BOZEMAN – Third-ranked Montana State took care of business Saturday at Bobcat Stadium, sailing past winless Northern Colorado for a 55-17 Big Sky Conference football victory.

The Bobcats wasted little time, scoring on a nine-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Mellott to Ryan Lonergan just five minutes into the game. MSU missed the point-after attempt – one of the few blemishes in an otherwise great first half – to lead 6-0. By the end of the first quarter it was 13-0 after Mellott connected with Rohan Jones for a touchdown, and the rout was on.

Mellott finished with 225 passing yards and four touchdowns on just 8 of 12 passing as the Bobcats found plenty of success through the air. Receiver Ty McCullouch even threw a touchdown pass when Montana State went to its bag of tricks in the second quarter. McCullouch took a handoff from Mellott and sprinted to the left. The left-hander then threw a pass over the Northern Colorado defense to a waiting Taco Dowler, who trotted into the end zone.

Mellott added a rushing touchdown later in the second quarter to help the Cats to a 27-0 halftime lead.

They pushed the lead to 34-0 early in the third when Mellott found a streaking McCullouch for a 50-yard touchdown down the sideline. McCullouch, Dowler and Lonergan each had two catches and each caught a touchdown pass from Mellott.

Northern Colorado finally got on the board on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Caden Meis to Cash Cheeks, but Montana State answered less than a minute later when Dowler took a screen pass from Mellott 72 yards for another touchdown.

Kia’i Keone threw a 28-yard touchdown to Brayden Munroe for the Bears’ other touchdown, while MSU got rushing touchdowns from Scottre Humphrey and Chance Wilson to close the game.

Humphrey had 10 carries for 81 yards.

Turning point: This was never in doubt as Montana State established control of the opening possession and never looked back. MSU has scored more than 30 points in all six wins this season.

Statistics of the game: The Bobcats finished with 278 passing yards, flipping the script on what had otherwise been a dominant rushing attack on offense this season. The Bobcats still gained 230 yards on the ground, but the big plays in the passing game proved too much for Northern Colorado.

Bobcat Toys: QB Tommy Mellott (offense). This could go to Ty McCullouch or Taco Dowler, the receivers who scored the big plays, but Mellott has been nothing short of fantastic to start this season. He was once again efficient throwing the ball and putting his weapons in position to make big plays.

LBs Danny Uliulakepa and McCade O’Reilly (Defense). MSU’s starting defense was dominant, keeping Northern Colorado off the scoreboard in the first half, and Uliulakepa and O’Reilly provided the offense. Uliulakepa had eight total tackles, including one for loss, and an interception, while O’Reilly had 10 total tackles, including a sack.

PR Taco Dowler (Special teams). Dowler showed his speed on offense as a receiver, finishing with 106 yards and two touchdowns, but he has become a dangerous returner. He played seven punts and had 102 return yards, including a long return of 36 yards.

What’s next: Montana State (6-0 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) is back in Bobcat Stadium for what is expected to be one of the biggest tests of the season when Idaho comes to Bozeman. The Vandals won last year’s meeting in Moscow and the teams have split their last four games. The Bobcats and Vandals kick off on October 12 at 8:15 PM and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

Northern Colorado (0-6, 0-2), meanwhile, remains on the road at Weber State next week. The Wildcats have won the last five games in the series between the two teams.