Griz return to road seeking win in Sacramento

Montana looks to remain undefeated this week as the Grizzlies take to the road for just the second time this season and head south to Sacramento for a prime-time showdown against the Sac State Hornets under Friday night lights in the California capital.

Firing on all cylinders at 7-0 and 3-0 in Big Sky play, the Griz hit the road ranked No. 4 in the nation, buoyed by a 43-21 steamrolling of Sacred Heart to put a bow on the nonconference portion of the schedule.

They'll take on a dangerous Sacramento State outfit that enters the contest receiving top 25 votes at 4-3 overall and 2-1 in league play after pulling out a thrilling 40-35 win over Northern Colorado to move above .500 for the first time this season.

Two of the most potent offenses in the league are set to clash, with Montana entering the game with the Big Sky's top scoring and total offense that averages over 40 points and 490 yards per contest. The Hornets have stuck to the ground, leading the conference in rushing offense with 247 per game. they'll each go up against defenses that have averaged similar numbers and sit at or near the top of the league in most major categories.

It tees up a battle of wills set will all play out on national television with the game being shown to millions of fans on ESPN 2 as the last game in the country that night. Kickoff from Hornet Stadium is set for 8:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

WATCH: The eyes of the nation will once again be with the Griz this week as the Montana/Sac State game is delivered to millions of households on "The Deuce" - ESPN 2. This marks the second time this season the Griz have appeared on ESPN 2 after defeating Idaho on the network in September.

The game also marks the 14^th appearance for Montana on linear ESPN/ABC Networks since 2015's College Football Kickoff against NDSU on ESPN. The Griz have averaged 469,769 viewers in those appearances and hold a 7-6 record.

In the booth this week is Chuckie Kempf on the play-by-play call and analyst Darius Walker, a former Notre Dame running back who played three seasons in the NFL.

Montana will follow the Noth Texas/Charlotte game on ESPN 2 and will be the last game on TV in the nation Friday night.

A web stream of the Griz/Hornet contest is available via the ESPN App. For complete broadcast details this season, visit GoGriz.com/WhereToWatch.

LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his tenth season behind the mic at Montana and is once again set to bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its fifteen affiliate stations around the state.

"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran takes over 30 minutes to kickoff. This week, Sauerwein will be at his side on the call in Sacramento as well.

Griz fans outside the radio footprint can stream all of Montana's broadcasts on their mobile device LIVE and FREE of charge with the Varsity Network App, powered by Learfield and Sidearm Sports.

THE SERIES: Montana holds a decisive 21-4 all-time lead in the series against Sacramento State dating back to the first meeting in 1993 and the first meeting as Big Sky foes three years later in 1996. Montana also leads the series 8-3 in games played in Sacramento.

The recent history between the two programs lies in favor of the Hornets, however, with Sac winning three of the last four meetings, including the last two played at Hornet Stadium in 2019 and 2022.

As with every other team in the Big Sky, however, head coach Bobby Hauck holds a winning record against Sac State at 9-3 in his 14 years in the league.

LAST MEETING: Montana dominated the No. 7 Hornets 34-7 and Hauck became the winningest coach in Big Sky history with a 2023 win at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The Grizzlies allowed the first score of the game but put on a masterclass following, scoring the final 34 points to remain undefeated at home that year. It avenged an overtime loss from last season to the Hornets, snapped a three-game losing streak against them, and kept UM in the driver's seat for the program's 19^th Big Sky Championship.

Montana proved superior in every phase of the game, outgaining Sacramento State 547-268 in the game with a balanced offense and a defense that held the Hornets to just 25 percent on third down. A Sacramento State offense that averages 32 points per game was held to just seven and without a point in its final 10 drives of the game.

The Griz had a season-high 547 total yards, ran the ball for 305 yards and threw for another 242, averaging 7.6 yards per play. They had a couple of big quarters with 152 yards in the second and 212 yards in the final quarter to put it away.

///GRIZ TRACKS///

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat led Montana's offense like a seasoned veteran on Saturday, orchestrating nearly 500 yards of total offense in UM's 43-21 victory over Sacred Heart in Missoula.

The first-year full time signal caller had a career day, accounting for six total touchdowns against the Pioneers (five through the air and one on the ground) while racking up a personal record 368 yards of total offense.

The Grizzlies posted their second-highest point total of the year as Montana improved to 7-0, and Ah Yat was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. He also earned an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week.

The national college football media took notice of his performance as well, with analyst Joey Galloway awarding Ah Yat a helmet sticker on ESPN's College Football Final late Saturday night.

