Frigid temperatures and snowy conditions hindered the travel of thousands of fans to Bobcat Stadium for the first playoff game at the venue in four years. Yet Cole Oster left his official visit to Montana State awe struck.
“It was amazing. The game-day experience was like none other I’ve been to,” the standout linebacker from Castle Rock, Colorado said a few days before signing with MSU. “I made a lot of visits to different schools in the Big Sky and that was definitely the most memorable experience.”
More than 10,000 fans came out for Montana State’s first playoff victory since 2014, an impressive showing for the first round of the FCS playoffs considering the Thanksgiving holiday and inclement weather. Montana State has perennially drawn among the top attendance figures in the FCS, averaging close to a capacity crowd of 17,547 fans during six regular-season home games in 2018.
Watching MSU’s 35-14 victory over Incarnate Word was enough to seal the deal for Oster, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker who signed with Montana State on December 19.