Gillman the game ball at midfield in front of a standing ovation.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Gillman said. “I was just thanking Jesus for all He’s done for me, and then seeing how excited my whole team and this stadium is, that’s exactly the reason I still love to play here. Touchdowns, I can’t score by myself, really. And my team knows that. I think that’s why they get so excited, too.”
Kennedy compared Gillman to former Texas star and NFL running back Cedric Benson — “but he’s got a better smile,” Kennedy said — and pointed to Gillman’s choice to stay in Missoula.
(The late Benson was married for a time to Ristine Olson, a Montana High School Association Hall of Fame tennis player who went 96-0 at Missoula Sentinel before starring at Texas, where she met Benson.)
“How many times in my career, other people’s careers, do they get to be around one of the all-time greats?” Kennedy said. “In the world of the transfer portal and things like that, he made the conscious decision to stay at Montana and do some special things, and he’s in the history books forever.”
“I didn’t regret it for a second,” Gillman said of his decision to stay. “Each week, getting closer with each one of my teammates, it’s made it more known that I made the right decision every single week.”
Gillman finished the win, Montana’s seventh of the season, with 196 yards rushing and 48 yards receiving… on nine touches. That’s 244 yards of offense at more than 27 yards per touch. His 78th career touchdown broke Kupp’s record. His 25 total touchdowns this season tie Marcus Knight’s 2019 school single-season UM record.
And his 5,034 career rushing yards moved him past Weber State’s Trevyn Smith (5,029) into fourth place on the Big Sky’s all-time list. Only Sac State’s Charles Roberts, Portland State’s Charles Dunn and NAU’s Zach Baumann rushed for more yards. And Gillman has at least two more guaranteed games in his illustrious Griz career.
“I think he’s got about nine or 10 of those touchdonws on me,” said first-year Portland State head coach Chris Fisk, who faced Gillman last season while coaching Central Washington. “The guy is unflappable. He’s never too high. He’s never too low. He’s got ice in his veins. You think you’ve got him bottled up, and then bang, he hits one of those long runs against you. I would have liked to have seen it from film and not in person for him to get that number. But that’s a heck of a record.”
Outside of Gillman’s continued onslaught on every rushing and scoring record in the Big Sky, the Griz showed sustainability and kept their hopes for a Top 8 playoff seed alive.
Montana rushed for 363 yards at 12.1 yards per carry and piled up 644 yards of total offense, the fifth-most in a single game in program history. The Griz converted 10 of 12 third downs. Ah Yat threw for 259 yards and a touchdown and added a 9-yard scoring run. Davis caught eight passes for 88 yards. Wildcat QB Cody Schweikert added a 35-yard touchdown run, the first of his career.
The defense, under fire for weeks, has now piled up 15 sacks in two games and is among the FCS leaders in the category.
“We said it’s a playoff game every week moving forward,” Eklund said. “We like being under the spotlight. Having pressure is a privilege.”
Montana moved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in league play. Portland State falls to 2-5 in league, 2-8 overall in Fisk’s first season at the helm.
“There’s not one time I’ve been disappointed in this team, the way that they work, their attitude, or the staff,” Kennedy said. “To see them fight through some difficult moments… I’ve never for one moment been disappointed in these guys and the way they fight for Montana.”
A pivotal Senior Day game against No. 22 Idaho State comes next Saturday night in Missoula on national television. The Bengals took No. 3 Montana State to triple overtime before a two-point conversion helped MSU to a 28-26 win. Northern Arizona posted a 38-10 win over Cal Poly to stay in a first-place tie with the Bobcats, a game ahead of the Griz in the loss column.
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Photo gallery: Montana 57, Portland State 24
