Montana set to host No. 4 UC Davis on ESPN 2
(Montana Sports Information) Big Sky Conference showdowns just don’t get much bigger than this.
The No. 7 Montana Grizzlies return home for the first time in nearly a month on Saturday, and they’re coming back with a bang as UM enters the business end of the season against No. 4 UC Davis in the biggest game on this year’s schedule to date.
Biggest games of the year? Heck, when you look at rankings it’s one of the biggest games of the last decade in Missoula, with only four other home games against top four opponents having been played out inside the inside the “Mecca of FCS football” since 2014. What do they have in common? All Griz wins.
Montana was picked third in the FCS preseason polls and was selected to repeat as Big Sky Champions in 2024. This week the Griz have an opportunity to make a statement that they deserved those accolades, with everything still to play for in front of them.
To get there, Montana (7-2, 4-1 BSC) will have to take on a veteran Aggies squad (8-1, 5-0 BSC) that hasn’t lost an FCS game all season and has one of the most prolific offensive players in the subdivision leading the league’s second-best attack.
Montana has some mojo, however, entering Saturday’s contest on a three-game win streak where they’ve outscored opponents 97-27 with only 14 of those 27 points scored against the defense. They’ve embraced the road warrior mentality to get there as well, riding a streak of six-straight Big Sky road wins, the most since 2009.
Head coach Bobby Hauck’s goal is to always have his team playing their best football at the end of the season, and like they were in 2023, the Griz are working in that direction. This week’s ranked matchup will tell them exactly how far they’ve come.
Adding to the import of this week’s challenge: it will all play out on the Big Sky’s biggest stage with ESPN 2 set to broadcast the excitement to millions of television sets around the country on Saturday night.
Bright lights, big stage, big implications, and a heavyweight showdown between two of the top teams in the FCS. What more could a fan want? Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m.
HAPPENINGS: Saturday’s game marks the annual Griz for Kids toy drive, where fans can help local underprivileged kids have a happy holiday season. Griz for Kids will have collection points at each entrance to Washington-Grizzly Stadium starting two hours before kickoff. Fans are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy, craft, book or game for ages 0-17, or to donate to the organization at Saturday’s game. For more details, visit GrizforKids.com.
WATCH: The eyes of the nation descend on Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, with “The Deuce” – ESPN 2 – broadcasting the game to millions of households around the country. It marks the first time Montana will host a regular season game on ESPN 2, after playing on the road each of the last three seasons since the agreement between the Big Sky and the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” was singed in 2021.
Longtime ESPN host Jay Alter will have the play-by-play call on the broadcast. Former Notre Dame linebacker, eight-year NFL veteran, and Super Bowl XLI Champion with the Indianapolis Colts Rocky Boiman will serve as analyst.
LISTEN: "Voice of the Griz" Riley Corcoran is in his ninth season behind the mic at Montana and will bring you all the Grizzly action over the airwaves on the Grizzly Sports Radio Network and its fourteen affiliate stations around the state.
"Grizzly Gameday" starts two hours before kickoff each Saturday with the official pregame radio show with Ace Sauerwein and Denny Bedard before Corcoran and longtime color commentator Greg Sundberg take over 30 minutes to kickoff. Fans can watch the pregame show live on stage at the GSA tailgate party.
Griz fans outside the radio footprint can stream all of Montana's broadcasts on their mobile device LIVE and FREE of charge on the Varsity Network App and GoGriz.com/Listen.
THE SERIES: Montana holds a 9-1 all-time lead in a series that dates all the way back to 1926, but was only played four times before UC Davis joined the Big Sky as a football-only member in 2013. Montana is 5-0 on the road in California, but 4-1 all-time in Missoula. That one loss occurred the last time the Aggies paid a visit to UM in 2018. More on that in a second.
As a head coach at Montana, Bobby Hauck is 4-1 against UC Davis in his career, winning twice in his first tenure (2008 and 2009) and entering this weekend at 2-1 in his second.
Montana and Hauck are also both 4-1 against Davis when Tim Plough has been on the Aggie staff. The head coach and former Davis QB was a student assistant and QB coach during Hauck’s first tenure in ’08 and ’09 and was on the Aggie staff in 2018 for their only victory over UM, serving as the QC and QBs Coach that season.
LAST MEETING: The No. 13 Montana Grizzlies earned a crucial ranked road win over No. 18 UC Davis Aggies in California last season, using a balanced attack to tally over 400 yards of offense and a defense that allowed just 76 rushing yards in a 31-23 Big Sky Conference victory. Unknown at the time, it was a win that helped springboard Montana to a Big Sky championship season in 2023.
The win was Montana's first on the road over a nationally ranked FCS opponent since its last trip to Davis in 2019 and was the first of seven wins over ranked opponents that season.