Saturday, September 26
Davis, Calif.
8 PM (MT)
Montana
at
UC Davis
Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/University of Montana
Griz to face Aggies in top 10 showdown
9/22/2026 4:25:00 PM | Football
MISSOULA - The Montana Grizzles dive back in the deep end of Big Sky Conference play this weekend with a top 10 showdown at UC Davis, under the lights in California's Central Valley on Saturday night.
It's the No. 4/5 Griz (3-1, 1-0 BSC) against the No. 9/10 Aggies (3-1, 1-0 BSC) in a marquee matchup dubbed the FCS and Big Sky Game of the Week as the perennial Big Sky powerhouses square off for a heavyweight fight that, win or lose, will impact the trajectory of both team's season.
Montana heads south looking to get back in the win column after falling to an explosive Beaver squad 52-17 at Oregon State last week in UM's first loss of the season. Davis enters the week on a high note after taking down Stetson, a member of the Pioneer Football League, 45-7.
Outside of last week's opponent, the Griz and Aggies enter this week's game as close to a similar opponent as possible, with the schedules and stats stacking up similarly across the board.
Let's start with the schedule. UM and UCD opened 2026 in Big Sky play and were tested out of the gates. Montana held off a comeback attempt by Southern Utah while Davis needed a ferocious comeback to beat Portland State with 31 second half points. The Griz then stacked nonconference wins against a team from the PFL and an unranked Big Sky team before taking on OSU. The Aggies, meanwhile, played two PFL teams bookending a 56-10 loss to No. 17 SMU in Dallas. Both the Griz and Aggies are 3-1, and both have been tested against some of the best.
Along the way they've both piled up similar stats, taking advantage of big play ability from their quarterbacks and receivers. Montana has scored 125 points this season and given up 97, while Davis has scored 135 and given up 104 with both teams totaling 83 first downs.
Led by Eli Gillman UM has relied slightly heavier on the run game with 591 yards to Davis' 495, but both teams have surpassed 1,000 yards passing with less than four total yards difference between them per game. Montana's scored 17 total touchdowns and given up 13. Davis has scored 18 given up 14.
The similarity extends back to the preseason as well. UM was picked second in the preseason polls, but UC Davis (picked third) tallied more first place votes from the league's coaches and media.
Both teams will also have revenge on their mind. In the last meeting Davis came into Missoula and knocked off Montana in another ranked battle under the lights in 2024, but it was the Griz who got the upper hand over the Aggies on their last trip to Davis in 2023.
It all paints a picture worthy of its game of the week status as both teams look to build their postseason resume just a third of the way through the year, and it all kicks off at 8 p.m. Mountain Time.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network/Scripps Sports stations around the state this week, with the game at UC Davis available on basic cable, satellite options, free-to-air channels, and online streaming.
This week's game will be shown on your local CBS station around the state, including KPAX in Missoula/Kalispell, Q2 in Billings, KBZK in Bozeman, KXLF in Butte, KRTV in Great Falls and KXLH in Helena. This week's game can also be seen on "The Spot" in Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Boise, Twin Falls, and Local 3 in Denver. "The Spot" is a new independent television network that serves as the secondary home of Big Sky Conference games and will carry specific UM games in specific markets.
The Griz also return to ESPN+ this week, with streaming available without blackout nationwide. ESPN+ serves as the primary streaming home of Montana Athletics again this season.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender and former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp return to the broadcast booth to call the game. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines. For complete broadcast details visit GoGriz.com/WhereToWatch.
LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his 11th season behind the mic at Montana and will once again bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its sixteen affiliate stations around the state.
Joining Corcoran in the booth this season is Chase Reynolds – a Montana native, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer, five-year NFL veteran and one of the most decorated players in UM history – who brings his knowledge of the game to the airwaves as the Grizzlies' new radio analyst.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and Reynolds take over 30 minutes to kickoff.
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.