It's his second Big Sky weekly honor this season after earning the nod with 300-plus yards passing in two quarters of play against Indiana State on Sept. 22. Seven weeks into the season and the Griz have now had seven Big Sky Players of the Week and were named the FCS Team of the Week on Sept. 27 after the win over Idaho. UM has totaled seven Player of the Week honorees in just two full seasons in the past decade.

Ah Yat was lethally efficient with his arm against the Pioneers, completing a career high 82 percent of his passes (27 of 33) to rack up 349 yards and a personal best five touchdowns over the air to post a 220.7 passer rating. He came out the gates firing as well, surpassing his previous career high mark of two passing TDs by the end of the first quarter.

He added another touchdown with his feet and 19 rushing yards to finish with 368 yards of total offense, the most of any player in the Big Sky last week and tied for the fifth most of any individual in the league so far this season. His six total touchdowns are also a Big Sky-high against a D-I opponent this season.

• Ah Yat now leads the league and is FCS top seven in four different passing categories with 2,042 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air. After seven games he leads the Big Sky in completions per game (22.14, 5th in FCS), passing yards (2,042, 3rd in FCS), yards per game (291.7, 3rd in FCS), and total offense per game (296.4, 7th in FCS). He's also second in the league in passing TDs (14, 15th in FCS), points responsible for (102, 17th in FCS), and yards per attempt (9, 12th in FCS).

• Still with just under half the season to play, his passing yard total of 2,042 has already cracked Montana's top 30 all-time list and his season completion rate of .683 (155/227) in on track to be one of the best seasons in program history, which is saying something.

OTHER SATURDAY STARS: Defensive end Hunter Peck led Montana's charge on the Sacred Heart QBs with a pair of sacks on Saturday, two of the four times the Griz D-line got home – a season high. The senior transfer from NAIA Carroll College who has his eyes on medical school posted six tackles, two sacks and two TFLs for a total loss of 18 yards for the Pioneers. The two sacks are tied for the third-most in the Big Sky in a game this year. With 3.5 sacks on the season, he leads the team and is top nine in the league. He earned Montana's nomination for Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.

• Drew Deck's 68 yards worth of punt returns were the most in league last week and are the fourth-most of any Big Sky player this season. Deck's 44-yard return is also the fourth longest this season in the league, and his average of 34 per attempt is second best, only behind Michael Wortham's 41 yards against CWU. Deck received Montana's nomination for Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week.

LIKE MIKE: Speaking of Wortham… The senior continues to be one of the most unstoppable all-around players in the nation this season. The dynamic receiver and return man (and QB, and RB, and…and…) leads all D-I football (FCS & FBS) in all-purpose yards, averaging 170 per game, and totaling 1,192 after logging 172 against Sacred Heart – his third-highest total this season.

He' now the No.1 ranked receiver in all of D-I football according to Pro Football Focus with a 91.2 grade. Ahead of USC's Makai Lemon, ahead of Ohio State's Carnell Tate, ahead of Indiana's Elijah Sarratt.

Wortham is on track to set a school record for all-purpose yards per game finish the regular season top three in Montana history in the category as well.

• Montana's offense packs a 1-2 punch in all-purpose yards, with Wortham leading the Big Sky (and the nation) with 170 per game, and Eli Gillman third in the league with an average of just under 127 (11^th nationally).

GILLMAN GOES: Despite a relatively quiet day against Sacred Heart with 63 yards, the junior running back still leads the Big Sky in rushing yards (776), rushing yards per game (110.9), scoring (11.1 PPG), rushing TDs (11), and total TDs (13), all of which are top five totals in the FCS.

• Gillman also continues to climb the all-time rushing list for the Grizzlies. He now needs just 87 more yards on the ground to total 3,000 in his illustrious career.

He's currently chasing Jordan Canada's career total of 3,435 yards at No. 4 among UM's all-time rushers. Another rushing TD will tie him with Canada's career total of 40, while Gillman's receiving TD last week bumped him ahead of Canada on the total touchdown list with 43. Gillman's touchdown catch last week also put him at 258 career points scored, a top 10 total at UM and just four more points shy of passing the great kicker Andy Lasson's total of 261.

• He remains the FCS's active career leader in rushing touchdowns this week with 39, is third in the subdivision in total rush yards with 2,913 (behind Jamar Curtis of Sac State's 3,112 yards) and is fifth in total all-purpose yards with 3,384 – already a UM top 10 mark.

• The Griz have never lost when Gillman rushes for 100-plus yards in his career. He's hit the century mark 12 times in three seasons, including four times this season with a personal best 198 yards against Central Washington.

E.T.'S STOPS: Linebacker Elijawah Tolbert posted a career high 11 tackles and a QB hurry against Sacred Heart and now leads UM in stops with 50 on the season – a top 8 total in the Big Sky.

