BOZEMAN – Montana State and quarterback Sean Chambers overran rundown Stetson University 57-20 in a mismatch of epic proportions on Saturday afternoon here.
Chambers was 9 for 13 for 140 yards and ran five times for 55 yards and two touchdowns in the first half building a 41-6 lead.
The win helps Montana State bounce back from last week’s 20-16 loss to No. 1 South Dakota State and move to 2-1 on the season.
“He (Chambers) was comfortable,” running back Julius Davis said. “Made his reads, made his plays. And did what he did running. That’s what he does, but you saw a little bit of his arm as well. He’s been training for that all year.”
The Hatters, from DeLand, Florida, endured a delayed flight that landed in Bozeman and the team then traveled by bus 90 miles to Helena – arriving at 5:30 in the morning – for lodging. The team and staff then had to return to Bozeman shortly after. Stetson did not arrive at Bobcat Stadium until 73 minutes before the scheduled 1 p.m. kickoff.
The non-scholarship team then nicely acquitted themselves in the second half with a pair of touchdowns to help the Hatters cover the spread in a game Vegas predicted the host Bobcats would win by nearly 50 points despite the absence of junior captain and quarterback Tommy Mellott.
Mellott suffered a leg injury against South Dakota State.
The Bobcats scored on their first five drives of the game and got a 28-yard interception return for a score by junior strong safety Rylan Ortt.
MSU didn’t score on the last play of the half, taking a knee instead to closet the first two quarters with a five-touchdown lead.
The only other drives they were held scoreless were on a fumble deep in Stetson territory and the last possession as they ran Bobcat running back Garrett Coon into the middle of the line seven straight times.
Kickers Brendan Hall and Casey Kautzman combined for three field goals. Hall booted one kickoff through the uprights in the fourth quarter. His 36-yard field goal hit the scoreboard some 30 feet above the ground and 20 yards past the back of the end zone.
MSU freshman Scottre Humphrey got the onslaught started with a 4-yard run. Chambers had touchdowns runs of seven and 30 yards before Humphrey added another 4-yard TD run to put MSU up 27-0 just over four minutes into the second quarter.
A 51-yard touchdown run by Jared White was followed by Ortt’s pick-6 to close out the first half scoring for MSU.
“We had a pressure on, and they were running a little RPO,” Ortt said. “I was kind of scraping over the top and the QB pump faked to one guy and I kind of saw his eyes and I was hoping he was going to throw it and he threw it. The D line was blocking for me. It was pretty comfortable. I was like I probably don’t have to make anybody miss those guys are going to handle them.”
“It was good to see Rylan get in the end zone,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “Pretty dominant by and large in that first half and we got a lot of guys some action.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jordan Reed replaced Chambers to the start the second half. Reed looked sharp, but after completing his first pass, the second was dropped by Trimble, then Trimble caught a pass of 32 yards only to fumble it away. The play sparked the Stetson offense which got a 37-yard run on the next play and scored four plays later on a four-yard run by Kaleb Costner to cut the lead to 41-13.
Trimble had a game-high 104 receiving yards and shined returning punts with 67 yards on three returns, including the 37-yarder. The Texas product has had to play an elevated role for MSu with slated starters Ty McCullouch, Lonyatta Alexander Jr., and Taco Dowler all unavailable because of variety of reasons.
“It was good for (Trimble) to get that action,” Vigen said. “Some good and bad there, too. He’s a talented kid. He’s just a kid, he’s a true freshman that through the first two games his only opportunities were punt returns. Learning lessons you only get on a Saturday. Jacob’s a guy I know we’re gonna count on and I’m certainly pleased with the bulk of what he did today.”
MSU threw 30 passes and ran the ball 36 times in one of the most balanced games of the run-heavy Vigen Era. MSU averaged 9.6 yards per carry and scored six rushing touchdowns.
“That was a point of emphasis,” Davis said. “We wanted to get the ball around to different people just to build that confidence around the entire offense and we did that, and successfully, for the most part.”
Stetson also had a fourth quarter touchdown drive of 75 yards on 12 plays against MSU’s third string.
MSU collected 614 yards, while Stetson had 280 with a majority of those coming in the second half. Aside from Chambers, four Bobcats ran for 49 yards or more led by White’s 80 yards on just four carries. Davis had 66 yards on seven totes, and Humphrey 53 on the same number of runs.
“Our ability to run the football and stop the run is where it starts,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “It’s a game we throw it 30 times (Chambers 13, Reed 17), but if Sean threw it all 30 times it would be interesting to see what that looks like.
“Jordan played the bulk of the second half. That’s some valuable experience. I’m sure there was some good, but 10 incompletions so there’s some bad with that too. His time will come at some point and his opportunities today were invaluable.”
The Bobcats were dealt their first serious injury to a starter when Caden Dowler, who splits starting time with Level Price, Jr. at nickelback, was lost for the season with a leg injury. Defensive tackle Zach Black suffered a similar fate against SDSU.
“Caden got dinged up in the game (SDSU) and then took it a little bit further in practice,” Vigen said. .
The game was the last of the nonconference schedule as the Bobcats begin preparations for tough Big Sky foe Weber State this Monday.
The Wildcats, a perennial FCS playoff team the last eight years and Big Sky contender for the same span, have been impressive through three games. They only trailed No. 12 \ Utah 17-7 at halftime Saturday before succumbing 31-7. They have wins over strong NCAA Division II Central Washington (35-10) and Northern Iowa (34-17) to their credit.
MSU travels to Ogden, Utah for this Saturday’s game against the Wildcats at 6:00.
