Higgins threw for 347 yards and touchdowns to four receivers to lead Weber State to a 35-12 win, spoiling Montana State's homecoming.
Higgins threw scoring passes to Mike Phillips, Tim Toone, Trevyn Smith and Marcus Mailei as the Wildcats (3-0 Big Sky, 5-2 overall) remained atop the conference standings by sweeping the Montana schools for the first time since 1987. The Wildcats beat Montana 45-28 in the rain last Saturday in Ogden, Utah.
Toone matched his career high with 11 receptions for 130 yards. Smith added 73 yards rushing for the Wildcats, who last shared the Big Sky title in 1968 and have never won it outright.
But the star was Higgins, a sophomore who was 28-for-35 passing with only one interception despite swirling winds, unsure footing and pressure from MSU's defense.
“Higgins was unbelievable in that kind of weather conditions,” McBride said.
MSU (3-3, 1-1) led 9-7 after scoring a safety with 13:31 to play in the second quarter when the Wildcats snapped the ball over punter Mike Snoy's head and the ball sailed 43 yards through the end zone. Two minutes earlier, the Bobcats had tied the game 7-7 on a 14-yard run by quarterback Cody Kempt with 29 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Weber State took the lead for good six minutes after the safety when Higgins connected on a 58-yard scoring pass to Phillips. The pass was tipped by teammate Bryant Eteuati and bounced over two defenders into the waiting hands of Phillips, who outraced the secondary for nearly 40 yards.
“That was a huge momentum-changer,” said MSU coach Rob Ash. “It was a huge, pivotal play.”
Another pivotal play came late in the third quarter after Weber State had taken a 22-9 lead on a 2-yard run by Smith, the Big Sky's leading rusher.
MSU's Kempt hit a wide-open Mark Desin down the middle of the field for what would have been a 44-yard touchdown, but Desin dropped the pass and Bobcat running back Aaron Mason fumbled the ball away on the Weber State 33 two plays later.
“Some big plays got to us,” said MSU linebacker Chase Gazzerro. “It was frustrating.”
The Wildcats, who would go on to outscore the Bobcats 28-3 in the second half, converted 7-of-14 third-down conversions, many in key situations in the second half.
“The execution of their passing game was spectacular today,” Ash said. “Their third-down performance was sensational.”
The Wildcats had 399 total yards. Smith, who was averaging a league-leading 95.7 yards per game, ran for 73 on 21 carries.
Weber State 7 7 8 13 - 35
Montana State 7 2 0 3 - 12
First Quarter
WSU-Smith 19 pass from C.Higgins (Williams kick), 8:26.
MSU-Kempt 14 run (Cunningham kick), :29.
Second Quarter
MSU-Safety, 13:31.
WSU-Phillips 58 pass from C.Higgins (Williams kick), 7:33.
Third Quarter
WSU-Smith 2 run (M.Mailei pass from C.Higgins), 5:04.
Fourth Quarter
MSU-FG Cunningham 25, 14:14.
WSU-Toone 5 pass from C.Higgins (kick failed), 9:51.
WSU-M.Mailei 5 pass from C.Higgins (Williams kick), 1:04.
A-14,447.
WSU MSU
First downs 20 15
Rushes-yards 31-33 34-137
Passing 366 169
Comp-Att-Int 29-37-1 13-29-1
Return Yards 17 2
Punts-Avg. 5-31.0 6-40.3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 5-29 7-34
Time of Possession 33:50 26:10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Weber St., Smith 21-73, Doyle 1-4, Lee 1-3, C.Higgins 7-(-4), Team 1-(-43). Montana St., Crawford 18-75, Kempt 7-21, Lulay 2-18, Mason 2-8, Palmer 2-8, Desin 1-7, Team 2-0.
PASSING-Weber St., C.Higgins 28-35-1-349, Doyle 1-2-0-17. Montana St., Kempt 13-29-1-169.
RECEIVING-Weber St., Toone 11-130, Smith 7-63, Phillips 3-74, Nakamura 3-61, Bry.Eteuati 3-26, M.Mailei 2-12. Montana St., Lulay 4-53, Desin 4-37, Toliver 2-54, Bostick 2-19, DeA.Green 1-6.
Northern Colorado 29, Idaho State 9
At Greeley, Colo., Bryan Waggener threw two touchdown passes for Northern Colorado, which defeated Idaho State in its homecoming game for the Bears' first win of the season.
Neither team scored in the second half.
Northern Colorado (1-1, 1-4) scored 19 points off two turnovers by Idaho State (0-3, 0-6), and the Bears had two safeties.
In the first quarter, Joe Kenney recovered a fumble that led to a 28-yard touchdown pass from Waggener to Alex Thompson to put the Bears up 16-7.
