MSU QB receives national recognition
Montana State's latest heart-stopping comeback win has earned quarterback Travis Lulay national recognition a day after receiving conference honors.
Lulay was named the CSTV National Player of the Week by college Sports Television on Tuesday for leading the Bobcats back from a 24-17 fourth-quarter deficit to win 31-24 in overtime against Portland State.
Lulay threw for a career-high 375 yards on 27-of-56 passing with one touchdown. On Monday he was named the offensive player of the week for the Big Sky Conference.
"Travis was awarded some pretty prestigious awards this week," MSU coach Mike Kramer said. "But it does come with some chagrin. If he would be as effective early in the game as he is late, he wouldn't have that many attempts."
Lulay and the Bobcat offense had just three points at halftime, which again put MSU in a hole early.
"He had a three-play sequence in the first quarter where he badly misfired on three passes," Kramer said. "But all of our guys played poorly."
Adding injury to the ignominy of the poor play, Lulay got dinged up toward the end of the half when he was sandwiched between three Viking defenders. The result was a sprained ankle and a sprained knee, and after a helmet-to-helmet hit, Lulay was a little dazed and confused to boot.
After getting checked - and cleared - for a concussion, Lulay returned in the second half to lead the comeback, which included the tying touchdown as time expired in regulation and then the OT win.
"You've got to love the drama," Kramer said. "We find a way to be a little ineffective until it gets a little closer to the end.
"I'm pretty proud of our guys. We don't get bothered by any type of deficit, especially on defense.
"I think our discipline is the thing. We never give up. They're desperately concerned about showing each other they never give up."
- MOLLOHAN'S MOMENT: Linebacker Mac Mollohan had what Kramer called the key play of the game Saturday.
Portland State had third-and-two at its own 41 with just over two minutes left in regulation. Running back Ryan Fuqua, who already had 108 yards to that point, tried for the first down, only to be stuffed for no gain by the former Flathead standout, with some help from Roger Cooper.
The Vikings had to punt and MSU embarked on the game-tying drive.
"When Mac came up with the big stop on third down, that was key," Kramer said. "That's not the kind of thing you talk about right after the game, but it was huge."
- ETC.: The Bobcats are 3-0 in the Big Sky for the first time since 1982, when they started 4-0. … Saturday's game was MSU's first overtime contest since 1994. The Bobcats are 4-1 all-time in overtime. … When Lulay went down with the injuries, Montana State not only had to find a new QB, but a new punter as well. EJ Cochrane, who won the Weber State game a week earlier, stepped in and averaged 55.8 yards on four punts.