Montana State snatches victory from defeat, beats FBS New Mexico in opener

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Trailing by 17 factors initially of the fourth quarter, Montana State appeared all however completed in its season opener Saturday towards FBS New Mexico.

However the Bobcats, led by quarterback Tommy Mellott and their usually stout working recreation, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a 35-31 victory at College Stadium.

Scottre Humphrey’s 4-yard landing run with 13 seconds left capped a game-winning drive that produced the Bobcats’ first victory over an FBS opponent since they beat Colorado to begin the 2006 season. It additionally capped a frantic rally that bought a giant increase on an extended landing run.

Momentum appeared to alter fingers when MSU’s Adam Jones ripped off a 93-yard landing run to drag the Bobcats inside 31-28 with 4:35 remaining.

Additionally, third-down drops by large receivers Luke Wysong and Caleb Medford on consecutive New Mexico possessions gave the Bobcats extra life within the fourth quarter. The go Wysong let slip away appeared prefer it might have gone for a landing. The Lobos additionally missed two discipline targets.

The Bobcats scored 21 unanswered factors within the fourth quarter, together with a 15-yard landing run by Mellott off a busted play with 13:39 on the clock.

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Montana State’s ultimate drive, helmed by a poised and assured Mellott, was an 11-play, 89-yard jaunt that lined 1 minute, 49 seconds.

It didn’t look good for MSU for many of the recreation, and it appeared that two fumble returns by New Mexico could be a deciding issue within the Bobcats shedding the earliest season opener in program historical past.

Christian Ellis’ 40-yard fumble return in first quarter put MSU in a 7-0 gap, and Noah Avinger’s 13-yard scoop-and-score made the rating 31-14 early within the third. However MSU by no means went away and spoiled Bronco Mendenhall’s debut because the Lobos’ new head coach.

Mellott completed his day finishing 21 of 32 passes for 205 yards and two scores, and speeding for 30 yards and one other TD, and overcame his two expensive fumbles from earlier within the recreation.

Turning level: Jones’ 93-yard landing run was the explosive play the Bobcats had been searching for all day.

Lobos punter Aaron Rodriguez had pinned MSU by itself 7-yard line with 5:16 remaining. Mellott stored the ball for a 2-yard achieve on the primary play of the possession, then handed to Jones out of shotgun on the subsequent play, and Jones burst by a gap on the left facet and raced all the way in which to the tip zone to ship a surge of life into his crew.

Stat of the sport: The Bobcats led the FCS in speeding offense final season and do not seem that they’ve misplaced a step in 2024.

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Montana State piled up 362 speeding yards and averaged 7.7 yards per try. Jones, a Missoula Sentinel grad, led the way in which with 167 yards on 17 carries, whereas Humphrey added 140 yards on 19 makes an attempt.

Bobcat recreation balls: RG Marcus Wehr (Offense). The Bobcats established their floor recreation with the assistance of Wehr, who was dominant from his proper guard place. With Wehr because the anchor up entrance, MSU’s working recreation bought stronger as the sport went alongside.

LB McCade O’Reilly (Protection). O’Reilly was a stalwart from his linebacker spot, racking up 10 tackles (5 solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss. He added a go breakup and a quarterback hurry to his stat line because the Bobcats shut out New Mexico’s offense within the second half.

What’s subsequent: The Bobcats, who started the season ranked No. 4 within the Stats Carry out FCS rankings, will probably be on the street once more subsequent week with a visit to Utah Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will probably be obtainable for streaming on ESPN+.

MSU beat the Trailblazers 63-20 final season in Bozeman, as Humphrey rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns in his Bobcat debut.