BOZEMAN — After giving up a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, Montana State scored 35 unanswered points on its way to a 35-7 Big Sky Conference football win over Northern Colorado at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.
Troy Andersen had a hand in four touchdowns — three rushing and one passing — as the Bobcats improved to 6-4, guaranteeing themselves a winning record. Andersen carried the ball 13 times for 104 yards, and Travis Jonsen added six carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. Andersen threw his touchdown pass to Logan Jones, who finished with 20 receiving yards on three catches.
After that first drive, the Bobcat defense shut down Northern Colorado’s offense. MSU had three sacks and forced four turnovers, which the Cats turned into 21 points.
TURNING POINT: Pinned deep in its own territory midway through the second quarter, Northern Colorado coughed up its third turnover of the game when Michael Jobman forced a Michael McCauley fumble that Jacob Hadley recovered at the Bears’ 9-yard line. MSU scored three plays later to take a commanding 21-7 lead in the second.
STAT OF THE GAME: Four turnovers. Jahque Alleyne and Tyrona Fa’Anono each had interceptions, and Hadley and Tucker Yates both recovered fumbles for the Bobcats.
GAME BALLS: Andersen and Fa’Anono. Andersen had another monster game for the Bobcats, totaling four touchdowns. His 104 rushing yards pushed him over 1,000 yards for the season. Fa’Anono has been the catalyst on the MSU defensive line all season, and he was in on four tackles against UNC, including a tackle-for-loss. The interception was the icing on the cake for the senior playing his last game at Bobcat Stadium.
WHAT’S NEXT: Cat-Griz. Montana State travels to Missoula for its annual tilt with rival Montana. The Bobcats (6-4) have already locked up a winning record for the first time in coach Jeff Choate’s tenure and will look to get to seven wins next week. MSU has won the past two games in the series with the Grizzlies. Kickoff is slated for noon on Nov. 17.
