DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — Defensive tackle Zach Minter returned an interception 5 yards to the 1 to set up Tray Robinson’s go-ahead touchdown run in undefeated Montana State’s 48-41 victory over UC Davis on Saturday night.
Robinson’s 1-yard run on third down gave the Bobcats (6-0, 3-0 Big Sky) a 45-41 lead with 8:40 left, and Rory Perez added a 34-yard field goal with 2:23 left.
Montana State is 6-0 for the first time since winning its first eight games in 1978.
The Bobcats scored the final 24 points of the first half to take a 31-14 lead, but UC Davis (2-4, 1-2) countered with 24 straight points in the third quarter for a 38-31 advantage.
The Bobcats tied it at 38 on Robinson’s 1-yard run early in the fourth, and UC Davis pulled ahead again on Brady Stuart’s 28-yard field goal with 12:26 to go.
Montana State’s DeNarius McGhee was 27 of 41 for 334 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score. He also threw an interception that Jordan Glass returned 7 yards for a TD in the third quarter.
UC Davis’ Randy Wright was 23 of 37 for 242 yards and two touchdowns, a 26-yarder to Anthony Soto and a 19-yarder to Corey Galindo in the third-quarter spree. Wright finished with two interceptions, with Darius Jones returning the first 45 yards for a touchdown with 1:04 left in the second quarter.
Jones’ return capped a 17-point Montana State burst in a 4:51 span. McGhee had a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:55 to go, and threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Tanner Bleskin with 1:25 remaining.
Bleskin finished with eight catches for 91 yards, and Orenzo Davis led the Bobcats in rushing with 71 yards on 14 carries. He opened the scoring with a 35-yard run in the first quarter.
Soto had seven catches for 80 yards for the Aggies.
