Brian Morse

Ryan Lonergan had two catches for a touchdown against Northern Colorado on Saturday.

Football
10/5/2024 5:56:00 PM

Tommy Mellott scored five touchdowns on Saturday and Taco Dowler had more than 200 all-purpose yards as Montana State brushed aside Northern Colorado 55-17 in the Bobcats’ annual Homecoming affair.

On MSU’s first offensive play, running back Scottre Humphrey broke loose with a 43-yard gain. Five plays later, Mellott found a wide open Ryan Lonergan to give the third-seeded Bobcats a 6-0 lead. Mellott struck later in the first quarter Rohan Jones from 20 feet out to make it 13-0, and the Bobcats were on pace for a 6-0 overall record (2-0 in Big Sky play) for the first time since 2012.

Dowler, who had 102 yards in punt returns, made the score 20-0 when the wide receiver Ty McCullouch faked an end-around and connected with Dowler on a 34-yard touchdown. It was McCullouch’s first pass attempt of his MSU career. A little later, Danny Uluilakepa intercepted an errant UNC pass to set up a 13-yard running score by Mellott, making the score 27–0 at halftime.

Mellott’s touchdown run was the 33rd of his stellar career, tying the mark Sean Chambers And Troy Andersen at No. 2 on the Bobcats all-time list. He now trails only Cody Kirk, who finished his career in 2013 with 47 rushing scores.

MSU upped the score to 34-0 in the third quarter. MSUs Brody Grebe helped the Bobcats keep UNC out of the end zone with his third sack of the season. On the ensuing offensive sequence, MSU was successful on a fourth down play near midfield. On the next play, Mellott found McCullough, a senior, on a 50-yard score.

For the game, Mellott, a senior, completed eight of 12 passes for 225 yards and the four scores. He also ran for 37 yards and a touchdown. But he wasn’t done yet. After Carver Cheeks got the Bears on the scoreboard with a 16-yard pass from Caden Meis, Mellott and Dowler capped their day by teaming up on a 72-yard scoring pass to give MSU a 41-7 lead. Dowler finished the game with two scores on two catches for 106 yards. McCullouch and Lonergan also had two receptions. In total, MSU gained 510 yards while holding UNC to 356.

Before the third quarter was over, UNC’s Kia’i Keone hit Brayden Munroe for a touchdown, then Humphrey, who led MSU with 81 yards rushing, scored from 17 yards out and MSU led 48-14 heading into the final quarter. Humphrey’s score was his eighth of the season, coming on a 56-yard bomb from Mellott to Aidan Garrigan.

Hunter Green made a field goal for UNC (0-6, 0-2), which has now lost 18 straight games since the start of the 2023 season. Chance Wilson 5-yard run for MSU completed the scoring.

McCade O’Reilly led the Bobcats with 10 tackles and Uliulakepa added eight for his third career interception.

The announced attendance of 22,007 was the third largest crowd in Bobcat Stadium history. MSU is back home this week against Idaho, while UNC travels to Weber State, which shocked Montana 55-48 in overtime on Saturday.