Bozeman, Montana - The No. 18/20 Thunderbirds were able to take care of business on Saturday afternoon, defeating the No. 24/- Montana State Bobcats on the road 34–23. The victory for SUU is their seventh in a row, which sets a new team record for consecutive wins in a season, and continues their perfect start in the Big Sky Conference with a 6–0 record.

En route to handing the Bobcats their first home loss of the season and holding them to their lowest offensive output of the season, SUU defensive end James Cowser surpassed the Big Sky record for tackles for loss which was held by Jared Allen. Cowser, who now has 73.5 TFL in his career, said as the wins continue to stack up, they continue to become some of his favorites.

“It seems like every win this year has been a little better, a little sweeter than the last,” he said. “As you win more games the conference championship seems to get closer, they seem to mean more, so it's definitely up there.”

SUU head coach Ed Lamb said dealing with an offense like MSU has its challenges, but the team was able to make the proper adjustments, especially with Bobcat quarterback Dakota Prukop.

“We had to emphasize a zone coverage,” he said. “When we didn't get into more aggressive man coverage we had to pull back the pass rush a little bit. He's a real weapon, he's difficult to plan for.”

The Bobcats were able to strike first, capping off a 13 play, 75-yard drive with a one yard rush from running back Chad Newell to go up 7–0 early.

After a short punt from the Bobcats midway through the second quarter the Thunderbirds were able to get on the board for the first time. Running back Levi Te'o ran the ball in from three yards out to complete a 12 play drive that went 45 yards resulting in a 7–7 tie.

The Bobcats struck again with just over three minutes to play in the half, as kicker Luke Daly hit a 32-yard field goal to put MSU up 10–7.

SUU's final drive of the first half was kept alive on a fake punt by Tate Lewis, as well as a long heave from QB Ammon Olsen to Mike Sharp for 45 yards to put the Thunderbirds inside the five yard line. However, the field goal attempt was missed sending the Bobcats into the half with a 10–7 lead.

Once the second half started the Thunderbirds came out of the gates with a five play, 75-yard drive resulting in a 20 yard throw from Olsen to Sharp for a touchdown. The PAT was blocked, resulting in a 13–10 lead for the Thunderbirds.

The Bobcats responded on their next drive, with Newell getting into the endzone for the second time putting MSU up 17–13.

The third quarter scoring continued on SUU's next drive, as running back Malik Brown carried the ball into the endzone from 19 yards out to put SUU back in control 20–17.

MSU's next drive ended with an interception by SUU linebacker Matt Holley just outside of the Thunderbird  offensive red zone. SUU scored two plays later as Te'o ran the ball in from 26 yards out to put the Thunderbirds up 26–17 after another blocked PAT.

Brown struck again with 10:31 to play from 31 yards out, and the Thunderbirds converted a two-point try as Ty Rutledge lined up at QB and found Steven Wroblewski to convert and put SUU up 34–17.  

The Bobcats tried to rally late, scoring with 6:30 to go when Beau Sandland caught a touchdown from Dakota Prukop to cut into the Thunderbird lead 34–23, but that would be the final score of the contest giving SUU the victory.

The Thunderbirds finished the game 4-for-4 on fourth down conversions.

Olsen finished the game with 243 yards through the air, 95 of which went to Sharp. Brown was SUU's leading rusher with 89 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, while Te'o carried the ball for 39 yards and two touchdowns. Te'o credited the success on the ground to the offensive lines production.

“I just saw our offensive line pushing them back,” he said. “They got their blocks, they did their assignments and coach trusted us so once we saw it we hit it and went as fast as we could.”

The Thunderbird defense forced three interceptions, as Holley, Kyle Hannemann and Kahlil Bradley all picked off a pass, and tallied seven tackles for loss. Taylor Nelson led the team in tackles with 15.

Prukop threw for 163 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions for MSU. He also led the team in rushing with 96 yards.

Lamb said the mood in the locker room after the game was an exciting one, but the team knows what is at stake as the season continues.

“This is just one challenge of many,” he said. “There's a lot of pride and a lot of happiness in there, but we've got a big task, we've got to get back this week ready to work.”