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Weber State running back Spencer Ferguson, center, carries the football as Montana State's Xavier Ahrens (43) tries to tackle from the ground on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Bozeman, Mont.

Paul Grua, WSU Athletics

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Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson (8) celebrates a touchdown run against Weber State on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Bozeman, Mont.

Photo supplied, MSU Athletics

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Weber State quarterback Kingston Tisdell, left, surveys the field in a game against Montana State on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Bozeman, Mont.

Paul Grua, WSU Athletics

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Outmatched and undermanned, Weber State football fell to 1-5 in Big Sky play Saturday afternoon, churned up by the machine that is No. 3 Montana State in a 66-14 final.

When third-string quarterback Chance Wilson broke tackles against WSU starting defenders for a 15-yard touchdown run with 1:35 left, it pushed the result into the bad kind of record-book territory.

Montana State’s 66 points are the fifth-most Weber State has ever allowed against an FCS opponent, the most since the famous 73-68 win at Portland State in 2007. The 52-point margin is the WSU’s fourth-largest margin of defeat against an FCS opponent, the most since a 56-0 home shutout defeat to Idaho in 1993.

“Any time you turn the ball over four times against a really good opponent like Montana State at their place, it’s going to be a long day,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said on a postgame radio interview.

The pullaway didn’t happen instantly, but gradually and painfully for Weber State (3-7, 1-5 Big Sky). In fact, Montana State (8-2, 6-0) only outgained the Wildcats 194-178 in the first half.

But the score was 31-7 at halftime all the same. Montana State produced short field after short field, either through defensive stops and WSU punts deep from Wildcat territory, or good-to-great returns on kicks or interceptions.

Such was the case early, with freshman Kingston Tisdell getting the start at quarterback for Weber State but running into early three-and-out series.

Up 7-0, Montana State forced Weber to punt near midfield and returned it back toward the midfield stripe. One play later, Julius Davis gashed 52 yards for a rushing touchdown to put the home team up 14-0.

Any potential game-changing moments were quickly undone for Weber State. Colter May, again getting major action with WSU’s many running back injuries, broke a 36-yard run across midfield only to be stripped from behind by Caden Dowler for a fumble, which Montana State recovered.

The Bobcats turned that short field into a short, methodical drive capped with a 2-yard touchdown run from Adam Jones to make it 21-0 at the 9:30 mark of the second quarter.

Robert Young gave Weber its next possible spark; as he did frequently Saturday, he took the ensuing kickoff off the leg of his former Roy High teammate, Colby Frokjer, and returned it 35 yards to the WSU 42.

Five plays later from across midfield, Tisdell threw 20 yards downfield into an interception by Dowler, which he hauled 54 yards in a return all the way to the WSU 20. Four plays after that, MSU quarterback Justin Lamson tossed a 4-yard TD to Rocky Lencioni for a 28-0 margin.

Weber mounted a scoring drive there, inserting junior Dijon Jennings at quarterback for Tisdell; Mental said after the game Tisdell had a possible lower-leg sprain. Davis High product Spencer Ferguson gained 25 yards on four carries, setting up Jennings to hit Marvin Session for a 30-yard toss to the MSU 10.

Ferguson finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, his second TD of the season, to make the score 28-7 with 35 seconds left in the half.

Then, yet another long return. Jabez Woods took the ensuing kickoff 77 yards the other way, and Weber only kept the Bobcats out of the end zone when Matt Herron sacked Lamson. That forced MSU to send Myles Sansted out for a 48-yard field goal, which he made as time expired on the half with the score 31-7.

The Bobcats got the ball to open the third quarter and used eight plays to find the end zone again, with Lamson throwing 9 yards to Ryan King.

Forcing a WSU three-and-out, MSU needed only five more plays to go 63 yards for another touchdown. Davis rushed four times for 20 yards on the drive, putting him over 100 yards for the day and capped with a 1-yard touchdown. That made it 45-7 at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter. That slim yards advantage had ballooned, already at 112-4 to that point after halftime.

The big returns kept coming: another three-and-out resulted in a 33-yard punt return for MSU’s Dane Steele, but Will Way forced a fumble that Zion Finau recovered to get WSU the ball back much in the same spot it was. But on the next play, Takhari Carr intercepted a Jennings deep ball and returned it 25 yards to the WSU 25.

With the help of a flagrant personal foul against Jayleen Record after the interception return, which resulted in the WSU receiver’s ejection, Lamson punched in the ensuing 12-yard field on one QB keeper for a 52-7 lead with 4:45 left in the third.

Even good plays became bad plays for Weber State. In the fourth quarter, backup quarterback Patrick Duchien threw deep to the goal line, a pass broken up by WSU’s Angel King, but the ball bounced up into the hands of MSU’s Jordan Reed, a former quarterback playing receiver; he wrestled through contact to hang onto the ball for a 25-yard touchdown reception and a 59-7 score.

Jennings and company put together one more drive, capped when Jennings threw a 5-yard fade to Mason York. York fought through contact for a one-handed touchdown grab, the first of his career, to make it 59-14.

In the meantime, though, both Session and WSU freshman receiver Kelton Wafer went down with serious-looking leg injuries in the fourth quarter, though the extent of those was unknown by game’s end. Starting tight end Noah Bennee also left the game with a leg injury suffered during a kickoff return.

For Weber State, Ferguson finished with 88 yards on 22 carries and May had 59 yards on six rushes. Session had 65 yards on five receptions, the last of which saw him leave the game injured. Tisdell threw 5 of 11 for just 22 yards. Jennings finished 12 of 18 for 85 yards.

Mayson Hitchens totaled 10 tackles, with eight solo, for WSU. Logan Mackey forced a fumble on a strip sack blitz in the fourth quarter, recovered by Zion Finau. Finau also rushed 3 yards to pick up a first down on a fake punt.

For Montana State, Lamson passed 12 of 16 for 177 yards and two scores, adding 31 yards on nine carries. Davis rushed 10 times for 114 yards and two TDs. The Bobcats spread 183 receiving yards across 11 receivers; six of those had two receptions apiece.

Weber State next remains on the road for a rivalry matchup with Idaho State.