SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The last time the Bobcats came to the Golden State, they got a scare before escaping with a 30-28 win over UC Davis.
On Saturday evening here, MSU slammed the door after a late Cal Poly surge.
Sometimes, you have to take the good with the bad. For Montana State that meant taking a 34-17 win after not putting Cal Poly away late in the game. It meant seeing Julius Davis’ big night nearly ruined by his fourth quarter fumble that led to the Mustangs cutting the lead to 27-17 with over eight minutes remaining after being up 27-3. It meant needing a long kickoff return to set up the decisive late touchdown.
Yet it also meant another win, Montana State’s sixth straight, to move into November with momentum once again.
“A three score win on the road and a game where we had dominance on both sides, but at the same time it was a messy win,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said following his 53rd win as the head coach at Montana State. “It felt methodical at times. Our inability to put up touchdowns early while our defense was really suffocating them. Fortunately, we got that score before the half and came out and scored in quick fashion, open up a 27-3 lead and that’s when the knockout punch can be there, but they go on 4-5 play (touchdown) drive and get a turnover and score again.”
The win moves No. 5 MSU to 4-0 in the Big Sky Conference and 6-2 overall. The Mustangs fell to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the league.
“We were facing a little bit of adversity there,” MSU linebacker Cole Taylor said. “At some point they were going to strike so we have strength in fighting adversity and I felt we did that.”
Davis finished with 175 yards rushing, a career high, and a touchdown on 19 carries. His third quarter score featured him bulldozing over a Cal Poly player into the end zone from 10 yards out to put MSU up 20-3. His fourth quarter fumble brought back memories of last season’s come back by UC Davis that turned a 30-8 fourth quarter lead to narrow 30-28 win.
“It was pretty cool, we were fired up, we needed to answer something,” Davis said of his touchdown. “My guys up front they been working all night. Everybody was just flying around.”
He attributed his touchdown to another player make a big-time play.
“It was a great play by number 10,” Davis said, referring to Cal Poly sophomore linebacker Victory Johnson, one of several standout players on defense for the hosts. “I went up to him after the game and said, ‘dude that was great play.’ Just football. That’s the only way I can explain it. Just go back and learn from it.”
The Mustangs turned the miscue into a seven-play, 56-yard drive for a touchdown to cut the lead to 27-17 with 8:16 remaining in the game.
“That’s the moment where we figured out a way to answer,” Vigen said. “We got a long return and scored.”
Jabez Woods took the kickoff at the MSU 2-yard line and raced 58 yards to the Cal Poly 40. From there the Bobcats chewed up 3:22 before Adam Jones broke through from the one-yard line for his seventh rushing touchdown and eighth overall touchdown of the season.
“Plenty of good things to take out of that game,” Vigen said. “Plenty of things to correct like, any week.”
MSU junior quarterback Justin Lamson appeared to be having an off night. He came into the game with a 73.5 completion percentage, tops in the Football Championship Subdivision, but walked off the field after completing just 19 of 30 passes for 176 yards. He appeared to be under-throwing a good-majority of his throws.
Lamson was effective in the run game, however, as he scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to put MSU up 27-3 and finished with 50 yards on 12 carries. His 14-yard run set up Jones game clinching touchdown.
“I thought it was a methodical, messy piece to how our offense looked,” Vigen said. “The methodical piece is okay; we can grind it out. We can take time off the clock, and we can drive it all down, but the messy kept us from piling the points up. Looking at the yardage total on the board it should’ve indicated a greater point differential.”
The Bobcats finished with 466 yards of total offense, including 290 from the ground game. They allowed just 241 total yards, which marked the sixth time in seven FCS games they’ve held the opposition under 300 yards this season. Only FBS No. 6 Oregon and Idaho State have surpassed 300 yards against MSU.
The Mustangs had just 50 yards rushing on 15 carries and 123 of their 188 passing yards came in the fourth quarter. They had just 105 total yards, five first downs and three points through the first three quarters. Their first seven possessions consisted of five three-and-outs, one interception and one field goal despite getting a first-and-goal from the four-yard line.
Another highlight for MSU was its special teams’ play. Aside from Woods’ big return the Bobcats got a pair of field goals by Myles Sansted and he also connected on all four of his extra point attempts. Sansted had missed his last field goal attempt and missed four extra points in the previous three games. Holder Colby Frokjer made a crucial play when he caught a high snap on the field goal at the end of the half and placed it in time for Sansted to follow through successfully.
Davis’ big night came just one game after running mate Jones had a big game. Jones ran for 173 yards and a score against Idaho State before MSU’s bye week. Both outbursts keyed the overall ground game as MSU has had its best two rushing games of the season in its last two games. The Bobcats had 384 yards against ISU, then had 290 at Cal Poly. Those two games have bolstered MSU’s per-game average up to 233.8 yards per game on the ground, less than a yard shy per contest of Sac State for the league lead.
Taylor came up with MSU’s lone takeaway as he gathered in an errant pass by Cal Poly’s Bo Kelly after Kelly was pressured by Kenneth Eiden IV to set up Sansted’s second field goal. The Bobcats held the Mustangs to just 2-of-12 third down conversions and had a 36:31 to 23:29 time of possession advantage.
“We been seeing it all week,” Taylor said. “We just kinda schemed up that route concept and as soon as I saw my keys I knew it was coming and caught but unfortunately didn’t keep it going.”
Taylor said he was frustrated that stumbled after making the interception and didn’t advance the ball as far as he could’ve.
Regardless of what Montana State could’ve done, a road victory over an improved Mustangs’ squad helped the Bobcats win their 33rd Big Sky Conference game in 36 league outings under Vigen’s guidance.
The Bobcats are back on the road next week when they travel to Greeley, Colo. to face the Northern Colorado Bears. The Bears (3-5, 1-3) fell to UC Davis 27-16 after trailing 24-0.
“I was just looking at the yardage totals on the scoreboard and that should indicate a greater differential on the scoreboard and that just didn’t happen,” Vigen said. “That’s a team that really flies around and play hard.
“We have some things to clean up but that’s a road win and now we are into November.”
