BROOKINGS, SD – A game of inches came down to literally an inch as No. 3 Montana State University had a potential walk-off touchdown pass overturned with just one second to play in falling 20-16 to defending national champion and top-ranked South Dakota State here on Saturday evening.
A game that was sloppy at times also had moments where players for both teams made superlative efforts to swing momentum back their way. Montana State took possession with eight minutes to play and the score tied at 13 in a defensive slug fest many thought would be a shootout.
The Bobcats got the ball down to the South Dakota State two-yard line and faced a 4th down. But a false start — the eighth of the evening in a game the visitors shot themselves in the foot repeatedly — forced MSU to settle for a field goal.
That left the door open for the premier team in the Football Championship Subdivision. And it was all the breathing room Mark Gronowski and the Jackrabbit offense needed.
Gronowski, a peerless winner who’s guided SDSU to two national title games and last year’s title, hit Grahm Goering for a 40-yard gain, then connected with Griffin Wilde on an inside screen that Wilde turned into a 35-yard touchdown with 1:30 left, a score that proved to be the game winner.
Montana State got one more shot. MSU senior Sean Chambers appeared to hit classmate Clevan Thomas Jr. in the back of the end zone as time expired for what would’ve been a walk-off touchdown. Instead, Thomas was ruled out, Chambers’ last-gasp Hail Mary fell short and Montana State left Dana J. Dykhouse State with broken hearts and sickened stomachs.
“It’s too soon to put into words,” a despondent Chambers said following MSU’s first loss of the year. “I’m just in shock. I think the encouragement is we know we left a lot out there. We have to lay our head on our pillow at night and know good weather, bad weather we can play with those guys even if we didn’t play our best.”
The effort was also recognized by MSU head coach Brent Vigen.
“We came here to play our tails off and I think we played really hard,” said Vigen, who fell to 25-6 in his career at Montana State. “They really wanted it. They went after it. We made plays on both sides of the football and ultimately we didn’t make enough at the same time to get it done.”
Chambers, who gritted out a game that saw starter Tommy Mellott go out with a leg injury, nearly willed the Bobcats to the win after Gronowski showed some fortitude of his own.
Chambers was 3-of-9 passing for 53 yards, but his 20 carries for 90 yards and MSU’s lone touchdown proved to be big. And the captain almost came up with the biggest play of his career as a Bobcat, only to have an unbelievably close replay get overturned.
“It comes down to a play at the end, but there’s so much more to it than that,” Vigen said. “Through the course of the game field position wise and the ebbs and flows of the game and the opportunities that we didn’t cash in on.”
The MSU defense turned in one of its best halves of football in recent memory relative to the opponent when it held the Jackrabbits scoreless in the first half. The Bobcats allowed under 100 yards of total offense to a team that had 28 points and 319 yards in the first half of their 2022 semifinal matchup, a game that South Dakota State won 38-19 and a result that stuck in MSU’s craw all off-season.
Chambers was beat back repeatedly on inside runs into the SDSU defensive line all game, but somehow conjured up the will to get MSU’s stagnant offense back in gear late with Mellott on the sideline. Chambers drove MSU 56 yards in 11 plays to give MSU the late lead after a blocked punt by Julius Davis set up Hall’s second field goal to tie the game.
After the Gronowski to Wilde play, MSU had just 1:23 and one timeout to work with. MSU was called for holding to put it on the 15. Chambers went to work.
He hit Derryk Snell on back-to-back pass plays for 32 yards. He had Jacob Trimble all the way down on the SDSU 15 but the ball went off Trimble’s hands.
Not swayed, Chambers ran up the middle for 13 yards to the SDSU 40 and then found Treyton Pickering for 21 yards to the 19. After a false start – MSU’s ninth of the game – he hit Thomas. But the touchdown would be overturned. He went to a group in the front corner of the end zone on the final play only to the see the ball fall to turf.
The Bobcats came out firing after Nolan Askelson recovered a fumble caused by Danny Uluilakepa in the first quarter. The MSU offense drove 57 yards, capped by Chambers punching the ball across the goal line from the two-yard line. MSU’s next possession resulted in Hall’s first field goal at MSU and a 10-0 lead.
The Jackrabbits hit back right out of the locker room to start the second half when they drove to the 20 and Gronowski skirted down the sideline from the 20 for their first points. A stop and a long 95-yard drive followed with Gronowski hitting Zach Heins from the 16, but the extra point missed, leaving SDSU with a 13-10 lead and seemingly in control.
The MSU defense forced consecutive three and outs and while the offense didn’t take full advantage the Jackrabbit’ barrage was momentarily stopped.
Meanwhile, MSU got what it could in a pair of Hall field goals to take the lead, but the Bobcats had to feel like it left some points on the field after Davis’ block set them up on the SDSU 2-yard line and the following scoring drive got to the 1 on fourth down only to settle for field goals both possessions.
Prior to the game-winning touchdown, MSU allowed no yards on six plays as the defense swarmed the Jackrabbits making the final two-play drive seem surreal.
“I am pleased with how hard the guys played,” Vigen said. “We knew going in that this game wasn’t gonna make us or break us. It’s two really good teams competing in a non-conference game and they came out on the right side of it, so credit to them. We’ll regroup and get back to work on Monday.”
Montana State huddle/ by Miranda Sampson 
Danny Uliulakepa and Brody Grebe/ by Miranda Sampson 
Brendan Hall hit three field goals against South Dakota State/by Miranda Sampson 
Scottre Humphrey/ by Miranda Sampson 
Montana State’s captains 
Isaiah Davis/ by Miranda Sampson 
Grahm Goering hauls in a 40-yard catch to set up South Dakota State’s go-ahead touchdown/ by Miranda Sampson
