SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: Griz get signature win at UC Davis

Statement made.

The Montana Grizzlies traveled to California to face All-America quarterback Jake Maier and the No. 4/5 ranked UC Davis Aggies on Saturday and dispatched the favored home team 45-20 in dominant fashion.

It was a signature win for head coach Bobby Hauck's Griz, who controlled the ground game and scored 14 points off three turnovers to produce the team's first road win over a ranked opponent since 2016. It was a win that caught the eye of the national FCS punditry as well, with the Griz being named the STATS FCS Team of the Week on Sunday.

Player of the Week Nominations

Offense – Dalton Sneed
Sneed orchestrated Montana's offense masterfully against the Aggies in a balanced performance that saw the Griz put up 528 total yards in UM's route of last year's quarterfinalists on the road in Davis.

The senior was once again exceedingly accurate, completing 22 of his 33 passes (66%) for five eye-popping touchdowns and 268 yards in the air, without giving up an interception or taking a sack.

Sneed was equally effective with his feet. The dual-threat QB rushed for 81 yards, averaging 8.1 per carry – more net yards than the entire UC Davis offense. His 81 yards rushing were enough for 349 yards of total offense, more than any other player in the league against a ranked opponent this week.

It all added up to excellent game management, with UM holding on to the ball for 31:03, converting on 7 of 13 third-down opportunities, and scoring on 5 of 6 trips inside the red zone.

Not only did his five passing TDs tie his career-high, it moved Sneed up on Montana's all-time passing touchdown leaders list, now with 35 in his career as a Grizzly. He now sits at No. 11 on the list, passing current Grizzly assistant head coach Brent Pease. Sneed also moved up the career passing yards list ahead of former UM QB coach Andrew Selle with 4,205 career passing yards.

On Sunday, Sneed was named the College Football Performance Awards co-FCS National Performer of the Week for his efforts in Davis, alongside Princeton QB Kevin Davidson who passed for 381 yards and seven touchdowns against unranked Bucknell.

Defense – Jace Lewis
Lewis was a menace to Maier all day on Saturday, racking up a game-high and career-high 13 tackles, the most of any player on a winning team in the Big Sky Conference this week.

The junior also logged a pass breakup and pair of quarterback hurries, one of which was a highlight reel-worthy demolition of Maier.

Special Teams – Adam Wilson
Kicker/Punter Adam Wilson was instrumental in helping Montana hold the potent UC Davis offense to just seven first-half points and 20 points overall. Wilson pinned the Aggies inside their own 10-yard line on each of his three punts, totaling 126 yards with a long punt of 51-yards.

In the kicking game, Wilson also helped keep the Aggies from gaining field position, booming seven kickoffs for 431 yards and one touchback, averaging 61.6 yards per kick.

Montana currently leads the Big Sky and is fourth in the nation in net punting, averaging 42.26 yards per attempt.

NOTABLE
• Overall, Wilson and the Grizzly punt team have been superb all season long. To date, Montana has only allowed a single punt return. It was against Oregon, and was for a total of eight yards. Compare that to the UM punt return team, which leads the Big Sky with eight returns for 156 yards.

• Led by 91 yards from sophomore running back Marcus Knight, Montana tallied its most rushing yards of the season and the fourth most in any game dating back to 2015 with 260 yards against the Aggies.

Last year the Griz rushed for 351 yards in a record-setting game from Dalton Sneed and 266 yards in a route at Southern Utah. Prior to that, the last time the Grizzlies rushed for more than 260 yards was in 2015 at Idaho State.

• In addition to clearing the path for a banner day rushing, the Grizzly offensive line didn't allow a sack of the quarterback for the first time this season and only the third time in the past two seasons.

• A pair of UM freshmen made a big impact for the Griz at UC Davis, with redshirt-freshman Milton Mamula picking up a tackle in his first career start and true freshman Jacob McGourin picking up a sack in an impressive Grizzly debut.

• Jerry Louie-McGee hauled in a pair of TDs at Davis to bring his receiving score total to three. The record-breaking senior now has eleven touchdown catches in his career after two at Davis and one against Monmouth. It marks the first time in his career he's caught touchdown passes in consecutive games, and the first time he's caught two in one game since the season opener against Valparaiso in 2017.

UP NEXT: Now at 4-1, Montana returns to Washington-Grizzly Stadium this week for the University of Montana's 100^th Homecoming celebration. The Griz host long-time rival Idaho State on Homecoming, looking to improve to 2-0 in conference play.

Idaho State comes to Missoula at 2-2 after opening Big Sky play with a 51-24 demolition of Portland State in Pocatello.

University of Montana Athletics

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: Griz get signature win at UC Davis

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Knight

Jace Lewis

Jerry Louie-McGee

Milton Mamula

Jacob McGourin

Dalton Sneed

Adam Wilson

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