UC Davis (1-0) hosts Montana (1-0). No market line yet; the model calls it close to even.
What’s at stake
UC Davis
- UC Davis is the Big Sky blue blood that owns the Causeway Classic rivalry with Sacramento State — winning the last three meetings including a 31-27 victory in the finale on November 22, 2025 — only to watch the Hornets leave for the FBS and end the series, stranding the Aggies without their defining annual game.
Montana
- Montana hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2021.
The series
Montana leads the series 8-2
10 meetings since 1926 · UC Davis won the last meeting
- 2024UC Davis 30–14
- 2023Montana 31–23
- 2019Montana 45–20
- 2018UC Davis 49–21
- 2015Montana 27–13
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Montana
The chip · vs big brotherMontana State''s ascendancy stings because it came from within the state, on Montana''s home field. The Bobcats are now the elite program in the Cat-Griz rivalry after decades of dominance by the Grizzlies. For a program built on consistency and Big Sky supremacy, losing that title to your rival—especially with the coach who defined the modern era retiring—feels less like a passing phase and more like a changing of the guard.
What this game touches
2025 Montana State Sweep—Loss of Generational Identity. Montana State defeated Montana twice in 2025 (31–28 in the regular-season Brawl of the Wild, 48–23 in the FCS semifinals), winning the Big Sky championship and advancing to the national title game while Montana''s season ended in the semis. For a program that led the all-time series 74–44–5 just one year prior, the back-to-back losses to its fiercest rival—combined with Bobby Hauck''s retirement citing the ''unenjoyable'' state of modern college football—mark the end of a 23-year winning era.
UC Davis
The chipUC Davis fans believe the Big Sky is a legitimate FCS home — not a stepping stone — and that the program's Sochor legacy and recent playoff runs prove the FCS is where this program thrives. They say Sacramento State's departure is about market ambition, not UC Davis's inadequacy. They won the field. That's enough.
Conditions
UC Davis is 72% at home, 60% on the road since 2018 (28-11 home, 28-19 away).
Recent games
UC Davis
- Wk 1Wat Portland State31-24
Montana
- Wk 1Wvs Southern Utah28-21
Conference standings
- UC Davis#31-0
- Montana#51-0