BOZEMAN — It was rarely pretty, but it lived up to every bit of the hype.
No. 3-ranked Montana State and No. 2 South Dakota State fought tooth and nail into a smoky Saturday night at Bobcat Stadium, but in the end the Jackrabbits stole MSU’s Gold Rush thunder with a 30-24 win in double overtime in front of a stadium-record 22,117 yellow-clad fans.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
Chase Mason’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Delahoyde on the first play of double OT gave the Jackrabbits the lead, and though an ensuing two-point pass from Mason failed, the Bobcats were stuffed on fourth down inside the 10-yard line on their following possession to end the game.
Logan O'Gorske was a pass-catching star for the Jackrabbits, amassing 11 receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown.
It was Brent Vigen’s first regular-season home loss since taking over as coach at Montana State in 2021, and marked just the second time MSU has lost a Gold Rush home opener, the last being to SDSU in 2017. That was also the last time the Bobcats started a season 0-2. It was Montana State's first regular-season home loss since Oct. 14, 2019.
The Jackrabbits have now won six of the past seven meetings against Montana State.
Photos: No. 3 Montana State drops 2OT thriller to No. 2 South Dakota State
OVERTIME AGONY: The teams were deadlocked 17-17 after regulation. SDSU won the OT coin toss, meaning Montana State got the ball first. MSU ground out six plays to go 25 yards, capped by a 2-yard touchdown dive by Adam Jones and a point-after kick by Myles Sansted.
The Jackrabbits got the ball next, and Mason hit Jayden Oliver with a 2-yard TD pass. The PAT kick by Eli Stader tied again 24-24. SDSU got the ball first in the second OT, and Mason wasted no time, hitting Delahoyde with a dart.
Though the two-point conversion attempt failed, the Jacks’ defense held, stopping MSU running back Julius Davis just shy of the line to gain on fourth down. An official measurement confirmed it, and the game ended.
SCRAMBLIN’ LAMSON: The Bobcats finished the game with 210 yards rushing, but Lamson was the team leader gaining 96 of those yard on 20 carries. Much of that was gained on improvised scrambles as he faced pressure from SDSU’s defense.
Lamson gave MSU a 7-3 lead in the second-quarter with a 7-yard TD rush. However, the Stanford transfer was limited to 123 yards through the air on 18-of-28 passing.
MISCUES HURT: The Bobcats turned the ball over two times and also had a punt blocked, which hindered their chances. Both Lamson and Jacob Trimble each lost fumbles, and a Colby Frojker punt was blocked in the second quarter, which led to an 8-yard touchdown run by SDSU’s Mason that put the Jackrabbits back ahead 10-7.
But SDSU wasn’t without its mistakes. The Jacks also fumbled away the ball twice, and had a major miscue on an attempted rollout punt by Max Pelham at a key moment in the fourth that resulted a 10-yard scoop-and-score by the Bobcats’ Seth Brock, tying the score again at 17-17 and ultimately forcing overtime.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Bobcats, 0-2 for the first time in eight years, return home next week to face San Diego of the Pioneer Football League on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Torreros opened their season with a 41-17 loss to Cal Poly of the Big Sky Conference on Aug. 30 and then beat once and future Big Sky member Southern Utah 30-27 in overtime on Saturday.
