SACRAMENTO – Montana State got a boost from an unlikely source before a more reliable hand sparked the Bobcats to a 42-30 win over its fellow 2022 Big Sky Conference co-champion Sacramento State.
The game was a bit of grudge match as the two teams tied for the league title last season, both going a perfect 8-0 last fall. They hadn’t played each other since the 2019 season and came in as the second (MSU) and third (SAC) ranked teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Montana State used its deliberate, bludgeoning style to turn a 14-7 halftime lead into a 42-24 fourth quarter advantage on the way to its 12th straight Big Sky victory, including its fourth straight to start this season.
“We knew if we could keep leaning on them, we could potentially break them,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “They kept fighting. That’s a good team, that’s a good program. I’m really proud of the guys, that was a tremendous effort. It wasn’t easy. We had to fight through some stuff. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but I think the forward thinking nature of this crew found a way tonight.”
After missing a field goal on its first drive, MSU allowed the Hornets to almost effortlessly drive 80 yards to snag a 7-0 lead – the Bobcats biggest deficit of the season. Then Montana State had to punt the ball back to the Hornets after getting just one first down.
With SAC looking to increase its lead, cornerback Jon Johnson, a junior college transfer from California who had several family members at the game including his parents, snared an errant Kaiden Bennett pass and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown. The pick-6 tied the score and MSU never trailed again. The Bobcats had only trailed for 10:11 all season coming into the game. They would outscore the Hornets 42-17 before allowing a touchdown with just 1:27 to play to move to 6-1 overall and hold steady at No 2 in the FCS.
From there, venerable quarterback Tommy Mellott took over. Running for 105 yards and two touchdowns while passing for 99 yards with nine completions in 14 attempts, the Butte native showed why he’s such a special player. His 11-yard touchdown run, his first of the season, put the Bobcats up 21-7 early in the second half. He would add a nine-yard touchdown for MSU’s next score and a 28-17 lead. The play finished off a crucial drive that followed a long touchdown run and a controversial fumbled kickoff return that allowed the Hornets to creep back into the game.
Mellott surpassed the century mark on the ground for the 8th time in his career.
The game remained tight until the fourth quarter when MSU answered an Elijah Tau-Tolliver touchdown run (his second Saturday) with a quick four play, 63-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a spectacular 49-yard run by Julius Davis. Davis hurdled a defender to get to the Sacramento State 7, then got six yards to the 1 before scoring on the ensuing play to put MSU back up by 11 at 35-24.
“That hurdle run was something else at a time when we needed to answer their score,” Vigen said. “That was an interesting play to say the least.”
MSU got a turnover on downs deep inside Hornet’ territory and then Jared White nimbly evaded a pair of SAC defenders with a 12-yard touchdown run that boosted MSU to a 42-24 lead with just 5:05 to play.
The 42 and 30 points allowed were the most by the both the SAC and MSU’ defenses, respectively, on the season. The previous high for the Bobcats was 22 points by Portland State. The Hornets also tallied the most yards this season against the Bobcats with 434. MSU had 448 yards but on five less plays than SAC.
MSU ran for 328 yards on 49 carries on the night, well below its 7.9 yards per carry average but still coming in at an excellent 6.7 YPC. Davis led the way with 110 yards on 12 toes to join Mellott in the century club for the game. Chambers finished with 60 yards on ten carries, but didn’t have a rushing touchdown in a game for the first time this season, although his touchdown throw to Ty McCullouch was on a rope and gave MSU a 14-7 lead four minutes before halftime.
McCullouch finished with four catches and 53 yards. Clevan Thomas, Jr. had 32 yards on three grabs, while tight end Treyton Pickering had two catches for 20 yards.
“(The Hornets) weren’t just traditional and lining up and putting four guys hands in the ground and playing defense,” Vigen said. “You throw enough things against the wall you hope something sticks, but our physical nature won out.”
Tight end/fullback Derryk Snell and running back Elijah Elliott both sat out on offense for MSU, while the defense was missing nickle back Level Price, Jr. On the third play of the game, Danny Uluilakepa suffered a serious injury to his left arm and had to get attention from the on-site phe and cornerback Simeon Woodard also didn’t finish the game with an unspecified injury.
“Miles Jackson and (tight end) Ryan Lonergan, those two in particular, big games by them,” Vigen said. “(Safety) Blake Stillwell had to go out there a bunch. That’s the nature of how we’re built and you love to see it in the plays they made tonight.”
Cornerback Miles Jackson filled in at nickelback, which also lost Kaden Dowler in the second game of the year. Jackson made a key play in the second half after MSU quarterback Sean Chambers threw an ill-advised interception on a double-reverse play. However, two plays later Jackson broke up a Bennett pass and the ball ricocheted to safety Rylan Ortt, who’s interception led to Mellott’s first TD run to put MSU up 21-7.
“I’m super proud of Miles, just shows the type of guy he is and his work ethic during the weekNot playing a lot of nickel and having a little bit of nickel experience, but not a ton of it just shows how good of a football player he really is to be able to come in and execute the game plan and adjust during the game. I’ve had to step in at nickel before (2021 vs No. 1 Sam Houston State in the playoffs) and it’s not an easy thing and Miles did a very good job.
Montana State junior safety Rylan Ortt
“It was back and forth and I think, on good football teams, the defense has got to pick up the offense and the offense has to pick up the defense,” MSU safety Rylan Ortt said. “Special teams plays a factor in there too. Some point in the third quarter I felt we held them on the goal line and forced them into a field goal that was really big for us to get our offense back on the field and have a long drive for a score after that was a really big momentum change.”
The game was nationally televised on ESPN2 and Hornet Stadium saw its eighth largest attendance with 16,122, which was also the third largest non-UC Davis attendance.
Montana State sits alone on top of the Big Sky Conference standings, but that’s a tenuous seat with another huge road game coming up against 3-1 Idaho this Saturday night. The Vandals were replaced in the national rankings in the No. 3 spot by Sacramento State a team they beat 36-27 earlier this season in Moscow.
