Top-20 showdown on tap as Griz hit road to face Hornets

With rested bodies from the bye week and a boat-load of momentum in the hold, head coach Bobby Hauck steers the No. 5/6 Montana Grizzly clipper ship south this week to take on the upstart Sacramento State Hornets (No. 15/17) in a showcase Big Sky Conference showdown that is shaping up to be the FCS game of the week.

At 5-1 (2-0 BSC), Montana opens the second half of the season sitting on top of the league table after dominant wins over fourth-ranked UC Davis and Idaho State, but now enters a gauntlet of a schedule in the final six weeks of the regular season, starting with Sac State on the road in California.

Similarly, the Hornets (4-2, 2-0 BSC) enter this week's matchup as one of the hottest teams in the league after back-to-back convincing wins. One, a 48-27 demolition of the preseason favorite Eastern Washington Eagles, the other, a thorough 34-21 road win over the sixth-ranked Montana State Bobcats in Bozeman.

Montana and Sacramento State enter Saturday's game with two of the country's most potent offenses, led by two of the country's most experienced and explosive quarterbacks in Dalton Sneed and Kevin Thomson.

But the matchup isn't shaping up to be your typical Big Sky Conference offensive shoot-out, with both UM and SAC leading the league in scoring defense during conference play, allowing opponents to score an average of just 20 and 24 points, respectively, over two games.

"Sacramento State is a very hot team right now. They're playing well in all three phases of the game, and they're statistically impressive," said Hauck at his Monday press conference.

"We've got a team that's on a roll right now that we've got to go try and beat on their home field."

The Griz will have to do that on Homecoming weekend under the lights in Sacramento, with kickoff from Hornet Stadium set for 7 p.m. Mountain Time (6 p.m. local time).

WATCH: This week's Big Sky matchup can be seen on statewide television on your local Fox Montana station, or on SWX in Billings. The Cowles Montana Media stations will provide a simulcast of the CW Sacramento production of the game. Local sports anchor Dave Lewis will provide the play-by-play, and Aaron Garcia will provide the color commentary.

A FREE live stream of the game is also available via the Big Sky's streaming partner Pluto TV on channel 533.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran and longtime analyst Greg Sundberg will bring you the action live from Hornet Stadium on KGVO Missoula, the flagship station of the Grizzly Sports Radio Network, and its thirteen affiliates around the state. Live audio streams can also be found at GoGriz.com/Listen or on the TuneIn app.

ABOUT THE HORNETS: First-year head coach Troy Taylor (a former Utah offensive coordinator) has led the Hornets to an impressive start, averaging nearly 450 yards of total offense per game. SAC's only two losses have come in hotly contested FBS games as well, including an eye-catching 19-7 loss to Arizona State. The 19 points scored by the Sun Devils, who come in at No. 17 in this week's AP poll, is their second-lowest point total of the season.

Offensively, the Hornets are led by Thomson, the defending ROOT Sports Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week, and a sixth-year junior quarterback who gained two more playing seasons after receiving an NCAA injury waiver. With the former UNLV signal-caller (and Coach Hauck recruit) under center, the Hornets are averaging nearly 40 points per contest, and are second in the league (behind UM) in third-down conversions at over 47-percent.

In addition to the dual-threat ability of Thomson, junior running back Elijah Dotson provides another ground weapon for the Hornets that UM is well aware of after he gashed the Griz for 234 yards and three TDs last season in Missoula.

Led by senior George Obinna, the Hornet defense leads the league in sacks this season with 20 – the fifth most in all of FCS football. A stingy all-around defense, Sac State has only allowed opponents to average 20 points per game this season, the second-lowest total in the league.

FAMILIAR FACES: Part of the above defensive success could be contributed to a pair of UM alums on the Sac State staff. Sac State defensive coordinator Andy Thompson played at UM in 1999 and 2001-03, helping the Griz win five Big Sky titles and the 2001 National Championship. Hornet D-line coach Kraig Paulson is also a former Grizzly, having started the famed #37 jersey tradition as a player, and a championship-winning assistant coach under Hauck at both UM and UNLV.

MOVIN' ON UP: Despite not playing last week, on Monday, the Grizzlies moved up the national polls on week eight thanks to a pair of losses ahead of them. After entering the bye week ranked No. 8 in both, the Griz moved to No. 5 in the STATS FCS Media Poll and No. 6 in the AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll.

