Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
BOBCAT CALENDAR: Travis Lulay Set a School Passing Record in a Losing Effort Today in 2004
11/6/2020 9:00:00 AM | Football
The Montana State-Sacramento State series has offered some interesting trends in the last 56 years
A day-by-day look at Bobcat football history...
November 6
SPOTLIGHT: You didn't have to be inside the Bobcat football program in the early 21st century to know that the only thing Mike Kramer hated more than not being able to run the football was losing to teams who could. Both of those reviled experiences were rolled into one today in 2004, when the Bobcats fell to Sacramento State 38-28 in Hornet Stadium.
It was, though, a landmark day for Bobcat quarterback Travis Lulay. In the midst of a wave of injuries that hindered the team down the stretch, Lulay threw for a school-record 516 yards in Hornet Stadium. That was 46 more than Rob Compson's school record, set less than a decade earlier. Lulay also completed 38 passes and threw 61, both the third-most in school history to that point. Lulay averaged 13.8 yards per completion that day, a rate that wouldn't be eclipsed until Dakota Prukop came along a decade later.
The game was certainly frustrating on many fronts. The Bobcat rolled up 30 first downs, but rushed for only 63 yards. The inability to truly establish the run - Lulay led the team with 40 yards - limited the offense throughout the evening.
On the other hand, Sac State freshman running back Ryan Mole was the story of game. He gashed the Bobcats' injury-depleted defense (this would become a theme throught the rest of the season, as MSU allowed no fewer than 38 points in its final three games) for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
Both of Mole's touchdowns came in the second half. With Sac State leading 21-14 at halftime, Mole's first touchdown was like a lightning strike. He streaked 87 yards straight down the middle of the field to give the Hornets a 28-14 lead, then Ben Lively added a field goal to push the lead to 31-14. After Lulay scored at the end of the third quarter to draw the Cats within 10, Mole struck again. This one was a 50-yard run just 68 seconds into the fourth quarter, and even though Lulay scored on a six-yard run less than a minute later the Hornets were able to play keepaway and hang on for a 38-28 win.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2010 - MSU 24, Weber state 10
2004 - at Sacramento State 38, MSU 28
1999 - Eastern Washington 45, MSU 23
1993 - Eastern Washington 16, MSU 7
1982 - MSU 32, Northern Arizona 19
1976 - MSU 33, Northern Arizona 0
1971 - UM 30, MSU 0
1965 - MSU 24, UM 7
1954 - MSU 21, North Dakota 13
1948 - Idaho 28, MSU 12 at Boise
1937 - MSU 33, Montana Tech 2
1926 - MSU 27, BYU 0 HC
1914 - at UM 26, MSU 9
1909 - Montana Tech 10, MSU 0
FINIS: Montana State's long-standing series with Sacramento State has been one of the Bobcats' most unusual. The teams met in the 1964 Camellia Bowl, with Montana State winning 28-7 in Sacramento's Hughes Stadium. It seems like small-college powers in the west might have occasionally met on the gridiron, but it didn't happen again until 1991. By that time Montana State had already won a Division I-AA National Championship, while the Hornets remained one of the truly strong western powers in Division II football. Still, Division II Sac State beat the Bobcats 19-17 in Bozeman in 1991, and in Cliff Hysell's first game as his alma mater's head coach edged the Cats 10-7 in Sacramento a year later. Just to rub salt in the wound, before transitioning to DI and joining the Big Sky the Hornets beat MSU 30-14 in 1994, as well.
Having lost three of four to Sac State when they began meeting as Big Sky rivals in 1996, things turned dramatically. The Bobcats won 51-14 in Bozeman that year to begin a three-game win streak. After Hornet wins in 1999 and 2000, Montana State won 13 of the next 14 meetings. Sacramento State has won the last two meetings.
November 6
SPOTLIGHT: You didn't have to be inside the Bobcat football program in the early 21st century to know that the only thing Mike Kramer hated more than not being able to run the football was losing to teams who could. Both of those reviled experiences were rolled into one today in 2004, when the Bobcats fell to Sacramento State 38-28 in Hornet Stadium.
It was, though, a landmark day for Bobcat quarterback Travis Lulay. In the midst of a wave of injuries that hindered the team down the stretch, Lulay threw for a school-record 516 yards in Hornet Stadium. That was 46 more than Rob Compson's school record, set less than a decade earlier. Lulay also completed 38 passes and threw 61, both the third-most in school history to that point. Lulay averaged 13.8 yards per completion that day, a rate that wouldn't be eclipsed until Dakota Prukop came along a decade later.
The game was certainly frustrating on many fronts. The Bobcat rolled up 30 first downs, but rushed for only 63 yards. The inability to truly establish the run - Lulay led the team with 40 yards - limited the offense throughout the evening.
On the other hand, Sac State freshman running back Ryan Mole was the story of game. He gashed the Bobcats' injury-depleted defense (this would become a theme throught the rest of the season, as MSU allowed no fewer than 38 points in its final three games) for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
Both of Mole's touchdowns came in the second half. With Sac State leading 21-14 at halftime, Mole's first touchdown was like a lightning strike. He streaked 87 yards straight down the middle of the field to give the Hornets a 28-14 lead, then Ben Lively added a field goal to push the lead to 31-14. After Lulay scored at the end of the third quarter to draw the Cats within 10, Mole struck again. This one was a 50-yard run just 68 seconds into the fourth quarter, and even though Lulay scored on a six-yard run less than a minute later the Hornets were able to play keepaway and hang on for a 38-28 win.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2010 - MSU 24, Weber state 10
2004 - at Sacramento State 38, MSU 28
1999 - Eastern Washington 45, MSU 23
1993 - Eastern Washington 16, MSU 7
1982 - MSU 32, Northern Arizona 19
1976 - MSU 33, Northern Arizona 0
1971 - UM 30, MSU 0
1965 - MSU 24, UM 7
1954 - MSU 21, North Dakota 13
1948 - Idaho 28, MSU 12 at Boise
1937 - MSU 33, Montana Tech 2
1926 - MSU 27, BYU 0 HC
1914 - at UM 26, MSU 9
1909 - Montana Tech 10, MSU 0
FINIS: Montana State's long-standing series with Sacramento State has been one of the Bobcats' most unusual. The teams met in the 1964 Camellia Bowl, with Montana State winning 28-7 in Sacramento's Hughes Stadium. It seems like small-college powers in the west might have occasionally met on the gridiron, but it didn't happen again until 1991. By that time Montana State had already won a Division I-AA National Championship, while the Hornets remained one of the truly strong western powers in Division II football. Still, Division II Sac State beat the Bobcats 19-17 in Bozeman in 1991, and in Cliff Hysell's first game as his alma mater's head coach edged the Cats 10-7 in Sacramento a year later. Just to rub salt in the wound, before transitioning to DI and joining the Big Sky the Hornets beat MSU 30-14 in 1994, as well.
Having lost three of four to Sac State when they began meeting as Big Sky rivals in 1996, things turned dramatically. The Bobcats won 51-14 in Bozeman that year to begin a three-game win streak. After Hornet wins in 1999 and 2000, Montana State won 13 of the next 14 meetings. Sacramento State has won the last two meetings.
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