. . . at that point, with almost half the fourth quarter gone, Davis appeared poised to walk out of the dome with a victory. That’s when Bison safety Michael Tutsie had the first of two game-saving interceptions in the latter stages of the fourth quarter. Davis was close to taking down the third-longest winning streak in FCS history.
“Sometimes you look at the end and go, oh, if you don’t turn it over, we had a couple penalties along the way that hurt us,” Hawkins said. “But credit the Bison. They played well.” It ended a remarkable string of betting lines by oddsmakers in Vegas, who got the first three Bison games within a 1½ points. This one was teetering somewhere around 20 to 25 most of the week, but Vegas appeared to underestimate the most productive quarterback in Davis history. Those guys in the ‘80s were good. None of them had the arm strength that senior Jake Maier displayed on Saturday. He may very well be the best at his position the Bison will see this season. And this may turn out to be a difference-maker game when the playoff field is announced.
“It is a nonconference game but that was a big game for us as far as it goes into the playoffs,” said Davis senior linebacker Eric Flowers. “But we are taking it one week at a time. We have the Griz next week.” That would be the University of Montana, which could be a clash of Big Sky Conference contenders now that Eastern Washington appears to have fallen on hard times. The Eagles, last year’s FCS runnerup to the Bison, are 1-3 without a Division I victory.
Look out for Davis. Hawkins said he’s getting recruits with FBS offers and the school is building a $50 million athletics facility. The Aggies are back on the national stage.
