The Montana State Bobcats, who started this season 0-2, made enough big plays to defeat previously undefeated Montana 31-28 in the 124th Brawl of the Wild on Saturday.
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Justin Lamson, a senior in his first year as the starting quarterback, helped the No. 3 Bobcats to their 10th straight victory with 160 yards passing and another 80 rushing.
His 23-yard touchdown run on third-and-1 with 8:58 left in the game gave MSU (10-2, 8-0 Big Sky Conference) a 31-21 lead that proved insurmountable.
Not that the No. 2 Grizzlies (11-1, 7-1 Big Sky) didn’t try: With 6:59 left, Eli Gillman crossed the goal line on a 52-yard scoring run, cutting the lead to 31-28.
The Cats never turned the ball over, ran out the clock, and won their second straight Big Sky football title in front of a record 27,340 fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
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“It was a great game,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “Obviously we would have liked to score one more point than the others. But it was a great game.
“There were some fundamental things in the game, whether it was the deflected pass that they intercepted and scored, or a low kick, or a touchdown that was overturned. Those were fundamental things that probably ended up making the difference.”
So, let’s review. The Grizzlies led 7-3 on Brooks Davis’ highlight catch of a 14-yard pass from Keali’i Ah Yat at 5:59 of the first quarter, and 21-17 on Michael Wortham’s 5-yard run to cap a 16-play, 89-yard drive to open the second half.
The Bobcats continued to respond, even after having to punt in the third quarter. Montana started at its 17 and on third-and-4 Ah Yat attempted to make a pass up the middle to Wortham. He collided with MSU safety Caden Dowler; He slid 34 yards for his second pick-6 in two games, giving the Bobcats a 24-21 lead.
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“I thought (linebacker) Cole Taylor did a good job just getting around the play and maybe forcing a closer throw,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said. “And the ball bounced and Caden was there. It speaks to who he is: right plays, right timing.”
“I knew I had to help out a little bit and I leaned into that,” Dowler said. “I caught the ball and thought, ‘How does this keep happening?’ and you know, I ran it to the end zone.”
Montana’s next possession reached the MSU 18-yard line and then stopped. First, an illegal man flag on the field erased a 9-yard Wortham reception. Then, a holding call negated a 23-yard touchdown reception by Davis, who had 10 catches for 112 yards.
Finally, Ty Morrison came in for a 47-yard field goal and MSU’s Zac Crews blocked it.
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Eight plays later, Lamson was twisting and turning toward the end zone for a 31-21 lead.
“He’s just a well-rounded individual,” Vigen said of the Stanford transfer. “And he’s extremely competitive at the same time, and sometimes those things don’t go together. Tough as nails, he’ll rise to the moment.
“I know there was a lot of talk about him not playing here; that didn’t bother me in the least. He can go into deep waters.”
Gillman had 132 rushing yards, most of it on that late TD in which he separated from MSU lineman Paul Brott.
“You’re winning 10 points and you really want them to earn it,” Vigen said. “We had him bottled up, but he’s the type of running back where it’s better to have more than one there, and we didn’t do that. We benched him and he left.”
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MSU rode Julius Davis (106 yards on 15 carries) on that final drive that ate up the clock. He had runs of 14, 11 and 9 yards and had 2 on fourth-and-1 near midfield.
Lamson gained 6 yards on third-and-5 before Adam Jones, part of a healthy Missoula Sentinel Cats contingent along with Crews and safety JJ Dolan, took a 15-yard run to the UM 17. That put MSU in victory formation.
Jones ran 9 times for 48 yards, with one touchdown. Unfortunately, Dolan was knocked out by a broken leg.
Lamson completed 18 of 20 passes, including a 27-yard touchdown to Dane Steel that put the Cats up 17-7.
Ah Yat completed 26 of 32 passes, but only 186 yards, throwing under the sticks throughout the game. He also had an 18-yard scoring run that rivaled Lamson’s.
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Wortham had three carries, including a 35-yard run that set up Davis’ touchdown, and caught a pass for 3 yards. Drew Deck had five receptions for 31 yards. Deck, like Davis, accumulated most of his yards after the catch.
Montana had four sacks; MSU had two.
“The defense gave up 24 points,” Hauck said. “The special teams were pretty effective. Offensively we moved the ball well and scored 28 points. It probably should have been enough, but it wasn’t.”
The good news: Very few FCS teams can match the Cats and Griz in terms of records. A close game, instead of the blowouts of the last four years (two for each team), could keep both teams in the top four. The playoff selection show airs Sunday at 10 a.m. on ESPNU.
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“We need to focus on what happened to Ohio State last year; they lost to Michigan in their rivalry game and I think they won four in a row,” Hauck said of the defending CFP champion Buckeyes. “That’s what we’re going to focus on and hopefully we get a chance to play against them again.”