Ogden, UT -- (Sports Network) - There is an active earthquake fault that runs behind the visitor's side stands at Weber State's Stewart Stadium.

But it wasn't a tremor that shook things up here on Saturday, it was Weber State with an earth-shaking 45-28 victory over third-ranked Montana on a rain- soaked day.

Trevyn Smith rushed 22 times for 158 yards and one touchdown, and Cameron Higgins connected on 21-of-30 passes for 237 yards and four TDs to fuel the Wildcat offense in its first win over Montana since 1998.

"We didn't stop the run well enough," said Montana coach Bobby Hauck. "Trevyn Smith was special today."

Weber State's defense also got into the act, holding the Grizzly attack to seven points in the final quarter and a half, forcing four turnovers and sacking Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist seven times.

Safety Scotty Goodloe recovered two Grizzly fumbles, the second one setting up Smith's five-yard touchdown blast that gave the Wildcats a 17-point, 38-21 just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter.

"It's not like we barely beat them, we beat them pretty convincingly," said Goodloe. "We knew to give us a good chance to win, we had to force some turnovers."

The loss for Montana (4-1, 0-1) snapped a streak of 25 consecutive regular season wins and 16 Big Sky Conference victories.

"We've got as much talent as anyone in (FCS)," Smith said. "Why not show it to everyone?"

That talent wasn't enough early on, when Montana raced out to 14-3 and 21-10 leads. The Wildcats missed several scoring opportunities with Mike Phillips dropping a sure touchdown pass, Higgins forcing a throw in the back of the end zone for a Shann Schillinger interception and kicker Jon Williams missing a 37-yard field goal.

Phillips later hauled in an eight-yard scoring strike from Higgins to give the Wildcats a 31-21 advantage as they roared to 28 straight points after their poor first-quarter start.

Bryant Eteuati was also a factor for Weber State with seven receptions, 186 all-purpose yards and a 28-yard touchdown catch that sealed the win with 8:41 remaining.

Gradually, Weber State (4-2, 2-0) took control on both sides of the ball with outstanding line play.

"We were wanted to put some more pressure on the quarterback and give them some heat," said Weber State coach Ron McBride. "We had to get out of giving up them big plays on third down."

The Grizzlies were 2-of-8 on third down conversions in the second half.

Montana still piled up 410 yards of total offense, compared to 429 for Weber State, but the Grizzlies couldn't overcome numerous mistakes.

"Coach Hauck told us today, before the game, we couldn't turn the ball over and win," said Bergquist, who completed 14-of-26 passes for 273 yards, two TDs, two interceptions). "Weber State's defensive line had an advantage knowing we were down a couple of scores (in the second half) and had to pass."

Montana's loss, combined with Eastern Washington's shocking 47-36 setback at Portland State, means that next week's trip for Montana to EWU will likely be an elimination game for the two teams expected to challenge for the Big Sky championship.

"We've got a lot of work to do, a lot to correct," said Montana receiver Mike Ferriter. "That was not our best performance today. All credit to Weber State, but we didn't play very well. The film from this game will be invaluable."

Weber State, meanwhile, has vaulted to the top of the Big Sky standings with Northern Arizona.

"This is sweet," said McBride, who was showered with Powerade at the end of the game. "Every place you are at, you have some signature wins and this is a signature win for us."

McBride also said it was another step forward for his fledgling team.

"What I want to do is see this program succeed. I want to see it go where it hasn't gone before. That is my goal here to take this program where it hasn't been."