A year after becoming the only team to lose to Northern Colorado, the Bobcats again found themselves struggling with the Bears on Saturday.
But MSU junior safety Kevin Retoriano returned his second interception of the game 64 yards for a touchdown to secure a 20-7 victory in Bozeman.
Retoriano's pick-six came with just 1:03 left in the game, the Cats clinging to a 13-7 lead and Northern Colorado with the ball at the MSU 37.
Bears quarterback Bryan Waggener fumbled a shotgun snap and was hit as he threw, resulting in an end-over-end duck that landed in Retoriano's arms.
“The kid's just trying to make a play,” UNC coach Scott Downing said. “Had he not gotten hit, the ball was right to the running back, and he had a chance to make a play. If you make the play, it's a great play. If you don't, well, the other kid made a play.”
Waggener, shaking off a mysterious injury that kept him on the sidelines for the second half against Montana a week ago, threw for 246 yards but had four interceptions.
Montana State's offense continued to be a shaky proposition with just two field goals in the first half and only 244 yards for the game.
“Coach (Jamie) Marshall said to the defense earlier in the week, ‘We may have to play 60 minutes and our defense may have to win this at the end,” Montana State head coach Rob Ash told the Bozeman Chronicle. “He was prophetic.”
Senior running back Demetrius Crawford was the lone bright spot with 149 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, a 16-yard run with 10:17 left in the third quarter to give the Cats a 13-0 lead.
But Northern Colorado responded early in the fourth quarter with a 79-yard interception return by senior linebacker Joe Kenney to the MSU 13. David Woods plunged in from the 1 to cap the short drive.
After Montana State missed a 37-yard field goal with 3:24 remaining, Crawford was upset enough with his teammates that he let them know it.
“We can't get the red zone and not get in the end zone,” Crawford said. “We had certain plays called and certain guys were doing certain things they weren't supposed to do. At that point in time, the score was closer than it should have been so I was hot.”
After all was said and done, however, the Bobcats were just glad to get their first home conference victory of the season.
“I told the team on Wednesday that the people who buy a ticket deserve to see a good show; they deserve to see a win,” Ash said. “I think they took that to heart because they realize we do have great fans. Today when something didn't go well our fans got excited for us to stop the other team and got behind us. I think that helped.”
MSU, now 3-2 in the Big Sky Conference, 5-4 overall, still has a slim shot at the postseason, but it must find a way to win its final three games, starting Saturday at No. 23 Northern Arizona.
Northern Colorado (1-4, 1-7) hosts Eastern Washington on Saturday.
Broken wings
How the mighty have fallen.
Sacramento State bounced back from a poor effort against Montana State a week ago to topple Eastern Washington 15-13 in Cheney, Wash., on Saturday.
The once highly regarded Eagles, ranked No. 7 to start the season, bumbled and stumbled their way through a dismal homecoming game.
Eastern (2-3, 3-5) lost to Sacramento State for the fourth time in five games at Woodward Field. The Eagles went 0-for-6 on third downs and turned the ball over four times.
The Hornets held the Eagles to minus-31 yards rushing. EWU also missed two field goals and quarterback Matt Nichols was sacked five times.
“I was a little frustrated with our lack of execution in certain areas,” EWU coach Beau Baldwin said in a press release. “Obviously, every point counts. Not getting some of the points in the first half hurt us.”
The normally reliable Nichols accounted for all three EWU turnovers with two interceptions and a fumble.
“We were sloppy,” Baldwin said. “I give them credit. They made plays that we didn't. We need to find a way to play better.
“I don't care how many yards they have or how many yards you have, whatever it might be. You've got to do a good job and do everything you can to win the turnover battle. That ends up being a telling factor in almost every college football game.”
Sacramento State quarterback Jason Smith, still recovering from a sprained ankle, played much better than he did a week ago in the loss to Montana State.
Smith, who wore a walking boot before the game, completed 18 of 27 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. Jake Croxdale added 91 yards on the ground for the Hornets.