Waggener finished 13-for-25 passing for 138 yards.
Russel Hill was 23-for-42 for 237 yards with four interceptions for Idaho State.
Idaho State 7 2 0 0 - 9
N. Colorado 16 13 0 0 - 29
First Quarter
UNC-Safety, 12:58.
UNC-Caprioli 3 pass from Waggener (York kick), 9:09.
ISU-Knickrehm 3 run (Huk kick), 7:33.
UNC-Thompson 28 pass from Waggener (York kick), 4:19.
Second Quarter
UNC-FG York 18, 13:39.
UNC-Wilson 75 run (York run), 12:59.
UNC-Safety, 8:51.
ISU-Safety, 7:09.
A-3,683.
ISU NoCo
First downs 16 22
Rushes-yards 22-25 52-265
Passing 237 138
Comp-Att-Int 23-43-4 13-25-0
Return Yards 19 27
Punts-Avg. 5-49.6 9-33.1
Fumbles-Lost 4-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 11-71 11-110
Time of Possession 22:51 37:09
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Idaho St., Knickrehm 10-38, Cornist 3-18, Thompson 1-13, Hill 4-6, Team 4-(-50). N. Colorado, Wilson 15-125, Woods 18-65, Muns 8-47, Smith 2-19, Waggener 5-17, Team 2-0, Walker 1-(-1), Schrenk 1-(-7).
PASSING-Idaho St., Hill 23-42-4-237, Blum 0-1-0-0. N. Colorado, Waggener 13-25-0-138.
RECEIVING-Idaho St., Taylor 6-92, Thompson 3-37, Blue 3-3, Ponciano 2-63, Cornist 2-11, Messersmith 2-8, Knickrehm 2-7, Logan 1-11, Walker 1-3, Bird 1-2. N. Colorado, Fauver 3-36, Smith 3-20, Caprioli 2-14, Thompson 1-28, Emmerling 1-24, Woods 1-8, Chesla 1-7, Shapiro 1-1.
Northern Arizona 37, Portland State 17
At Flagstaff, Ariz., Lance Kriesien threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns while freshman Deonte Williams rushed for 138 yards and two scores as Northern Arizona won its fifth consecutive game by beating Portland State.
The Lumberjacks (3-0, 5-1) recorded 10 sacks and held Portland State (1-2, 2-4) to minus-14 yards rushing.
NAU also got a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Scott McKeever and three field goals from Robbie Dehaze to keep Portland State winless in four road games this season.
Vikings quarterback Drew Hubel, who threw for a school-record 623 yards against Eastern Washington last week, was 7-of-22 for 111 yards with two interceptions before being replaced by Tygue Howland.
Howland completed 15 of 27 passes for 246 yards and one touchdown.
Portland State 0 10 7 0 - 17
N. Arizona 10 17 7 3 - 37
First Quarter
NAU-FG Dehaze 26, 12:14.
NAU-McKeever 48 interception return (Dehaze kick), 7:33.
Second Quarter
NAU-D.Williams 4 run (Dehaze kick), 14:54.
NAU-FG Dehaze 24, 10:48.
PSU-FG Urrego 49, 8:50.
NAU-Rauschert 38 pass from Kriesien (Dehaze kick), 5:02.
PSU-McClintock 1 run (Urrego kick), 1:27.
Third Quarter
PSU-D'Ambrosio 15 pass from Howland (Urrego kick), 9:21.
NAU-D.Williams 2 run (Dehaze kick), 2:42.
Fourth Quarter
NAU-FG Dehaze 36, 9:11.
A-5,836.
PSU NAU
First downs 22 22
Rushes-yards 20-(-14) 47-185
Passing 369 229
Comp-Att-Int 24-52-2 13-22-0
Return Yards 19 119
Punts-Avg. 7-44.6 5-45.2
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 4-1
Penalties-Yards 8-76 9-80
Time of Possession 25:42 34:18
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Portland St., McClintock 5-15, Richards 1-14, Collins 1-(-9), Hubel 2-(-12), Howland 11-(-22). N. Arizona, D.Williams 31-138, Kriesien 11-33, Shanks 3-16, Herrick 1-0, Team 1-(-2).
PASSING-Portland St., Howland 15-27-0-246, Hubel 7-22-2-111, Collins 2-3-0-12. N. Arizona, Kriesien 13-22-0-229.
RECEIVING-Portland St., D'Ambrosio 10-162, Woods 4-96, Kirven 3-34, Fry 3-31, McClintock 2-30, Coleman 2-16. N. Arizona, Sweeney 6-130, E.Berry 2-19, D.Williams 2-3, Rauschert 1-38, Walish 1-21, Riley 1-18.
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