The Score - No. 3 seed Weber State (11-3) beat No. 6 seed Montana (10-4) 17-10 in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

Story Line - Weber State avenged a 35-16 loss to Montana in the Big Sky regular season to reach the national semifinals for the first time in its third straight quarterfinal. The Wildcats had five interceptions and six sacks against Griz quarterback Dalton Sneed just six days after the visitors scored 73 in a second-round win.

Game Balls - Sneed felt the wrath of Weber senior defensive end Adam Rodriguez, who had four sacks. The play of the game, though, was turned in by freshman Ja'Kobe Harris, who blocked a Brandon Purdy punt deep in Montana territory and fell on the ball in the Griz end zone for a touchdown which made it 17-7 with 9:41 left to play.

Key Stats - A two-time FCS champion and seven-time finalist, Montana is just 2-11 all-time in playoff road games. Considering Weber State managed only 113 offensive yards, the 5-0 turnover margin made all the difference with George Tarlas intercepting two passes and Maxwell Anderson, Eddie Heckard and Noah Vaea one each. Also, give credit to Montana senior linebacker Dante Olson, who had 14 tackles to set the Big Sky single-season record (179) and the Griz's all-time mark (393).

The Takeaway - What a nightmarish game for Sneed and a dream come true for the Wildcats, who have become one of the elite FCS programs under coach Jay Hill (their 32 wins in the last three seasons are the fourth-most nationally). Quarterback Jake Constantine is never confused with being spectacular, but he didn't turn the ball over after throwing three picks in the regular-season loss to UM. Still, the offense was held under 70 rushing yards for the third time in the last four games. Josh Davis, the 2018 STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award winner as the national freshman of the year, isn't fully healthy.

Up Next - Weber State next travels to No. 2 seed James Madison (13-1) for a national semifinal Dec. 21. The Wildcats lost 31-28 to the Dukes on a game-ending field goal in the 2017 quarterfinals. Last month, the two schools announced a home-and-home series for 2021 and '22.