Montana was a benefactor in No. 2 James Madison's defeat of Villanova, who had previously held the No. 5 spot in the media poll. The Griz also benefited from Sacramento State's road win at No. 6 Montana State. That upset propelled the Hornets into the rankings, landing them at No. 15/17 this week, and setting up a top-20 showdown.

SERIES HISTORY: Montana will have history on its side this week, as UM travels to SAC holding a 20-1 all-time lead over the hornets in the series dating back to 1993. The Grizzlies' only loss in the series came in Sacramento, however, when the Hornets beat the Griz 42-28 in 2011 in California.

LAST MEETING: In a 2018 game where the Griz sported throwback copper and gold uniforms to celebrate Dave Dickenson's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, Montana battled the Hornets in a come-from-behind 41-34 UM victory in Missoula.

Sneed and the Griz exploded for 351 rushing yards and amassed 585 yards of total offense to bounce back from a 28-24 halftime deficit. In his breakout game at UM, Sneed set a new school record for a QB, rushing for 206 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 234 more. Dante Olson and Josh Buss combined for 26 tackles, and four sacks as well as the Griz held Sac State to just six second-half points.

The Hornets, meanwhile, showcased their offensive ability with 510 total yards of offense of their own, thanks to Dotson's big day with 234 on the ground. Thomson was equally effective, completing 10 passes for 259 yards while under pressure, taking a total of five sacks from the Grizzly D.

In that meeting, Montana tied a long-standing school record, averaging 8.6 yards per carry, mainly thanks to Sneed's chunk run plays. The record was previously set way back in 1948 against North Dakota.

Dotson also remains the last player to rush for over 200 yards against the Griz

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Statistically speaking, the Griz and Hornets are on course for another barn-burner, with both teams topping the conference in many statistical categories. Here's a breakdown of the numbers:

Scoring Offense: After six games each, Montana has the best scoring offense in the league, averaging 41 points per game so far this season. Sacramento State sits right behind UM in second, averaging 39.3.

Scoring Defense: As the league-leader in sacks, the Hornets post the second-best scoring defense in the Big Sky behind Weber State, allowing 20 PPG. Montana is averaging an allowed 22.7 PPG to come in third.

In conference-only stats (two games), Montana leads the league in every major team statistical category, sitting at No. 1 in scoring offense (52 PPG), scoring defense (20 PPG), total offense (558 YPG), and total defense (368.5 YPG). Sac State is third in scoring offense (41 PPG), second in scoring defense (24 PPG), but sitting seventh and tenth in total offense and total defense.

Led by Marcus Knight, Montana's ground game has come on strong this season, with UM packing the sixth-best rushing offense in the league this week, averaging 166.2 YPG carrying the ball.

With a strong defensive front (coached by Paulson), the Hornets have the second-best rushing defense in the league, allowing just 104.2 YPG. Right behind them is Montana's rushing defense, which has only allowed two players to rush for 100+ yards this season, and only allowed an average of 124.5 YPG.

GRIZ TRACKS

THE NEED FOR SNEED: With a career-high 464 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to outscore Idaho State 59-3 in the final three quarters, Sneed was named the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week two weeks ago, and became the first Grizzly to be named the ROOT Sports Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks prior to the bye week.

After trailing 17-0, Sneed responded to the early deficit by throwing for 358 yards over the course of the next three quarters, completing 21 of his last 28 passes (.750), including a pair of TDs and 12 first downs.

The senior QB's total offense blitz was the most of any player in the Big Sky Conference on week six, and the second-most of any player in the league so far this season.

Sneed is the first player to earn three weekly honors from the league since Olson did it in 2018. Sneed is also the first UM quarterback to win three weekly honors in a single season since John Edwards in 2002. He is the first QB in the Big Sky to earn three weekly honors since Eastern Washington's Gage Gubrud did it in 2017.

In the three games prior to the bye week, Sneed threw for a total of 999 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for an additional 169 yards and two TDs to bring his total offensive output 1,168 yards and thirteen scores. In that three-game span, he also completed nearly 70-percent of his passes.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK MEETING: On Saturday, a total of seven different Big Sky Player of the Week honorees from this season will take the field, with Thomson winning last week's offensive honor, Sneed winning three-straight prior to that, Malik Flowers and Jerry Louie-McGee winning two special teams honors on weeks two and four, and Sac State's Dariyn Choates winning the defensive weekly honor on week three.

