No. 1 Bobcats end No. 8 Idaho’s historic season

The Idaho Vandals not only needed to be perfect if they were going to beat No. 1 Montana State, they needed to be lucky.

One recovered onside kick, a self-forced Vandal fumble and 42 straight Bobcat points later and Montana State turned a 10-10 game in the second quarter to a 52-19 final.

When it cost them the most, the Vandals (10-4) were not only imperfect but unlucky.

The No. 8 Idaho Vandals’ third straight trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and second consecutive quarterfinal appearance ended with a blowout loss to Montana State (14-0) on Friday at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Mont.

An aggressive approach

Idaho coach Jason Eck knew the mountain of points that the Big Sky’s best Montana State was capable of scoring, so he attempted to make his own luck.

Idaho quarterback Jack Layne completed his first four passes for 43 yards to lead the Vandals into the red zone on their opening drive. On fourth-and-2 from the MSU 18, redshirt freshman running back Deshaun Buchanan got the ball and was met by about half the Bobcats’ defense for no gain.

On the Bobcats’ ensuing drive, Idaho all-conference linebacker Isiah King got revenge by diving backward to intercept Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott’s pass.

Then, on the very next play, Layne found sophomore wide receiver Jordan Dwyer for a 55-yard touchdown.

The Vandals previously lost to Montana State 38-7 on Oct. 12 without Layne under center.

With the game tied 10-10, the Vandals were knotted up with the No. 1 team in the FCS and decided to manufacture their own fortune.

Idaho kicker Cameron Pope attempted an onside kick that the Bobcats recovered. With a short field, the top team took a lead it would not relinquish.

Later in the quarter, Idaho wide receiver Mark Hamper bumped into an offensive lineman and lost the ball with Idaho down by 7.

The Bobcats jumped on the fumble and took an early Christmas present from the Vandals and turned it into a two-score lead.

Then, with under a minute remaining in the half, the Vandals punted and Mellott took a snap and scrambled 63 yards to the red zone.

Montana State scored 21 straight points to enter halftime up 31-10.

With their backs against the wall, the Vandals faked a punt, but the pass play was well shy of the first down.

“I think we got to take some chances with them being such a good team,” Eck said.

Career day from Jordan Dwyer

For the second straight week, Dwyer racked up a career-high receiving yards mark. The sophomore from Puyallup, Wash., gained 189 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches.

Dwyer was wide open in the first quarter when Layne capitalized off of a turnover with a deep touchdown his way.

The pair also connected for a 25-yard score to open the fourth quarter.

Layne completed the first seven of his passes for over 100 yards and ended the night with 20-of-30 complete passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

No. 1 team is No. 1

Idaho linebacker Jaxton Eck, the son of coach Jason Eck, recorded 13 tackles, but it was not enough to stop the No. 1 scoring offense in the FCS.

Mellott, the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, completed 12-of-18 passes for 174 yards and added 131 yards rushing on 14 attempts. He passed for two touchdowns and ran for one as running back Adam Jones, the Big Sky Freshman of the year, totaled 95 yards on 23 carries with four touchdowns.

The Bobcat defense, the No. 6 scoring defense in the FCS with 17 points allowed per game, grabbed a fumble and opened the second half with an interception.

Idaho ended the season with 10 wins and four losses, three of them to No. 1 teams. Montana State advances to the semifinals and will face the winner of No. 5 UC Davis and No. 4 South Dakota.

“I’m very proud of the seniors. They should keep their head high. You know, again, we have four losses. Three of our losses are the teams around the field of Montana State, so we haven’t been losing to bad teams or anything,” Eck said. “Obviously this is a sour note to go out on, but only one team really ends on a high note, the way the FCS playoffs work. Lots to build on, lots to be proud of.”

Idaho 7 3 0 9 — 19

Montana State 10 24 14 7 — 52

FIRST QUARTER

MSU — Rylan Schlepp 3 pass from Tommy Mellott (Myles Sansted kick)

IDA — Jordan Dwyer 55-yard pass from Jack Layne (Cameron Pope kick)

SECOND QUARTER

MSU — Sansted 46 kick 11:19

IDA — Pope 32 kick 8:22

MSU — Mellott 8 run (Sansted kick) 3:47

MSU — Adam Jones 2 run (Sansted kick) 1:15

MSU — Jones 1 run (Sansted kick) 00:08

THIRD QUARTER

MSU — Jones 9 run (Sansted kick) 9:41

MSU — Taco Dowler 5 pass from Mellott (Sansted kick) 00:59

FOURTH QUARTER

MSU — Jones 2 run (Sansted kick)

IDA — Dwyer 25 pass from Layne (Layne pass failed)

IDA — Pope 43 field goal 3:55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING — Idaho: Jack Layne 20-30-1-239, Nick Josifek 2-5-0-18, Emmerson Cortez-Menjivar 1-1-0-7; Montana State: Tommy Mellott 12-18-1-174, Chance Wilson 0-1-0-0

RUSHING — Deshaun Buchanan 10-95, Eli Cummings 2-26, Art Williams 3-22, Josifek 4-12, Layne 2-(-11), Rocco Koch 1-0; Montana State: Mellott 14-131, Adam Jones 23-95, Colson Coon 10-44, Wilson 3-11, Jared White 2-3

RECEIVING — Idaho: Dwyer 11-189, Cortez-Menjivar 2-36, LJ Harm 1-7, Ayden Knapik 1-(-2), Noah West-Baranco 2-12, Mark Hamper 2-11, Williams 1-11, Buchanan 3-0; Montana State: Jones 3-66, Lonyatta Alexander 2-37, Rylan Schlepp 1-3, Ty McCullouch 1-25, Taco Dowler 3-15, Coon 1-14, Ryan Lonergan 1-15.

Attendance: 18,127.