BOBBY KENNEDY RADIO SHOW: The Grizzly Coaches show returns to The Den on Upper Miller Creek Road each Wednesday at 7 p.m. this season as Coach Kennedy and Corcoran provide an exclusive breakdown of this week's opponent and relive all the highlights of last week's win. The Coaches Show can be heard on select Grizzly Sports Radio Network stations around the state, originating from 98.3 FM and 1290 AM KGVO Missoula.
GRIZZLY INSIDER: The Grizzly Insider takes fans inside the huddle every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on The Spot – MTN. Corcoran and Scripps TV sideline reporter Kyle Hansen break down that week's game with Kennedy and a featured player each week with up-to-date features on other Grizzly sports as well.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
GILLMAN GREATNESS: Another week, another record falls as Eli Gillman continues his march to the top of both the Montana and Big Sky Conference record books.
With 81 net yards at Oregon State, Gillman became Montana's all-time leading rusher, passing Hall of Famer Yohance Humphrey for the top spot in UM history. He enters the UC Davis game with a career total to 4,086 rush yards – the most in Grizzly history and a top 10 total in the Big Sky.
So far this season he's also set new program standards for rushing touchdowns (now with 56) and total touchdowns (now with 62). He's also scored the most points for a non-kicker in program history at 372.
• Only a third of the way through the year Gillman is also closing in on Marc Mariani's school record for all-purpose yards. He now has 4,801 and needs 640 rushing, receiving, or return yards to top that list.
• In the Big Sky Conference picture Gillman's 56 rushing TDs are already the most in league history. His next domino to fall will be the big one as he chases Cooper Kupp's total touchdown record of 77. With 62 total scores to his name and eight regular season games left to play, he needs to average just under two TDs per game to pass Kupp and become the league's all-time greatest scoring threat.
• Gillman remained the active career leader in all of college football (FCS, FBS, D-II, and D-III) again this week in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also third in all-purpose yards this week behind Arizona's Ismail Mahdi and Alfred State's (D-III) Noah Currier with 4,801 career all-purpose yards.
DAVIS DIALED IN: Brooks Davis posted his third-straight 100-plus yard receiving game at Oregon State, hauling in 11 catches for 135 yards and one TD on a 40-yard strike. He's now piled up 446 receiving yards in the first third of the season, just 252 yards short of his 2025 total (698) that made him the most productive freshman receiver in program history and a Freshman All-American.
Davis is now averaging 111.5 yards per game – the second most in the Big Sky behind the Aggies Samuel Gbatu's 117, yet another similarity between the two programs. Davis leads the league and is third nationally, however, in catches per game, averaging just under nine per contest.
AH YAT ON TARGET: On the first play of the season, Grizzly QB Keali'i Ah Yat threw a deep ball to Davis that fell short, into the hands of the SUU defender. Since that play, Ah Yat has been on target, completing 94 of his 142 passes (the most in the Big Sky) without an interception to pile up another league high of 1,008 yards.
In fact, going back a full calendar year to the 2025 game against Indiana State, Ah Yat has been deadly accurate. In those 17 games he has thrown just six picks. That's a half-dozen interceptions in exactly 550 attempts during that time.
This season, Ah Yat currently leads the Big Sky and is No. 8 in the FCS in completions per game, averaging 23.5 in an offense balanced with the nation's top running back in Gillman.
After crossing the 1,000-yard mark against the Beaves, Ah Yat has now piled up 6,470 yards in his four years at UM, moving him into No. 8 among UM's all-time passing leaders.
KEEPING HIM CLEAN: Montana's offensive line continues to lead the Big Sky in sacks allowed after giving up just one on starter Keali'i Ah Yat against an Oregon State defense that leads the Pac-12 in sacks and piled up 4 against Texas Tech – now the No. 11 team in the FBS.
Ah Yat has been sacked just three times in four games behind UM's debutant O-Line that has also paved the way for Gillman's record-setting rushing attack that is averaging over 100 yards on the ground.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: The No. 4/5 Griz take on the No. 9/10 Aggies in top 10 battle this week. Montana has fared well against ranked opposition in the last half-decade, with 16 wins and 13 losses against top 25 teams (FCS and FBS). In that five-year span UM sits at .500 against ranked Big Sky opposition at 7-7.
