No. 20 UC Davis hosts storied No. 17 Montana in ‘topsy-turvy’ Big Sky Conference scramble

In the wildly unpredictable football scramble that is the Big Sky Conference, anything goes.

Why and how?

It’s the best collection of teams in the wide-open FCS, which includes STATS FCS-ranked No. 2 Montana State, No. 4 Sacramento State, No. 13 Weber State, No. 17 Montana, No. 20 UC Davis and No. 22 Eastern Washington.

Montana on Saturday afternoon brings its 4-1 record and decades-long pedigree from Missoula to UC Davis, where the field is named after coaching icon Jim Sochor and the team center named after another in Bob Foster. The Grizzlies — or the Griz — celebrated homecoming with a 28-20 victory over Idaho State, coached by last season’s UCD offensive coordinator Cody Hawkins.

He is the son of seventh-year UCD coach Dan Hawkins, whose Aggies are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky. UCD is counting on another overflow home crowd to play a role in thwarting Montana’s intent of vaulting its season by spoiling the Aggies’ Homecoming and pulling a 2-0 sweep of the Hawkins family coaching tree.

In the FCS Coaches Poll, Montana is ranked 13th and UCD 18th. By any measure, the Big Sky teams again have the attention of the FCS landscape. Five Big Sky teams made the FCS playoffs last season with UCD just missing out, an oversight in the minds of many who coach or cover the conference.

“The Big Sky goes on,” Hawkins said Monday during his weekly media conference. “It’s topsy-turvy every week. A lot of near misses by a lot of teams. Everyone is scratching and clawing to make it happen.”

UCD lost its Big Sky home opener to Eastern Washington, 27-24, undone by four turnovers, including a late field goal block. But the Aggies bounced back big with a 31-13 victory over Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo for their seventh consecutive Battle for the Golden Horseshoe win over their rivals.

Hawkins praised his balanced offense, the steady play of quarterback Miles Hastings, and a defense he said was “stellar” against Cal Poly.

“When you measure a season, there’s a lot of things you can factor,” Hawkins said. “(After a loss), you pick yourself up off the mat. You don’t sulk, you don’t pout and you don’t mope. You get back going.”

The Aggies had no turnovers on offense against Cal Poly, rushed for 188 yards, had 430 yards total and allowed just 14 yards rushing. Nick Eaton of Whitney High School had two sacks, forced one fumble and recovered another. Rex Connors had seven tackles, forced a fumble and had an interception. Evan Tattersall of Granite Bay had six tackles and a sack.

In his first start at running back this season, Trent Tompkins rushed 12 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns for UCD as his versatile career roars on. The Fresno native has made plays as a receiver, runner and return specialist. C.J. Hutton of Folsom High had seven receptions from Hastings for 77 yards, and he ran for a score.

‘The old weatherman’

“Davis is a very good football team,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said during his weekly news conference. “They play good defense. They have good players at every level. They make a lot of plays. Offensively, they’re really diverse. It’s going to be 90 degrees. That’s an issue. They’re a complete football team. It’ll be a tall test.”

The projected weather is actually going to be 96 degrees, and Hawkins smiled at the notion that makes for a hot experience on Sochor Field.

“The old weatherman tells me that the temperature will kick up a little bit, which I’m fired up about,” Hawkins said. “Looking forward to another big game in the Big Sky.”

Grizz success

Montana’s success has run from warm to red hot since joining the Big Sky as a founding member 60 seasons ago. The Griz have featured the best players and some of the greatest teams in the history of the Big Sky. They had a streak of 25 consecutive winning seasons, ending in 2011, and they have endured one losing season since 1986.

Montana has won 18 Big Sky championships, seven under Hauck. The program seeks its 27th FCS playoff berth.

Montana is 8-1 all-time against UCD. The first meeting was in 1926, a 21-0 victory in Davis. Montana beat UCD five consecutive times between 2008-2015 before Hawkins and UCD beat the Griz 49-21 on the road in 2018 en route to a share of the Big Sky championship. The teams last played in 2019, a 45-20 Griz win. Montana is 6-0 all-time at UCD.

“The Big Sky rolls on,” Hawkins said. “We’ve got the Griz coming. They’re really good. We know they’re a formidable foe.”