Bobcats reach FCS quarterfinal for the fourth time in five seasons
By Colter Nuanez SKYLINE SPORTS
BOZEMAN—Tommy Mellott has had plenty of critics throughout his four years as not only the starting quarterback for the Bobcats but also as one of the faces of all of Montana State University.
After Saturday afternoon’s performance to help MSU win a program-record 13th game this season, those critics have no more ground to stand on.
The baby-faced former Valedictorian from Butte High grew up a mile high in the Mining City, one of the most iconic towns in America. That molded him into the hard-nosed competitor who has led Montana State to 31 victories and counting in games that he has started and finished.
Although Mellott exploded onto the scene as a true freshman in the playoffs in 2021, making his first three career starts and leading Montana State to three playoff wins to earn its first national title in 37 years, the skeptics have always pointed to two factors when analyzing Mellott: his ability to throw the football and his ability to stay healthy.
For those that say Mellott is simply a glorified running back lining up under center, just watch the film from Saturday’s 49-17 win over Tennessee Martin to lift the Bobcats into the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. And for those wondering what the key factor has been for Montana State to get to 13-0 and earn the No. 1 seed in the FCS playoffs, look no further than the fact that Mellott has stayed perfectly healthy throughout his senior year.
The University of Tennessee-Martin entered Saturday’s game—a rematch of Mellott’s first start back in 2021—with one of the stoutest rush defenses in the FCS. The Skyhawks held eight of their opponents under 100 yards rushing this season. Montana State entered the contest averaging an FCS-best 318 yards per game on the ground.
UTM held Montana State to “just” 200 yards on the ground, the second-lowest total of the season for the most potent rushing attack in college football. But Mellott was a model of near-perfection, putting to rest once and for all the notion that he’s just a runner who operates an option offense, not as a savvy passer and field general.
Mellott completed 22 of his 26 passing attempts for a career-high 300 yards. He also tied a career high with four passing touchdowns.
“We felt like we would have to throw it a fair amount because of the way they play and Tommy probably had, from a numbers perspective, his best day as a passer,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said after moving to 45-9 as MSU’s head coach.
“We have felt strongly that whatever it’s taken each and every week this season, Tommy has been able to do. There were some real opportunities there play-action-wise and I thought the way he operated right before the half—that was critical. He evaded a sack a couple times even on the touchdown to Ty [McCullouch]. That was a heck of a play by [Mellott].”
RIGHT: Montana State head coach Brent Vigen was named the Eddie Robinson Award winner as the national coach of the year earlier this month. PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ / SKYLINE SPORTS
Mellott completed five of his six passes for 73 yards in just 52 seconds on the last Bobcat drive before half, which answered a big 78-yard touchdown pass by the Skyhawks and helped the ‘Cats enter the break with a 28-10 lead.
With soon-to-be All-American tight end Rohan Jones—first-team All-Big Sky—on the shelf with an undisclosed injury, Mellott hit sophomore tight end Hunter Provience with a strike up the seam for a 24-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the game to begin the scoring barrage. Less than eight minutes later, he made one of his throws of the year, a perfectly placed, lofting ball to a streaking Taco Dowler for a 12-yard touchdown in front of the Sonny Holland endzone that set the Montana State student section into a frenzy and gave the Bobcats a 14-0 lead.
“I don’t understand it either, like you said he just keeps getting better,” Dowler said with a smile when asked about Mellott. “It’s a testament to his work ethic and the type of leader he is. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s just a special player and special person.”
Mellott’s 39-yard touchdown to a wide-open Ty McCullouch right before halftime essentially iced the game as it gave MSU an 18-point lead—UT Martin would only manage to score 17 points in the entire contest. And Mellott’s fourth touchdown came as much because of his accuracy as Dowler’s electric ability in the open field.
Dowler, a former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year from Billings, took a screen pass 29 yards for a score to give MSU a 42-10 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter. Dowler also had a 40-yard punt return to help him break a nearly 50-year-old record, passing Mark McGrath for the most punt return yards in a career by a Bobcat—Dowler is only a sophomore.
“They were big, heavy linebackers and with being that big and heavy, you can’t move laterally as fast as the teams we see in the Big Sky,” Dowler said. “We knew we would have to get on the perimeter to make some plays and a lot of the run game would come down to perimeter blocks, or Ty [McCullouch] taking jet sweeps or picking up blocks.”
Mellott continues to climb the list of the Big Sky Conference’s all-time greatest winners. His 31 wins are second in UM history behind DeNarius McGhee’s 35 victories. Montana All-American Dave Dickenson also had 35 wins in his illustrious career.
Eleven different receivers caught passes Saturday and aside from Dowler, McCullouch and tight end Ryan Lonergan, none had more than two catches. That efficient effort moves the Bobcats into the quarterfinals of the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
MSU will host No. 8 Idaho on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcats drilled the Vandals 38-7 on Oct. 12. Idaho has won six straight since that loss, including a 34-9 win over Lehigh in Moscow, Idaho on Saturday night to punch their ticket to Bozeman for a rematch with the Bobcats.
