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Weber State running back Dontae McMillan rushes the football against Montana State in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Bozeman, Mont.

ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics

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Weber State's Abraham Williams (38) runs for a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown against Montana State in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Bozeman, Mont.

ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics

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MORE: Veteran coach Hill knows there’s plenty more football to play

Unprecedented football things unfolded Saturday in Bozeman, Montana.

With No. 5 Weber State visiting No. 3 Montana State for a top-of-table Big Sky Conference showdown, the Wildcats pitted their nation’s best eight-game overall and eight-game road win streaks against Montana State’s national-best 16-game home win streak. It was cold, the rain was anywhere from drizzling to pouring at any moment in the game, and the two defensively tough teams got caught in an unexpected track meet.

When the clock hit zeroes, a madcap contest saw Montana State hang on to a 43-38 victory.

The details are vast, but in sum: Weber State went up 24-9 on two kick-return touchdowns; WSU surrendered a Division-I record four safeties, all on wildly inaccurate punt long snaps that rolled through the end zone; Montana State scored 34 unanswered points to go up 43-24; then WSU rallied for two touchdowns and took the ball deep into MSU territory looking for a third and a chance to win when a fourth-down pass was dropped at the MSU 12-yard line with 25 seconds left.

“Too many mistakes, dumb mistakes. … Offense didn’t sustain drives, we had to punt, when we punt we snapped it over the punter’s head multiple times, let alone four. Defense had a stretch in there where I didn’t think they were very good,” WSU head coach Jay Hill said. “In a game like this with the crowd, the weather, just the weirdness of it, they made one more play than we did.”

Montana State’s quarterback injuries flip-flopped again and Sean Chambers was surprisingly out for the Bobcats. No matter. Tommy Mellott soared behind MSU’s power run game, rushing 32 times for 273 yards and three touchdowns.

“You’ve got to give (Brent) Vigen and their staff credit. They did exactly what we knew they were going to do and they just executed it very well,” Hill said.

But at the end of the first quarter, Weber State (6-1, 3-1 Big Sky) led 17-9 despite being outgained 155 yards to 12 in the frame. And it could have been even more.

Eddie Heckard intercepted Mellott on the third play of the game and returned it to the MSU 12. But the offense did little with the big opportunity, so Kyle Thompson booted through a 25-yard field goal.

That’s when it started to get weird.

A fourth-down Grant Sands punt snap from Weber’s own 19 sailed well over punter Jack Burgess’ head and through the end zone, giving Montana State two points on a safety for a 3-2 score midway through the first quarter.

Using the resultant short field (kickoffs after safeties are kicked from the 20 instead of the 35), Mellott found space around the right side for a 42-yard touchdown run to put Montana State (6-1, 4-0) quickly ahead 9-3.

Abraham Williams answered for Weber State on the ensuing kickoff, running for his second 100-yard return touchdown of the season, and WSU led 10-9. Williams later left the game injured.

Mellott drove the Bobcats just past midfield but MSU false started (for one of six or seven against them in the game) when lining up to go for it on fourth-and-1. So the Bobcats punted and WSU’s Hudson Schenck bounced off a couple tacklers, then found a seam up the right sideline for a 91-yard punt return touchdown.

That was the end of a busy first quarter, with WSU leading 17-9.

Weber appeared to be taking control to open the second quarter. The defense finished off a three-and-out and Bronson Barron hit Justin Malone rumbling for 36 yards to open a quick six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in 2:11 that Damon Bankston finished with a 5-yard run to make it 24-9.

It was nearly more after MSU drove to the Weber 19, where Maxwell Anderson eventually blocked his second field goal of the season to keep the Bobcats off the board.

Three plays later, a third-and-1 Barron throw to Jacob Sharp on a slant nearly broke the game open. Sharp had a step (or more) on his defender and Montana State had no safeties in formation, nobody between Sharp and a 67-yard touchdown. But he dropped the pass.

WSU lined up to punt on the next play and what’s usually an aberration became a concerning issue: the snap flew over Burgess again and rolled out of the end zone for a safety. What was nearly 31-9 was instead 24-11 one play later.

With the free kick, Montana State again got great field position, starting at its own 41. A 26-yard completion softened the run defense the rest of the way and Mellott punched in a touchdown from 1 yard out to make it 24-18 with 2:34 left in the second quarter.

A lot of football was left in those 2 minutes, 34 seconds.

A third-and-7 Barron throw was dropped, which also went from a frustration to a nagging issue, and Weber lined up to punt at its own 29. For the third time, Sands launched another snap over Burgess that rolled through the end zone for a safety, making it 24-20.

Despite good MSU field position, Weber State’s defense got the stop it needed. But Montana State’s punt bounced in front of Schenck and he muffed it trying to field it off the bounce. MSU recovered at the Weber 15-yard line.

Mellott tossed a 15-yard score to Derryk Snell on the next play with 1 minute left in the half, giving Montana State a 27-24 lead at halftime after nearly falling behind by three touchdowns.

