Montana State uses strong second half to drop UC Davis, 38-17
Opportunistic Bobcats use two long interception returns to end Aggie upset hopes
BOZEMAN, Montana - The Montana State Bobcats proved why they are one of the favorites to win the FCS national championship by stopping the UC Davis Aggies, 38-17, here Saturday night in a Big Sky Conference showdown before a wildly enthusiastic overflow crowd of 21,777 at Bobcat Stadium.
The win was the ninth straight for the No. 3 Bobcats and pushes their Big Sky mark to 7-0 and overall record to 9-2. It also virtually assures them of a bid to the 24-team FCS playoffs that begin November 29 at campus sites across the country.
The No. 10 Aggies dropped to 5-2 in the Big Sky and out of contention for the league championship. UCD is 7-3 overall, but still very much in the running for an FCS at-large berth.
The Aggies finish the regular season at home Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Causeway Classic against archrival Sacramento State. Montana State finishes at No. 2 Montana, 7-0 and 11-0, for the Big Sky title.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” said Aggie head coach Tim Plough.
“But we’re not a pat-on-the-back kind of team. We need to learn from this so we can beat teams like this and it starts with me. I need to coach our guys better and prepare them better. But credit to Montana State and to coach Vigen. They are a great football team and they deserved to win.”
The Aggies jumped to an early 7-0 lead when quarterback Caden Pinnick found Ian Simpson all alone in the end zone for a 29-yard scoring strike. UCD’s defense was able to contain the potent Bobcat attack early and the Aggies took that lead into the second quarter before Montana State rallied.
The Bobcats tied the game at 7-all when quarterback Justin Lamson scored from three yards out to cap a workmanlike 7-play, 80-yard drive.
An 18-yard pass from Lamson to Chris Long gave the Bobcats the lead for good at 14-7 just 1:38 before halftime. Long hurdled several defenders to land in the end zone.
“I thought our defense played great all night, but our offense put them in some tough positions and that was the difference,” Plough added.
Indeed, two interceptions of Pinnick allowed the Bobcats to build a comfortable lead in the second half, much to the delight of their loyal fans who packed the stadium for a 33rd consecutive sellout.
After Myles Sansted pushed MSU’s advantage to 17-7 with a 28-yard field goal early in the third quarter, Caden Dowler broke things open with an 83-yard pick-six of an errant Pinnick pass, putting the game out of reach for UCD.
The game, but outmanned Aggies, cut the lead to 24-10 on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Hunter Ridley nailed a 36-yard field goal, but Dowler had another long interception return to set up a one-yard TD run from Julius Davis for a 31-10 Bobcat lead with 8:09 remaining in the game.
“Caden will learn from those mistakes and only get better,” said Plough of the two interceptions.
The Aggies continued to fight back, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Pinnick to Sam Gbatu, but MSU matched that in the final two minutes on an 18-yard TD run from Lamson.
A look at the final stat sheet paints a deceptive picture of who might have won this game.
UCD rolled up 424 yards and 28 first downs to 377 yards and 15 first downs for Montana State, but you have to add those two interception returns by Dowler for 116 yards to MSU’s total.
“I was proud of the way we played against one of the best teams in the country,” Plough noted.
“We were in there swing for swing and punch for punch. We just need to get a little bit better to where we can beat teams like this. But we still have a chance to play some more games.”
The first of those games comes Saturday afternoon against Sacramento State, where a win is likely to land the Aggies an FCS playoff berth.
Reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
I may be the only one awake to read this rn. Bummer!