POCATELLO, Idaho — Third-ranked Montana State was locked in a tense tussle with Idaho State through three quarters Saturday at the ICCU Dome.

After the Bengals clawed back to within 17-10 to start the fourth quarter, Bobcats quarterback Tommy Mellott lobbed a pass to tight end Rohan Jones, who had gotten behind the ISU defense. Seventy yards later, Jones was in the end zone, giving the Cats a two-possession lead they would not relinquish on their way to a 37-17 Big Sky Conference football win.

In what was expected to be a high-scoring affair between two explosive offenses, it was the defenses that shined early.

Montana State led just 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, getting a 44-yard field goal from Myles Sansted after capitalizing on a 50-yard punt return by Taco Dowler. The Bengals had just 8 yards of offense in the first quarter.

The offenses got going in the second quarter, though. On the first play of the period, Mellott corralled a high snap and then weaved through the Idaho State defense for a 7-yard touchdown run that put MSU up 10-0.

Scottre Humphrey added to Montana State’s lead midway through the quarter on a bruising 18-yard touchdown run. Humphrey powered through an Idaho State defender at the goal line to push the Cats’ advantage to 17-0.

It looked the rout might be on, but Idaho State had an answer. The Bengals moved the ball deep into Montana State territory with less than a minute to play before halftime. Facing fourth and goal from the 5-yard line, Idaho State coach Cody Hawkins opted to go for the touchdown instead of kick the short field goal.

Quarterback Kobe Tracy threw a high pass to the back of the end zone, and 6-foot-6 receiver Michael Shulikov made a leaping, toe-tapping catch to send the Bengals into halftime trailing just 17-7.

They got back within 17-10 on a 33-yard field goal to start the fourth.

But Montana State closed the game in style — first getting the 70-yard touchdown by Jones and then a 6-yard scoring run by Humphrey to go up 31-10.

After the Bengals scored — this time on an impressive 16-yard pass from Tracy to Jeff Weimer — the Bobcats leaned on their ground game to add another Humphrey touchdown and run out the clock, improving to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in Big Sky play.

Turning point: Idaho State had gotten back within seven points when Jones gave momentum back to Montana State. The junior tight end got behind the defense and nobody was close to him when he caught Mellott’s pass. Jones showed off his speed, pulling away from the Bengals to find paydirt. The Bobcats were never threatened the rest of the way.

Stat of the game: Idaho State totaled just 276 yards of offense. The Bengals entered the game averaging 278 passing yards and 140 rushing yards per game. They had 201 passing yards Saturday and just 75 rushing yards.

Bobcat game balls: RB Scottre Humphrey (Offense). Idaho State did a commendable job against the Bobcats’ vaunted rushing attack, but Humphrey still finished with 159 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.

DB Rylan Ortt (Defense). Ortt has been a solid presence in the Montana State secondary all season and was again Saturday. After the Bobcats turned the ball over on an Adam Jones fumble in the second quarter, Ortt made a diving interception to keep Idaho State off the scoreboard. The pick led to Humphrey’s first touchdown, as the Bobcats took control.

PR Taco Dowler (Special teams). Dowler has turned into a threat returning punts for the Bobcats, and his 50-yard return gave Montana State a spark in the early going. For the game, he fielded five punts and had 73 return yards.

What’s next: Montana State (5-0 overall, 1-0 Big Sky) returns to Bozeman for its first Big Sky Conference home game of the season against Northern Colorado (0-5, 0-1), which lost 28-7 to Cal Poly this week. The Bobcats have won their past 10 meetings with the Bears, including the last four by an average margin of more than 28 points. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 5 inside Bobcat Stadium.

Idaho State (2-3, 0-1), meanwhile, is at Cal Poly (2-2, 1-0) next week. The Bengals won the most recent meeting between the two teams, a 40-31 victory in 2022.