Weber got the ball to open the second half, Jon Christensen dropped a third-down throw and Sands took the field one more time. Inexplicably, he sailed the snap again and inexplicably, it was the same result. For the first time in Division I football history, a team gave up four safeties in one game, making the score 29-24 for the home team.

Hill spoke at length about the punt snap situation after the game.

“Grant’s going to be fine. Grant Sands has been a great snapper for us and he’s going to be OK. He missed the first one and then you stick with him. He does the second one and I’m like ‘Grant, you’re going to be OK, just chill, relax. Snap with your technique.’ He’s always been a great snapper.

“He sails the third one, and now you’ve got to make a decision as a coach. Do you pull him and just say he’s not ready to go or do you try to let him regroup at halftime and see what he can pull out? I was banking on Grant.

“People can say ‘oh, you should’ve done it sooner.’ But you don’t know, under those conditions, backup snappers are no guarantees either. I sat there and watched (Montana State’s) snapper at halftime warming up and he snapped four balls that bounced to the punter, four in a row. So to just say put a new guy in there, that’s not necessarily the answer. Unless you’ve been in our shoes and have seen practices, and know how that goes, it’s just not necessarily always the answer. Sometimes it is.

“I’ll be honest with everyone,” Hill finished in an understatement: “that’s the first time I’ve been through that.”

Montana State took four plays to score on another short field after the free kick when Mellott broke free for a 36-yard touchdown run. The Bobcats led 36-24 with 10:35 left in the third quarter.

Weber State’s offense was scuffling and Barron was sacked to conclude a three-and-out. Logan Snyder entered to handle long snap duties and fired wide of Burgess, but Burgess handled the ball and got off a kick.

Still, MSU took over at its own 40-yard line, giving the Bobcats a string of six possessions with starting field position that reads like this: from their own 38, the Weber 15, own 35, own 41, own 41 and own 40.

Mellott predictably led another touchdown drive, but this one was a grinder: 11 plays taking 5:51, ending when RJ Fitzgerald dove in from 1 yard out. A string of 34 unanswered points put Montana State up 43-24 with 3:14 left in the third quarter.

Weber State didn’t quit, and the offense got up off the mat.

A roughing-the-passer call sparked a drive that also saw Dontae McMillan rush a 21-yarder that helped put WSU in range. On a second down from the MSU 21, Barron roped a pass to a streaking Ty MacPherson in the end zone, who deftly kept one foot inbounds as he hauled it in for six.

McMillan rushed in a two-point conversion and Weber had it to 43-32 with 30 seconds left in the third.

Montana State drove to the Weber 14 where it made an odd choice to go for it on fourth-and-1 instead of making it a two-touchdown margin with a field goal. Winston Reid stopped running back Lane Sumner for no gain and Weber took over at its own 14-yard line with 12:35 left in the game.

McMillan and Kris Jackson each ripped 21-yard rushes in a long drive that ended with Barron taking it over the goal line for a 1-yard score. A two-point play failed on an incomplete pass, and the score was 43-38 with 6:49 left; WSU’s drive took 5 minutes, 46 seconds.

Mellott helped MSU pick up a first down with the clock draining, but Desmond Williams got him out of bounds on a second-down run and Garrett Beck dropped Elijah Elliott for a loss on third down to force a punt. Weber took over at its own 10-yard line with 2:07 left and all three timeouts in its pocket.

It took every bit for Weber to march, but march it did. Barron threw a laser to MacPherson on fourth-and-10 from the 10 to move the chains with a 24-yard throw up the sideline.

Barron and McMillan each picked up first-down rushes to get the ball to the MSU 42 with 1:11 left.

Then on fourth-and-10, Barron hit Meacham over the middle for 15 yards. On the next play, Meacham ran free up the middle but a throw to the goal line was wide.

A few plays later, another fourth-and-10 from the MSU 27, Barron evaded pressure and fired to MacPherson, wide open in the right flat at the MSU 12 with 25 seconds left. Weber State appeared to have its one final chance to win, but its surest-handed receiver dropped the pass.

“A lot of fight in our guys. I was happy with, when we got down three scores, I thought they did a phenomenal job of just putting their head down, fighting back,” Hill said. “Offense had some really good drives there in the second half. Defense got out of a couple drives. But there was a 15-20 minute stretch where we were just making stuff up. Not typical Weber State football.”

Barron finished throwing 14 of 30 for 151 yards and one touchdown, adding 13 rushes for 40 yards. McMillan rushed nine times for 76 yards, Jackson eight times for 37 yards and Bankston nine times for 34 yards.

MacPherson caught five passes for 69 yards. Meacham had two receptions for 20 yards.

Mellott threw 15 of 23 for 140 yards, effectively keeping WSU’s defense honest and keeping the run game open. Snell had three catches for 36 yards. Sumner added 44 rushing yards on 12 carries.

MSU won the yardage battle 487-338.

Weber State returns home to host Montana on Oct. 29.

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