Aggies overwhelm Montana, set up decisive battle at home with Montana State
Defense shines as UC Davis posts impressive 30-14 win before sellout crowd
MISSOULA, Montana ... No. 4 UC Davis dominated the second half to take a hard-earned 30-14 win over No. 7 Montana to virtually lock up an FCS playoff bid and set up a potential Big Sky Conference championship game next Saturday in Davis against No. 2 Montana State, a 49-7 winner over Sacramento State.
The Aggies, winners of nine straight, are now 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Sky, while Montana slips to 7-3 and 4-2.
The game was played before a crowd of 26,012 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, the 16th straight sellout at one of the toughest venues in college football at any level.
The giant scoreboard at the south end of Washington-Grizzly noted in a pregame message that Montana is 234-36 in their familiar home.
Make that 234-37.
“I can’t really put it into words right now,” said Aggie head coach Tim Plough.
“I’m just so proud of them. They just play together so well. I didn’t know we’d have this much success so soon.”
The Aggies led, 13-7, at half, but Montana was not about to go quietly into the chilly night, taking a 14-13 lead midway through the third quarter on a three-yard run by quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat.
UCD retook the lead on a 22-yard pass from Miles Hastings to Ian Simpson and the Aggies never looked back.
