Thunderbirds Turn Tide in Second Half in Victory Over Bobcats

Saturday, November 5

Cedar City, UT

12 noon

Montana State University

Southern Utah

Mitchell Herbert

Thunderbirds Turn Tide in Second Half in Victory Over Bobcats

11/5/2016 4:29:00 PM | Football

Montana State unable to keep up with Southern Utah in second half in loss Saturday, Nov. 5

By: MSU Sports Information

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Montana State and Southern Utah went into halftime tied, but the Thunderbirds rattled off 24 straight points in the second half to defeat the Bobcats 38-21 in a Big Sky Conference football game Saturday, Nov. 5, at Eccles Stadium.

Despite a competitive first half that saw the Bobcats outgain the Thunderbirds 207-133, Southern Utah took momentum of the matchup with a couple of big plays.

The two teams traded possessions to begin the second half, but Southern Utah drew first.

Thunderbirds running back Malik Brown had two rushes go for a combined 37 yards on their second drive of the third quarter, setting up a Keita Calhoun field goal attempt which was good from 48 yards. MSU freshman Chris Murray was intercepted on the ensuing drive and the Thunderbirds' Josh Thronton returned the pick 27 yards into MSU territory. A four-play, 33-yard drive capped with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Tyler to Steven Wroblewski extended the lead to 24-14.

The Bobcats responded on their next drive with a Nick LaSane rush that went 27 yards to the Southern Utah 48. A 7-yard completion from MSU's Tyler Bruggman to Cameron Sutton moved the Bobcats to the 41, but a run for no gain and two straight incompletions ended the drive with a turnover on downs.

Southern Utah eventually scored touchdowns on consecutive drives of 53 yards and 65 yards to put the game out of reach.

The Bobcats began the contest by jumping out to a lead by making up for an early turnover.

MSU freshman Chris Murray threw an interception on the first Bobcat drive, but the MSU defense pushed back the Southern Utah offense 20 yards to force a punt.

The Bobcats responded by going 80 yards on 11 plays in 5 minutes, 14 seconds, with the touchdown drive being capped with a 7-yard Murray dive into the end zone. Murray accounted for 63 yards on the drive, while senior Chad Newell was involved with a 17-yard rush to start if off.

Southern Utah tied it at 7-7 by capping a 10-play, 63-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown to open the second quarter. The teams would again trade possessions when the Bobcats took the lead back.

A 39-yard strike from Chris Murray to Mitchell Herbert completed a 58-yard drive to give MSU a 14-7 lead. That advantage wouldn't last long as the Thunderbirds made it a 14-14 game with a six-play drive that went 70 yards.

Murray eventually threw two touchdown passes, with Keon Stephens hauling in a 31-yard catch in the end zone with 55 seconds remaining. Herbert led the Bobcats with three 3 receptions and 106 yards receiving. Fletcher Collins led MSU on the defensive side of the ball with 11 tackles.

The Thunderbirds improved to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big Sky with the win. Montana State dropped to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the league. The Bobcats return to Bobcat Stadium Saturday, Nov. 12, for their final home game of the season to take on UC Davis.