POCATELLO, Idaho - Montana State converted a two-point try in the third overtime and beat Idaho State 28-26 on Saturday at the ICCU Dome.
Idaho State (6-4, 3-4 Big Sky) and Montana State (9-1, 6-1) traded field goals through the first two overtime periods. Mason Lindberg hit from 41 and 29 yards for the Bengals, and the Bobcats answered from 28 and 43 yards for the Bobcats. In the third overtime, Jordan Cooke's two-point pass attempt failed, and Montana State won it with a completion to the right side of the endzone for the conversion.
The Bengals outgained the Bobcats 410-332, finished with 26 first downs to Montana State's 20, held the ball for 33:26 and converted 9 of 18 third downs. Cooke completed 30 of 52 passes for 318 yards and ran 16 times, scoring once on the ground. Tommy Poe caught nine passes for 100 yards, Chedon James added nine catches for 79 yards, and Simeon Brown had six receptions for 65 yards.
The Idaho State defense held Montana State to 123 rushing yards and 4-of-16 on third down, and the Bobcats settled for field goals on three of their five trips inside the red zone. The Bengals had seven tackles for loss and nine quarterback hurries. Jackson Irwin led the Bengals with 13 tackles, Dekker Hagler had 12 with a tackle for loss, and Jacob Perez added eight tackles and a 13-yard sack.
Idaho State opened the game with a 13-play drive to the Montana State 16, but Seth Brock sacked Cooke on third-and-10 and recovered his fumble. The Bengal defense answered with a three-and-out. Collin Lewis dropped Adam Jones for a 4-yard loss, Jake East sacked Justin Lamson on third down, and Idaho State took over at its own 39 after the punt. Lindberg capped the nine-play, 36-yard drive with a 42-yard field goal with 1:49 left in the first quarter.
Cooke capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter for a 10-0 lead. James had catches of 23 and 14 yards on the drive, the second on third-and-8. Brett Spencer forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return, though the ball went out of bounds, and the defense forced another three-and-out when Jackson Daniels and Nathan Reynolds stopped Jones for no gain on third-and-3.
Montana State answered late in the half with an 11-play, 81-yard drive. Bronson Childs dropped Lamson for a loss on third down at the Idaho State 23, but the Bobcats converted on fourth-and-5 with a 22-yard pass to Steel, and Jones scored from 2 yards out with 36 seconds left. Brock intercepted Cooke on the Bengals' final possession of the half, and Colby Frokjer missed a 58-yard field goal as time expired, leaving Idaho State ahead 10-7 at the break.
Montana State drove inside the Idaho State 15 on both of its first two third-quarter drives, and the Bengal defense kept both out of the end zone. Childs stopped Lamson for a 3-yard loss on third-and-3 at the 9 to force a 30-yard Sansted field goal. On the next drive, after a 39-yard run by Jones set up first down at the 14, Idaho State gave up 4 yards on three plays, and Sansted kicked a 27-yarder for a 13-10 Montana State lead. Idaho State took the lead back on a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Cooke found Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio for 47 yards down the middle to the Montana State 4, and Carson Sudbury ran in from 4 yards out on the next play with 28 seconds left in the quarter.
Perez sacked Lamson for a 13-yard loss on third-and-2 to force a punt early in the fourth quarter, and the Bengals followed with a 10-play, 68-yard drive. Poe's 31-yard catch set up Lindberg's 34-yard field goal for a 20-13 lead with 7:31 to play.
Montana State tied the game on its next drive. A pass interference penalty gave the Bobcats a first down on fourth-and-2 at the Idaho State 41, and a Perez interception on the next snap was wiped out by a roughing-the-passer penalty that moved the ball to the 20. The Bengals then forced three straight incompletions, with Lewis and Hagler pressuring Lamson on two of them, before Lamson hit Rocky Lencioni for a 20-yard touchdown on fourth-and-10 with 2:24 remaining.
Tre Shorty broke up a third-down pass to force a punt on Montana State's next possession, giving Idaho State one more chance in regulation. A 30-yard Montana State penalty moved the ball to the Bobcat 38 with 39 seconds left, but the drive stalled at the 40, and John Hurst Daniels blocked Lindberg's 56-yard field goal attempt on the final play.