Ranked showdowns between Montana and UC Davis are becoming the norm in recent history, with the Griz splitting the last two meetings. In 2024 the #4 Aggies came to Missoula and pulled out a rare win under the lights. The year prior, it was the Griz who went to Davis and pulled out a win over the then-No. 18 Aggies to kick-start a run to the FCS title game. Let's take a deeper dive.
LAST MEETING: In a 2024 top seven matchup under the lights at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the then-No. 4 Aggie defense buckled down to defeat No. 7 Montana 30-14. UM took the lead midway through the third quarter, but 17 unanswered points to end the game from the Aggies led the visitors to the win to remain unbeaten against FCS competition this year.
The Davis defense held Montana in check, limiting the Griz to a season-low 286 total yards. Montana had 209 yards through the air, but the rushing attack was held in check with just 77 yards on the ground.
Montana held All-American running back Lan Larison (now a member of the New England Patriots) under 100 yards and his season average but gave up 256 yards and three Davis passing touchdowns. The Aggies finished the night with 100 more yards than Montana on the dot.
Running a two-QB system at the time, the quarterbacks combined for 20-of-41 passing for 209 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Fife had 147 yards passing and a touchdown to Junior Bergen. Ah Yat had 62 yards through the air but was Montana's leading rusher with 29 yards and a touchdown. Bergen had a good day, catching six balls for 92 yards and the score.
LAST TIME IN DAVIS: The No. 13 Grizzlies earned a crucial ranked road win over the No. 18 Aggies in 2023, using a balanced attack to tally over 400 yards of offense and a defense that allowed just 76 rushing yards to take a 31-23 victory.
Montana scored 21 first-half points with two touchdown catches in the second quarter from Aaron Fontes to take a 21-20 lead into the locker room after the Aggies missed an extra point. The Grizzly defense clamped down in the second half, only allowing the Aggies into their red zone once in the period to hold the home team to just three points after the break.
UM rushed for 181 yards and Gillman ran in what would prove to be the game-winner for UM late in the third quarter, taking a pitch around the right side for 85 yards – the longest TD run in program history. That helped break down the Aggie defense, which had entered the game as one of the best against the rush in the conference. Quarterback Clifton McDowell showed his dual-threat capability with 243 passing yards to nine different receivers, including a game-high 99 yards and two touchdowns from Fontes.
Defensively, Braxton Hill again led Montana in tackles with 10, and UM recovered two Aggie fumbles, one with less than two minutes to go that iced the victory for the Griz. Junior Bergen pitched in on special teams in a big way with 143 all-purpose yards, 126 of which came in the kickoff and punt return game.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: After a lopsided loss to the Pac-12's Oregon State (which had two narrow losses to FBS top 25 teams on its resume), the Griz slipped from No. 3/2 to Nos. 5/4 in this week's Stats Perform FCS Media Poll and the AFCA Coaches Poll, respectively.
Illinois State and Tarleton State, which each hold wins over FBS opponents (ISU beat N. Illinois of the Mountain West 28/24 and Tarleton beat Bowling Green out of the MAC 20-13) both leapfrogged UM in the media poll with a 4-0 record. South Dakota State also remained above UM in the polls after the Jackrabbits earned an FCS top 10 win over Youngstown St in Brookings. SDSU joins UM as the other 3-1 team in the top six of both polls after the 'Jacks fell to Northwestern 34-18 in Evanston.
The Griz remain the second highest ranked out of five Big Sky teams in this week's poll, ahead of UC Davis (10), Idaho State (14) and NAU (18). Montana State remains No. 1 but is no longer the unanimous top team. MSU also holds an FBS win, defeating Nevada 20-7 in Reno out of the Mountain West.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana slid three spots to No. 131 in this week's Sagarin Ratings after falling to Oregon State, which now sits at No. 84. The Griz head to UC Davis this week to take on the Aggies, who sit directly behind UM at No. 132.
