MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies picked up a crucial win in their final week of non-conference play and are now focusing on the task ahead, and it's not an easy one.
The 18th-ranked Griz will be taking on the No. 4-ranked UC Davis Aggies on their home turf in northern California for the Big Sky Conference football opener.
Davis has been a top team in the Big Sky the past year and a half. In 2018, they went 10-3 before losing in the FCS quarterfinals. In 2019, they're 2-2 but put up a solid fight against North Dakota State, the No. 1 team in the country.
Headed into Saturday's game, Montana faces yet another veteran quarterback and knows a win to open conference would be more than big.
"It's our first conference game, so it's huge. Beyond that, we've got a bunch more coming up, so it's this week's game, and our philosophy is that it's the biggest game in the country because we are in it," said UM coach Bobby Hauck. "I've had a couple days to watch them and they are deserving of every bit of their national ranking. I think they are really terrific football team who absolutely handled us last year, and then you couple that with the fact that they have most of their team back, it's a tall order to go there this week and try to go find a win down there."
The Griz and Aggies kick off at 2 p.m. (MDT) Saturday.
