No. 4 UC Davis uses complete second Half to come away with 30-14 win over No. 7 Montana

Nov 11, 2024, 7:24 AM

(UC Davis Athletics)

BY UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

Sactown Sports

This story was initially published by UC Davis Athletics

Score: No. 4 UC Davis 30, No. 7 Montana 14

Location: Missoula, Mont. (Washington-Grizzly Stadium)

Records: UC Davis 9-1 (6-0), Montana 7-3 (4-2)

The short story: Using 17 unanswered second half points, fueled by a stingy defensive performance UC Davis football silenced the crowd at Washington-Grizzly stadium in a 30-14 win over No. 7 Montana that played out in front of a national audience.

FIRST DOWN

Senior quarterback Miles Hastings finished 28-for-38 with 227 yards passing and three touchdown passes
Senior running back Lan Larison rushed for 97 yards on 24 carriers and caught six passes for 48 yards and one touchdown to finish with 145 all-purpose yards
Junior kicker Hunter Ridley hit three field goals, all from beyond 40 yards (42; 41; 40)
Junior tight end Ian Simpson had a day, bringing in six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown
Senior wide receiver Trent Tompkins scored a receiving touchdown and finished with 27 yards on six catches
With three touchbacks, junior kicker Angelo Genetti totaled 320 yards and the Aggies covered well, holding Montana to 32 kickoff return yards
Graduate punter Ben Banks-Altekruse averaged 37.6 yards per punt and the Aggies again covered well, holding Montana to 26 punt return yards
The Connors brothers (Rex and Porter) each had an interception in the game
Junior redshirt David Meyer finished with 10 tackles, four solo, and one pass break up to lead the Aggies
Rex Connors added eight tackles and two pass break ups to his end zone interception
Senior linebacker Jackson Cloyd racked up 3.0 tackles for loss and had 2.0 sacks, finishing with five total tackles
With a pair of pass break ups, senior defensive back Kavir Bains finished with five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss

HOW IT HAPPENED

Montana took its opening possession 72 yards in seven plays to open the scoring with a touchdown
But, after adjusting to the noise of Washington-Grizzly the Aggies had an answer
75 yards and eight plays later UC Davis responded when Hastings hit Tompkins crossing his face with a shovel pass that went two yards to tie things up at 7-7
From there, it was game on in Missoula
The first quarter finished without either side cracking the endzone and things sitting at 7-7
On the Aggies next drive to open the second quarter, Hastings was driving, hitting a 17-yard pass to junior wide receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr. followed by a 12-yard pass to freshman Stacy Dobbins.
But the Aggies would stub their toes committing three penalties that would stall the drive and force UC Davis to settle for a 42-yard field goal, which was nailed by Ridley to give the Aggies its first lead of the game at 10-7, a lead they would only give up one more time in the game
Montana then went on a drive, taking it 57 yards in 10 plays down to the Aggie 11-yard line
On a third and 10 play from the 11, Montana’s Logan Fife looked to find a Griz receiver in the endzone, but instead he found the undercutting hands of Rex Connors who made the smart play of taking a knee to slam the door shut on Montana
With just under two minutes to go in the half, Montana went again looking for points but again, the Aggies kept the door shut
Forcing fourth down, the Aggies made the first of three fourth down stops on the night to gain another possession before the break
UC Davis took advantage of their extra touch of the ball, going 34 yards in 37 seconds to set up a 41-yard field goal from Ridley, and after the Aggie kicker again split the uprights the Ags took a 13-7 lead into the break
A short punt early in the third quarter by Banks-Altekruse gave Montana a shot at taking the lead
Going 55 yards in 11 plays Montana did just that, taking the lead at 14-13 and firing Washington-Grizzly Stadium back up
It was the last points Montana would find for the remainder of the night
The next 17 points would be colored in Blue and Gold as UC Davis put its stamp on the night
Hastings hit Larison for 15 yards and Tompkins for eight to get the Aggie drive started, but it was midway through the drive where the Ags got the chunk they were looking for
During the tackle of Dobbins, on an eight-yard reception, Montana’s Trevin Gradney grabbed a bit too much of the face mask and in the process ripped off Dobbins’ helmet and gave the Aggies 15 free yards
Three plays later UC Davis found pay dirt
On a play where Hastings made an in-huddle adjustment that saw junior tight end Ian Simpson come open across the middle of the field, the Aggies retook the lead on the 22-yard pitch and catch at 20-14
This lead, the Aggies would not give up
UC Davis’ drive that ended the third quarter carried over into the fourth, and after 60 yards and seven plays Hastings rolled out to the right and hit Larison from one yard out to put the Aggies up 27-14 and the finish line quickly approaching
Porter Connors, on the next drive, essentially called game on the Griz when he picked off the first Grizzly pass of the drive, taking it 12 yards to the Montana 27-yard line giving UC Davis short field position
The Aggies used that advantage to set up a 40-yard field goal by Ridley, his third of the game, going up 30-14
Montana took the ball at 7:28 still sitting within striking distance of the Aggies, but the Aggie defense was up to the task
After just getting over the 50, Montana went for it on fourth down for the second time in the game and on the attempt, Meyer was johnny on the spot to break up the play and give the ball back to UC Davis
The next Montana drive came down to a fourth-down play once again, this time it was the Aggie defense as a unit that ended Montana’s hopes
Davis got the ball back with 2:19 left and proceeded to gobble up the remaining clock to lock up its 30-14 national stage victory under the Montana sky

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY

“That is a good team and as we all know, this is a difficult place to come and win a football game. It didn’t go our way early, but I thought that our team rallied and I thought the defense was tremendous, making plays when they had to. Coach [Bobby] Hauck is the best and he’s someone I look up to and hope we can build our program into something like what they have here. I also thought it was a great for the Big Sky to be on ESPN so the country could see the atmosphere they have here. But overall, I’m really proud of the team and we look forward to getting home safe and then hopefully keep it rolling.”

GAME NOTES

This was the second time in program history the Aggies have beaten Montana. Both have come in Missoula, with the last coming in 2018
The win was the Aggies’ first win on a linear ESPN/National TV network in only its second game all-time on linear ESPN
Porter Connors now has an interception in two-straight games
Larison cracked 1,000 yards on the season, and he now sits at 1,061 total rushing yards
For his career, Larison now has 3,230 rushing yards and sits just 96 yards away from passing Preston Jackson for third all-time in program history
Hastings flew past 3,000 yards on the season, the second time in his career he has hit that mark, and he now sits at 3,027 with two regular season games left
This was the seventh time this season Hastings has thrown at least three touchdown passes
Hastings sits at 9,702 total passing yards for his career, still holding third place in program history
The three touchdown passes gives Hastings 68 for his career, tying Kevin Daft for third all-time in program history
Ridley’s three field goals give him 29 for his career and he ties Cal Aggie Hall of Famer Rolf Benirschke for ninth all-time in program history
For the third time this season the Aggies held their opponent to under 100 yards rushing, keeping Montana to just 77 yards on the ground
It was the second-straight week the Aggie defense held their opponent to under 300 yards of total offense, keeping Montana in check with a season-low 286 total offensive yards
This was the fifth game this year the Aggie defense has cause at least two turnovers and it’s the second-straight game with two interceptions

UP NEXT: UC Davis returns home for a crack at the Big Sky Championship. On Saturday, Nov. 16 the Aggies host No. 2 Montana State, the winner of that game is guaranteed a share of the Big Sky title, regardless of what happens in the final game of the season. Kick is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Scripps Sports and ESPN+.