Montana also slid to No. 8 in the Massey Ratings but remain the second-highest rated Big Sky Conference team ahead of Idaho State at No. 9, NAU at No. 12, Davis at 14.
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.
QUICK HITS: • Montana's loss to Oregon State was UM's first nonconference road loss in more than two years and just the second since the 2022 playoffs.
• Saturday's game at Davis marks the first time the Griz have gone back-to-back on the road since the middle of last season where the Griz went to Sacramento and Weber State and came away with a pair of wins. The Grizzlies also went 2-0 going back-to-back on the road in 2024 at Cal Poly and Northern Colorado. In 2023 the Griz went 2-0 on the road against ranked teams, beating #18 Davis and #3 Idaho in back-to-back weeks.
• The Griz have also not lost a Big Sky road game to a team not named Montana State since 2023 in a loss at NAU that kickstarted that year's run to the FCS title game.
• Montana lost to Oregon State by 35 points on Saturday. It's the largest margin of loss for UM since falling to Washington 63-7 in 2017. It also ties the largest margin of victory for UM this season, with the Griz beating Drake by 35 points 45-10.
• The Griz remain in positive territory in the turnover differential at +2 on the season after going -1 to the Beavers with a fumble and interception late in the game for backup Luke Flowers. UM has still kept the edge on making turnovers count, leading opponents 7-3 on points off a takeaway.
• Montana's defense is getting stops when it matters most: in the red zone. UM leads the Big Sky in red zone D, with opponents converting the trip inside the 20 to points just 63 percent of the time.
• The Griz sit second in the Big Sky in net punt average this week after a breakout first third of the season by punter Everett O'Donnell, two weeks removed from winning the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week award for the first time in his career.
UM's punt coverage team is averaging just under 40 yards per attempt net, with O'Donnell averaging just over 42.5 yards per punt. That means opponents are averaging less than three yards per return on the UM coverage team.
It's the No. 4/5 Griz (3-1, 1-0 BSC) against the No. 9/10 Aggies (3-1, 1-0 BSC) in a marquee matchup dubbed the FCS and Big Sky Game of the Week as the perennial Big Sky powerhouses square off for a heavyweight fight that, win or lose, will impact the trajectory of both team's season.
Montana heads south looking to get back in the win column after falling to an explosive Beaver squad 52-17 at Oregon State last week in UM's first loss of the season. Davis enters the week on a high note after taking down Stetson, a member of the Pioneer Football League, 45-7.
Outside of last week's opponent, the Griz and Aggies enter this week's game as close to a similar opponent as possible, with the schedules and stats stacking up similarly across the board.
Let's start with the schedule. UM and UCD opened 2026 in Big Sky play and were tested out of the gates. Montana held off a comeback attempt by Southern Utah while Davis needed a ferocious comeback to beat Portland State with 31 second half points. The Griz then stacked nonconference wins against a team from the PFL and an unranked Big Sky team before taking on OSU. The Aggies, meanwhile, played two PFL teams bookending a 56-10 loss to No. 17 SMU in Dallas. Both the Griz and Aggies are 3-1, and both have been tested against some of the best.
Along the way they've both piled up similar stats, taking advantage of big play ability from their quarterbacks and receivers. Montana has scored 125 points this season and given up 97, while Davis has scored 135 and given up 104 with both teams totaling 83 first downs.
Led by Eli Gillman UM has relied slightly heavier on the run game with 591 yards to Davis' 495, but both teams have surpassed 1,000 yards passing with less than four total yards difference between them per game. Montana's scored 17 total touchdowns and given up 13. Davis has scored 18 given up 14.
The similarity extends back to the preseason as well. UM was picked second in the preseason polls, but UC Davis (picked third) tallied more first place votes from the league's coaches and media.
