By: Holly Malkowski
The UC Davis Aggies shut down the Montana Griz 30-14 on a brisk November night under the lights in front of over 26,000 fans in Missoula.
The Aggies came into Washington-Grizzly Stadium on an 8-game winning streak, not having lost since August, in its first game of the season at California. This is the first time UC Davis has beat Montana since 2018.
“And I do feel like we have something special and unique there, and I want more people to know about it, and not for it to be a secret,” UC Davis Head Coach Tim Plough said. “So to be on that platform and to play well and to beat a really good team, just a huge step for our program.”
Montana showed up following a blowout win over Cal Poly last week. The Aggies are undefeated in conference play and tied for first in the Big Sky Conference with the Montana State Bobcats, while Montana follows behind in second with a conference loss to Weber State University from early October.
The Aggies started with the ball and a quick first down, but couldn’t keep the momentum going. After calling its first timeout of the contest, UC Davis was forced to punt it away.
Backed by a large crowd bundled in winter coats, the Griz started its first possession hot. Multiple completed passes and a long quarterback run from Logan Fife moved the ball down the field. The drive was capitalized with a Fife touchdown pass to Junior Bergen, putting the Griz up seven early.
The Aggies answered in just over two minutes with complete passes all across the field from quarterback Miles Hastings to Ian Simpson, Lan Larison and Trent Tompkins on the drive along with a few short runs. This was the case most of the game, with all three receivers having six catches each on the night. A quick pass to Tompkins put the Aggies on the board and tied the contest 7-7.
The Griz went three-and-out on the next drive, quickly returning the ball to UC Davis, but the Aggies were unable to get a first down and punted it right back.
Montana changed its offense slightly and put redshirt freshman Keali’i Ah Yat in at QB. The Griz could not capitalize on a first down, though, and punted the ball away. Montana has been switching quarterbacks throughout the season, and that continued in this contest as well. Fife ended the night 13 for 23 with 147 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception. Ah Yat was seven for 18 with 62 yards and an interception, along with a rushing touchdown.
A roaring Washington-Grizzly Stadium forced back-to-back false starts for the Aggies on its possession, pushing it to a third down with 20 yards to go. An incomplete pass brought out Ben Banks-Altekruse, the punter for the Aggies.
Montana got the ball at the 50-yard line, but continued to struggle on offense and did not move the ball at all before turning it back to the Aggies.
UC Davis pushed the ball down the field running a quick offense, but the Griz crowd got to be too much again. The Aggies had a false start, a delay of game, and another false start late in the drive to stop them in Montana territory. It did take the lead 10-7 though with a 42-yard field goal by kicker Hunter Ridley.
Montana seemed ready to respond, with Fife back in and plowing down the field with passes to Bergen and runs from Eli Gillman earning the Griz a few first downs. Plough said the Aggie defense was focused on shutting Gillman down tonight, and it did. Gillman ended the night with just 21 yards on eight attempts.
The Montana drive was abruptly stopped when the Aggies Rex Connors picked off Fife in the end zone.
“They had a couple new things for us, and certainly a different blend of coverages, and I didn't think we saw coverage very well,” Griz head coach Bobby Hauck said.
The Aggies could not use the momentum from the interception and went three-and-out.
Montana got a first down on its final drive of the half, but couldn’t get anything else going. The Aggies got the ball back at the end of the second quarter and gained almost 20 yards on a tipped pass they were able to keep control of. Ridley sank a 41-yard field goal to put UC Davis up 13-7 going into halftime.
Montana started the second half with a long kick return from Isiah Childs, placing the Griz on the Aggies 48-yard line. After some incomplete passes and short runs, Montana punted it to the UC Davis 2-yard line.
The Aggies gave it right back, and Montana started its drive with a QB keep from Ah Yat good for a first down. Ah Yat completed passes to Nick Ostmo and Aaron Fontes for first downs before plowing down the field himself on a quarterback keeper to the 1-yard line. After two failed attempts to run the ball, Ah Yat finished the drive and took it in, putting the Griz up one point, 14-13.
Montana sacked Hastings on the first play of the Aggies drive after the kickoff, but UC Davis knocked it into gear with its tempo offense. After a few first down passes to Dobbins and Tompkins, Hastings threw a deep ball down the left sideline for a 22-yard touchdown to Simpson. The Aggies reclaimed the lead, 20-14.
Montana went three-and-out on its next possession.
UC Davis ran down the field with running back Jordan Fisher before getting halted by Montana. After four short runs and Griz stops, Montana was called for too many men on the field, giving the Aggies the break it needed. Griz fans were not happy about this and proceeded to throw pizza on the field. Hastings passed down the right side to Larison for a touchdown, extending the Aggie lead to 27-14. Hastings ended the night 28 for 38 with 227 yards and three touchdowns.
Montana got the ball back, but only briefly, because on the first play Ah Yat was picked off by Aggie linebacker Porter Connors, the brother of Rex Connors who had the interception earlier in the game.
UC Davis got one first down, but a crucial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed it back 15 yards. Unable to break away with its run game, the Aggies were forced to kick another field goal. Ridley drilled it from 40 yards, furthering the lead to 30-14 with just under 10 minutes left in the contest. The crowd vastly diminished as it got cold and late in Missoula.
“Whenever you play at Montana, you know no one’s going to be here in the third quarter,” Plough said. “So, you never have penalties in the third quarter, they usually happen in the first and second quarter.”
Both teams struggled to get the ball moving on offense any further, and punted back and forth before the Aggies were able to take a knee to end the game 30-14.
Portland State comes to Missoula next week to take on the Grizzlies, while Montana State and UC Davis will face off to see who will take control of the Big Sky. The winner of that contest guarantees a share of the Big Sky Conference title.
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