BOZEMAN – Montana State had the state of Montana covered Saturday afternoon and the state of Montana had Montana State covered as well during the Bobcats stunning 31-17 win over FCS powerhouse South Dakota State.
Troy Andersen of Dillon, a senior who’s etched a career with almost unparalleled lore, led the team in tackles (10) and made a solo stop on fourth down inside the MSU 10-yard line early in the game to set the tone. He also made a third down stop that forced SDSU’s first punt of the game early in the second half, sticking beastly SDSU tight end Tucker Kraft in the process.
New Mr. Magnetic Tommy Mellott of Butte turned in perhaps one of the best offensive performances in MSU history when he ran a mind-boggling 34 times for 155 tough – he is from Butte after all – yards and two touchdowns and completed 10 of 15 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s a tough kid right there” MSU All-American defensive end Daniel Hardy said. “Stepping up when his number was called and getting the job done. Not just getting the job done. Tommy’s been balling.”
The state of Montana, particularly in the Mining City, has taken the Treasure State by storm. Earlier this month, the Montana Standard newspaper ran multiple ads from businesses wishing congratulations and good luck to Mellott and his teammates. That enthusiasm is sure to kick into a frenzy after Saturday’s performance.
“I’m telling you, you go to Butte, America, I’ve been there a few times, played in some games and they are a different kind of passionate,” Andersen said. “Tommy, I can’t say enough about kid. His leadership, his poise, his humility and how well he stepped into this role, we are lucky we have that kid. Tommy Touchdown, he might not like it, but I’m going to keep calling him that (laughs).”
RJ Fitzgerald of Dillon is more well known for his blocking in the MSU vaunted run game, but on this day he made his mark with two tackles inside the 20 on kickoff returns. After MSU’s final touchdown he could be seen dancing, which he isn’t well know for, just off the sideline with Tre Webb, Jeffrey Manning and Hardy.
Physical senior wide receiver Lance McCutcheon of Bozeman hauled in five Mellott passes for 98 yards and one TD. His score gave MSU a commanding 31-17 lead. Tight end Treyton Pickering of tiny Sunburst had one catch for 33 yards that ignited a touchdown drive that resulted in a Bobcat touchdown.
MSU junior linebacker Callahan O’Reilly of Bozeman had six tackles, including a half-tackle for loss. Freshman defensive back Rylan Ortt from Missoula had the unenviable task of replacing All-BSC nickel back Ty Okada, but there was no sign of a drop off at that spot. Ortt had an Okada-ian game with five tackles, including two solo.
Another defensive player from Missoula that had an even more unenviable task was Byron Rollins for Chase Benson of Helena is a first team All-BSC defensive tackle and one of the emotional leaders of the Bobcats. Rollins bogged down the SDSU run game in the second half with two tackles and helped MSU pitch a shutout after halftime.
“That’s an awesome defense,” SDSU offensive lineman Wes Genant said. “They play really physical. Football’s a fickle game we did one wrong thing on every play they made. All credit to (Montana State), they’re a great defense.”
Montana State freshman center Justus Perkins of Bozeman didn’t have a bad snap in the game and not too many people can recall any during the entire season, which adds to the adage of ‘if you don’t get noticed on the offensive line, you must be doing a good job.’
O’Reilly and Andersen are MSU’s linebacking combo. They stand just a few feet away from each other all game and rely on their chemistry to make plays. Sometimes, however, that chemistry is all they have due to being drowned out by crowd noise. Such was the case in this game.
“The crowd was awesome today,” Andersen said. “Cal is just a couple yards away from me and I was yelling at him, and I know he couldn’t hear me.”
That’s because a whole bunch of Montanans – 20,457 of them to be exact – were on their game as well. MSU’s fans helped force two false starts by the Jackrabbits late in the game to take the heart of the SDSU offense away.
The Jackrabbits had gotten to the MSU 8-yard line and were set up in first and goal, but two false starts and a sack took SDSU from first and goal from the eight to fourth and goal from the 26 where SDSU quarterback Chris Oladokun threw incomplete to all but end the game.
Many longtime observers said that it was the most consistently loud crowd in stadium history. No doubt they had their players backs.
“You guys have heard me said this a thousand times,” Hardy said. “Montana State has the best fans in the FCS hands down. Those guys show up no matter how cold it is. Some of them were here earlier than me. Best crowd. Best stadium. Best in the FCS.”
