BOZEMAN — Montana State went to work right away in its Big Sky Conference opener Saturday against Eastern Washington.
Adam Jones scored on the team’s opening drive and Justin Lamson threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first quarter as MSU blitzed the Eagles 57-3 in front of 22,277 homecoming fans at Bobcat Stadium.
Montana State has now won five in a row against EWU dating back to the 2021 season.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
Lamson, operating from a clean pocket for most of the day, had touchdown throws to Hunter Provience (43 yards), Taco Dowler (45 yards) and Jabez Woods (28 yards) all before halftime.
MSU’s running game started slow but finished with 293 yards, its best output through five games this season. The offense put up 580 yards in total and had nine plays of 25 yards or more.
POCKET PRESENCE: Lamson continues to produce as a pocket-style thrower, and he finished 13-of-20 passing for 270 yards and the three aforementioned touchdowns. He also had 29 rushing yards before his day ended after the third quarter.
As the Bobcats have worked to get their running game untracked, Lamson has provided a spark through the air. He now has 1,005 passing yards and nine TDs while completing 73% of his throws this season.
SHUTTING THE DOOR: Montana State’s defense limited Eastern Washington’s once-potent offense to just 67 total yards in the first half. The Eagles, utilizing more of a quarterback-heavy run game, weren't able to soften the Bobcats and could muster only 207 total yards, much of it against MSU's backups.
The Cats have now allowed just 10 points in the past three games and no touchdowns since giving one up in garbage time against San Diego on Sept. 13.
KICK-GAME CRAZINESS: Montana State’s placekicking had its issues, as Myles Sansted had a field goal blocked and also missed two extra points. That added to some of the problems the Bobcats had in the punting game earlier in the year, with two being blocked and another being tipped.
But those struggles opened the door for a fake field goal attempt against EWU in the third quarter, as holder Colby Frokjer ran untouched for a 26-yard touchdown on a fake to give the Bobcats a 36-3 lead.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Cats, now 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big Sky, hit the road for a showdown against conference rival Northern Arizona next week after playing four consecutive home games.
Coach Brian Wright’s No. 15-ranked Lumberjacks are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the league after a 31-17 victory over winless Portland State on Saturday.
