Saturday, November 9
BOZEMAN
1:00 pm
Montana State University
10-0 , 6-0
49
vs
7
Sacramento State
3-7 , 1-5
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Sacramento St.
0
0
7
0
7
Montana St.
14
14
14
7
49
Adam Jones
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Montana State Piles Up Big Numbers in Historic Win Over Sacramento State
11/9/2024 7:16:00 PM | Football
Bobcats score school-record seven rushing touchdowns
BOZEMAN, Montana – Plenty of crazy numbers dotted the final statistics of Montana State's 49-7 win over Sacramento State in relatively balmy Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.
MSU's seven rushing touchdowns set a school record. The 508 rushing yards was second-most all-time. The Cats gained more than 600 total yards for the second time in three games. And Montana State has now scored in 21 consecutive quarters.
But for all the gaudy numbers, one mattered more than the others.
Ten. Or specifically, Ten and oh.
That's what the Bobcats ran their record to after Saturday's victory on a mild 50-degree afternoon that felt more like mid-September than mid-November, the first time an MSU team has ever been 10-0.
"We were not worrying about going 10-0, honestly," said MSU coach Brent Vigen. "But when play well, when you live in the moment, and you continue to do (the right) things, you give yourself that opportunity."
The opportunities came early on Saturday, and the Cats seized them. A team battling a plague of injuries, Sacramento State pieced together an impressive drive on Saturday, but the Cats forced a punt. The Hornets pinned MSU at the 11.
Scottre Humphrey gained nine yards on first down, the 16 more on second. On first-and-10 from the MSU 36, a sweep to Ty McCullouch resulted in a 64-yard touchdown dash, and Montana State's ground game was off to the races.
After forcing a long Sac State missed field goal on the ensuing possession, MSU again scored on its third play. This was a 46-yard pass from Tommy Mellott to McCullouch to give the Cats a 14-0 lead. MSU fumbled on its next possession, but then Julius Davis scored his first touchdown of the season early in the second quarter, and Tommy Mellott scored to close the competitive portion of the game.
While the Bobcats were racing to 284 rushing yards in the first half, extending the lead to 28-0, MSU's defense stifled the Hornets. Sacramento State gained 33 yards on its first drive of the game, and just 117 yards on its next five. The Bobcats ended Sac State's first half when Jon Johnson intercepted a pass in the end zone.
"They made a few plays here and there," Vigen said. "But I thought for the first (defensive) group to hold them in check was pretty impressive."
Redshirt freshman running back Adam Jones rushed for a game-high 159 yards on just five carries. He dashed 78 yards early in the game, but was tripped up short of the goal line. "That's not a great look to get caught," he said with a sheepish grin. That wouldn't happen on his next opportunity, when he scored on a 57-yard run in the third quarter. That made the score 42-7, and ended the day for MSU's top players.
Sophomore running back Scottre Humphrey gained 129 yards, including a 48-yard run. He has surpassed the 100-yard mark in four straight games, and seven of the 10 this season. He has now gained 1,632 yards in his two season, 21st on the school's all-time rushing list.
The day's dark note came before kickoff, when All-America defensive end Brody Grebe was scratched from the lineup with an injury. Hunter Parsons made his first start, and Vigen was pleased with the results. "Hunter Parsons has made the jump from his sophomore to his junior year. Sitting Brody today to get him healthy wasn't complicated because we could put Hunter Parsons in there and know he'd perform."
As was noted often after Saturday's win, the Cats now stand 10-0, 6-0 in the Big Sky. Sacramento State, fighting through a wave of injuries, is 3-7 overall, 1-5 in the league.
In its previous 119 football seasons, Montana State had never begun 10-0. In fact, the Cats have won 10 games in a full season just eight times now. "I don't think we're thinking about history," Vigen said. "We're thinking about what's next. We're thinking about UC Davis."
The Bobcats face the nationally-ranked Aggies in Davis next Saturday at 6 pm MT.
#GoCatsGo
MSU's seven rushing touchdowns set a school record. The 508 rushing yards was second-most all-time. The Cats gained more than 600 total yards for the second time in three games. And Montana State has now scored in 21 consecutive quarters.
But for all the gaudy numbers, one mattered more than the others.
Ten. Or specifically, Ten and oh.