In the first overtime, Idaho State possessed first and Lindberg made a 41-yarder. Montana State moved to the Idaho State 5, but a false start pushed the Bobcats back, Hagler hurried Lamson into an incompletion on third down, and Sansted tied it with a 28-yard field goal. The Bengal pass rush hurried Lamson on three straight incompletions to open the second overtime, and Sansted kicked a 43-yard field goal. A holding penalty on Montana State gave Idaho State a first down at the 15 on its possession, and Lindberg's 29-yard field goal sent the game to a third overtime.
What they said
On the result: "Really proud of the guys, really proud of their effort. There were so many opportunities to win that game, and we just didn't get it done."
On the message to the team: "You should have a conviction about how well you can play, but a burning desire to fix those mistakes that hurt us, whether it was offense, defense or special teams."
"You're never there, you're never not there, you're just on the way, and this is a gut punch in the journey."
On the defense: "They played well enough for us to win the football game. I think you'd always love to have an extra play here or there, but then you're just asking them to overcompensate. They played their butts off against a national champion caliber team."
On Simeon Brown: "Sim's a guy that has a super high ceiling and everybody loves him. It doesn't shock me that he went in and played well. He's a really good football player."
On Tommy Poe: "Tommy's been fantastic, and he's such a great person. I think he fits the scheme really well. He makes some great contested catches. Looks like a Bengal wideout, plays like a Bengal wideout."
On preparing for Montana: "There are some things we are doing better than anybody in America right now. You know, getting after the passer being one of them. There's some things we absolutely got to improve on. Scoring more touchdowns in the red zone."
On the loss: "No one wants to lose like that, especially in a game like that. But I mean, we know we could play with any team in the country."
On his 16 carries: "They're really good up front. Their box players are really good, so I knew I was gonna have to run the ball to help us out."
On going to Missoula: "There's a couple plays you wanna have back offensively, and yeah, we just gotta keep executing. Everything's there. It's gonna be loud. It's gonna be cold."
On the defense: "We played good, just not good enough, you know. Could've stopped the two-point conversion, keep going in overtime, but overall I think defensively we played good."
On slowing the Montana State run game: "We talk about we got a little pyramid that we have, and alignment, assignment, technique's the bottom, the base. So if we do that, next we get to stop the run."
On turning the page: "Tomorrow we gotta come in, we gotta stop talking about Montana State. That game doesn't matter. We gotta focus on the Grizzlies."
Bengal Bites
Game stats
- Idaho State outgained Montana State 410-332 and ran 83 plays to the Bobcats' 68.
- The Bengals had 26 first downs to Montana State's 20 and won time of possession 33:26 to 26:34.
- Idaho State converted 9 of 18 third downs. Montana State went 4 of 16.
- Montana State finished with 123 rushing yards on 31 carries. Jones led the Bobcats with 49 yards.
- Cooke went 30 of 52 for 318 yards and added 35 net rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
- Poe had nine catches for 100 yards with a long of 31. James caught nine passes for 79 yards.
- Lindberg went 4 of 5 on field goals (42, 34, 41, 29) and 2 of 2 on extra points for 14 points.
- Irwin had 13 tackles (four solo) and Hagler had 12 (seven solo) with a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries.
- The Bengal defense recorded seven tackles for loss, two sacks and nine quarterback hurries. Bronson Childs had two tackles for loss.
- Montana State scored touchdowns on two of five red zone trips. Three ended in field goals.
- Perez had eight tackles, a 13-yard sack and a tackle for loss.
- Shorty broke up a pass and Spencer forced a fumble.
Notables
- It was Idaho State's first triple-overtime game since 1982, when the Bengals lost 30-27 at Montana State. Two of the program's three triple-overtime games have come against the Bobcats.
- The Bengals' last overtime game before Saturday was a 30-27 win over Sacramento State in 2024.
- Montana State leads the all-time series 53-31-3 and has won the last five meetings. Idaho State's last win over the Bobcats was a 24-17 victory in Pocatello in 2018.
- Saturday was the third overtime game between the programs, after Montana State's 30-27 triple-overtime win in 1982 and its 23-20 overtime win in Pocatello in 2010.
- The teams combined for four overtime field goals before the two-point round.
- Brown made six catches for 65 yards.
- Anahu-Ambrosio's 47-yard reception was the longest play from scrimmage by either team.
- Attendance at the ICCU Dome was 9,578.
Up next
Idaho State plays at Montana next Saturday in Missoula. Kickoff is set for 8:30 PM under the lights and will be broadcast on ESPN2
