Portland St. at No. 10/11 Montana  

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.; TV — MTN. Web — ESPN+; Radio — Grizzly Radio Network

Where: Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217, FieldTurf) 

Records: Portland St. Is 2-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Sky. Montana is 7-3 and 4-2. 

When the Vikings have the ball: It starts with Dante Cachere, whose 2,015 career rushing yards are most ever by a PSU quarterback. He’s thrown for 1,632 yards and 12 TDs this season and run for 637 and 12 scores. Freshman Delon Thomas is next in rushing with 534 yards and five TDs. Branden Alvarez is the top receiver with 34 receptions for 453 yards, and freshman Eric Denham is averaging 18 yards on his 24 catches. 

When the Grizzlies have the ball: Through 10 games Logan Fife (1,479 yards, 11 TDs and 2 interceptions) has built a statistical advantage over freshman Keali’i Ah Yat. Both remain listed as co-starters at QB. Eli Gillman (787 yards, 7.0 a carry) and Co. have slipped to 11th in the FCS in rushing offense. Junior Bergen  is now second on UM in receptions with 37; Keelan White has 45 catches for 494 yards. Both have three TDs. 

Notable: This will be the fifth ranked opponent for the Vikings, who boast the most difficult strength of schedule in the FCS according to Massey Ratings. ... UM leads the series 34-13, 19-4 in Missoula and PSU’s last win came in 2018 at Montana (22-20). ... PSU had two field goals blocked in a 56-14 loss at Boise State, but kicker Mathias Uribe in 9-for-9 otherwise. ... LB Ryan Tirrell has a team-high 75 tackles for the Griz, while Hayden Harris has 14 TFLs, 7.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. ... As the Inter Lake’s Jon Allen pointed out, if you added the Grizzlies’ rush totals for their last two games (145 yards), it’d still be their worst output of 2024. 

Pick: Griz, 42-14. 

*****

No. 2/2 Montana State at No. 4/4 UC Davis

When: Saturday, 6 p.m.; TV — CBS. Web — ESPN+; Radio — Bobcat Radio Network 

Where: UC Davis Health Stadium (10,743, Shaw Sports Turf) 

Records: MSU is 10-0 overall, 6-0 in the Big Sky. Davis is 9-1, 6-0. 

When the Bobcats have the ball: Tommy Mellott has run for 10 scores and thrown for 19, keying an offense that has scored at least 30 points in every game this season. Scottre Humphrey has eight 100-yard games, helping the Cats rank first in the FCS in rushing (333-yard average).  Tight end Rohan Jones is still the top receiver with 352 yards and six TDs, but Taco Dowler and Ty McCullouch have combined to catch nine touchdowns. 

When the Aggies have the ball: Lan Larison ranks ninth in the FCS in rushing yards (1,051), and has the most receiving yards (577) of any running back. He’s one of six Aggies with at least 25 receptions. Quarterback Miles Hastings crossed 3,000 passing yards last week in Davis’ 30-14 win at Montana. Tight end Ian Simpson got loose for six catches, 75 yards and a TD last week, in just his second game.  

Notable: The winner clinches the outright Big Sky title. ... MSU’s defense has allowed 290 yards a game, ninth in the FCS. ... The Cats are 3-0 all-time at what we used to call Aggie Stadium and leads the series 7-1. ... Brothers Rex and Porter Connors have combined for 120 tackles, eight TFLs and five interceptions for the Aggies. ... First-year Aggies coach Tim Plough was backup QB on the 2006 team that beat MSU 45-0 and was 5-for-6 passing for 69 yards and a TD. ... The Aggies’ Jackson Cloyd is the league’s defensive player of the week after two sacks against the Griz; kicker Hunter Ridley got the award on special teams.  

Pick: MSU 30-17.