Punter Hunter Pittman received the snap and had three teammates protecting behind offensive linemen — linebacker Zach Hill and defensive backs Zack Helsley and Josh Humphries. The two DBs held off the edge rushers, but Hill was left to choose between Montana State safety Rylan Ortt and LB Neil Daily bursting up the middle.

Hill blocked Daily, leaving Ortt a free path to Pittman. The ball slammed to the turf off Ortt’s out-stretched arms and bounced sideways toward the goal line, landing in the arms of MSU defensive end Zac Crews for the touchdown.

Ortt credited both wide receivers coach/co-special teams coordinator Justin Udy and special teams quality control coach Marcus Monaco for devising the right looks each week. The Bobcats have now blocked punts in consecutive games, with DB Taki Uluilakepa doing so in the first quarter against Maine.

“So most weeks I feel very confident that we’re either going to get a bunch of return yards or we’re going to be able to block a punt in the PBR game,” Ortt said after the game. “I think it’s just a credit to the coaches and then the guys going out and everyone doing their 1/11th and executing the game plan.”

This was Ortt’s second career blocked punt, with the first coming at South Dakota State in Week 2 of last year. Ortt said he still argues with running back Julius Davis about who actually blocked that one — “My hand hit something and his hand hit something,” Ortt said — but there was no controversy Saturday.

Ortt was also proud to see a fellow Missoula Sentinel graduate in Crews get the score. It was Crews’ second career TD after a pick-six against Eastern Washington in 2023.

“I looked up and saw it was Zac,” Ortt said. “That kid’s been through a lot, so it’s really awesome to see him make plays out here and some success come his way.”

The No. 3-ranked MSU Bobcats saw plenty of success in a 52-13 win over Mercyhurst Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. Coming off the first bye week of the season, MSU’s offense posted 502 yards, while the defense finished with five sacks and held Mercyhurst to 233 yards.

“I thought today, while it wasn’t perfect, we battled through some things of all types — offense, defense, special teams made plays on all ends,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “We got a lot of guys in the game again and, I would assume, got out of it pretty healthy at the same time.”

MSU finished with a mere 256 rushing yards, which could only be seen as a lesser performance given the Bobcats averaged 355.7 yards per game entering Saturday. Offensive guard Burke Mastel — who made his first career start — said the Lakers had some confusing pre-snap looks early, but the Bobcats eventually figured things out.

Running backs Colson Coon (102 yards and a TD on 10 carries) and Scottre Humphrey (77 yards and a TD on 12 carries) led MSU.

Meanwhile, quarterback Tommy Mellott went 14 of 18 for 214 yards and three TDs through the air. It’s the second time Mellott has thrown for three passing TDs in his career, with the first coming at Northern Colorado in 2022.

Vigen noted some missed opportunities — such as an underthrown ball to WR Ryan King — but also pointed to Mellott’s efficiency. He applauded the plays Mellott did connect on down the field, like a 39-yard pass to tight end Ryan Lonergan with an unblocked blitzer in his face.

“We still have some big play capability that we haven’t executed completely well,” Vigen said. “But where our passing game is now, we all feel like we’re in a different place than we maybe were at this time last year.”

The Bobcats had to settle for a 23-yard field goal on their opening drive, but answered with a 5-yard TD run from Humphrey on drive No. 2. Mellott later connected with WR Taco Dowler for a 5-yard score in the second quarter — Dowler’s first career receiving TD — and found RB Adam Jones for a 50-yard TD right before halftime. The QB capped off his day with a 16-yard TD pass to fullback Rohan Jones in the third quarter.

Backup QB Chance Wilson replaced Mellott on the next drive. RB Jared White fumbled two plays in, allowing for a 43-yard scoop-and-score by Mercyhurst DB Adonis Marshall. The Bobcats later added to their tally with rushing TDs by Coon (50 yards) and Wilson (5 yards).

Vigen called Coon’s run the biggest play of the second half, which mostly featured MSU’s backups. He pointed to how Coon’s impact had mostly been felt in scrimmages given the depth of MSU’s RB room.

“He’s a guy that belongs here and he’s done a lot of things special teams-wise, dirty work,” Vigen added. “But it was good to see him get some run on offense today.”

Defensively, the Bobcats held the Lakers to 71 yards in the first half to help MSU preserve a 31-0 lead at the break. Mercyhurst didn’t score until the fumble recovery with 5:36 left in the third quarter. The Lakers scored again late on a 5-yard TD pass in the fourth.

Ortt said the Bobcats focused on communication during the bye and in practice last week after multiple busted coverages against Maine. Vigen added that the defensive front — featuring three sacks and a forced fumble from DE Brody Grebe — put consistent pressure on Mercyhurst QB Adam Urena.

“I think our front four can get after the quarterback pretty well,” Vigen added. “And it’s great when they get those opportunities because they certainly have gotten more as the games have gone on.”

The Bobcats did suffer a setback in the second quarter, with LB Danny Uluilakepa ejected for targeting. This was the second time Uluilakepa has been ejected for targeting, with the first coming on a similar play at Weber State in 2023. Vigen said he would have to watch Saturday’s play back, but emphasized the importance of players not leading with the crown of their helmet.

Uluilakepa — who had no malicious intent on either targeting play, Vigen said — missed the rest of Saturday’s game, so he won’t have to sit out next week’s game at Idaho State.

“It’s part of our game to teach safety and protect defensive players,” he added. “So I think both of Danny’s have come in that regard, more of that protecting the defensive player versus any kind of harm it would have put on the offensive player.”

Outside of that play, the Bobcats came away from Saturday’s game relatively unscathed, improving to 4-0 with Big Sky Conference play on the horizon.

“I like where we’re at at the end of nonconference, and we’ve got obviously a tough conference slate ahead of us starting with Idaho State next week,” Vigen said.