BOZEMAN – Changes are usually met with great trepidation in the world of sports. Unless the change is wildly successful, that is.
Montana State’ quarterback Justin Lamson was nearly perfect as he completed 23 of 26 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns with a rushing touchdown to boot as the usual run-heavy Bobcats made short work of the University of San Diego 41-7 to pick up their first win of the season.
Along with the shift to a more balanced attack, MSU (1-2) is also without quarterback Tommy Mellott, the wildly popular Walter Payton Award winner from a year ago. Mellott was known more for his legs than his arm, so seeing Lamson throw all day, and as well as he did may have been a bit of a shock to the system for MSU fans.
“Justin progressed and I loved the way he responded after the interception,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “That was mostly him in that drive. We came and scored a couple times with him at the helm in the second half, so each of these experiences for him are really accumulating now. He hasn’t been a regular (every down) quarterback until now.”
After MSU converted a fourth down on its own 30 while trying to work the clock at the close of the first half, Lamson threw his first interception of the season. The MSU defense forced a quick three and out, but the ensuing punt was caught at the 15 with just 1:13 to go. Lamson led the Bobcats 85 yards on five plays culminating with a 24-yard touchdown run where he broke three tackles, including one on the goal line. He passed for 54 yards and ran for 31 yards on the drive.
Lamson’s top target was crowd-favorite wide receiver Taco Dowler, who hauled in eight passes for a career-high 116 yards and two touchdowns. The ground attack was still productive as the Bobcats were led by running back Julius Davis’s 83 yards and touchdown on just eight carries and MSU finished with 217 rushing yards.
Vigen wasn’t happy with the ground game in the first half that saw running back Adam Jones held to just 13 yards on nine carries. Jones would break one in the third quarter, but the Toreros lived up to their 3.4 yards allowed in the run game coming into the contest.
“I think it was a function of how they play defense,” Vigen said. “They’re packed in there. If they have one more than we have our ability to break out runs is going to be challenging. Now, we want to be able to be balanced for sure, so there’s a philosophy there but it’s also going to be the ability to take what the defense gives you. Whether it’s a run-pass, it’s still a run first and we still need to establish the run game but if a team is going to give us the perimeter and allow us to throw the ball out to our receivers, I think we’re better equipped for that than we would’ve been the last few years.”
Lamson dropped a perfect pass in the bucket to Dowler in the third quarter, gained 32 yards and set up Davis’s touchdown to put MSU up 38-0.
“It was play action pass,” Dowler said. “Ryan King did a really good job. He was actually more open on that play than I was. His job is to get me open on that play and Justin just put it in the bucket and I just had to throw my hands out. It felt a little bit like the sand lot. Just throw your glove up and catch the ball.”
Sophomore quarterback Patrick Duchien came in to clean up for Lamson and hit on four of his five pass attempts as the Bobcats finished 27 of 31 for 321 yards.
“This team beat a team last week that was ranked, so they’re a solid outfit for sure we knew we had to control the line of scrimmage and limit their ability to run the ball,” Vigen said. “We knew we had to throw it a little bit more just because of how they wanted to load the box. By and large that played out and that wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but we took a step forward.
“They were committed to stopping the run. I didn’t love where we were at with the running back rushing game at halftime so we had to really challenge the group to come off the ball. Getting (Jones and Davis) in the flow and getting them going hasn’t been easy these first couple games. That’s a tandem we’re really going to lean on, so it was good to see them both have some success in the second half.”
The Bobcats got out of the game without any miscues from their special teams. A big reason was their ability to score efficiently and only need to punt twice.
“We worked real hard at that,” Vigen said. “I know it was a couple of critical plays between the two games. Two blocks and a significant pressure. I trust that our execution was what it was supposed to be and we gotta build off that. I think Colby’s consistency looking at the last quarter of the South Dakota State game and this game he’s hit some balls like we expect him to. I do think he can become a real consistent weapon.”
MSU’s defense shut down the Toreros until late in the game when the starting rotation gave way to the backups. San Diego didn’t get past the MSU 42 until late in the third quarter. The Bobcats held USD to -9 yards rushing in the first half and finished with just 66 yards on 25 carries. Quarterbacks Dom Nankil and Tyler Voss completed just 14 of 27 passes. USD had just 209 yards of total offense with more than half of that coming in the fourth quarter.
The Bobcats only allowed two first downs on 11 third down attempts after holding South Dakota State to a 1 for 13 showing last week.
“I compliment our defense,” Vigen said. “That was a team that spread people out these first couple games, had some success running the football, their running back had 50 plus carries these first two games and we eliminated that part of their game. I know they got some yards as the game went along but at halftime they didn’t really have anything to speak of. Our main effort was to make the quarterback as one dimensional and we did that. Another really good performance on third down.”
MSU’s young secondary continues to flash as it got three tackles for loss in the first half with safety Caden Dowler getting a sack, while cornerbacks Seth Johnson and Jhase McMillan both makes stops behind the line of scrimmage.
“I’ve said it before, we have a confident bunch,” Dowler said. “Young guys playing corner. That’s always going to be a question mark. I think double-repping at practice all spring, all fall practice helps so when the game comes it kind of second nature, so when the ball comes you trust the guys around you. We have a ton of talent obviously.”
Vigen made a point of being efficient after last week’s loss that saw the Bobcats only get 17 points in regulation to show for their 350 yards. Two fumbles, a blocked punt, shanked punt and missed field goal all contributed to a double-overtime loss to South Dakota State. The Bobcats were also stymied the middle eight minutes of the game at the end of the half and beginning of the second half as SDSU got the punt block and then MSU didn’t move the ball to start the second half.
“The last four of the first half and the beginning of the second half is so critical in our ability to win football games,” Vigen said. “When you giving those situations at the end of the game those are beyond critical.”
The Bobcats will take on Mercyhurst, which is making its second trip to Montana in two years to face MSU, next week in the third of four straight home games. Game time is set for 1:00.
Photos by Blake Hempstead and Jason Bacaj – Skyline Sports. All Rights Reserved.
