The Weber State University football team went up to Bozeman, Montana and was defeated 66–14 by Montana State University, the sixth-largest margin of defeat in program history.
After playing well at the end of the game against the University of Montana last week, true-freshman Kingston Tisdell was given his first career start against the second-ranked Bobcats.
The two teams traded three-and-outs to start the game, followed by another Weber three-and-out. Montana then got the ball at the Weber 42-yard line and drove down to the Weber 5-yard line, before Bobcat quarterback Justin Lamson ran the ball in for the game’s first score to make it 7–0 in favor of MSU.
The Wildcats got the ball at their own 10-yard line and got down to their own 46, but the drive stalled out, and Weber had to punt it away.
Just a few plays later, MSU running back Julius Davis, who ran for 132 yards against Weber in 2023, found a hole and ran 52 yards for a touchdown, making the game 14–0 to end the quarter.
On the first play in the second quarter, Wildcat senior running back Colter May found a crease and ran for 33 yards, but Bobcat safety Caden Dowler came from behind and punched the ball out, which was then recovered by the Bobcats to give them the ball back.
Montana then drove down the field, finishing the drive off with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back Adam Jones, making the game 21–0.
Weber’s next drive ended with Tisdell throwing his first career interception, which MSU followed up with a 20-yard drive, finished off by a 4-yard passing touchdown from Lamson to Rocky Lencioni.
For the next drive, the Wildcats pulled Tisdell and put in Dijon Jennings, who led the Wildcats down the field, with the drive being finished off by a 4-yard rushing touchdown by running back Spencer Ferguson, who just returned from a hamstring injury, to make the game 21–7.
On the ensuing kickoff, Montana kick returner Jabez Woods returned the kick 77 yards to the Weber State 23-yard line; however, the Wildcat defense held firm and held Montana to three points, with the game going into halftime with a score of 31–7.
On the first drive of the second half, Lamson threw another touchdown, this time a nine-yard pass to Ryan King to give the Bobcats a 38–7 lead.
The Wildcats had a three-and-out and had to punt the ball away, which allowed Montana State to drive down the field and finish the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Davis, making it 45–7.
Weber had yet another three-and-out, and MSU returner Dane Steel took the punt 33 yards, but fumbled the ball, and Weber defensive tackle Zion Finau recovered it. However, on the very next play, Jennings threw an interception to MSU defensive back Takhari Carr.
The Bobcats scored on the very next play, with Lamson rushing for another touchdown to make it 52–7. After which, Weber punted again to end the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Montana State put in their second strings, with backup quarterback Patrick Duchien finding Jordan Reed for another MSU touchdown, making the game 59–7.
Weber then drove down the field, where Jennings found redshirt-freshman receiver Mason York for York’s first career touchdown catch to make the game 59–14.
The teams traded fumbles, then Montana State scored their final touchdown of the game with a 15-yard touchdown run by Chance Wilson to end the game.
Following the loss, the Wildcats move to 3-win, 7-loss on the year, with a 1-win, 5-loss conference record. The Wildcats will travel to Pocatello, Idaho, to take on the Idaho State University Bengals at 4 p.m.
The Wildcats will look to avenge last season’s loss to the Bengals, who beat the Wildcats for the first time since 2012 and the first time in Ogden since 1984.
