After Sacramento State was forced to punt on their opening drive, the No. 2 Montana State Bobcats demonstrated why they are the last undefeated team in the FCS on Saturday.
Two run plays by sophomore running back Scottre Humphrey that totaled 25 yards were followed by a 64-yard jet sweep to the right that had senior receiver Ty McCullouch going untouched into the endzone.
The Bobcats would remain confidently in control of the game.
“Really good team, really well balanced and really physical,” Sac State head coach Andy Thompson said. “And had an answer for anything that we did tonight.”
The Hornets were able to mount a response drive that forced senior kicker Zach Schreiner to attempt a 52-yard field goal. Schreiner missed to the right and the Bobcats got the ball back in prime position.
In four plays, senior quarterback Tommy Mellott turned a 7-point lead into a 14-point lead with a drive that was capped off with a 14-yard quarterback keeper to the right for a touchdown.
Stopping the run has remained a problem for the Hornets. Sac State gave up 150 rushing yards in the first quarter and 134 rushing yards in the second.
The Hornets would go three-and-out, but created their only turnover of the match when senior linebacker Will Leota knocked the ball out of redshirt freshman running back Adam Jones’ hands.
Sac State was unable to build any rhythm on offense and the drive stalled out.
The Bobcats took full advantage and nearly scored on a 48-yard run by Humphrey. Senior running back Julius Davis punched it in on the next play with a 5-yard run up the middle.
Going three-and-out again, the Hornets’ inability to stop a mobile quarterback showed once more when Mellott ran for his second touchdown of the game to put the Hornets in the unbearable position of being down four scores before the half.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin had the opportunity to narrow the deficit, getting the ball just before the half.
Conklin hit redshirt freshman receiver Danny Scudero and senior pass catcher Anderson Grover for chunk plays down the field, but the drive ended when Conklin threw off his back foot into the endzone and was intercepted.
Grover and Scudero were the only Hornet receivers who had a catch in the first half of the game.
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The game was well over before half, but the Bobcats didn’t get the message and after a big play was called back due to a holding penalty, their offensive line opened up a large gap for Davis to run through for 78 yards. He was tackled just short of the endzone.
Humphrey came back into the game and earned himself a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 35-0 after the first drive of the half.
The Bobcats continued to gash the Hornets, pounding the rock until the clock hit triple zeroes and the game ended 49-7. Montana State had 511 rushing yards at the end of the game with Jones and Humphrey both over 100.
“For us as a team, we just got to stay together,” senior safety Eian Moore said. “Make sure we stay sound in our gaps, do our job. You can’t do anybody else’s job, we got to do our part first.”
The lone touchdown for Sac State came from redshirt freshman running back Curron Borders in the third quarter. Borders ran up the middle, avoided a tackle and dove in for a 43-yard touchdown.
The Hornets were held to 119 rushing yards with Borders ending the game with the most rushing yards on the team with 57 yards.
“They’re one of the top teams in the conference for run defense, for sure,” Borders said earlier in the week about the Bobcats. “They play hard, they play physical, they play fast.”
The Hornets have two more games remaining on their schedule, their next game coming on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. against Cal Poly.
“We got to get ready for Cal Poly and try to play a better football game and coach a better game,” Thompson said. “That’s the only thing you can do. Just got to get right.”
