BOZEMAN — If there's been one constant during the Brent Vigen era, it's that Montana State doesn't lose Big Sky Conference games at home.
Staring down the barrel of a 10-point halftime deficit, MSU regrouped, rallied and ruined Weber State's upset bid Saturday in a 38-33 victory at Bobcat Stadium. It was dicey for a while, but No. 3-ranked Montana State improved to 22-0 all-time under Vigen in Big Sky home games.
Also, the Bobcats remained at the top of the Big Sky standings with a 4-1 conference record (7-1 overall). No. 22 Weber State slipped to 4-2 in the league (and 5-4 overall).
MSU went into intermission trailing 27-17 and needed a momentum swing. A Zac Crews fumble recovery on the first possession of the third quarter — off a bad snap — later resulted in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Justin Lamson to Jordan Reed, which pulled MSU within 27-24.
The Bobcats defense continued to rise up in the third quarter, and at the start of the fourth MSU wrestled away the lead, 31-27, on a 1-yard rush by tight end Rocky Lencioni. The Cats sealed it late in the fourth on a 27-yard touchdown run by Adam Jones.
Montana State's defensive resurgence came from pressuring Weber State freshman quarterback Nate Dahle, and the Cats were able to keep Weber State off the scoreboard when it mattered in the second half.
Regardless, a vastly improved Weber State team came to play from the outset.
After forcing a punt on MSU's first possession, the Wildcats hit an explosive play — a 68-yard catch-and-run from Dahle to Noah Kjar deep into Bobcat territory. But they had to settle for a 21-yard field goal by David Dellenbach.
The Cats quickly responded to take a 7-3 lead when Jared White busted untouched up the middle for a 57-yard run to the end zone. But Weber State came back with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to swing the lead back in its favor, 10-7.
In the second quarter, Rylan Schlepp caught a short TD toss from Lamson at the end of a 17-play drive to put MSU back in front 14-10. It didn't last long — the Wildcats' Dyson Parker returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
Myles Sansted booted a 29-yard field goal through the uprights on the Cats' next possession to tie it 17-17 midway through the quarter.
The Wildcats, though, were able to seize a 10-point lead before halftime. Seth Rigtrup answered the Sansted field goal with a 31-yard touchdown run for Weber State, and then, after MSU's White coughed up the ensuing kickoff, Dellenbach added a 37-yard field goal to give WSU a 27-17 lead.
At the end of the half, Weber State made another big special teams play as Ashton Oberg blocked a 37-yard try by Sansted. At that point, the Bobcats were up against the ropes going into the locker room.
Bobcat postgame: Ben Creighton, Ty Gregorak break down Montana State's win over Weber State
THE BIG MOMENT: Crews' third-quarter fumble recovery early in the third, in which he ripped the ball away from Dahle on the ground, turned the tide. To that point, the Wildcats had a relatively easy time moving down the field led.
Dahle, a freshman QB, showed flashes of what made him a the second-ranked passer in Utah high school football history with 12,467 yards. But he couldn't withstand MSU's defense for the entire game.
100 YARDS x2: Montana State's offense rushed for 278 yards to complement Lamson's 232-yard, two-touchdown performance. The rushing attack was led by Jones and White, who each eclipsed 100 yards.
Jones finished with 115 yards on 22 attempts while White had a game-high 125 yards on 13 carries. White also had a long touchdown run in the fourth quarter called back due to a holding penalty.
KJAR PACKAGE: Weber State came into the game in a tie for first place in the Big Sky under first-year coach Eric Kjar, and the Wildcats showed their potential. Kjar was hired at WSU from the high school ranks, which included a run of six state titles in nine seasons at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, where he coached the likes of NFL draft pick QBs Jaxson Dart and Zach Wilson.
Kjar's sons have played a big role, and did again on Saturday. The duo of Noah and Tate Kjar combined for nine receptions for 13 catches for 208 yards. Noah Kjar continued his great season with a game-high 124 yards.
MSU RED ZONE DEFENSE: In the first half, Weber State made three red zone trips but settled for field goals twice. These proved to be big moments for the Bobcats and kept WSU's advantage withing reasonable striking distance by halftime. Montana State used that to its advantage in the second half to pull away.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Bobcats, who have now won two straight since their last-second loss at Idaho on Oct. 2, are home again next week when they welcome Cal Poly to Bozeman for a Halloween matchup.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The Mustangs came into this week's game against Utah Tech at 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the Big Sky.
