BOZEMAN — Idaho head football coach Jason Eck had a couple tricks up his sleeve. He just employed them at the wrong times.
Right after tying the game 10-10 with 8 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first half, the Vandals tried an onside kick. The ball was mis-hit and Montana State got the ball on the UI 38-yard line. MSU QB Tommy Mellott later scored on an 8-yard run.
The unraveling continued when the Vandals fumbled — a self-inflicted wound by way of wide receiver Mark Hamper running into offensive lineman Ayden Knapik. MSU defensive end Brody Grebe recovered it at the UI 28. Running back Adam Jones scored a 2-yard TD.
The Bobcats forced the first punt of the game with about 35 seconds left in the first half. After not liking what he saw, Mellott decided to scramble once a hole opened, he said. Mellott hurdled UI defensive back Andrew Marshall, eventually being forced out 63 yards later at the 2. Jones scored again with 8 seconds left.
“That two-minute drill and the score right before that, that makes such a big difference,” Mellott said. “It just takes the life out of them. So to finish off the quarter with that, we felt a lot of momentum going our way.”
Eck said the Vandals were in “rough shape” after the failed onside kick and the fumble, which led to a snowball effect as the first half wound down.
“The onside kick in particular was a gamble that they maybe felt like they needed to take to create an extra possession and it created a short field for us,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “And it’s not as painful if we don’t turn that into a score.”
The second quarter explosion helped propel the No. 1 seed Bobcats to a 52-19 win over the No. 8 seed Vandals Friday night at Bobcat Stadium. MSU improved to 14-0 and will host the winner of No. 4 South Dakota/No. 5 UC Davis in the semifinals next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
After MSU advanced to the FCS national championship game at the end of the 2021 season, that set a new expectation for “where we want to be” in this program, Vigen said.
“You’re not guaranteed that just because you want it,” he added. “But I think this is our expectation that we’re playing deep into the season. We’re creating opportunities to play in big games and that’s where we’re at right now.”
Mellott finished with 131 rushing yards and a TD on 14 carries. He also went 12 of 18 for 174 passing yards and two more scores. Eck called it a “tremendous performance” that further proved Mellott deserves the Walter Payton Award. UI linebacker Jaxton Eck added that the combination of a dual threat QB and arguably the best O-line the Vandals have faced all year made Mellott challenging to defend all game.
Vigen pointed to the plays Mellott in key situations. Mellott converted a third-and-11 with a 25-yard pass to WR Ty McCullouch. After missing WR Lonyatta Alexander Jr., he connected for 21 yards on the next play. After throwing an interception — and nearly throwing a second to UI DB Tommy McCormick — the Bobcats scored six consecutive TDs.
“To capitalize this time of year on opportunities is critical. And we did that,” Vigen said. “We limited their opportunities after we gave them a few big plays and we were able to open up the margin.”
The Bobcats converted 11 of 15 third downs, compared to UI going 2 for 10. Jason Eck said the Vandals threw some “new wrinkles” at Mellott, but the QB seemed to always get out of a jam. MSU also finished with 283 rushing yards.
When we got him to third down we couldn’t get off the field,” Eck said.
Jones finished with 95 yards and four TDs on 23 carries, along with three catches for 66 yards. That put him at 1,068 rushing yards and 14 rushing TDs on the season, which are both program records for a freshman.
Jones credited his teammates with helping him reach those two milestones. His jersey was slightly torn after taking so many hits in the game after averaging 4.1 yards a carry. He did break a couple plays open — such as a 35-yarder in the first quarter — which he chalked up to perseverance.
“You just got to put your head down and you got to get what you can,” Jones said, adding, “And then with our O-line I know that there’s going to be two or three plays a game where there’s going to be a crease.”
That 35-yard Jones run helped set up a 3-yard TD pass to TE Rylan Schlepp on the opening drive.
Idaho looked for a quick answer, with QB Jack Layne — who was sidelined due to injury in the previous matchup, a 38-7 MSU win on Oct. 12 — connecting with WR Jordan Dwyer for 18 yards and WR Mark Hamper for another 13. But the Vandals stalled out on a fourth-and-1, with MSU LB McCade O’Reilly stopping UI RB Deshaun Buchanan.
Mellott was forced into making one of his few mistakes after UI LB Zach Johnson came on a blitz. The errant throw turned into an interception — only Mellott’s second pick of the season — caught by LB Isiah King.
On the very next play, Layne threw a 55-yard bomb to Dwyer for a TD to tie it 7-7. Dwyer torched the MSU secondary — particularly in the first half — finishing with 11 catches for 189 yards and two TDs.
“It felt good to start like that,” Dwyer said. “I was thinking we were going to be in it a little longer. But things just didn’t go our way tonight.”
Both sides traded field goals — MSU’s Myles Sansted hit a 46-yard try and UI’s Cameron Pope connected from 32 yards — to tie it 10-10. The second-quarter avalanche followed, with MSU scoring 24 points in the frame to make it 31-10 at halftime.
Layne threw a pick to MSU cornerback Jon Johnson to open the second half. That set up Jones’ third TD of the day — a 9-yard run.
The Vandals tried another trick play — this time a fake punt — and DB Kyrin Beachem found punter LJ Harm wide open. The punter did more harm than good, though, falling down at the UI 41 for the turnover. MSU continued pouring it on, with Mellott finding WR Taco Dowler for a 5-yard TD.
Mellott then found Jones for a 56-yard catch and run, with Jones tackled at the UI 2. Jones scored on the next play.
Dwyer later hauled in a 25-yard TD — UI failed on the two-point conversion attempt — and Pope added a 43-yard FG.
Things aren’t going to always go perfectly at this point in the playoffs, Mellott said. He pointed to the Bobcats’ resilience to overcome some early setbacks and go for the kill when they had the chance. Pulling away came down to trust and consistent execution.
“A lot of stuff (happened in the first half) that you can’t quite dial up,” Vigen said. “It’s just guys continuing to believe, whether it was offense, defense or special teams making those plays to extend that lead.”