No. 4 UC Davis Named Stats Perform FCS National Team Of The Week

Nov 12, 2024, 8:14 AM | Updated: 8:15 am

(UC Davis Athletics)

Sactown Sports

This story was initially published by UC Davis Athletics

After silencing the crowd at Washington-Grizzly stadium on Saturday night, No. 4 UC Davis football was named the Stats Preform FCS National Team of the Week following its 30-14 win at No. 7 Montana.

The Aggies used 17 unanswered points in the second half to empty out Washington-Griz by the fourth quarter and solidify a national statement on ESPN2. In the game, both Rex and Porter Connors had interceptions as the Aggies won the turnover battle, and they as a defensive unit held Montana to a season-low 286 total offensive yards.

It was the first win for UC Davis on a linear ESPN/National TV network in only its second game all-time on linear ESPN. And it was the second time the Aggies have won in Missoula, Mont., having knocked off the Griz in 2018.

UC Davis used a pair of second half touchdown passes by All-American candidate senior quarterback Miles Hastings, one to junior tight end Ian Simpson and the other to fellow All-American candidate senior running back Lan Larison.

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Three field goals from 40-plus yards made by junior kicker Hunter Ridley and a performance that saw senior linebacker Jackson Cloyd spend much of his evening in the Grizzly backfield earned the No. 4 UC Davis football pair Big Sky weekly honors following the Aggies 30-14 win at No. 7 Montana.

Ridley nailed field goals from 42, 41 and 40 yards, including hitting a buzzer beater at the end of the half to solidify an Aggie lead. His 40-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter put the final touches on the Aggie win on national television.

🎯😤

Hunter Ridley and Jackson Cloyd have been named the Big Sky Conference Special Teams and Defensive Players of the Week!!

📰 – https://t.co/SWdF2GzdBE #GoAgs | #Shredville pic.twitter.com/ZSKVznPaus

— UC Davis Football (@UCDfootball) November 11, 2024

The Aggie linebacker found himself making plays all night, as part of an Aggie defense that held Montana to a season-low 286 total offensive yard Cloyd finished with two sacks, three tackles for loss and five total tackles.

Cloyd becomes the third Aggie to earn Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week, joining redshirt junior linebacker David Meyer (Sept. 9, Nov. 5) and junior linebacker Porter Connors (Sept. 2).

For Ridley, he becomes the first Aggie to earn Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week honors since punter Daniel Whelan earned the honor in 2021 and he becomes the first Aggie kicker to earn the honor since Isaiah Gomez took home the award several weeks prior to Whelan in that 2021 season.