Score:  No. 9 UC Davis 17, No. 3 Montana State 38
Location: Bozeman, Mont. (Bobcat Stadium)
Records: UC Davis 7-3 (5-2), Montana State 9-2 (7-0)
 
The short story: No. 9 UC Davis football came out fast, but No. 3 Montana State pulled away over four quarters to secure a Big Sky Conference win over the Aggies on ESPN2.
 
FIRST DOWN

• UC Davis held Montana State to its lowest output of offense against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent this season
• Caden Pinnick went 22-for-36 with 234 yards passing and two passing touchdowns, he added 70 yards rushing, on 22 carries for a total of 304 all-purpose yards
• Samuel Gbatu Jr., made a game-high 10 catches, finishing with 80 yards and one touchdown
• Nate Rutchena led the Aggies with seven total tackles (five solo), while Ty Richardson, Jayden Stanley, Jackson Sievers and Jacob Psyk all added five tackles each

WHAT HEAD COACH TIM PLOUGH HAD TO SAY:
"Whenever you lose a football game you're disappointed, but we are not a pat on the back program. You either win a football game or you learn, but when you lose it starts with me. I must do a better job of getting our guys ready to play in that environment. Our guys played their hearts out tonight. I thought the defense was tremendous against one of the better offenses in the country. I thought our offensive guys had some great moments, but the turnovers did us in tonight. Montana State is a great team with a great coaching staff and that's why they are ranked as high as they are. And we need to keep working hard on how we can get to the point where we beat these teams and win the conference. I'm proud of this team, and I love coaching these guys. We are fortunate that we have one more football game left and hopefully a few more after that."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Aggies struck first in the game, getting on the board early when they scored a touchdown on their second drive of the game
• UC Davis went 73 yards in just six plays using a 30-yard pitch and catch from Pinnick to Stacy Dobbins midway through the drive to punch deep into Montana State territory
• The drive was capped off by Pinnick finding Ian Simpson coming down the seam from 29 yards out and when the Aggie tight end crossed the goal line UC Davis took a quick 7-0 lead
• The Ags took that lead into the second quarter, but Montana State tied things up in the first drive of the period, making it 7-7
• Late in the second quarter, the Bobcats took the lead for the first time in the game when they capped off a six-play 63-yard drive with an 18-yard pass to make it 14-7
• Montana State took the 14-7 lead into the break
• Coming out of halftime, Montana State kicked a 28-yard field goal which put them up 17-7
• But on the next Aggie drive, Montana State put the distance it needed between them and UC Davis when Pinnick's pass was intercepted and taken back 83 yards for a touchdown, quickly making it 24-7
• At the start of the fourth quarter, Hunter Ridley split the uprights from 36 yards out to get the Aggies within 24-10
• Unfortunately for the Aggies, on the next offensive possession, Pinnick again threw an interception to Caden Dowler, who returned it 33 yards for Montana State and it ended the Aggie drive
• Montana State would score a touchdown on its next possession to take a 31-10 lead
• UC Davis did not quit following the Montana State score, answering with an eight-play 75-yard scoring drive that was finished off when Pinnick found Gbatu Jr., 10 yards out for six and it put the score at 31-17 with just under four minutes to go
• The Bobcats would respond with another touchdown, scoring from 18 yards out on a rush to extend the lead to 38-17
• And when the final whistle blew the Aggies had fallen, 38-17 to the Bobcats

GAME NOTES

• Montana State's 377 total offensive yards was the lowest they have had this season against an FCS team
• Gbatu Jr., becomes the first Aggie this season to catch at least 10 balls in a game
• Jacob Psyk recorded half a sack, and now has eight total on the season
• This was the Aggies' third game on national television this season
• It was the season-straight year the Aggies were on ESPN2 when playing a game in the state of Montana

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