Bobcats handle FBS Wolf Pack, 20-7

RENO, Nevada — The sledding got tough in the second half, but Montana State still convincingly leveled up. 

Justin Lamson threw for one touchdown, Adam Jones ran for a score and the defending FCS champion Bobcats made a 17-0 halftime lead hold up for a 20-7 win over the FBS Wolf Pack Saturday at Mackay Stadium. 

A crowd of 21,679, many of them fans of the top-ranked Bobcats (3-0), saw the visitors dominate the first half. Lamson hit Dane Steel with a 24-yard touchdown pass to cap MSU’s first drive, which covered 75 yards in seven plays. 

Myles Sansted made the PAT kick for a 7-0 lead at 12:05 of the first quarter and then hit a 45-yard field goal at the 1:35 mark to cap a 49-yard drive for a 10-0 advantage. 

In the second quarter Lamson guided the Bobcats 83 yards in 10 plays, capped by Adam Jones’ 6-yard run off a direct snap. By then the quarterback was 11 of 16 for 159 yards. 

Nevada defensive coordinator and MSU alum Kane Ioane had a better second half: Lamson finished 15 of 23 for 179 yards and the Cats gained just 103 yards after intermission. 

With former MSU coach Jeff Choate at the helm, Nevada (1-1) of the Mountain West Conference ended up outgaining MSU 349 yards to 330 but were undone by mistakes in a penalty-filled game. 

“To get challenged today and have to bow up, step up, in (important) moments, we were up to the task,” MSU coach Brent Vigen said. In addition to four takeaways, the Cats held Nevada to a 1-for-4 performance on fourth down. 

After starting Carter Jones at quarterback in its opening 49-14 win over Western Kentucky, the Wolf Pack went with Luke Duncan to Saturday; he threw two interceptions in the first half. 

AJ Bianco took over in the second half and was 12 of 20 for 116 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown to Marshaun Brown with 11:38 left in the game.  

After Brown’s touchdown Nevada forced a fourth straight Bobcat punt but gave the ball back when Colter Petre punched the ball loose from Brown at the MSU 40-yard line, and the Bobcats’ J.J. Dolan took the fumble 19 yards into Wolf Pack territory. 

Jones carried the ball six straight times — he had 25 carries for 86 yards — before Sansted hit a 29-yard field goal with 1:18 left. That capped the scoring. 

The game ended with MSU’s Taki Uluilakepa picking off a Bianco Hail Mary. 

The Bobcats’ school-record 17th straight win came with 13 penalties for 125 yards; Nevada was flagged nine times for 86 yards. 

Petre, starting in place of the injured Caden Dowler, has 12 tackles. Linebacker Cole Taylor had 11. Taco Dowler had four catches for 44 yards for MSU. 

Montana State plays host to Central Connecticut State Saturday at 1 p.m.