Both teams will also have revenge on their mind. In the last meeting Davis came into Missoula and knocked off Montana in another ranked battle under the lights in 2024, but it was the Griz who got the upper hand over the Aggies on their last trip to Davis in 2023.
It all paints a picture worthy of its game of the week status as both teams look to build their postseason resume just a third of the way through the year, and it all kicks off at 8 p.m. Mountain Time.
WATCH: The Grizzlies return to Montana Television Network/Scripps Sports stations around the state this week, with the game at UC Davis available on basic cable, satellite options, free-to-air channels, and online streaming.
This week's game will be shown on your local CBS station around the state, including KPAX in Missoula/Kalispell, Q2 in Billings, KBZK in Bozeman, KXLF in Butte, KRTV in Great Falls and KXLH in Helena. This week's game can also be seen on "The Spot" in Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Boise, Twin Falls, and Local 3 in Denver. "The Spot" is a new independent television network that serves as the secondary home of Big Sky Conference games and will carry specific UM games in specific markets.
The Griz also return to ESPN+ this week, with streaming available without blackout nationwide. ESPN+ serves as the primary streaming home of Montana Athletics again this season.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Trey Bender and former Grizzly All-American Jordan Tripp return to the broadcast booth to call the game. Kyle Hansen will report from the sidelines. For complete broadcast details visit GoGriz.com/WhereToWatch.
LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his 11th season behind the mic at Montana and will once again bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its sixteen affiliate stations around the state.
Joining Corcoran in the booth this season is Chase Reynolds – a Montana native, Grizzly Sports Hall of Famer, five-year NFL veteran and one of the most decorated players in UM history – who brings his knowledge of the game to the airwaves as the Grizzlies' new radio analyst.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show featuring Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and Reynolds take over 30 minutes to kickoff.
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.
BOBBY KENNEDY RADIO SHOW: The Grizzly Coaches show returns to The Den on Upper Miller Creek Road each Wednesday at 7 p.m. this season as Coach Kennedy and Corcoran provide an exclusive breakdown of this week's opponent and relive all the highlights of last week's win. The Coaches Show can be heard on select Grizzly Sports Radio Network stations around the state, originating from 98.3 FM and 1290 AM KGVO Missoula.
GRIZZLY INSIDER: The Grizzly Insider takes fans inside the huddle every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on The Spot – MTN. Corcoran and Scripps TV sideline reporter Kyle Hansen break down that week's game with Kennedy and a featured player each week with up-to-date features on other Grizzly sports as well.
///GRIZ TRACKS///
GILLMAN GREATNESS: Another week, another record falls as Eli Gillman continues his march to the top of both the Montana and Big Sky Conference record books.
With 81 net yards at Oregon State, Gillman became Montana's all-time leading rusher, passing Hall of Famer Yohance Humphrey for the top spot in UM history. He enters the UC Davis game with a career total to 4,086 rush yards – the most in Grizzly history and a top 10 total in the Big Sky.
So far this season he's also set new program standards for rushing touchdowns (now with 56) and total touchdowns (now with 62). He's also scored the most points for a non-kicker in program history at 372.
• Only a third of the way through the year Gillman is also closing in on Marc Mariani's school record for all-purpose yards. He now has 4,801 and needs 640 rushing, receiving, or return yards to top that list.
• In the Big Sky Conference picture Gillman's 56 rushing TDs are already the most in league history. His next domino to fall will be the big one as he chases Cooper Kupp's total touchdown record of 77. With 62 total scores to his name and eight regular season games left to play, he needs to average just under two TDs per game to pass Kupp and become the league's all-time greatest scoring threat.
• Gillman remained the active career leader in all of college football (FCS, FBS, D-II, and D-III) again this week in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is also third in all-purpose yards this week behind Arizona's Ismail Mahdi and Alfred State's (D-III) Noah Currier with 4,801 career all-purpose yards.
