Montana State's defense stopped the Wildcats on 4th-and-goal from 1 with 20 seconds left as the Bobcats prevailed 26-21 here Saturday in a Big Sky Conference battle of nationally ranked teams.
Out of shotgun formation, star quarterback Cameron Higgins faked to halfback Trevyn Smith, who was hit immediately by MSU's Chase Gazzerro, and pitched to Bo Bolen. A host of Bobcats quickly smothered Bolen for a four-yard loss as 25th-ranked Montana State upset the 11th-ranked Wildcats.
"It was a fabulous, fabulous goal-line stand," said Montana State head coach Rob Ash. "That's one of the great moments in my coaching career, personally, and for those kids for sure."
This is Ash's third season at MSU and 30th overall as a college head coach. His Bobcats on Saturday yielded 469 total yards, but came up huge when it counted most.
"Weber State's got a great offense. I'm really impressed with those guys, all of them," Ash said. "They're great players, and to hold them like we did, especially at the end, is a fabulous testimony to our players.
Sophomore halfback C.J. Palmer scored two touchdowns, including a go-ahead score on a 6-yard run early in the fourth quarter, as the Bobcats improved to 2-0 in Big Sky play and 3-1 overall.
Senior halfback Aaron Mason ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Palmer finished with 45 yards and a pair of touchdowns as MSU won its six straight road game at Weber. The Bobcats prevailed although they were outgained 469-360.
"We've got an unbelievably happy group of guys," said Ash moments after the final gun sounded. "They're so excited and they deserve it. Judging by their celebration I think we turned a corner today."
Weber State took a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Higgins to Mike Phillips. The pair hooked up earlier on a 68-yard scoring play that put Weber State up 15-14 late in the second quarter.But Montana State's offense answered the call throughout the second half. With Weber leading 20-15, Mason scored on a one-yard run to cap MSU's first drive of the third quarter and give the Bobcats a 20-15 advantage.
After Weber went back in front, the Bobcats marched 80 yards and CJ Palmer's six-yard run gave the Bobcats the lead for keeps.
"The biggest concern at halftime was that our defense would wear out," said Ash, whose team was outgained 276-153 in the first two quarters. "That long drive we had in the third quarter was a big key. It gave our defense time to get rejuvenated, just a fabulous drive that established the second half to our advantage."
Montana State's resourceful defense played a huge part in the win, forcing four Wildcat turnovers. The first set up the team's first score as linebacker Chase Gazzerro, who scored on an interception return in MSU's 2007 win at Weber State, picked off a Higgins pass and returned it to the Wildcat 3.
Mason scored three plays later. The Bobcats also forced a WSU fumble inside the the MSU 5-yard line and blocked a field goal to thwart scoring opportunities.
The Bobcats also made their share of mistakes.
Senior quarterback Mark Iddins was intercepted on his first pass of the day and later was sacked for a safety. But he persevered to pass for 150 yards on 11-for-17 accuracy.
"I just had to let it go," Iddins said. "The team was behind me. You never want to start a game that way but it's how you recover that matters. I felt I bounced back and played well after that.
"They play a lot of man coverage and against a team like that you're going to have ups and downs," Iddins added. "We had a lot of big plays and we stuttered at times. We weren't smooth all the way through but our defense played great and we found a way to win."
Higgins passed for 337 yards and two touchdowns, but he was intercepted three times. Smith rushed for 148 yards and moved into third place on the Big Sky's all-time rushing list with 4,553 yards, but he was held without a touchdown.
In spite of Weber State's gaudy statistics, MSU players and coaches credited the Bobcat defense for the victory.
"The defense inspired us," said receiver Elvis Akpla. "Those defensive guys never give up."
Ash called the effort "absolutely fantastic."
"That is a competitive group of guys; they really believe they're going to get it done," Ash said. "It's a never-say-die group ... To do what we did in the fourth quarter after that long day and all those plays shows unbelievable desire on their part."
With two road victories, the Bobcats are in solid position to contend for the Big Sky championship.
"We feel we proved we're an elite team in this conference and in the country," said Iddins. "We feel like we can play with anybody and I think we proved it today."
Montana State returns home to Bobcat Stadium next week to take on Northern Arizona.
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