By Colter Nuanez SKYLINE SPORTS
BOZEMAN—For the final times in their unforgettable careers, Tommy Mellott and Brody Grebe ran side by side into Bobcat Stadium as pyrotechnics fired, Metallica blared and the Montana State Bobcat Rodeo team led the charge into one of the biggest games in the history of this venue.
So it was only fitting that the final moments belonged to Montana State’s senior captains as well.
With a little more than eight minutes on the clock, the Bobcats could taste it, leading by a pair of touchdowns.
Each change of possession, each fourth down stop, each time Bobcat punter Brendan Hall flipped the field, the moment drew closer.
Yet until they play Alabama’s “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band),” nothing is guaranteed.
So when South Dakota ran a hook and ladder play that resulted in a fumble, and fittingly, Grebe recovered it with a minute to play, the country tune that symbolizes a trip to Frisco, Texas rang out, sending the record-setting crowd into pandemonium.
As Mellott took a few celebratory knees to put the finishing touches on MSU’s 31-17 victory, the west side of Bobcat Stadium smelled of cigar smoke. Montana State is going back to the national championship game to meet an old nemesis. And this time, the Bobcats are not just happy to be there.
“We know going through those last couple of series, we had to get a big stop to keep it out of reach and to get the fumble recovery, that was a pretty special way to go out of Bobcat Stadium,” Grebe said.
“This team means the world to me. We are so close. And that’s what makes this team so special. I would not want to do it with any other group of guys.”
Grebe’s fumble recovery put a bow on the finality of an era for this Montana State crew. Both he and Mellott played pivotal roles on the 2021 MSU team that went to Frisco. And on Saturday, both the captains plus a significant majority of Montana State’s 23 seniors made sure to go out in style in front of 20, 557 on a strangely warm Gallatin Valley day.
“Couldn’t be more proud of this group, these seniors,” Montana State fourth-year head coach Brent Vigen said. He reflected on an “abrupt end” to last season in December 2023, losing to North Dakota State on a blocked extra point in overtime. “I know that motivated this group intently. We went to work back in January and now we are going to be able to finish this journey next January.”
Each of Montana State’s steady leaders had pivotal moments in the victory. Mellott has a well-established reputation as one of the great FCS playoff quarterbacks of all time and on Saturday, he reaffirmed the notion. He rushed for 125 yards, including a ridiculous 41-yard touchdown on a fumbled-snap-turned-highlight-reel-play, and he also threw for 134 yards and a first-quarter touchdown to Taco Dowler that set the tone for the game.
Mellott totaled 259 yards from scrimmage and accounted for three total touchdowns on the afternoon he moved into the all-time lead for Big Sky Conference quarterback wins. He now has eight victories in the postseason, a statistic accentuated by the fact that he took over as the starting quarterback for the first MSU playoff game in 2021 as a true freshman rookie.
The score was reflective of MSU’s 2021 semifinal win against South Dakota State. That afternoon, Mellott threw for 134 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 126 yards and two scores on the way to an identical score: 31-17.
The senior version of Mellott was reflective yet focused when describingthe accomplishment of bookending his career with trips to the Lone Star State.
“Everybody has it in their heads that their senior year, you go to the championship game and you ultimately win it,” Mellott said. “To get to this point again with these guys who I’ve battled so much with these last four-and-a-half years, it’s unbelievable.”
The contest itself was a back-and-forth affair for much of the first half with the Bobcats using their overwhelming and physical style to do what they do and South Dakota using creativity and opportunity by primary playmakers to hang tough.
The Coyotes won the coin toss and deferred in an effort to get the ball after halftime when the partisan crowd is still filing back in. Mellott used that as a chance to put the hosts up, hitting Taco Dowler for a 34-yard touchdown to ignite the crowd.
The Yotes answered with a 55-yard touchdown by stalwart sixth-year senior Travis Theis, who ended the game with 190 yards from scrimmage on 21 bruising touches.
The game went back and forth until MSU engineered a 12-play, 74-yard drive to eat up six minutes and 27 seconds, capped by a Scottre Humphrey touchdown. An MSU stop and a methodical 15-play drive to eat up most of the last five minutes of the half helped the hosts take a 24-14 lead to the break.
In the second half, Grebe spearheaded a pass rush that kept South Dakota southpaw quarterback Aidan Bouman under duress. The Bobcat defense only allowed 35 rushing yards outside the long runs by Theis and Charles Pierre (45 yards).
The backbreaker for the Yotes likely came when Mellott took a fumbled snap, cut back three times, hurdled a tackle and exploded for a 41-yard touchdown run to put MSU up 31-14 early in the third quarter.
Now the Bobcats get another shot at the Bison. North Dakota State ended Montana State’s season in 2018, 2019, 2021 (in the national title game) and last season.
“I can’t wait to play them,” Mellott said.
Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and managing editor of Skyline Sports. He has covered the Big Sky Conference for 18 years and is a former Montana and Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year. You can find his work at skylinesportsmt.com and you can reach him at Colter.Nuanez@gmail.com.
