Cats stunned at Idaho, Griz cruise past Bears

MOSCOW, Idaho - Gevani McCoy hit Hayden Hatten on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 2:47 to play and Idaho beat Montana State 24-21 in Moscow Saturday. The victory, UI's first over the Bobcats since the Vandals rejoined the Big Sky Conference, drops MSU into a tie for first.

"(Idaho) gave a really good effort today on both sides of the ball," Bobcat coach Brent Vigen said. "They were able to jump on us in the first half in so many ways, and I think that paid dividends for them at the end. Our defense really wore down, in part because our offense couldn't stay on the field in the first half. Even though we got some things going offensively in the second half, ultimately the damage had been done."

Vandals quarterback Gevani McCoy threw for 229 yards on 22-for-29 passing, and Anthony Woods rushed for 64 yards. UI gained 336 total yards.

Montana State gained 319 total yards. Julius Davis rushed for 84 yards, and Tommy Mellott threw for 191 on 12-for-24 passing with two touchdowns.

The Cats led 14-10 going into the fourth quarter, but Idaho took the lead on a 3-yard run by Woods with 11:24 to play. MSU answered, driving 75 yards on seven rushing plays. Davis scored from 24 yards out to give MSU a 21-17 lead with 7:58 to play. The Vandals marched 75 yards and scored the winning touchdown on McCoy's toss to Hatten. MSU reached the Vandals 18, but a sack and two incomplete passes ended the Bobcat comeback attempt.

Idaho dominated the first half, controlling the ball for 24:05 and holding the Cats to 18 plays and 52 yards. Montana State's initial first down didn't come until less than two minutes before halftime. Meanwhile, the Vandals gained 149 yards before the intermission and rolled up 11 first downs.

Montana State is now 6-2, 4-1 in the Big Sky, while Idaho is 6-2, 4-1.

Griz 40, N. Colorado 0

Montana's defense stifled Northern Colorado in the frigid temperatures inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium Saturday afternoon, earning two defensive scores and holding the Bears to just 94 total yards in a 40-0 shutout win. It's the second straight time that the Griz have shutout the Bears, outscoring them 75-0 in the last two meetings.

The No. 6 Grizzlies improved to 7-0 after getting interceptions for touchdowns from both Jaxon Lee and Braxton Hill.

Offensively, junior Bergen and Sawyer Racanelli caught touchdown passes, while Eli Gilman rushed for over 100 yards and two scores.

Montana also had five sacks as linebacker Riley Wilson earned defensive player of the week honors.

The game was also the time when former Havre Blue Pony Marc Mariani was inducted into the Grizzly Hall of Fame.

Montana will host Sacramento State in a huge showdown Saturday night at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.