Portland St. at number 10/11 Montana

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.; TV-MTN. Web — ESPN+; Radio – Grizzly Radio Network

Where: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217, FieldTurf)

Recordings: Portland St. Is 2-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Sky. Montana is 7-3 and 4-2.

When the Vikings have the ball: It starts with Dante Cachere, whose 2,015 career rushing yards are the most ever by a PSU quarterback. He threw for 1,632 yards and 12 touchdowns and ran for 637 and 12 scores this season. Freshman Delon Thomas is next in rushing with 534 yards and five touchdowns. Branden Alvarez is the leading receiver with 34 receptions for 453 yards, and freshman Eric Denham is averaging 18 yards on his 24 catches.

When the Grizzlies have the ball: Through 10 games, Logan Fife (1,479 yards, 11 TDs and 2 interceptions) has built a statistical lead over freshman Keali’i Ah Yat. Both remain listed as co-starters at QB. Eli Gillman (787 yards, 7.0 a carry) and Co. have fallen to 11th in the FCS in a rushing attack. Junior Bergen is now second at UM in receptions with 37; Keelan White has 45 catches for 494 yards. Both have three TDs.

Remarkable: This will be the fifth opponent for the Vikings, who have the toughest strength of schedule in the FCS according to Massey Ratings. … UM leads the series 34-13, 19-4 in Missoula and PSU’s last win came in 2018 at Montana (22-20). … PSU had two field goals blocked in a 56-14 loss at Boise State, but kicker Mathias Uribe otherwise went 9-for-9. … LB Ryan Tirrell has a team-high 75 tackles for the Griz, while Hayden Harris has 14 TFLs, 7.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. … As Inter Lake’s Jon Allen noted, if you add up the Grizzlies’ rushing totals for their last two games (145 yards), this would still be their worst performance of 2024.

Choose: Griz, 42-14.

*****

No. 2/2 Montana State at No. 4/4 UC Davis

When: Saturday, 6 p.m.; TV CBS. Web — ESPN+; Radio – Bobcat Radio Network

Where: UC Davis Health Stadium (10,743, Shaw Sports Turf)

Recordings: MSU is 10-0 overall, 6-0 in the Big Sky. Davis is 9-1, 6-0.

When the Bobcats have the ball: Tommy Mellott has scored 10 times and thrown 19 times, leading an offense that has scored at least 30 points in every game this season. Scottre Humphrey has eight 100-yard games, putting the Cats first in the FCS in rushing (333 yards average). Tight end Rohan Jones is still the leading receiver with 352 yards and six touchdowns, but Taco Dowler and Ty McCullouch have combined for nine touchdowns.

When the Aggies have the ball: Lan Larison ranks ninth in the FCS in rushing yards (1,051), and has the most receiving yards (577) of any running back. He is one of six Aggies with at least 25 receptions. Quarterback Miles Hastings surpassed 3,000 passing yards in Davis’ 30-14 win at Montana last week. Tight end Ian Simpson broke loose for six catches, 75 yards and a touchdown last week in just his second game.

Remarkable: The winner takes the outright Big Sky title. … MSU’s defense has allowed 290 yards per game, ninth in the FCS. … The Cats are 3-0 all-time in what we used to call Aggie Stadium and lead the series 7-1. … Brothers Rex and Porter Connors have combined for 120 tackles, eight TFLs and five interceptions for the Aggies. … First-year Aggies coach Tim Plow was the backup QB on the 2006 team that defeated MSU 45-0, going 5-for-6 for 69 yards and a touchdown. … The Aggies’ Jackson Cloyd is the league’s Defensive Player of the Week after two sacks against the Griz; kicker Hunter Ridley received the special teams award.

Choose: MSU30-17.