FCS Playoffs: Bobcats top Coyotes 31-17

Montana State fans celebrate on the field with the Bobcats after a 31-17 win over South Dakota in an FCS semifinal game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) heads to the end zone on a 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State wide receiver Taco Dowler (14) catches a 34-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) hurdles a defender on a 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) scores a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the first quarter of an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State's Lonyatta Alexander Jr. (2), Scottre Humphrey (22) and Ryan Lonergan (87) celebrate after Humphrey's 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State fans cheer on the Bobcats during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State running back Adam Jones (23) picks up yardage on a run in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) drops back to pass in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State linebacker McCade O'Reilly (43) tackles South Dakota running back Travis Theis (5) on a run in the second half during an FCS semifinal game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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by FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Daily Inter Lake | December 21, 2024 4:49 PM

BOZEMAN — Back to Frisco go the Bobcats.

Quarterback Tommy Mellott ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score, leading Montana State over South Dakota 31-17 in an FCS semifinal game Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

The Bobcats, 15-0, will face North Dakota State (13-2) in the Division I Football Championship in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 6. It’s a rematch up of the 2021 title game, which NDSU won 38-10; the Bison beat two-time defending national champion South Dakota State 28-21 in Saturday’s first semifinal.

Mellott was 8 of 17 passing for 134 yards, including a 34-yard dime to Taco Dowler for the day’s first touchdown. But it was his legs that made the difference: He scored from 5 yards out late in the first quarter; then he had a game-breaking play early in the third.

Facing a third-and-1 at the USD 41-yard line, Mellott dropped the shot gun snap, recovered it and found the middle wide open. He shot the gap, leapt out of a tackle, barely held his balance and cruised in to put the Cats up 31-14.

A rematch with the Bison seemed ordained.

“We haven’t had a lot of errant snaps, or he’s handled it,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said. “He didn’t handle that one and got a fortuitous bounce. If he’s not the most impactful player in our division, I know we’re going to see the other one (NDSU’s Cam Miller) down in Frisco. And we’ll settle it on the field I suppose.

“Tommy does so much for us. He could easily have gone down on at that play and somehow kept his balance. And I’m sure they were wondering what the heck just happened.”

The game wasn’t over: The Coyotes (11-3) gave up the ball on downs twice in the fourth quarter, once at MSU’s 2-yard line and again at the Bobcat 20.

The outcome wasn’t truly decided until South Dakota, after forcing a third straight Bobcat punt, tried a hook-and-ladder and fumbled with 1:41 left. Senior defensive end Brody Grebe — like Mellott, an important piece of that 2021 title-game run — recovered for MSU at the Coyote 24-yard.

Mellott, who teamed with Grebe to sweep the Big Sky Conference’s player of the year awards this fall, then knelt out the clock as 20,557 fans looked on.

“Brody’s a stud,” Mellott said of the fellow senior, who had a sack to go with his fumble recovery. “I think that he is just a wrecking ball out there. He’s the focus of every single offense. I love that guy and I’m excited to be able to play another game with him.”

Adam Jones added 66 yards on 18 carries for MSU, and Scottre Humphrey gained 35 yards on 11 attempts, including a 1-yard scoring run at 8:24 of the second quarter.

That gave MSU a 21-14 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

South Dakota quarterback Aidan Bouman was 20 of 29 passing for 236 yards. Eighty of those yards went to bruising back Travis Theis, who also ran for 110 yards on 14 carries.

heis had a 55-yard run that tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter; Charles Pierre had a 45-yard burst that knotted the score at 14-14 on the first play of the second quarter.

Pierre got only a couple touches after his TTD, while MSU maintained its lead. Theis, meanwhile, was a battering ram.

“That was not easy by any means, today,” Vigen said. That’s a really good outfit.

‘We had a heck of a time with Theis. That was something that we anticipated, that he was going to be one of the better players we’ve seen all year. But ultimately we got them in some third and long situations.”

South Dakota wound up with more yards than MSU, outgaining the Cats 108-18 in the fourth quarter. It didn’t matter. The Bobcats, after a stunning round second-round loss to NDSU last season, are heading back to Texas.

“We’re going to have to play extremely well,” Vigen said of facing the Bison. “We’re going to have to prepare like crazy these next couple weeks to put ourselves in position. But we’re going to go down there with a team that’s going to fight and be right in the fight.”

Montana State fans cheer on the Bobcats during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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