FAST FRESHMAN: Freshman Brooks Davis added another two catches and 20 yards to his freshman season total. He's currently Montana's second-leading receiver with 26 catches for 350 yards. He's now ninth on the Grizzly freshman all-time receiver list and needs just 10 more yards to pass Ellis Henderson and 23 more yards to pass Hall of Famer Matt Wells. Jon Talmage holds the UM freshman receiver record with 50 catches for 689 yards

HAUCK HISTORY: Montana's win over Sacred Heart was the 100^th career victory inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium for head coach Bobby Hauck in his 14 years at UM, an average of over seven home wins per season.

Last week's win was also the 160^th of his career overall (including his time at UNLV), and his 145^th at Montana, extending his record as the Big Sky's all-time wins leader. This week he gets the chance to improve on his conference win total as well, currently sitting second in Big Sky history with 82 league wins, needing four more to become the all-time leader in that category as well.

SEVEN-AND-OH-YEAH: Montana returns to action undefeated on the season at 7-0 for the first time since 2009 this week. Despite UM being one of the winningest programs in FCS history, surprisingly, this is only the seventh time UM has started 7-0 in 126 years of Grizzly football.

The first 7-0 start was back in 1969 when the Griz finished the regular season 10-0 before dropping their only game in the Camillia Bowl without the use of several starters. They repeated the feat in 1970 as back-to-back Big Sky champions.

• Montana is one of just eight unbeaten teams left in FCS football this season and has built a worthwhile top five resume with a pair of ranked wins over then No. 16 (now No. 8 North Dakota) and then No. 8 Idaho. Montana' previous seven opponents have combined for a 25-25 record.

STREAKS ALIVE: Montana's win over Sacred Heart kept some long-standing streaks alive, proving once again Washington-Grizzly Stadium is one of the most formidable venues in the nation for opposing teams.

It marked Montana's 30th-straight nonconference win in Missoula, a streak that dates to a 2015 loss to Cal Poly, which was a an out-of-conference contest against an in-conference team. It was also the 17th-straight win over a team from east of the Mississippi River in the stadium, with UM holding 43-7 advantage over eastern squads since the venue was built in 1986.

GRIZ IN THE POLLS: Montana held firm at No. 4 in both the Stats Perform media poll and the AFCA coaches' poll for the fourth consecutive week on Monday. The Griz are the highest ranked Big Sky team of four in this week's top 25. Sacramento State is receiving votes in both polls, but dropped out of the top 25 following a loss to Cal Poly.

GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana slots in at No. 93 in this week's Sagarin ratings, the sixth-highest FCS team and the second highest rated Big Sky team with a 64.09. The Griz are fifth in the FCS and second in the Big Sky according to the Massey Ratings this week.

The Sagarin and Massey ratings are computer calculations that take into account strength of schedule, among other variables, to rank teams, and can be used in tiebreaking scenarios for championships and the postseason.

ESPN's Bill Connelly puts together the weekly college football SP+ Top 766, which ranks every college football program, no matter the classification. He slots Montana No. 98 this week, the highest ranked Big Sky team and the No. 7 FCS team. That places the Griz ahead of P-4 programs like North Carolina (106), Stanford (110), and Oklahoma State (137). Sacramento State sits No. 146.

CAN'T WIN WITHOUT THE BALL: Over halfway through the year and Montana has slightly more interceptions (6) but far fewer fumbles (2) than the Griz have given up than the previous two seasons after going even in the turnover count last week. However, when you zoom out to the past 31 years you find UM's interception giveaway count is on par with the 12 per year the Griz have averaged since 1994, and vastly fewer than the fumble average of 10 per season in that time. In total, the Griz have averaged 21 giveaways per season since '94 but have only turned it over eight times so far this season.

Montana has made the most of its takeaways this season, outscoring opponents 31-14 in points off turnovers.

ATTENDANCE LEADER: With six of Montana's record eight home games down, the Griz continue to lead the FCS by a country mile in total and average attendance this season. 158,513 people have crossed the turnstiles in six games, an average of 26,419 per contest.

For context: that per-game average of 26,419 is better than a full third of FBS programs at No. 83 this week. It's also more fans on average than notable programs like Marshall (25,884), Texas St. (25,650), Stanford (24,996), New Mexico (24,437), Wyoming (22,335), and Nevada (18,939).

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Players Mentioned

Keali'i Ah Yat

Brooks Davis

Drew Deck

Eli Gillman

Hunter Peck

Elijawah Tolbert

Michael Wortham

University of Montana Athletics