MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Miles Hastings threw three touchdown passes and Lan Larison had 144 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown in his eighth consecutive game Saturday night to help UC Davis beat Montana 30-14 in a Big Sky Conference clash between two teams in the Top 10 of the FCS coaches poll.
No. 4 UC Davis (9-1, 6-0) has won nine games in a row since a season-opening 31-13 loss at California of the FBS. The Aggies are tied atop the conference standings with Montana State and play host to the second-ranked Bobcats next Saturday.
No. 7 Montana (7-3, 4-2) had its three-game win streak snapped and fell out of contention for the conference title. The Grizzlies are two games behind UC Davis and in-state rival Montana State in a third-place tie with No. 12 Idaho and Northern Arizona (RV) in a Big Sky that could produce as many a five FCS playoff participants this season.
Hastings was 28-of-38 passing for 227 yards. Larison finished with 97 yards rushing on 24 carries and added six receptions for 48 yards, including a 1-yard TD catch that made it 27-14 with 12:35 to play.
Hunter Ridley kicked field goals of 42 and 41 yards in the second quarter and 40 yards to cap the scoring with 9:52 to play.
Montana alternated between quarterbacks Logan Fife, a redshirt junior transfer from Fresno State, and redshirt freshman Keali’i Ah Yat — whose father, Brian Ah Yat, played quarterback for UM, is a member of the Grizzly Sports Hall of Fame and led Montana to the 19 96 1-AA national championship game. Fife was 13-of-23 passing for 147 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Junior Bergen that opened the scoring with about 9 minutes left in the first quarter, with an interception. Ah Yah completed 7 of 18 passes for 62 yards with an interception and scored on a 2-yard run that gave the Grizzlies a 14-13 lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter.
Montana is 9-2 all-time against the Aggies, 4-2 at home.
___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football