The Green and White looked to start their Big Sky season off with a bang this weekend in Bozeman, but instead left disappointed.

UND lost to Montana State 29-18.

While the result is not what the team wanted, there are some positives to be pulled out of the weekend.

First and foremost, this game was closer than the score tells.

The Bobcats played extremely well on offense and defense during the second quarter of the game. Whether it was an interception returned for a touchdown, or the offense running the ball in for a score, MSU was clicking on all cylinders. After the second quarter was over, Montana State was winning 26-7.

“This one got away from us in the second quarter,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said.  “That’s what got us.”

Other than the second quarter, UND’s defense played extremely well against one of the best offenses in the Big Sky Conference.

The Bobcats had been averaging 40.2 points a game coming into Saturday’s bout, but UND held them to 26 points. Montana State also had averaged 453.8 yards a game, and the Green and White kept this offensive juggernaut to a tame 329 total yards. They also held the Bobcats to just three total points in the second half.

Will Ratelle continued to show why he is one of the captains of this team. The junior was held to nine tackles for the game, but he came up big in the second quarter. Ratelle started the scoring for UND by returning a fumble 21 yards. This marked the second week in a row North Dakota’s defense scored off a turnover.

Even though the offense struggled to get anything going in the first half, it finally showed some signs of life in the second.

The skill positions had a good day, as redshirt freshman Kyle Norberg rushed for 73 yards on 19 carries (3.8 yards per carry). R. J. McGill also had a career high seven receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown.

Joe Mollberg had a fine day on the field. While he did struggle in the first half like the rest of the team, Mollberg ended with a season high 222 yards passing off of 22-37, including a touchdown pass.

“I thought we came out in the second half and played much better, especially in the fourth quarter,” Schweigert said. “We just have to play smarter and avoid some of those costly mistakes. Those really hurt us today.”

Though UND had its struggles in the first half, the team seemed to be able to show the trait they have been showing for a majority of the season — resiliency.

This team competed with one of the highest scoring offenses in the Big Sky. While the score may not show it, this game was hard fought and closer than the 11 point spread.

The Green and White’s schedule does not get any easier, though, with Montana coming into town next weekend.

“I hope that fourth quarter gives us some confidence and some momentum, but it’s another week, it’s all going to be in our preparation,” Schweigert said. “It’s going to be great to be back home. Our guys seem to feed off of the crowd a bit when were at home, but we know we have a tough job ahead.”

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].