Cat-Griz Report: Cats cruise past Portland State

HILLSBORO, Oregon - Montana State used a balanced offense and stingy defense to beat Portland State 44-14 in Hillsboro, Oregon, on Saturday.

Behind quarterback Tommy Mellott and a powerful ground game, the Bobcats rolled up 607 yards of total offense, the 10th-most in school history. MSU rushed for 323 yards and threw for 284 yards. Scottre Humphrey gained all 160 of his rushing yards before halftime, when MSU built a 35-0 lead, and Mellott threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns on 15-20 passing. Taco Dowler caught a 57-yard touchdown pass on his way to 28 receiving yards on three catches.

"We went from 7-0 to 35-0 in a blink," said Bobcat coach Brent Vigen. "That took all three phases, offense, defense and special teams. I was pleased with how we came out in the first half. It was not perfect, by any manes, but it never is. This was a team that, I don't care what UC Davis is ranked, should have won that game."

Montana State's offense kicked into full gear early. The Bobcats took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead. The game's pivot point came on the next possession, when Portland State moved to the Bobcat 33-yard line, and facing a fourth-and-seven quarterback Dante Chachere threw incomplete. The Cats took over, and the Vikings eventually stopped MSU on downs at the Vikings 23, but the Vikings offense didn't cross the 50 again in the half and PSU's defense didn't stop the Cats again.

The Bobcats led 35-0 at the intermission, and the statistics fortified the point. MSU rushed for 210 yards in the first half and threw for 207 yards. The team ran 35 plays in the first half, averaging 11.9 yards per snap. Scottre Humphrey rambled for 160 yards, while Tommy Mellott threw for 207 and three scores.

The MSU defense limited the Vikings to 235 total yards, including 90 yards and just six first downs in the first half. Bobcat safety Miles Jackson, a Portland native, provided one of the day's highlights with his first career interception. He had a simple thought when he saw the ball in the air. "I need that," he said with a smile.

The game provided a pair of milestones. Vigen earned his 40th career win, becoming the first Big Sky coach to get to that total in his first 50 games (he is 40-9). Mellott also got his 26th win as a starting Bobcat quarterback, pulling into a second-place tie with fellow Butte product Paul Dennehy. He passed Travis Lulay, who was at Saturday's game.

Montana State raised its record to 8-0, one of three such starts in program history, and enter its second open week of 2024 with a 4-0 league mark. Portland State is now 1-6 overall, 1-3 in the Big Sky. The Vikings visit Sacramento State next week.