BOZEMAN — The only thing that could have made this football season any sweeter for Montana State was the one thing that remained on its list of regular-season expectations.
Against their arch nemesis on Saturday, the Bobcats didn’t blink.
Adam Jones rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns, the defense rose up and No. 2-ranked MSU took care of ninth-ranked Montana 34-11 to win the 123rd Brawl of the Wild at Bobcat Stadium.
With the win, the Bobcats clinched a perfect regular season at 12-0, won the outright Big Sky Conference title with an 8-0 league mark and in all likelihood secured a top-two seed and home-field advantage for the upcoming FCS playoffs — if not the overall No. 1 seed.
PHOTOS: 123rd BRAWL OF THE WILD IN BOZEMAN
Though their running back corps was diminished with both Scottre Humphrey and Julius Davis in street clothes on the sideline, the Bobcats still rushed for 326 yards with Jones, a redshirt freshman out of Missoula Sentinel, leading the way.
The home team has now won five in a row in the storied history of the Cat-Griz rivalry, and Montana State has still not lost a regular-season home game in the four-year tenure of coach Brent Vigen.
The Bobcats established their running game at the outset by marching 75 yards on 14 plays, 12 of which were runs. Quarterback Tommy Mellott capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run on what appeared to be a broken play to put MSU ahead 7-0.
MSU converted two third downs on that drive and took nearly nine minutes off the clock.
A promising Griz drive was slowed by penalties in the second quarter, but Ty Morrison got Montana on the board by splitting the uprights on a 47-yard field goal to make the score 7-3.
But the Bobcats stretched their lead on the next possession when Mellott dropped a pretty pass over the top to tight end Rohan Jones for a 35-yard touchdown at the 10:16 mark of the second quarter.
Toward the end of the first half, the Bobcats got a 27-yard field goal from Myles Sansted to extend the lead to 17-3. With an even bigger kick, Sansted drilled a 49-yarder as time expired at halftime to extend it to 20-3.
Each team’s defense rose up in the second half as the offenses combined for five consecutive fruitless possessions. But with the Bobcats backed up on their own 5-yard line, Adam Jones took a handoff and exploded through the line for an 88-yard gain.
Two plays later Jones punched it into the end zone from the 3 to put the Bobcats ahead 27-3 toward the end of the third quarter.
As the weather started to take a turn with strong wind and snow flurries, Montana scored its first touchdown early in the fourth on a 1-yard rush by Eli Gillman. Sawyer Racanelli then made a one-handed catch while being interfered with for a two-point conversion.
Jones, though, capped a nine-play, 71-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 4:49 remaining to ice the game.
The Grizzlies own the all-time series with a 74-43-5 record, but the Bobcats now have the edge with an 11-10 mark since 2002.
Turning point: The game had hit a defensive standstill in the third quarter until Jones’ 88-yard burst to the UM 7. Griz safety Jaxon Lee prevented a touchdown, but two plays later Jones was in the end zone and the Bobcats had a 27-3 lead with 1:55 remaining in the third.
Stat of the game: The Bobcats rushed for more than 300 yards again, but perhaps more important was the defense’s ability to get off the field on third down.
MSU’s defense held the Grizzlies to a 2-for-12 success rate on third down and forced seven punts. In the end, the Bobcats limited Montana’s offense to 234 total yards.
Game balls: MSU RB Adam Jones (Offense). Davis was injured in the first quarter and didn’t return and Humphrey had just one attempt, so Jones was called upon to take the brunt of the carries. He delivered with a standout performance.
MSU S Rylan Ortt (Defense). The Bobcats' defense played a great game overall, and Ortt was one of the ringleaders with 11 tackles (eight solo), was in on a tackle for loss and had one quarterback hurry.
MSU PK Myles Sansted (Special teams). Sansted hit both of his field goal tries, and his 49-yarder as time expired in the first half allowed MSU to take a 17-point lead into the locker room.
What’s next: With a 12-0 record, Montana State is in line for a top-two seed in the FCS playoffs, which would mean a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the semifinal round. The Cats could get the No. 1 overall seed after South Dakota beat North Dakota State 29-28.
The Grizzlies, who are now 8-4 (and 5-3 in the Big Sky), are likely to receive an at-large bid into the tournament.
The 24-team bracket will be announced Sunday with the 2024 NCAA Division I Championship Selection Show on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Mountain time on ESPNU. The show is also available for streaming on ESPN+.
