LASVEGASNOW

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) Tommy Mellott accounted for five touchdowns to help Montana State beat No. 1 seed Sam Houston 42-19 on Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs and snapped the Bearkats' 22-game win streak.

Eighth-seeded Montana State (11-2), which did not participate in the spring season brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, plays South Dakota State - which upset No. 5 seed Villanova in another quarterfinal game - next weekend. The Bobcats also advanced to the semifinals in 2019 before losing 42-14 to eventual-champion North Dakota State. South Dakota State lost to the Bearkats in last May's championship game.

Mellott and Lance McCutcheon connected on a 30-yard pass and the Bearkats called for face mask and pass interference penalties before wide receiver Willie Patterson took a direct snap, rolled to his right and threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Mellott. Four plays later, after Tre Webb intercepted a pass by Sam Houston's Eric Schmid, Mellott dropped a 31-yard TD pass over the shoulder of tightly-covered Patterson's shoulder to make it 14-0 with 11:43 left in the first quarter.