BOZEMAN, Montana — At long last, the tune by the famed country band Alabama that every FCS fan dreams of hearing blasted out of the speakers at Bobcat Stadium.
As a sea of exuberant supporters flooded the field here with the sun setting on a freezing Gallatin Valley Saturday afternoon, those too young to remember the strife and heartache that accompanied – some would say defined – Montana State football danced with smiles lighting up their faces, seemingly each one trying to get a second to two-step alongside MSU’s newest shooting star, an affable young man from the Mining City who has completely taken the Treasure State by storm.
But for those that are old enough to remember the heyday of Bobcat football, from Sonny Holland’s dominant reign over the rival and the rest of the Big Sky in the 1970s to a surge to Division I-AA’s ultimate prize nearly four decades ago, Saturday’s scene was one filled not just with excitement but also emotion.
More than a couple of the older followers among the 20,457 raucous supporters had tears running down their faces and looks of disbelief upon their faces as bedlam ensued.
It’s understandable when you have to wait for a victory for the ages for almost four decades, just as the Blue and Gold faithful here have before Saturday’s 31-17 victory over South Dakota State.
Who could blame the patrons for feeling the weight of waiting?
From running into the same Bison-built brick wall that is North Dakota State in 2018 and 2019 to a lost season that likely cost Montana State football one of its most beloved coaches in history, most of the months leading up to one of the most anticipated seasons in Montana State history were filled with turmoil.
Tthe tumult has continued in recent weeks as MSU got pounded by the hated Grizzlies of Montana leading to a veteran quarterback jumping ship.
And Saturday, from the pre-game news that three of MSU’s most accomplished and important players would not play in the first semifinal FCS Playoff game here in 37 years to a South Dakota State offense that looked like a down bound train in the first half, these Bobcats refuse to flinch.
As Tucker Rovig, a senior quarterback who encompasses both the continuity and selflessness of one of the most accomplished groups in program history, took the final two knees to wind down the clock, the spirited faithful exploded in exaltation as Alabama’s “If you’re going to play in Texas (you gotta have a fiddle in the band)” echoed throughout the snow-christen stadium, echoing off the South end-zone adorned by Holland’s legendary name.
Upstart MSU, the No. 8 seed in the bracket partly because of the result on November 20 in Missoula, continued charging into the realm of the unforgettable.
Surging South Dakota State, like MSU an under-seeded team that convincingly plowed its way to the FCS Final Four, did not punt in the first half and looked like the first offense to solve Montana State’s previously impenetrable defense as the game entered halftime.
In the second half, a Bobcat group led by a collection of driven, unflappable seniors kicked it into overdrive, causing the capacity crowd to reach a fever pitch as the momentum built and built for the hosts.
And in the end, a magician from one of Montana’s most storied towns continued riding the lightning in one of the most epic playoff runs in the history of the Treasure State. And the unflinching stalwarts of the Bobcat defensive line finished the deal.
Tommy Mellott punched in a 3-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to cap a drive in which he carried the ball nine times before throwing a perfect touchdown to senior Lance McCutcheon, a Bozeman native who put a stamp on his outstanding senior season, for MSU’s final score.
And the Bobcat defense pitched a second half shutout sparked by senior Amandre Williams’ third quarter sack and punctuated by a pair of sacks by terrorizing senior edge Daniel Hardy.
All of it amounted to plenty of dancing, singing, crying and celebrating as the Bobcats turned the first FCS semifinal in the state since 2009 and the first at Bobcat Stadium since 1984 into a statement two-touchdown victory to punch a ticket to Frisco, Texas.
“This is what you dream of,” Andersen said. “The goal is to always be playing in the end of the year with a win. And we have put ourselves in a position to go down to Texas to have an opportunity on the biggest stage that Montana State has not been on since 1984. For us to be the team that even gets there is huge. But just getting there is not enough for us.”
Coming out of the loss to the hated rival, Montana State seemed to be at a breaking point. A defense led by Hardy, Williams, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist in Andersen and powerhouse senior defensive tackle Chase Benson seemed to be feeling the burden of carrying the squad down the stretch. And the offense looked anemic and dysfunctional the last few weeks of the regular season, hitting a peak in a lackluster performance in Missoula.
But Vigen and his staff elected to make a drastic change, inserting the former Gatorade Player of the Year from Butte in place of Matt McKay, a former 3-star recruit who started his career at North Carolina State and went 9-2 as a starter this fall.
That was the first domino in what has been a run for the ages for the Bobcats. Mellott’s first start was accompanied by utter uncertainty considering he was the fifth-string quarterback in the spring, behind McKay, Rovig, Casey Bauman and even Blake Thelen, who has since transferred to Montana Tech.
And the second-round playoff game against Tennessee Martin was accompanied by a wind that consistently blew 20 miles per hour with gusts over 40 mph.
No matter. Mellott’s 74-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter helped Montana State surge down the stretch to a 26-7 win over the upstart Skyhawks from the Ohio Valley.
