BOZEMAN — Montana State appears ready for Big Sky Conference competition.

The third-place Bobcats flexed their muscles in their final non-league game of the season, beating FCS newcomer Mercyhurst 52-13 on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

Montana State scored on four of its five first-half possessions — and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown — and outgained the Lakers 278 yards to 71 en route to a 31-0 halftime advantage. MSU quarterback Tommy Mellott completed 11 of 13 passes for 185 yards in the first half, and running back Scottre Humphrey had 11 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.

The Bobcats settled for a chip-shot field goal — a 23-yarder by Myles Sansted — on their first drive. After MSU’s defense forced a three-and-out, Humphrey capped an eight-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to put the Cats up 10-0 late in the first quarter.

The floodgates opened in the second quarter, when Mellott threw a perfectly placed 5-yard touchdown pass to Taco Dowler. Moments later, senior safety Rylan Ortt burst loose and threw the line on a Mercyhurst punt and blocked the kick. Zac Crews recovered the ball to score another MSU TD.

Late in the quarter, Mellott executed a flawless two-minute drill, ultimately capping the drive with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Adam Jones. Mellott added his third passing touchdown of the day early in the third quarter, connecting with Rohan Jones for a 16-yard score.

Mercyhurst broke the shutout later in the third. Senior linebacker Zach Hill forced a fumble on a carry by MSU running back Jared White, and Adonis Marshall scooped up the ball and took it 43 yards the other way for a Lakers touchdown.

They attempted and recovered a surprise onside kick after the touchdown, but could not capitalize on the offense and lost the ball on downs. Two players later, Montana State’s Colson Coon took a handoff 50 yards for another Bobcat touchdown. Coon led the Bobcats with 102 yards on 10 carries.

Mercyhurst’s offense finally got on the board in the fourth quarter, going 75 yards on 18 plays and with more than nine minutes left on the clock. Quarterback Adam Urena threw a 5-yard touchdown to Joe Kerbacher to complete the drive.

Chance Wilson, a Montana State freshman who replaced Mellott at quarterback in the second half, closed out the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run late in the fourth half.

Turning point: This happened in May, when Stephen F. Austin canceled its home-and-away series with Montana State, leaving the Bobcats scrambling to fill a game on this season’s schedule. Mercyhurst, playing its first season of FCS football, had been the underdog against Montana State from the start.

The Bobcats were heavily favored to win before kickoff and subsequently controlled the game completely, except for a brief moment in the third quarter when Mercyhurst returned a fumble for a touchdown and collected the ensuing onside kick.

Statistics of the game: The Bobcats averaged nine yards per play and 16.4 yards per completion, while compiling 502 yards of total offense — 256 on the ground and 246 through the air. Mercyhurst, meanwhile, finished with just 233 total yards, averaging 3.2 yards per play.

Bobcat game balls: QB Tommy Mellott (offense). Montana State appeared to focus on its drop-back passing game with Mellott, who delivered an efficient performance. He finished the day 14 of 18 passing for 214 yards and three touchdowns.

DE Brody Grebe (defense). Grebe, the Big Sky Conference preseason defensive MVP, had two sacks in the first half as the Montana State front dominated the Mercyhurst offensive line. On one of his sacks, Grebe pushed an offensive lineman back onto quarterback Adam Urena to force a fumble.

DB Rylan Ortt (Special teams)In addition to his strong play in the defensive secondary, Ortt blocked a punt by Mercyhurst in the second quarter that teammate Zac Crews recovered for a touchdown. It was Montana State’s second straight game with a blocked punt after Taki Uluilakepa also blocked one against Maine.

What’s next?: Montana State (4-0) opens Big Sky Conference play at Idaho State (1-2 entering Saturday’s meeting with Southern Utah) next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and the game will be televised by Scripps Sports on the MTN channel.

Montana State and Idaho State did not play each other last season, but the Bobcats have won 11 of the last 12 games in the series, including a 37-6 victory in the most recent meeting in 2022.