Chambers, Bobcats dominate Weber 40-0
OGDEN, Utah — The rematch was a mismatch.
Quarterback Sean Chambers threw for two touchdowns and ran for 114 yards and two more scores, and No. 3 Montana State scored a dominant, 40-0 win over No. 8 Weber State Saturday.
It was the fourth matchup in three seasons for the Big Sky Conference programs, who played two tight contests in 2022, both Bobcat wins and both in Bozeman.
Despite starting quarterback Tommy Mellott missing this one with a leg injury, the Bobcats (3-1 overall, 1-0 in the Big Sky) controlled things completely at Stewart Stadium. Weber State (2-2, 0-1) managed just 208 yards and 13 first downs, and MSU allowed return man extraordinaire Abraham Williams to catch just one kickoff (he picked up 24 yards).
“That’s obviously a very capable team,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said. “They moved the ball at times, and we bowed up several times. The offense was opportunistic and wore them out. We really wore them out.
“I’m sure there are things we can improve upon, but a really great win tonight.”
Chambers sandwiched touchdown passes covering 29 and 24 yards to tight end Treyton Pickering around scoring runs of 10 and 29 yards. His two rushing TDs came two minutes apart in the second quarter, putting MSU up 20-0 with 5:30 left in the first half.
Pickering’s second TD made it 26-0 with 13:22 left in the game, and running backs Jared White and Elijah Elliott tacked on scoring runs of 14 and 56 yards.
“I think we figured out in this first stretch that we’ve got some guys that really run the ball,” said Vigen, who saw Mellott run for 273 yards against Weber State last October. “We’ve got some mean nasty guys up front and some guys that run really hard behind them.”
With Julius Davis picking up 133 yards on just 14 carries, the Bobcats rolled up 346 yards rushing and 518 overall. Chambers completed eight of 17 passes, with Pickering hauled in three for 83 yards.
Weber State QB Kylan Weisser was 14 of 29 passing for 101 yards; Wildcat running back Damon Bankston was held to 36 yards on 14 carries.
Last Oct. 22 the Bobcats beat Weber 43-38 thanks in large part to a flurry of bad Wildcat punt snaps that resulted in four safeties. Williams had a 100-yard kickoff return in that game as well.
In the playoffs MSU built a 33-10 lead and held on, 33-25.
In 1984 the Bobcats beat Weber State 48-0 en route to their last national championship.
“We had two dogfights with them last year and one the year before (a 13-7 MSU win), and expected one today,” Vigen said. “Winning on the road is paramount in the league, because the last I checked, the last few champions didn’t lose a game.”
The Bobcats host Portland State for homecoming this coming Saturday, at 2 p.m.
Montana St. 40, Weber St. 0
MSU 0 20 0 20 - 40
Weber St. 0 0 0 0 - 22
Second Quarter
MSU—Pickering 29 pass from Chambers (Brendan Hall kick), 14;)7
MSU—Chambers 10 run (kick failed), 7:35
MSU—Chambers 29 run (Hall kick), 5:30
Fourth Quarter
MSU—Pickering 24 pass from Chambers (kick failed), 13:22
MSU—White 14 run (Kautzman kick), 6:08
MSU—Elliott 56 run (Kautzman kick), 2:47
MSU WSU
First downs 24 13
Total Net Yards 518 208
Rushes-yards 45-346 41-107
Passing 172 101
Punt Returns 3-15 2-13
Kickoff Returns 0-0 1-24
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 8-17-0 14-29-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 3-16 4-19
Punts 4-44.3 6-49.8
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-a
Penalties-Yards 5-50 5-44
Time of Possession 30:50 29:10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—MSU, Davis 14-133, Chambers 12-114, White 13-71, Elliott 3-61, Humphrey 1-0. WSU, Bankston 14-36, Jackson 7-31, Cormier 5-18, Weisser 13-12, Burgess 1-7, Hadley 1-3.
PASSING—MSU, Chambers 8-17-0-172. WSU, 14-29-0-101.
RECEIVING—MSU, Pickering 3-83, Thomas Jr. 4-67, Garrigan 1-22. WSU, Hurry 2-30, Hadley 3-21, Meacham 2-12, Record 2-12, Nead 1-9, Sharp 1-7, Evans 1-7, Thrower 1-6, Jackson 1-minus 3.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—MSU, Hall 2.