No. 1 Montana State beats eighth-seeded Idaho 52-19, advances to FCS semifinals

BOZEMAN – For the first time all season, Montana State allowed a visiting opponent to score in the first quarter of a game played inside Bobcat Stadium.

It didn’t matter as the Bobcats used a flurry of touchdowns to close out the first half en route to a 52-19 victory over Idaho on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs. Montana State will play in the semifinal game next Saturday for the fourth time in six years.

The top-ranked and undefeated Bobcats started the game against the Vandals in typical fashion this historic season – marching down the field on the opening drive to score a touchdown on a 3-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Mellott to tight end Rylan Schlepp.

However, the game seemed to turn late in the first quarter. Idaho quarterback Jack Layne, who missed the Vandals’ regular-season loss at Montana State, lofted a pass to a wide-open Jordan Dwyer.

Dwyer, running free behind the MSU secondary, caught the perfectly placed pass and ran in for a 55-yard touchdown. Idaho and Montana State were tied 7-7 going into the second quarter.

The teams traded field goals in the second — Myles Sansted converted from 46 yards for Montana State and Cameron Pope made a 32-yarder for Idaho — but the wheels came off for the Vandals in the waning minutes of the half.

After Pope’s field goal, Idaho coach Jason Eck chose to go for a surprise onside kick. The ball did not travel the required 10 yards, giving the Bobcats the ball at the Idaho 38-yard line. Montana State capitalized, this time Mellott scoring on the ground from 8 yards out to give the Bobcats a 17-10 lead with 3:47 left in the first half.

On Idaho’s ensuing possession, Mark Hamper fumbled on a wide receiver screen after running into the back of one of his own blockers. MSU defensive end Brody Grebe recovered the fumble and the Bobcats’ offense got back on the field.

Moments later, running back Adam Jones, who started in Scottre Humphrey’s absence, was in the end zone and the Bobcats were suddenly up 24-10.

But the disaster in the first half was not over for the Vandals. Idaho was forced to punt and — after a 15-yard return by Taco Dowler — Mellott showed why he is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.

The senior from Butte dropped back to pass but didn’t find an open receiver. With the pressure coming, Mellott crawled through an opening on the line, shed an Idaho defender and sprinted down the left sideline. He was forced out 63 yards later and the Bobcats were down inside the Idaho 5-yard line with less than 30 seconds left in the half.

Jones eventually tacked on another touchdown on third-and-goal, and Montana State took a 31-10 halftime lead after scoring 21 unanswered points in less than four minutes of action.

The second half didn’t start much better for Idaho. Layne threw an interception to Jon Johnson on the Vandals’ first offensive play, and five minutes later Jones scored the third touchdown, this one from 9 yards out. Mellott added a 5-yard TD pass to Dowler later in the third, and Montana State took a 45-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

Less than a minute into the fourth, Jones added another touchdown. After taking a Mellott pass 56 yards to the 2-yard line, Jones scored his fourth TD of the night on the next play.

Layne and Dwyer connected for another Idaho touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Pope added a 43-yard field goal.

Montana State improved to 14-0 for the first time in program history, and the 14-game winning streak is also the best in program history. Fourth-year head coach Brent Vigen is now 30-1 during his career at Bobcat Stadium and has guided Montana State to the postseason semifinals in three of his four years.

Idaho, which was the eighth seed for this year’s playoffs and entered Saturday’s game on a six-game winning streak, finishes the season at 10-4.

Turning point: Hamper’s fumble completely changed the complexion of the game. It was only a one-score game as Idaho started the series with an opportunity to close the half. Instead of driving the field and scoring points, the turnover gave the Bobcats a short field and started the avalanche that ended the first half.

State of the game: Montana State dominated in every facet, and perhaps nothing illustrates that more than the teams’ performances on third down. The Bobcats converted on 11 of 15 third-down plays, while Idaho was just 2 of 10, with its first successful third-down conversion coming in the fourth quarter against Montana State’s second-string defense.

Bobcat game balls: RB Adam Jones (Offensive). With Humphrey sidelined, Jones, the Big Sky Conference freshman of the year, proved more than capable. He handled the bulk of the haul, finishing with 23 totes for 95 yards and four touchdowns. He also had three catches for 66 yards. Jones, a graduate of Missoula Sentinel High School, now has 1,068 rushing yards on the season.

DE Brody Grebe (defense). Grebe started the game by busting a fourth-down run on Idaho’s first possession to keep the Vandals off the scoreboard early on. And his fumble recovery in the second quarter was one of the game’s pivotal plays. The official statistics gave Grebe only one tackle, but his imprint was all over the game.

What’s next: Montana State has its final home game of the season at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21 against either UC Davis or South Dakota in the semifinal round. The Coyotes host the Aggies at 13.00 on Saturday in a quarter-final match.