MORE ON SNEED: Here are some Dalton Sneed bonus facts:

With 397 yards passing, his game against ISU was the third 300+ passing performance of the year so far, and the fifth of his career at UM.

Sneed's 464 yards of total offense against Idaho State was just 36 yards shy of 500, a major threshold for any college football player to cross. The last Grizzly to post 500+ yards of total offense? Brian Ah Yat in 1996 (549).

Sneed now has 4,602 career passing yards to his name, needing 208 more to pass Brady Gustafson and move to No. 15 on UM's all-time list.

With two against ISU, Sneed now has 37 career passing touchdowns, needing just one more to tie Andrew Selle and Marty Mornhinweg at No. 10 on the UM all-time list.

CHASING 600: Montana needs one more win this season to become the 22nd team in FCS football to achieve 600 or more wins in program history. Dating back to 1897, Montana would become the only school in the Big Sky Conference on the 600+ win chart, and only the fourth FCS school west of the Mississippi to compile more than a half-century of wins (the others: North Dakota St., UNI, and South Dakota St.).

Montana would also be one of just 22 schools in all of Division-I football west of the Mississippi River to accumulate more than 600 wins in program history.

MOVE THE CHAINS: Under offensive coordinator Timm Rosenbach, Montana set a new school record with 35 total first downs last week against Idaho State. The previous record was 34, set in the 2012 season opener against South Dakota under Rosenbach in his first game as Grizzly OC during his first stint at UM.

This year, Montana has racked up 172 first downs, on track to potentially break the school record for first downs in a season at 346.

THIRD DOWN DOMINANCE: In last year's meeting against Sac State in Missoula, the Grizzlies held the visitors to 3-of-12 on third down, forcing multiple second-half false-start penalties, one of which required the Hornets to go for a field goal instead of fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

The Hornets return this year with the second-best third-down conversion percentage in the Big Sky (and 17th-best nationally) at 47.4 percent, a number that kept the chains moving efficiently against Montana State.

The Griz have been equally impressive on third down this season, however. Montana's third-down conversion percentage .512 ranks ninth nationally and first in the Big Sky. With powerful offenses, the winner of Saturday's game could very well be determined by who converts at a higher rate.

GOOD KNIGHT: With three touchdowns on the ground against Idaho State, sophomore running back Marcus Knight continues to lead the Big Sky and is ranked eleventh nationally in scoring by touchdown with a total of nine this season.

SAMORI'S SNAGS: Junior receiver Samori Toure hauled in a whopping 188 yards worth of pass receptions against Idaho State before the bye week. Only 12 Grizzlies have ever had more receiving yards in a single game, with the most going to Joe Douglas (279) against EWU in 1996. Toure's 188 tied Ellis Henderson for the most at UM since 2009 when Marc Mariani had 200 yards against Cal Poly.

EASING INTO IT: Montana has been a second-half team this season, with only 17 points scored in the first quarter of the opening six games. In fact, the Griz have not scored a TD in the first two drives of a game yet.

While they might not be a fast-starting team, once the points come, they come fast. Montana is outscoring its opponents 151-50 in the second half of games this season and has scored a combined 166 points in the second and third quarters.

RECORD WATCH

With 18 tackles against Idaho State, Olson has improved his career mark to 287 total takedowns, moving him up to No. 15 on UM's all-time tackler list, tied with Todd Ericson (1990-93).

With one touchdown catch against Idaho State, Samuel Akem moved passed Scott Gurnsey on the all-time passing TD list to No. 15 with 18 in his career.

UP NEXT: The Griz return home for another massive showdown against the preseason conference favorite and defending national runners-up EWU Eagles on Oct. 26 in Missoula. Limited tickets remain at GrizTix.com.

Top-20 showdown on tap as Griz hit road to face Hornets

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Samuel Akem

Josh Buss

Malik Flowers

Brady Gustafson

Ellis Henderson

Marcus Knight

Jerry Louie-McGee

Dante Olson

Dalton Sneed

Samori Toure

University of Montana Athletics

Top-20 showdown on tap as Griz hit road to face Hornets

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Samuel Akem

Josh Buss

Malik Flowers

Brady Gustafson

Ellis Henderson

Marcus Knight

Jerry Louie-McGee

Dante Olson

Dalton Sneed

Samori Toure

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