Weber State football: No. 3 Montana State controls 2nd half, turns away No. 22 WSU
Montana State 38, Weber State 33
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle (13) rushes the football between Montana State’s Caden Dowler (41) and Blaine Downing (48) during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State running back Seth Rigtrup (32) finishes a touchdown run against Montana State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State defenders, from left, Teni Worthen, Da’Veon Ross and Tamal Johnson, tackle Montana State’s Dane Steel during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State’s Mason Jeppsen (37) celebrates after recovering a Montana State fumble during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State tight end Ammon Munyer completes a touchdown catch against Montana State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State running back Spencer Ferguson, center, runs through Montana State defenders during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State kicker David Dellenbach, right, lines up to kick a field goal against Montana State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle, center, looks to pass against Montana State during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State quarterback Nate Dahle, left, runs the football during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
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- Weber State associate head coach Tanner Jacobson, center, leads a huddle during a Big Sky football game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Bozeman, Mont. (ROBERT CASEY, Weber State Athletics)
Weber State football had all the momentum in the world.
No. 3 Montana State had won 23 consecutive Big Sky home games, but the No. 22 Wildcats made several plays to stun a more-than-sellout crowd of 22,167 at Bobcat Stadium with a 27-17 halftime lead.
But one play seemed to change it all. The Bobcats owned the second half and used turnovers to push back the upset-minded Wildcats for a 38-33 win Saturday afternoon.
“I think they’re playing really hard, I think they’re fighting and battling,” WSU head coach Eric Kjar said in a postgame radio interview. “I think we could do ourselves a few favors, just from an intelligence or execution standpoint, being a little bit smarter in critical situations.
“And also, just doing what we’re coached to do, what our scheme tells us to do, on offense and defense. That part’s great, playing hard and we’re competing and doing some really good things, I love that. That’s No. 1 for us. But we’ve got to start being better in critical spots and just take care of the ball.”
Using a stunning sequence of a Dyson Parker kick-return touchdown, a touchdown drive, a turnover and a field goal, Weber State took the 10-point lead into halftime knowing it would get the ball to start the second half.
Everything was well on schedule when the Wildcats used four plays to move across midfield right out of the locker room, with another scoring drive surely putting Montana State on the ropes. Instead, from the MSU 44, freshman quarterback Nate Dahle simply dropped a shotgun snap. He appeared to have the recovery but MSU’s Zac Crews won a wrestle for the turnover.
Four of MSU’s five touchdown drives needed 11 or more plays, including the ensuing 49-yard drive. Aside from a 57-yard Jared White touchdown run to start the game, Weber State made the Bobcats convert third and fourth downs from start to finish.
Problem was, WSU couldn’t get its defense off the field. The Bobcats finished 8 of 15 on third down and 3 of 3 on fourth down.
So, on third-and-5, Justin Lamson hit Jordan Reed for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Instead of a hoped-for 30-17 lead, or a dream 34-17 lead, it was just 27-24. It changed the entire tenor of the game.
Dahle fumbled again, stripped on a rush, but WSU safety Tommy Romano answered by forcing a fumble from Carter Dahlke at the WSU 15 to stop a go-ahead TD drive.
But WSU gained just 66 yards in the second half until its final possession, so a three-and-out punt set MSU up with a 56-yard field.
“We really should have been more consistent on what we were doing. And their D-line kind of got after us on a couple of those drives, too,” Kjar said.
Tight end Rocky Lencioni, as a fullback, punched in a 1-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter and give MSU a 31-27 lead.
Montana State put together another 11-play TD drive, finished with an Adam Jones 27-yard run, to go up 38-27 with 1:54 left.
The Wildcats used 12 plays to find the end zone again, with Dahle throwing to Robert Young on an 11-yard touchdown, but with only 2 seconds left for the 38-33 final.
For Weber State (5-4, 4-2 Big Sky), Dahle threw 21 of 40 for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Noah Kjar caught eight passes for 124 yards, and Tate Kjar had five catches for 64 yards. Young caught five passes for 41 yards.
Seth Rigtrup rushed for 57 yards on six carries after Spencer Ferguson went out again with a knee injury; Ferguson had seven carries for 23 yards.
“I think they were a little more run-heavy, as far as their box, when we had Ferg in there,” Kjar said. “So opportunity-wise, somewhat in the pass game, it got a little bit different once he got out of there. … We’ve got to be better at that and execute a little bit better up front, too. It’s not just on our running back.”
Safety Trevian Tribble led WSU with 13 tackles, including two for loss and the team’s only sack. Romano had 12 tackles and linebacker Da’Veon Ross nine.
For Montana State (7-1, 4-1), Lamson finished 23 of 35 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. White rushed for 125 yards on 13 carries, and Jones carried 22 times for 115 yards. Dane Steel led the receivers with 74 yards on six catches.
Weber State had two big first-half opportunities that Eric Kjar said at halftime his offense let slip, plays that would have made life more difficult for Montana State.
The first started the game. After forcing an MSU punt, Dahle hit Noah Kjar on a skinny post in a soft spot of the defense; he raced 68 yards and was caught at the MSU 3. But Weber could not punch in a TD, so David Dellenbach sent through a 20-yard field goal go open the scoring 3-0.
White’s long TD run put MSU up, and Weber answered with a 13-play drive finished with a Dahle-to-Ammon Munyer 2-yard throw for a 10-7 lead.
Montana State’s longest drive came next, a 17-play march of 7:55 to give the Bobcats a 14-10 lead.
Parker answered with his return touchdown, taking the ball going backward at the right goal line pylon, turning up the right side and racing 100 yards for a score and a 17-14 lead.
It was WSU’s first kick-return touchdown since Noah Kjar’s in 2024 at Montana.
Myles Sansted tied it 17-17 with a 29-yard field goal. What came next was the second part of WSU’s two missed opportunities.
Rigtrup capped an eight-play drive with a dicing, 31-yard touchdown run to the left for a 24-17 lead with 1:53 left in the half. Omar Shah forced a fumble from White on the ensuing kickoff, recovered by Mason Jeppsen to give WSU a 22-yard field.
But MSU buckled down, forcing a field goal attempt. Dellenbach made it from 37 yards with 1:00 left.
That was enough time for MSU to drive to WSU’s 19, but Weber’s defense came up with two incompletions.
Ashden Oberg blocked Sansted’s 37-yard field goal attempt as time expired, giving WSU six blocked kicks this season, and Weber State seemingly went into halftime ready for an upset.
The Wildcats next return home for a 1 p.m. Halloween kickoff against UC Davis, left wondering what could have been.
“Their culture, their belief is in a much different place than the team we faced last year,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said in a postgame video posted by Skyline Sports. “Completely different mindset, and that’s a credit to Coach Kjar coming in with a plan and executing it.”
