For the first time in a long time, Montana State was getting pushed around in the trenches and looked like a team on the ropes on Saturday in Flagstaff.
Northern Arizona owned the line of scrimmage — something Montana State has made a habit of over the last decade-plus, especially against Big Sky Conference teams — for the duration of the first quarter. The Lumberjacks marched right down the field for an early touchdown against a Montana State defense that entered the game having given up 20 points in regulation to FCS opponents all season.
But Taco Dowler and Jabez Woods helped swing the momentum in the visitors’ favor in the second quarter. And that ignited the fronts on both sides of the ball. Following Dowler’s 90-yard punt return for a touchdown, Montana State’s pass rush cranked it up a notch.
Following Justin Lamson throwing a laser to a streaking Woods for a 79-yard touchdown, the entire defense seemed to lock in.
And by the time the fourth quarter clock ticked away, Northern Arizona quarterback Ty Pennington looked like he was ready for the game to end. MSU spent the second half hitting Pennington basically every time he dropped back, including sacking him twice and hurrying him 10 more times.
Once Montana State seized the moment, the Bobcats controlled the game. At a venue where MSU has traditionally struggled, once Woods broke the game open, the visitors never looked back. Montana State built a 34-7 lead over the No. 13-ranked Lumberjacks on the way to a convincing 34-10 victory.
“Big win for us today,” Vigen said. “I thought coming down here, it would be a big challenge. They are a program on the rise. They are playing well and finding ways to win. It was a little bit of a slow go but I think our continued improvement — and just even the maturity to not panic and continue to play ball — showed up.
“Excited about it. That’s a big win. It’s the one right in front of us. And another step for this team.”
Dowler’s punt return touchdown, the fourth of his career and the longest in MSU history, tied the game. Woods’ second touchdown in as many weeks gave MSU a lead it would not relinquish. And Julius Davis’ hurdling touchdown run provided one of the highlights of the season so far for a team that’s suddenly on a four-game winning streak and looks more and more like a team that can once again contend for a national title.
“I like it when the ball is in my hands,” Dowler said. “Especially on offense and in the punt return game. Good things are going to happen when the ball’s in my hands.
“Football is a huge game of momentum shifts. And I like being that spark.”
Davis’ touchdown gave Montana State a 20-7 lead at halftime and tight end Rocky Lencioni’s 3-yard touchdown run pushed the advantage to 27-7.
MSU defensive back Bryant Meredith picked Pennington off early in the fourth quarter, setting the Bobcats up with a short field. Lamson, who finished 13-of-19 for 213 yards and two touchdowns, kept the ball on an RPO and scurried in for a 19-yard touchdown to basically put the game away with 12:51 remaining.
“It was a lot of emotions. Coming off the plane and getting a lot of déjà vu,” said Meredith, who started his career at NAU before going to a junior college before transferring to Montana State. “Saw my old dorm, the old place I practiced in. So you know, that pick was really nice to have at a place I used to play.
“I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes and he didn’t see me. I just made a play on the ball.”
Pennington, the Big Sky’s Newcomer of the Year last season after transferring from Pitt State, entered his junior season as the most proven commodity among Big Sky quarterbacks in the conference. He helped lead NAU to its first playoff berth since 2017 in former Pitt State head coach Brian Wright’s first season at the helm.
Northern Arizona entered the weekend on a four-game winning streak. Pennington had a 155 passer rating entering Saturday’s contest. MSU held him to a 92.9. He was 28 of 47 for 210 yards with 1 interception and no touchdowns.
“Just a very disruptive front, Vigen said. “We need to continue to have contributions by that entire group of eight, nine guys. That makes a lot easier for everybody on the back end. Because I know Pennington is a good quarterback, but when he’s under duress, that’s challenging for anybody. And I think he was under duress quite a bit. And, you know, I looked at halftime, they had thrown 31 times. That was a good thing for us, that they had to throw that many times.
“Now they possess the ball a bit more. We had no big plays. That’s all part of it, but I’m certain we took them off their game plan considerably, and then when we could get pressure on the pass through, that’s what we want.”
NAU managed just 85 yards on the ground and averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. The Lumberjacks were 5-of-17 on third down.
“Defensively, we really made it hard for them,” Vigen said. “I know they had a lot of plays, a lot of pass attempts, not a lot of rushing yards, not very good on third down. That’s all a recipe for success for us.”
Montana State won 15 games in a row last season. If not for a 35-32 loss in the FCS national title game to North Dakota State, it’s arguably the greatest Bobcat team of all time.
The sting of that NDSU loss — MSU’s fifth in the playoffs to the Bison since 2018 — kept stinging as Montana State opened up 2025 with losses at Oregon (59-13) and to No. 2 South Dakota State (30-24) in double overtime.
MSU’s first three-game losing streak in more than a decade brought forth plenty of question marks. But the Bobcats have answered most of those questions over the last month.
Lamson is a legitimate top-tier Big Sky Conference quarterback. The MSU defense is certainly one of the stoutest in the conference and the country, led by a defensive line with four seniors. Play-makers abound offensively.
And perhaps most importantly, the Bobcats still have Dowler. The former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year stole the show last time MSU was in Flagstaff, too. As a true freshman in 2022, Dowler hauled in a 64-yard reception to set up a walk-off field goal as MSU escaped with a 41-38 victory.
“He’s just dangerous back there,” Vigen said. “Teams have done a really good job of punting away from him. That’s a great strategy but it’s not easy. I think Taco would be the first to say there are 10 other guys doing their jobs. We’ve been really close on a couple ups this point, but the opportunities have been limited.”
The Bobcats needed no such heroics or drama on Saturday. Instead, once Dowler flipped the momentum, the Bobcats flipped the game and ran away for an impressive conference win to enter the mid-point of the season red hot.
“We did what we are supposed to do: come down here and win,” Vigen said. “Each one of these conference games are their own and you just want to keep piling them up. That’s a good program we beat and to do it at their place, credit to our guys but that is what we intended on doing and I’m happy to get it done.”
