MISSOULA – Montana’s offense, which has been one of the nation’s best this season, could not go unnoticed Saturday as the seventh-ranked Grizzlies sputtered to a 30-14 loss to No. 4 UC Davis in Washington Grizzly Stadium.

It was only the Aggies’ second-ever win over the Grizzlies, who entered the game with a 9-1 all-time lead in the head-to-head series.

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Montana’s offensive struggles wouldn’t have been expected — based on the amount of work this season and the early going of Saturday’s game, because things couldn’t have started much better for Montana. The Griz held Davis to 15 yards on the game’s opening possession and then marched straight down the field on a seven-play, 72-yard drive, capped by a 23-yard Junior Bergen touchdown reception from quarterback Logan Fife. Fife operated on the drive, completing 4 of 4 passes for 55 yards and scrambling for another 13 yards.

But the Griz offense stalled for the rest of the first half and the Aggies started to gain some foothold. Davis answered UM’s touchdown with his own TD – a two-yard flip to Trent Tompkins to tie the game at 7-7. That would be the score for the second quarter as the teams traded three-and-outs over the next five drives.

Davis took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Hunter Ridley after the Griz defense – and the Washington-Grizzly Stadium crowd – kept the Aggies out of the end zone. Davis had driven to the UM 13-yard line, but two false starts, a one-play delay and a negative play pushed the Aggies back to the 30. They gained 5 yards on third-and-27 to set up Ridley’s field goal.

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The Griz offense gained some momentum on the next drive with Fife and running back Eli Gillman working together to get Montana deep into Davis territory. But facing third-and-10 from the Aggies’ 11-yard line, Fife was intercepted in the end zone by Davis defender Rex Connors to keep the score at 10-7.

The Davis offense did nothing with the possession, punting after three plays and giving Montana another scoring opportunity before halftime. However, the Griz turned the ball over on downs at the Aggies’ 42-yard line.

This time, Davis took advantage, quickly gaining 34 yards to get within field goal range. Ridley was good from 41 yards, and Davis entered the half with a 13-7 lead.

After both teams traded points to start the second half, Keali’i Ah Yat – again splitting time with Fife at QB – helped give the lead back to Montana midway through the third quarter. The redshirt freshman first ran 12 yards to start the drive and then, on a designed quarterback pull from the Davis 18-yard line, through an Aggies defender and dragged another from the 6-yard line to the 1. Three plays later Ah Yat helicoptered into the end zone on a two-yard scramble. The point-after attempt gave Montana a 14-13 lead with 6:51 to play in the third quarter.

James Dobson / For MTN Sports

But just like after Montana’s first touchdown, the Aggies had an answer. They drove 75 yards in eight plays — highlighted by running back Lan Larison catching a screen pass and stymieing a Griz defender on a 15-yard gain — with QB Miles Hastings finding Ian Simpson for a 22-yard run-in touchdown. Davis took a 20-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Aggies made it a two-score game early in the fourth on a TD pass from Hastings to Larison. The seven-play, 60-yard drive included a fourth-down conversion when the Griz had too many defenders on the field and a trick play where receiver C.J. Hutton completed a 29-yard pass to Simpson.

On the first play of Montana’s ensuing drive, Ah Yat was intercepted by Davis linebacker Porter Connors, setting up Ridley’s third field goal of the game.

Montana had three more offensive possessions the rest of the game, with those drives ending in a punt and twice on turnovers on downs. The Griz had just 286 total yards of offensive margin: 209 through the air and 77 on the ground. Ah Yat led the team with 29 yards on seven carries. He was 7 of 18 passing for 62 yards, while Fife completed 13 of 23 passes for 147 yards.

Hastings completed 28 of 38 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns for the Aggies, who got 97 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards from Larison.

Turning point: In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Davis lined up to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the UM 41-yard line. The Aggies got a first down because Montana had too many players on the field, and three plays later Larison was in the end zone to make it a two-possession game.

Statistics of the game: Montana had just 286 yards of offense, 170 yards lower than the season average. The Griz entered the game ranked third in the FCS in scoring offense (39.4 points per game) and eighth in total offense (456 yards per game).

Grizzly play balls: WR Junior Bergen (Attack). Bergen didn’t get many chances in the return game, but he was Montana’s most consistent player on offense. He finished with six catches for 92 yards and the game’s first touchdown.

S Ryder Meyer (Defense). Meyer finished with a game-high 17 tackles, including eight solo and one tackle for loss. Fellow safety Jaxon Lee was involved in 13 tackles.

What’s next: Montana (7-3 overall, 4-2 Big Sky) is back at Washington-Grizzly Stadium next week for the final home game of the regular season against Portland State (2-7, 2-4). Kickoff is scheduled for next Saturday at 1:00 PM and the match will be broadcast on the MTN channel throughout Montana.

UC Davis (9-1, 6-0), which has now won nine straight games, will play another big game next week in what will be the de facto championship game of the Big Sky Conference. The Aggies host second-ranked Montana State (10-0, 6-0) next Saturday at 6 p.m. Mountain Time. The game will be broadcast on CBS affiliates throughout Montana.