MISSOULA – You wouldn’t realize it by the score, but Montana State had plenty of opportunities to come back after it fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter in a 37-7 loss to Montana.
After a poor tackling performance early on UM’s first two possessions, the Bobcats got nothing after two deep drives into Montana territory then imploded with :05 to go in the half to allow another three points and find itself in a 20-0 hole that could have been 17-6.
“Not a lot of good things to say,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “We didn’t come out and play the way we certainly would’ve expected to, hoped to. We got beat in all three phases.”
MSU struck quickly to start the second half to cut the lead to a manageable 20-7, but that could’ve easily been 17-13 and a whole new ball game.
Whatever feel good they got quickly dissipated when kicker Brendan Hall, who typically kicks off out of the end zone (Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said he had Hall at an 85 percent touchdback rate this season), left it short and the ball was returned to the 50 by UM return ace Junior Bergen and immediately put the pressure back on the defense.
That good field position helped UM to go back up by 20 when Bergen broke off Level Price Jr. on a “Texas” option route out of the slot for a 19-yard touchdown to put Montana back up 20 points.
Yet, MSU still had two easy chances to score on the ensuing possession only to see Ty McCullouch drop a would-be touchdown pass shortly before Tommy Mellott would miss a wide open Ryan Lonergan, who’s man had slipped and he had an open shot to the end zone.
“Never quite got the momentum back,” Vigen said. “I know the quick score after half gave us a shot and then we gave up a kickoff return to midfield and they go and score. A lot of things I think we can look at: what could we have done better?”
Instead of trailing by 13 again, the Bobcats turned the ball over on downs. The MSU defense had tightened after the bad start, but getting little support from the offense it allowed UM to put some window dressing on its win.
“This game does not end our season,” Vigen said. “We’ll find out tomorrow what the next step’s gonna be. We gotta go back to work. We gotta look at this film and say what could we, should we have done better and get off the mat.”
The Bobcats ran the ball for 213 yards on 35 carries – over six yards per tote. The passing game was a big letdown, however, as Mellott was just 4 for 13 and threw just his second career interception against FCS foes. Chambers was 0 for 3. They totaled just 67 yards passing.
Mellott and running back Julius Davis both went over 100 yards rushing with Mellott getting 108 on 10 carries and Davis 107 on 14 rushes.
MSU had a daunting task once the 2023 schedule was released with all five road games coming against teams that were ranked in the top 15 in the nation. While Weber State fell out of the top 25 during the season, it still rallied to finish the year 6-5. The others were No. 1 South Dakota State, currently No. 2 Montana, once ranked No. 3 Idaho and Sacramento State, which was No. 4 when it hosted then No. 2 MSU.
If nothing else, the Bobcats have plenty of tough road experience under their belts for what will likely be a postseason with two road affairs if they’re to make it to the championship game. In 2021, South Dakota State stumbled during the regular season and entered the postseason with the same 8-3 overall record as MSU has. The Jackrabbits made it to the semifinals and were tied with the Bobcats at halftime before finally succumbing.
“We lost three games against three teams that are gonna be seeded in the playoffs,” Vigen said. “We lost two games to the top two teams (South Dakota State and Montana) is I think how it’s going to play. I don’t know where Idaho is gonna fit in.
“I do think we have a real good football team and we’ll go wherever they put us but, yeah, it was challenging. We’re going to take on whatever challenge is presented to us.”
The Bobcats will likely be seeded and have a second -ound home game for the FCS playoffs which begin next week. If they’re able to use their tribulations on the road – the loss to South Dakota State on a controversial replay ruling and nine false starts in Brookings and their two failed field goals and dropped a TD pass in a 24-21 loss to Idaho in Moscow – they’ll be a tough out for whoever they play on the road despite the lopsided loss to Montana.
A bye week could be useful for MSU, but they may also be better served to get back on the field soon. If not seeded, the Bobcats would most likely host a first round game back in Bobcat Stadium where they’ve won 26 straight games – the longest active streak in the nation.
The consensus is that MSU will end up with the No. 6 seed. That would give it a bye and a home game in the second round. A win by MSU there will likely send it to the presumptive No. 3 seed Furman. However, as Vigen said, it’s hard to say until the selection show makes the announcement Sunday morning at 10:30 on ESPNU.
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.
