The final weekend of October tightened the Big Sky Conference race heading into the stretch run. Montana State and Northern Arizona both won Saturday to enter November tied for first place at 5-1 in league play. The Bobcats overwhelmed Cal Poly at home, and the Lumberjacks rallied in the second half at Southern Utah. Weber State sits a half game back at 5-2 after a convincing home win over UC Davis. Montana and Idaho are 4-2 after road wins at Eastern Washington and Portland State. Idaho State needed two defensive touchdowns in the final eight minutes to escape Utah Tech.
Idaho 38, Portland State 14
Joshua Wood was efficient and explosive at Hillsboro Stadium, completing 16 of 25 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Wood hit Zack Card for a 28-yard score on Idaho’s opening drive and found Damonte Bias for a 6-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. The backbreaker came with 44 seconds left before halftime, when Ryan Jezioro got behind the defense for a 77-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead. Jezioro finished with five catches for 194 yards, nearly 39 yards per reception. Bias opened the second half with a 4-yard touchdown run, and Wood added a 1-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Idaho outgained the Vikings 469-294, and the Vandal defense held Portland State to 13 rushing yards. Mitchel Jaskowiak had a sack and three tackles for loss. Terence Loville caught nine passes for 114 yards and both Viking touchdowns. Idaho improved to 4-5 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Northern Arizona 34, Southern Utah 27
Northern Arizona trailed Southern Utah 10-0 after one quarter and 10-6 at halftime, then took over in the third. The Lumberjacks scored three touchdowns in less than eight minutes: a 1-yard Quran Gossett run, a 41-yard Ty Pennington pass to Jeter Purdy, and a 2-yard Pennington keeper that made it 27-10. Pennington was nearly perfect, completing 23 of 27 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns while adding 91 rushing yards and a score. Gossett ran for 131 yards on 16 carries and caught five passes for 72 more. Pennington’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Luke Edgecomb with 7:52 left proved necessary because SUU scored the final 10 points. Floyd Chalk’s second touchdown run cut the lead to seven with 2:23 remaining. Chalk finished with 130 rushing yards. NAU piled up 512 total yards and improved to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in Big Sky play. Southern Utah fell to 3-6 and 2-4.
Weber State 38, UC Davis 14
Weber State moved within a half game of the league lead with a convincing win over UC Davis at Stewart Stadium. Nate Dahle threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 79 yards and another score. The Wildcats led 10-7 after one quarter. They pulled away in the second with a David Dellenbach field goal and a 12-yard Dahle touchdown run, and Mapa Vaenuku’s two-point run made it 21-7 at halftime. Early in the third quarter, Dahle hit Seth Rigtrup for a 52-yard touchdown. Noah Kjar caught seven passes, including a 6-yard score, and Dellenbach made three field goals. Weber outgained the Aggies 500-386. Da’Veon Ross had nine tackles and two sacks, and Teni Worthen returned an interception 60 yards. Jordan Fisher carried 27 times for 128 yards for UC Davis, and Zach Jones caught a 38-yard touchdown. Weber State is 6-4 overall and 5-2 in league play. UC Davis dropped to 5-4 and 3-3.
Idaho State 34, Utah Tech 27
Idaho State’s defense scored twice in the final eight minutes to steal a win in St. George. The Bengals trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and 27-20 midway through the fourth. Then Zion To’oto’o scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yards to tie the game with 7:54 left. With 55 seconds remaining, Trehsyn Fesili intercepted Bronson Barben and returned it 43 yards for the winning touchdown. Utah Tech dominated most of the box score, outgaining ISU 424-255 and holding the ball for nearly 38 minutes, but committed four turnovers. Jordan Cooke threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, both to Tommy Poe, who caught seven passes for 96 yards. Mason Lindberg made field goals of 47 and 27 yards. Barben threw for 260 yards and two scores, including a 79-yarder to Mike Williams on the opening drive. Idaho State improved to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in league play. Utah Tech fell to 1-8 and 1-5.
Montana State 61, Cal Poly 7
Montana State had the game decided before the end of the first quarter. Carter Dahlke returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The Bobcats led 27-0 after one quarter and 48-7 at halftime in front of 21,897 at Bobcat Stadium. Justin Lamson completed 15 of 19 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more. Dahlke added six catches for 103 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown. MSU ran for 285 yards, with Adam Jones and Colson Coon also scoring on the ground. Backup Patrick Duchien threw a 26-yard touchdown to Jordan Reed on the final play of the third quarter. The defense forced three turnovers: two interceptions by Caden Dowler and one by Brock Steel. Cal Poly’s only score was a 28-yard pass from Bo Kelly to Tayvion McCoy late in the first half. Montana State outgained the Mustangs 518-258 and improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
Montana 42, Eastern Washington 33
Brooks Davis caught nine passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns as Montana outlasted Eastern Washington at Roos Field. Davis opened the scoring with a 75-yard touchdown on the first possession. He caught a 51-yarder on the final play of the first half for a 21-13 lead, and he sealed the win with a 61-yard score with 1:54 left. Keali’i Ah Yat completed 21 of 28 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. Eli Gillman ran for 145 yards and two scores, including a 68-yard run early in the fourth quarter that made it 35-27, and he caught a touchdown pass. Eastern answered nearly every Griz score. The Eagles pulled within 35-33 with three minutes left, but their two-point try failed. Montana intercepted Nate Bell three times, and Clay Oven and Peyton Wing each had two sacks. The Griz improved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Sky play.