DAVIS DIALED IN: Brooks Davis posted his third-straight 100-plus yard receiving game at Oregon State, hauling in 11 catches for 135 yards and one TD on a 40-yard strike. He's now piled up 446 receiving yards in the first third of the season, just 252 yards short of his 2025 total (698) that made him the most productive freshman receiver in program history and a Freshman All-American.
Davis is now averaging 111.5 yards per game – the second most in the Big Sky behind the Aggies Samuel Gbatu's 117, yet another similarity between the two programs. Davis leads the league and is third nationally, however, in catches per game, averaging just under nine per contest.
AH YAT ON TARGET: On the first play of the season, Grizzly QB Keali'i Ah Yat threw a deep ball to Davis that fell short, into the hands of the SUU defender. Since that play, Ah Yat has been on target, completing 94 of his 142 passes (the most in the Big Sky) without an interception to pile up another league high of 1,008 yards.
In fact, going back a full calendar year to the 2025 game against Indiana State, Ah Yat has been deadly accurate. In those 17 games he has thrown just six picks. That's a half-dozen interceptions in exactly 550 attempts during that time.
This season, Ah Yat currently leads the Big Sky and is No. 8 in the FCS in completions per game, averaging 23.5 in an offense balanced with the nation's top running back in Gillman.
After crossing the 1,000-yard mark against the Beaves, Ah Yat has now piled up 6,470 yards in his four years at UM, moving him into No. 8 among UM's all-time passing leaders.
KEEPING HIM CLEAN: Montana's offensive line continues to lead the Big Sky in sacks allowed after giving up just one on starter Keali'i Ah Yat against an Oregon State defense that leads the Pac-12 in sacks and piled up 4 against Texas Tech – now the No. 11 team in the FBS.
Ah Yat has been sacked just three times in four games behind UM's debutant O-Line that has also paved the way for Gillman's record-setting rushing attack that is averaging over 100 yards on the ground.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: The No. 4/5 Griz take on the No. 9/10 Aggies in top 10 battle this week. Montana has fared well against ranked opposition in the last half-decade, with 16 wins and 13 losses against top 25 teams (FCS and FBS). In that five-year span UM sits at .500 against ranked Big Sky opposition at 7-7.
Ranked showdowns between Montana and UC Davis are becoming the norm in recent history, with the Griz splitting the last two meetings. In 2024 the #4 Aggies came to Missoula and pulled out a rare win under the lights. The year prior, it was the Griz who went to Davis and pulled out a win over the then-No. 18 Aggies to kick-start a run to the FCS title game. Let's take a deeper dive.
LAST MEETING: In a 2024 top seven matchup under the lights at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the then-No. 4 Aggie defense buckled down to defeat No. 7 Montana 30-14. UM took the lead midway through the third quarter, but 17 unanswered points to end the game from the Aggies led the visitors to the win to remain unbeaten against FCS competition this year.
The Davis defense held Montana in check, limiting the Griz to a season-low 286 total yards. Montana had 209 yards through the air, but the rushing attack was held in check with just 77 yards on the ground.
Montana held All-American running back Lan Larison (now a member of the New England Patriots) under 100 yards and his season average but gave up 256 yards and three Davis passing touchdowns. The Aggies finished the night with 100 more yards than Montana on the dot.
Running a two-QB system at the time, the quarterbacks combined for 20-of-41 passing for 209 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Fife had 147 yards passing and a touchdown to Junior Bergen. Ah Yat had 62 yards through the air but was Montana's leading rusher with 29 yards and a touchdown. Bergen had a good day, catching six balls for 92 yards and the score.
LAST TIME IN DAVIS: The No. 13 Grizzlies earned a crucial ranked road win over the No. 18 Aggies in 2023, using a balanced attack to tally over 400 yards of offense and a defense that allowed just 76 rushing yards to take a 31-23 victory.
Montana scored 21 first-half points with two touchdown catches in the second quarter from Aaron Fontes to take a 21-20 lead into the locker room after the Aggies missed an extra point. The Grizzly defense clamped down in the second half, only allowing the Aggies into their red zone once in the period to hold the home team to just three points after the break.
