Nov. 8—Sacramento St. at No. 2/2 Montana State
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.; TV — MTN. Web — ESPN+; Radio — Bobcat Radio Network
Where: Bobcat Stadium (17,777, FieldTurf)
Records: Sac State is 3-6 overall, 1-4 in the Big Sky. MSU is 9-0 and 5-0.
When the Hornets have the ball: Quarterback Carson Conklin averages 226.8 passing yards a game, third in the Big Sky. His main targets are Anderson Grover and Jared Gipson, who combine for over 130 yards a game. They have combined for 12 touchdowns. Running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver averages 103.3 rushing yards a game, but didn’t play in last week’s home loss to Portland State. Freshman Curran Borders is next on the two-deep.
When the Bobcats have the ball: Tommy Mellott threw his first interception last week, but continues to shine — he became the fourth Bobcat to reach 3,000 career rushing yards with a game-changing 76-yard TD run. Scottre Humphrey has six 100-yard rushing games, and Adam Jones returned to the lineup last week while Julius Davis made his first appearance of 2024. Tight end Rohan Jones is still the top receiver with 305 yards and 6 TDs.
Notable: The Hornets own the last win by a Big Sky opponent at Bobcat Stadium, 34-21 in 2019. Since then MSU is 39-1 at home. … MSU leads the series 18-8. … The Bobcats lead the FCS in scoring (41.7 points per game) and total offense (510.4 yards). … Second-year Sac State coach Andy Thompson, a Montana alum, is 1-5 in Big Sky road games. … MSU allows 102 rushing yards a game, ninth in the FCS.
Pick: Cats, 47-16.
No. 4/4 UC Davis at No. 7/7 Montana
When: Saturday, 8:15 p.m.; TV — ESPN2. Web — ESPN+; Radio — Grizzly Radio Network
Where: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217 FieldTurf)
Records: UC Davis is 8-1, 5-0 in the Big Sky. Montana is 7-2 and 4-1.
When the Aggies have the ball: Running back Lan Larison is the real deal, backing up his preseason Big Sky MVP nod 964 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing and team highs of 40 catches and 529 receiving yards (with another 5 scores). Meanwhile Miles Hastings has a bounce-back season at QB, completing 69 percent of his passes for 311 yards a game. He has 23 TDs and six interceptions. Samuel Gbatu Jr and Chaz Davis each have five TD catches as well.
When the Grizzlies have the ball: Logan Fife and Keali’i Ah Yat shared snaps last week and likely will Saturday night. The passes get spread around, but Keelan White had a one-handed grab for his team-best third TD reception of the season last week. Xavier Harris also caught his third TD of 2024 against Cal Poly. Junior Bergen’s numbers are down, but he has 31 catches and 2 TDs. Eli Gillman is averaging 103 rushing yards a game and forms a potent 1-2 punch with Nick Ostmo.
Notable: Montana leads the series 9-1, with the UC Davis win coming 49-21 in 2018 at Wa-Griz. … Nick Osmo sits no. 5 in UM history with 2,532 career rushing yards. … After NAU scored to go up 20-10 in an eventual 31-20 loss to UM, the Griz defense allowed one TD in 26 possessions. … UM appealed a targeting penalty safety Tyson Rostad picked up against Cal Poly and was denied. He’ll sit the first half.
Pick: Griz, 31-29.