“The biggest thing is my O-line played great today,” Smith told the Sacramento Bee. “No one was in my face - they did an excellent job keeping guys off me. And the receivers just came down with the ball and made plays. Š I just threw the ball - everybody else did the work.”
Sacramento State will visit UC Davis on Saturday.
Elite company
Cal Poly wide receiver Ramses Barden caught a touchdown in his 16th straight game Saturday, leaving him one short of Jerry Rice's FCS record of 17. Last week Barden broke Rice's record of 26 games with at least one touchdown catch.
Lost in all that, and probably for good reason, was Idaho State's 13th straight loss, still the nation's second longest dismal streak.
Third-ranked Cal Poly rolled up 459 yards on the ground on its way to the 49-10 win, the most rushing yards allowed by ISU since Southern Utah notched 679 in 2001.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Bengals, who play Weber State and Montana, before finishing the season at home with Sacramento State.
This and that
Northern Arizona's loss to Montana on Saturday was the 18th consecutive time the Lumberjacks have failed to beat a ranked team. ... UM's 45-10 victory was also the most lopsided over NAU since 1969 when the Grizzlies won 52-7. ... Weber State junior running back Trevyn Smith finished with 201 all-purpose yards against Portland State on Saturday, placing him second with 4,260 on the all-time WSU list behind Bryant Eteuati's record of 4,962. Eteuati remains suspended from the team after twice failing to show up in court to face felony warrants totaling $10,000 for aggravated assault and communications fraud.
Players of the week
Offense: Chase Reynolds, RB, Montana. The sophomore from Drummond rushed 12 times for a career-high 157 yards and three touchdowns in Montana's 45-10 win over Northern Arizona, which had allowed 150 yards rushing in its previous eight games. Reynolds scored on runs of 6, 37 and 67 yards. Defense: Colt Anderson, S, Montana, and Kevin Retoriano, S, Montana State. Anderson, a senior from Butte, had two interceptions, seven tackles and two pass breakups for the Griz. Retoriano, a junior from San Diego, clinched MSU's 20-7 win over Northern Colorado with his second interception of the game, which he returned 65 yards for a touchdown. Special teams: Eric Fisher, P, MSU. The junior from Billings averaged 39.9 yards on seven punts, pinning UNC inside its 20-yard line three times.
Quote of the week
‘We can't get the red zone and not get in the end zone. We had certain plays called and certain guys were doing certain things they weren't supposed to do. At that point in time, the score was closer than it should have been so I was hot.'
- Montana State running back Demetrius Crawford
Game to watch
Montana at Portland State, Saturday: Since you can actually watch it, this sort of makes sense. But this is a critical one, especially for Montana if the Griz hope to keep up with Weber State and maintain playoff position.
Power poll
1 Weber State (8-2): The Wildcats might have lost some punch (pun intended) without Bryant Eteuati, but they are still very, very good.
2 Montana (8-1): UM's secondary has been playing well of late, but they'll get the ultimate test Saturday against Portland State's all-or-nothing passing game. Hey, Colt, watch out for those lines on the field.
3 Northern Arizona (6-3): NAU has serious problems on offense. Seriously. Weber State and Montana exposed that for all to see. Now the Lumberjacks need some serious help to make the playoffs.
4 Montana State (5-4): Bobcats just keep hanging around. Offense is still a mess, but the D keeps them in games.
5 Sac State (4-5): Hornets pulled off the big win in Cheney on Saturday to jump up in these rankings. I'm sure they will all be calling their moms.
6 Portland State (3-5): Vikings are the classic scary team to play. Consistently inconsistent, but can suddenly explode if everything goes right. They always love to play the Griz, too.
7 E. Washington (3-5): Don't think anybody saw the loss to Sac State coming, or the putrid play this season. Injuries are partly to blame, but so are the Eagles.
8 N. Colorado (1-7): Battlin' Bears keep bouncing off of people without much success. Sure hope their “injured” QB is OK.
9 Idaho State (0-9): Got a funny feeling about the ISU-Weber State game. Nope, sorry ... just gas.
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