Butte’s favorite son continued riding the lightning last week in Huntsville, Texas, accounting for four total touchdowns in the first 17 minutes of the game as MSU raced to a 28-0 lead and accounting for five touchdowns overall to help Montana State race to a 42-19 win over top-ranked, top-seeded Sam Houston, the defending FCS national champions from the spring.
“I think this game was a little bit of a bonus,” Vigen said with a smile. “I think a lot of our seniors thought they played their best game a couple of weeks ago so to get back here, we talked about playing with house money and part of that was getting an opportunity to come back here.
“It wasn’t about making it the last game, it was about playing in this environment one last time and allowing that environment to feed us. There’s no question it was an electric environment.”
And on Saturday, the dual threat affectionately referred to as “Touchdown Tommy” even if he himself does not like the nickname kept reinforcing why Andersen and the Bobcat seniors insist on calling him that. Mellott rushed 34 times for 155 and two scores to go with 10 completions in 15 attempts for 233 yards and two more touchdowns, including the dagger to McCutcheon with 10:35 left in the game.
“We knew it would have to go that way,” Vigen said in regard to Mellott’s carries.
“He’s just such a competitor and a really good talent, a great talent running it in particular but what he’s done as far as throwing the football as well as just competing. Extra yards here, makes something out of nothing. I’m sure, for them defending him, making plays on the edge, I’m sure that’s hard. Couldn’t be more pleased with what Tommy has done the last few weeks.”
Mellott is now 3-0 as a starter and is the first Bobcat quarterback to go 3-0 in any post season since Kelley Bradley did on the way to that national title 37 years ago.
“It’s been the theme of our season, the adversity we’ve been fighting through and nothing new this week,” Mellott said. “We knew our best running back was out but we trusted what was going on, trusted the guys up front, trusted the coaches and ultimately, we were going to go out there and do what we were told and do our best.”
The news around Saturday’s pre game centered upon the absence of several of Montana State’s best players. Benson left the game early against Sam Houston and did not return in that game or Saturday.
All-American running back Isaiah Ifanse posted his 17th 100-yard game in Huntsville, breaking Ryan Johnson’s nearly 20-year-old single-season rushing record in the process. He was scratched from the lineup on Saturday because of ailing knees.
And Ty Okada, the lynchpin of Montana State’s speedy, aggressive yet steady defense, re-injured the shoulder he banged up against Montana, leaving the game against Sam Houston and occupying the sideline in a sling on Saturday.
None of it mattered. Andersen sniffed out South Dakota State’s first fourth down try, stuffing All-American running back Pierre Strong for a loss in the first quarter, a symbol of things to come.
Mellott took his fifth hard hit of the first 20 minutes of the game, fumbling at midfield but rolling over on the ball to maintain possession. The following play, he threw a 64-yard touchdown to surging senior Nate Stewart, a former transfer from Akron who returned to the lineup in mid-November.
SDSU answered that score as Strong, the leading rusher in the FCS, ripped off a 44-yard touchdown run with 81 seconds left in the first quarter.
And back and forth it went in a seesaw first half. Jadon Janke looked unstoppable in the first half, dicing the middle of the field with four first down catches and a 13-yard touchdown catch as SDSU quarterback Chris Oladokun showed off his big-league arm. That score put the visitors up 14-10.
Mellott, who hit Lance McCutcheon for a 40-yard gain to set up Blake Glessner’s 19th field goal of the season in the first quarter, then hit Treyton Pickering on a zone read option fake lofting pass for a 33-yard gain. Mellott runs of 12, nine and 17 yards helped set up a four-yard touchdown plunge that gave MSU a 17-14 lead with 4:22 left in the half.
Oladokun, a former transfer from South Florida by way of Samford, mounted a 12-play drive that resulted in Cole Frahm’s 51-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer as the teams entered the break knotted at 17.
“At halftime, our guys were pretty dang calm, confident,” Vigen said. “They got the instruction from our coaches and went out and got the job done in the second half.”
It marked the 1st first half Montana State did not force a punt. South Dakota State scored four more points in the first half than MSU has allowed per game (13.2 ppg) this season. After halftime, MSU buckled down and stuffed an offense that came into the game averaged 37.5 points and 220 rushing yards per game.
“Regardless of if the momentum comes or not, it’s a don’t flinch mentality,” Williams said. “We knew they were a good football team and they were going to come out and get shots on us. It was just a matter of not flinching.
“This feels surreal. As a defensive line, we talk before every game, what’s on our minds and a lot of guys understood that no matter what happened tonight, this was our last chance stepping out on to Bobcat Stadium, playing in front of this fan base and playing at home with the team, with the team, with your brothers. It’s a surreal feeling right now.”
Williams’ sack for a seven-yard loss early in the fourth quarter helped MSU start to get separation. Then Hardy finally sprang free, getting loose on the edge for a pair of sacks that helped seal the deal for Montana State.
“The number of people who walked up to me and shook my hand, alumni, fans, students saying thank you, it was a wild feeling, man, almost surreal,” Hardy said. “We are heading to the national championship. This is everything we have worked for. We have one game left and it’s all chips down. We are all going all in on this.”
