BOZEMAN – While Montana State was methodically pulling away from Montana during its 34-11 outright title clinching win, the Bobcats were slightly sputtering in their vaunted run game. That is, until Adam Jones snapped it back into gear.
The freshman running back from Missoula followed a huge block by senior captain guard Marcus Wehr and sprinted 88 yards to the UM seven-yard line. He bowled into the end zone two plays later as the Bobcats pushed their lead to 27-3 near the end of the third quarter as a stadium record crowd of 22,057 roared their approval.
Before that run, the ‘Cats were averaging about five yards per carry. MSU finished with 325 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per tote.
“Marcus made a really nice block,” Jones said with a chuckle. “I didn’t get touched until 85 yards down the field. Whatever it is about backed up situations, our O line gets a crease and if I see it and hit it quick…it’s fun.”
Jones, who sprinted to a 93-yard touchdown in the first game of the season, ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries in the second half. His second score icing the game away with 4:49 to play. He finished with 197 yards, which is the same number MSU ran for in the second half.
“He’s a great competitor,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said of Jones. “I’m glad he’s over here, I know that much. He maybe missed a few things. I know there was a third down run where came to the sidelines he said, ‘coach I know I missed that’ but he’s going to keep going after it.
“To approach 200 yards like he did and to have that game-breaking 88-yarder. He’s a young guy, but the moment isn’t too big for him. Not at all.”
The Bobcats were without the services of senior running back Julius Davis, who started the game ahead of sophomore Scottre Humphrey, who suited up but only carried the ball once.
“I hated to see Julius go down, hated to see Scottre not be able to do what we hoped today but Adam stepped up,” Vigen said.
The emotions of the game were exhibited in Jones recognizing his teammate’s plight.
“When Julius went down that was a hard thing to see for me,” Jones said. “He looked me in the eyes and told me to go get what’s mine.”
With Humphrey and Davis out, MSU also got a boost from freshman Colson Coon, who had only seen action in mop up duty all season. He was in the game in the second quarter when Mellott made a fake handoff to him before connecting with Taco Dowler for a 36-yard gain.
Coon then ran for a pair of first downs and 31 yards on six carries during the third and fourth quarters playing with the No. 1 offense for the first time in his young career.
Meanwhile, the MSU defensive front was having its way with the UM offensive linemen. The Grizzlies wouldn’t sustain a drive until the fourth quarter when they scored their lone touchdown, needing to convert a fourth down just to do that.
The Grizzlies managed just 234 yards of total offense on the day as the Bobcats used a variety of blitz packages and defensive line stunts to confuse UM quarterback Logan Fife, who finished the game 18 for 34 for just 117 yards. His 3.5 yards per attempt were a far cry from his 11 for 14 effort that gained 197 yards – over 14 yards per attempt – and accounted for three touchdowns last week against Portland State. That effort caught the attention of the MSU coaches.
“I thought our D line played really well,” MSU senior safety Rylan Ortt said. “Getting pressure on their QBs up front and the back end working together, the D line working together and playing for each other. Coach Daly had a good plan coming into this game and we were able to execute it.”
Whenever the UM defense was able to stop the MSU offense and force a punt, the Bobcat defense was right there to force three and outs and keep the Grizzlies from getting any kind of momentum.
“I thought defensively we really answered the bell all day,” Vigen said. “Significant pressure on the quarterback right from the start. By and large eliminating the big play in the run game and not allowing their run game to get going. We had a good plan today, so credit to our coaches, but especially our players.”
The Bobcats smothered several promising looking plays to the edge on the day.
“We weren’t going to give them the catch and run and the big play in the passing game,” Vigen said. “They didn’t have one longer than 12 yards, so I think we did that.”
The Bobcat’ defense held UM in check all day to buy time for the run game to get going. MSU, stunningly, didn’t attempt a pass in the second half.
“We’ve got a defense that really believes in itself, is physical at the point of contact, and isn’t going to allow one play to define them here and there,” Vigen said. “I think we’re playing the level of defense we need to, to really be able to lean on it.”
The Grizzlies only had two plays over 20 yards, and one was a scramble by Fife. Dangerous receiver and punt/kick returner Junior Bergen was not a factor in the game. He did have six catches, but they only amounted to 27 yards. He was unable to return any punts, and his two kickoff returns netted just 44 yards. Bergen had a game-breaking punt return in the 2021 Cat-Griz game and also had big kickoff return last year right after MSU scored to open the second half.
The Bobcats and Grizzlies await their fate with the Football Championship Subdivision playoff selection committee which will be announced at 10:30 Sunday morning ESPNU. MSU is expected to be the No. 1 seed as it has a 12-0 record and no other team has less than two losses after South Dakota knocked off No. 1 ranked North Dakota State 29-28.
