Special teams and defense helped the No. 8 Grizzlies overcome offensive struggles to earn a 35-7 victory against the outmatched Cal Poly Mustangs on Saturday at Mustang Memorial Field at Spanos Stadium.

They improved their record to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference as they now build their second three-game winning streak this season as they return home next week for a huge showdown with UC Davis.

Montana outscored Cal Poly just 336-297, but the defense forced three turnovers for the second week in a row and turned those turnovers into 14 points. The Griz intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and caused three turnovers on downs.

Bergen’s 84-yard punt return touchdown put the Griz up 21-0 and came after safety Tyson Rostad was ejected for targeting to nullify a fumble that Rostad forced and recovered. The score gave Bergen the Big Sky record with six punt return touchdowns, breaking the tie with Montana State’s Corey Smith.

On the ensuing drive, Montana linebacker Garrett Hustedt intercepted a pass and returned the ball 29 yards to the 17-yard line. Three plays later, running back Eli Gillman burst into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown run and a 28-0 lead with 0:13 left in the third quarter.

On Cal Poly’s next drive, cornerback Chrishawn Gordon made a diving interception at the Mustangs’ 48-yard line in his return after missing the previous week’s game. UM turned that into a touchdown and took a 35-0 lead with 11:01 to go. Lineman Lucas Freitas recovered a fumble for the score.

Montana clung to a 14-0 lead at halftime after struggling to force two goals on Cal Poly’s downs in UM territory. One came with the Mustangs on the 27-yard line and one on the 34-yard line.

Montana had 11 total tackles for loss on the season, breaking the 10 mark set in the season opener against Missouri State. The Griz also had four sacks against a Cal Poly offense that had allowed just six sacks through its first seven games.

UM linebacker Riley Wilson and defensive back Hank Nuce each had two tackles for loss and one sack. Wilson and Ryder Meyer combined for a fourth-down tackle. Meyer added another tackle for a fourth down stop.

The Grizzlies’ two interceptions came against starting QB Jaden Jones, who finished 13 of 28 passing for 147 yards.

Montana QB Logan Fife, who started the game, finished 12 of 16 passing for 137 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His first pick of the season came on his 157th pass attempt. Keali’i Ah Yat, who played the entire game, went 9 of 14 passing for 131 yards and one touchdown.

Montana’s run game was bottled for 68 yards on 32 carries. Late in the second quarter, it had lost starting left tackle Cannon Panfiloff to injury. The Griz blocked Cal Poly’s offense for 63 yards on 38 carries.

After Fife was intercepted on the game’s opening possession, Ah Yat led the Griz on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Harris for a 7-0 lead one play after UM had been disabled. went back 15 yards for a tripping penalty. The Griz converted a pair of third downs on the drive, including a one-handed catch from Sawyer Racanelli, to go 3 of 3.

The Griz were unable to convert a Giancarlo Woods fumble, forced by Jaxon Lee and recovered by Trevin Gradney, into points, but they did convert the turnover on downs on Cal Poly’s next drive into a score. Keelan White made an impressive one-handed catch while being hit in the front of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown from Fife on a third-and-5 to go up 14-0 with 5:29 left in the half on an eight play, 73-yard drive.

After UM’s scoring attack went up 35-0, Cal Poly scored on a 14-yard TD pass to Jake Woods with 6:11 left in the game. The Griz added a 1-yard touchdown run by Stevie Rocker Jr. with 1:02 left.