Bengals lose 28-26 to No. 3 Montana State in overtime thriller

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – The Idaho State Bengals dropped an overtime thriller to #3-ranked Montana State Saturday night in Pocatello, 28-26. This was the first-triple overtime matchup for Idaho State since 1982, when the Bengals also lost to Montana State.

The Bengals jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter when Jordan Cooke capped off a 14-play drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Montana State finally got themselves on the board with 36 seconds left in the first half when Adam Jones punched in a 2-yard rushing touchdown of his own.

Coming out of the half, Montana State tied the game at 10 with a field goal, then took a 13-10 lead with another. Idaho State jumped back on top with 28 seconds left in the third quarter. Carson Sudbury punched in a 4-yard run to make it 17-13.

Mason Lindberg tacked on another 3 points with a field goal to make it 20-13 with 7:31 to play. Montana State provided the dramatics late. On a 4th down with 2:24 seconds left in the game, the Bobcats elected to go for it. That's when QB Justin Lamson found Rocky Lencioni for an impressive 20-yard touchdown catch.

Idaho State was able to trot out the field goal unit in the final seconds of regulation, but Mason Lindberg's kick was blocked, forcing overtime. In the first overtime period, both teams were held to field goals. In the second overtime period, both teams were held to field goals again.

With both teams deadlocked at 26 after 2 overtime periods, we moved to 2-point tries. Each team has one play to score from the 2-yard line. After that, they keep going until one team scores and one team fails.

Idaho State went first, and a shovel pass from Jordan Cooke to Simeon Brown was snuffed out by the Montana State defense. Then the Bobcats offense took the field. QB Justin Lamson took the snap and ran to the left of the offense. He flipped the ball to Dane Steel, who took the ball the opposite way, then threw to a wide open Rylan Schlepp for the game-winning score.

Jordan Cooke completed 30 of 52 passes for 318 yards and 1 interception. He ran for 35 yards and 1 touchdown in the loss. Tommy Poe led the way in the receiver room, with 9 catches for 100 yards. Simeon Brown hauled in 6 of 7 targets for 65 yards; he got more opportunity tonight with an early injury to Julian Mason. The Bengals out-gained the Bobcats with 410 total yards of offense to their 332.

Up next for the Bengals: a date with the (7-3) Montana Grizzlies who are ranked at 13/12 in the polls. The Bengals and Grizzlies will battle at 8:30 PM on Saturday, November 14. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.