UM rushed for 181 yards and Gillman ran in what would prove to be the game-winner for UM late in the third quarter, taking a pitch around the right side for 85 yards – the longest TD run in program history. That helped break down the Aggie defense, which had entered the game as one of the best against the rush in the conference. Quarterback Clifton McDowell showed his dual-threat capability with 243 passing yards to nine different receivers, including a game-high 99 yards and two touchdowns from Fontes.
Defensively, Braxton Hill again led Montana in tackles with 10, and UM recovered two Aggie fumbles, one with less than two minutes to go that iced the victory for the Griz. Junior Bergen pitched in on special teams in a big way with 143 all-purpose yards, 126 of which came in the kickoff and punt return game.
GRIZ IN THE POLLS: After a lopsided loss to the Pac-12's Oregon State (which had two narrow losses to FBS top 25 teams on its resume), the Griz slipped from No. 3/2 to Nos. 5/4 in this week's Stats Perform FCS Media Poll and the AFCA Coaches Poll, respectively.
Illinois State and Tarleton State, which each hold wins over FBS opponents (ISU beat N. Illinois of the Mountain West 28/24 and Tarleton beat Bowling Green out of the MAC 20-13) both leapfrogged UM in the media poll with a 4-0 record. South Dakota State also remained above UM in the polls after the Jackrabbits earned an FCS top 10 win over Youngstown St in Brookings. SDSU joins UM as the other 3-1 team in the top six of both polls after the 'Jacks fell to Northwestern 34-18 in Evanston.
The Griz remain the second highest ranked out of five Big Sky teams in this week's poll, ahead of UC Davis (10), Idaho State (14) and NAU (18). Montana State remains No. 1 but is no longer the unanimous top team. MSU also holds an FBS win, defeating Nevada 20-7 in Reno out of the Mountain West.
GRIZ IN THE RATINGS: Montana slid three spots to No. 131 in this week's Sagarin Ratings after falling to Oregon State, which now sits at No. 84. The Griz head to UC Davis this week to take on the Aggies, who sit directly behind UM at No. 132.
Montana also slid to No. 8 in the Massey Ratings but remain the second-highest rated Big Sky Conference team ahead of Idaho State at No. 9, NAU at No. 12, Davis at 14.
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.
QUICK HITS: • Montana's loss to Oregon State was UM's first nonconference road loss in more than two years and just the second since the 2022 playoffs.
• Saturday's game at Davis marks the first time the Griz have gone back-to-back on the road since the middle of last season where the Griz went to Sacramento and Weber State and came away with a pair of wins. The Grizzlies also went 2-0 going back-to-back on the road in 2024 at Cal Poly and Northern Colorado. In 2023 the Griz went 2-0 on the road against ranked teams, beating #18 Davis and #3 Idaho in back-to-back weeks.
• The Griz have also not lost a Big Sky road game to a team not named Montana State since 2023 in a loss at NAU that kickstarted that year's run to the FCS title game.
• Montana lost to Oregon State by 35 points on Saturday. It's the largest margin of loss for UM since falling to Washington 63-7 in 2017. It also ties the largest margin of victory for UM this season, with the Griz beating Drake by 35 points 45-10.
• The Griz remain in positive territory in the turnover differential at +2 on the season after going -1 to the Beavers with a fumble and interception late in the game for backup Luke Flowers. UM has still kept the edge on making turnovers count, leading opponents 7-3 on points off a takeaway.
• Montana's defense is getting stops when it matters most: in the red zone. UM leads the Big Sky in red zone D, with opponents converting the trip inside the 20 to points just 63 percent of the time.
• The Griz sit second in the Big Sky in net punt average this week after a breakout first third of the season by punter Everett O'Donnell, two weeks removed from winning the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week award for the first time in his career.
UM's punt coverage team is averaging just under 40 yards per attempt net, with O'Donnell averaging just over 42.5 yards per punt. That means opponents are averaging less than three yards per return on the UM coverage team.
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