Andersen leads Montana State past Northern Colorado 35-7

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) Troy Andersen ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another score to lead Montana State to a 35-7 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.

The Bobcats (6-4, 4-3 Big Sky) scored five unanswered touchdowns to offset a good start by the Bears (2-9, 2-6). Montana State forced three first-half turnovers to take control of the game.

Northern Colorado opened the game with a 77-yard drive aided by two penalties against MSU. The Bobcats were called for a defensive delay of game to give UNC one first down, then were hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Dontay Warren finished off the drive with an 8-yard run.

The Bobcats responded with three straight touchdowns before the half closed out. Andersen scored on a fourth-down run from the 3-yard line and then found running back Logan Jones for an 18-yard touchdown. Andersen tacked on a 4-yard TD run with 1:43 to play in the first half.

The MSU defense stepped up after UNC's first drive to hold the Bears scoreless. The Bobcats, who rushed for 283 yards, tacked on a 4-yard touchdown run by Travis Jonsen and got a 36-yard TD sprint from Andersen in the fourth quarter to finish off the scoring.

Isaiah Ifanse finished with 67 yards on the ground, while Jonsen and Jones ran for 49 and 36, respectively.