Turnover Talk Turns into Takeaway Weekend as Bobcat Stymie Weber State

Daniel Hardy (44), Chase Benson (41) and Amandre Williams (3) helped MSU's defense dominate Weber State at the line of scrimmage...

Photo by: Garrett Becker

Turnover Talk Turns into Takeaway Weekend as Bobcat Stymie Weber State

10/16/2021 2:20:00 PM | Football

MSU wins late-night thriller on strength of takeaways

By: Bill Lamberty

OGDEN, Utah – As Friday faded into Saturday on a beautiful autumn evening in Ogden, Utah, a week full of talk about turnovers turned into something familiar.

Takeaway Weekend.

That has become the mantra of Montana State's defense, taking the football away from its opponent, and it seeped into the offense. The Bobcats entered Friday night's nationally-televised showdown with No. 19 Weber State, only the second matchup with the Wildcats in which both teams began the game nationally-ranked (MSU was ninth), +10 in turnover margin. Montana State's 12 takeaways only serves to punctuate the team's extreme care of the football. The Cats turned the ball away only twice in the season's first six games, and one of those came on special teams.

Weber State coach Jay Hill, who has led his team to the four previous Big Sky titles, apparently took note. He was quoted in Thursday's Ogden Standard-Examiner as saying "You wonder why they're 5-1… but (Montana State's) turnovers are coming." Weber State's seven takeaways through five games indicated the possibility of the Wildcats swarming to the football, but unlike MSU Friday's home team had surrendered the ball 11 times.

The takeaway tally on Friday told the tale. Montana State two, Weber State zero. The Cats turned each of those turnovers into Blake Glessner field goals. Those six points provided the margin of victory in Montana State's 13-7 win, and the win gave MSU its first victory over a nationally-ranked foe since beating the Grizzlies and winning back-to-back playoff wins in 2019.

In addition to celebrating a Takeaway Weekend, Montana State highlighted the program's ability to persevere. Working on a short week, traveling, and facing a team coming off its open week, MSU's ability to absorb body blows early stand as a foundational element of the win. The Wildcats exploded for 139 yards and seven first downs in the first quarter.

Even writ small, that durability was important. Weber State suffered what appeared to be a bad break on the opening kickoff, when brilliant returner Rashid Shaheed allowed the ball to deflect off his leg out of bounds at the WSU three. Unfazed by terrible field position, the Wildcats marched 97 yards in nine plays, burning nearly five minutes, and scoring on a nine-yard run by Josh Davis.

When Weber forced a three-and-out and moved the ball to near midfield on its next possession, things felt a little tense. But the Bobcat defense stiffened to force a punt, and the offense responded with a splendid drive of its own. Isaiah Ifanse's 10-yard, penalty-shortened run sparked the Cats, and Elijah Elliott answered with a 26-yard burst. Later in the drive Tommy Mellott scampered 20 yards, and McKay finished the matter with a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-goal from the one to even the score.

Two drives each, one touchdown each, and things appeared headed in an unusual direction. What promised to be a defensive struggle looked like a shootout.

Looks deceived, though, and the game settled into a field position battle. Weber State's offense played most of the first half near midfield. The snapped the ball only twice more before halftime in Weber State territory when not in punt formation.

But Montana State turned the game's tide early in the fourth quarter with the method it knows best. On WSU's first drive, at the Bobcat 49, dominant defensive end Daniel Hardy punched the ball out of Dontae McMillan's hands and Troy Andersen caught the short pop fly. Five plays later, Glessner's 46-yard field goal sailed through the pipes and MSU led 10-7.

On Weber State's next offensive play, McMillan fumbled on the first play. Callahan O'Reilly forced another McMillan fumble and recovered it himself, and Glessner's 32-yarder finished the drive and night's scoring.

With the scoring finished, what remained was a lot of defensive stops. Weber State gained first downs on its first two full fourth-quarter drives, but each time the Bobcat defense rose to the occasion by forcing either a punt or an unsuccessful fourth down conversion attempt. With 2:20 to play, Weber State took over after MSU's unsuccessful fourth down try near midfield, with the game in the balance. On first down, Wildcats quarterback Bronson Barron was smothered on a seven-yard sack by Daniel Hardy and Sebastian Valdez. After an incompletion on second down, Hardy again dragged down Bronson and WSU punted on fourth-and-25. The Wildcats never got the ball back.

By finishing most of its fourth-quarter drives with punts, MSU found the formula for success. The Cats didn't gain a single first down on their first four fourth-quarter possessions, but when the team needed it the most McKay came through. His 14-yard gain with 1:23 left sent the Bobcats into victory formation.

The win was a signature triumph for first-year head coach Brent Vigen's program. The team worked through or around all the obstacles it faced, and did it with a familiar flourish. The Cats rushed the ball 43 times against 19 passes. McKay completed a dozen of those attempts, and didn't turn the ball over.

Again, the Bobcats didn't turn the ball over. The team's offense has given the pigskin away just one time in the season's first seven games. Turning the defense's two takeaways into points decided the game.

And it turned a late, late-night flight home and a healing Saturday into something the team is enjoying for the sixth time in seven outings this season.

A Takeaway Weekend.

#GoCatsGo