That's what the Bobcats ran their record to after Saturday's victory on a mild 50-degree afternoon that felt more like mid-September than mid-November, the first time an MSU team has ever been 10-0.
"We were not worrying about going 10-0, honestly," said MSU coach Brent Vigen. "But when play well, when you live in the moment, and you continue to do (the right) things, you give yourself that opportunity."
The opportunities came early on Saturday, and the Cats seized them. A team battling a plague of injuries, Sacramento State pieced together an impressive drive on Saturday, but the Cats forced a punt. The Hornets pinned MSU at the 11.
Scottre Humphrey gained nine yards on first down, the 16 more on second. On first-and-10 from the MSU 36, a sweep to Ty McCullouch resulted in a 64-yard touchdown dash, and Montana State's ground game was off to the races.
After forcing a long Sac State missed field goal on the ensuing possession, MSU again scored on its third play. This was a 46-yard pass from Tommy Mellott to McCullouch to give the Cats a 14-0 lead. MSU fumbled on its next possession, but then Julius Davis scored his first touchdown of the season early in the second quarter, and Tommy Mellott scored to close the competitive portion of the game.
While the Bobcats were racing to 284 rushing yards in the first half, extending the lead to 28-0, MSU's defense stifled the Hornets. Sacramento State gained 33 yards on its first drive of the game, and just 117 yards on its next five. The Bobcats ended Sac State's first half when Jon Johnson intercepted a pass in the end zone.
"They made a few plays here and there," Vigen said. "But I thought for the first (defensive) group to hold them in check was pretty impressive."
Redshirt freshman running back Adam Jones rushed for a game-high 159 yards on just five carries. He dashed 78 yards early in the game, but was tripped up short of the goal line. "That's not a great look to get caught," he said with a sheepish grin. That wouldn't happen on his next opportunity, when he scored on a 57-yard run in the third quarter. That made the score 42-7, and ended the day for MSU's top players.
Sophomore running back Scottre Humphrey gained 129 yards, including a 48-yard run. He has surpassed the 100-yard mark in four straight games, and seven of the 10 this season. He has now gained 1,632 yards in his two season, 21st on the school's all-time rushing list.
The day's dark note came before kickoff, when All-America defensive end Brody Grebe was scratched from the lineup with an injury. Hunter Parsons made his first start, and Vigen was pleased with the results. "Hunter Parsons has made the jump from his sophomore to his junior year. Sitting Brody today to get him healthy wasn't complicated because we could put Hunter Parsons in there and know he'd perform."
As was noted often after Saturday's win, the Cats now stand 10-0, 6-0 in the Big Sky. Sacramento State, fighting through a wave of injuries, is 3-7 overall, 1-5 in the league.
In its previous 119 football seasons, Montana State had never begun 10-0. In fact, the Cats have won 10 games in a full season just eight times now. "I don't think we're thinking about history," Vigen said. "We're thinking about what's next. We're thinking about UC Davis."
The Bobcats face the nationally-ranked Aggies in Davis next Saturday at 6 pm MT.
#GoCatsGo
Team Stats
SAC
MSU
Total Yards
255
607
Pass Yards
136
96
Rushing Yards
119
511
Penalty Yards
10
50
1st Downs
15
24
3rd Downs
6
8
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
26:35
33:25
1st Quarter
SAC 0, MSU 7
MSU - McCullouch,Ty 64 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 3 plays, 89 yards, TOP 01:14
SAC 0, MSU 14
MSU - Mellott,Tommy 14 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 4 plays, 66 yards, TOP 01:55
2nd Quarter
SAC 0, MSU 21
MSU - Davis,Julius 5 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 8 plays, 85 yards, TOP 04:33
SAC 0, MSU 28
MSU - Mellott,Tommy 13 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 05:05
3rd Quarter
SAC 0, MSU 35
MSU - Humphrey,Scottre 3 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:30
SAC 0, MSU 42
MSU - Jones,Adam 57 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:39
SAC 7, MSU 42
SAC - Borders,Curron 43 yd run (Schreiner,Zach kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:17
4th Quarter
SAC 7, MSU 49
MSU - Davis,Julius 1 yd run (Sansted,Myles kick), 14 plays, 62 yards, TOP 07:35
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
7
TD
0
YDS
89
INT
0
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
7
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DE
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