Montana State has spent the last nine months celebrating a national championship, welcoming back an All-American quarterback and preparing to defend its place atop the FCS.
Its first test comes against a team that won two games last season. But unlike so many cupcake season openers, Saturday’s season-opener counts as a conference game as the Big Sky continues to evolve.
The No. 1 Bobcats open the 2026 season Saturday night in St. George, Utah, against Utah Tech, beginning not only a new season but also Big Sky Conference play. The Trailblazers went 2-10 in 2025 and have not posted a winning season since 2019.
None of that means much to Montana State head coach Brent Vigen.
As the Big Sky Conference adjusts to expansion and a nine-game league schedule, MSU is one of several teams facing the unusual task of opening its season with a conference game rather than a traditional nonconference opponent. Vigen, whose approach rarely changes regardless of the opponent, said the Bobcats are focused on preparing for the version of Utah Tech they expect to see Saturday — not simply the team whose record read 2-10 last fall.
“Any first game, you gotta look at last year for sure. You gotta take all that in,” Vigen said. “Same offensive coordinator, same defensive coordinator, a lot of the same pieces, but you gotta be ready for some differences, too. So, on both sides of the ball, that’s kind of the mindset.”
Vigens focuses more on what opponents do well and Utah Tech is no different.
“This is a conference game. This is a unique situation where you start out in Week 0 and it’s a conference game that’ll count just as that,” Vigen said. “I know they had a season last year that had a lot of close calls. All you gotta do is look at the beginning of their season last year where they played (UC) Davis, Northern Arizona, Idaho, all from our league. They were very tough, particularly in that opener against Davis where they should’ve won that game.
“They have talent. They’re certainly going to be hungry to play us in the first conference game for them, obviously, and I anticipate it’ll be a great challenge.”
The Bobcats have experience with both Utah Tech and the unique challenge of playing in southern Utah.
Montana State traveled to St. George two seasons ago and came away with a 31-7 victory, although the Trailblazers created problems early. Utah Tech drew several penalties against the MSU offense and held the Bobcats to 31 points while struggling to generate much offense of its own. The Bobcats did force 3-and-outs on eight consecutive possessions
The bigger storyline that afternoon was the heat.
With temperatures soaring into triple digits during the day, former All-American quarterback Tommy Mellott went down late in the game during a touchdown run with what initially appeared to be a serious injury. Mellott was eventually diagnosed with severe cramps in both legs, the result of the heat and the physical toll of the game.
“Going down to St. George is a challenge,” Vigen said. “Ninety-five degrees at kickoff and, whatever, 103 during the day. That is a challenge, and the good thing is a lot of our guys played there two years ago and have a sense for what that is all about. Even playing Utah Tech as an opponent and having played them a couple times in previous years is helpful.”
Utah Tech’s first season as a Big Sky member begins with perhaps the most difficult opening stretch of any team in the country.
The Trailblazers host the reigning national champions Saturday before traveling to Provo to play BYU. They then return to the FCS to face No. 2 Montana.
For third-year head coach Lance Anderson, the challenge is also an opportunity to measure the progress of his program.
“I feel like our guys are locked in, they’re accountable, and the execution has been better going back to spring ball and going back through fall camp,” Anderson said. “I think we’re starting to get a better understanding and get a grasp of the offense, the defense, the techniques, the fundamentals at each position. We are getting better, and I would hope that translates to better execution on the field on Saturday night.”
One of Utah Tech’s biggest questions remains at quarterback.
Anderson said the Trailblazers have had a three-way competition dating back to the spring between Bronson Barben, CJ Tiller and Deacon Hill. Barben started the majority of last season as a redshirt freshman, while Tiller brings experience from Boise State and Utah State. Hill started nine or 10 games at Iowa before transferring to Utah Tech and also started four games for the Trailblazers before suffering an injury in 2024.
“We’ve had a great competition at the quarterback position going all the way back to last spring,” Anderson said. “Bronson Barben, who started the majority of the time for us last year as a redshirt freshman, I’ve seen him take some big steps where I think he’s more consistent, he’s better with his decision-making. I think all that experience that he got last year will definitely pay off.
“CJ (Tiller) brings a lot to the quarterback position as well. Being a part of some good programs like Boise State, Utah State, starting Boise State’s bowl game against UCLA. He’s athletic, he has some real tools. He throws the ball well.
“Deacon (Hill), last year at Iowa, he started nine or 10 games, started four games (at Utah Tech) before being injured two years ago. Deacon’s worked really hard. He’s a big kid, he’s gotten himself in a lot better shape. He is surprisingly athletic for a kid his size. Throws the ball really well.”
Anderson would prefer to identify one clear starter, but having three capable options provides insurance in the constantly changing landscape of college football.
“We would love to find one guy and he’s the guy and he plays well,” Anderson said. “Just the nature of college football, there are going to be injuries, there are going to be ups and downs. It’s great that we have three guys that are very capable, but I’d love it if just one guy steps up and takes the lead, takes charge. But we know we’ve got three very talented guys in that room.”
Vigen said the uncertainty at quarterback creates another layer of preparation for Montana State’s defense.
“That’s where it starts, just knowing or not knowing who we’re going to see at quarterback,” Vigen said. “How that quarterback play goes drives an offense’s success in a lot of ways, and I know the experience that they have at that position with a couple of those guys is significant. You know they have some mobility mixed in there amongst the guys that are battling for it, so the uncertainty of who’s going to play is a piece to our preparation for a couple different types.”
Utah Tech does have a more established weapon at running back.
Asa Chatman returns after rushing for 536 yards while averaging 4.4 yards per carry last season. He also caught passes for 177 yards, giving the Trailblazers one of their most versatile returning offensive players.
“Asa (Chatman) had a really good redshirt freshman year for us last year,” Anderson said. “Ran the ball well, also caught the ball well out of the backfield. Really hard worker and does things the right way. We’re excited about what Asa can do this year.”
“I think (Chatman) is really good,” Vigen said. “He, as far as offensive weapons, is probably the most impressive guy they return.”
Utah Tech linebacker Daylen Love, the Trailblazers’ leading returning tackler, knows the primary challenge his defense faces.
“We’re just trying to stop the run,” Love said. “We’re going to follow our players and trust what we got going. It’s exciting. Going out and competing against competition with that type of label on their name gives you a spark to want to go out there and compete and just show what I can do.”
Offensively, Vigen noticed some challenges that will be presented to his defense by Utah Tech, such as its propensity to run two quarterbacks during the game.
“That’s where it starts just knowing or not knowing who we’re going to see at quarterback” Vigen said. “How that quarterback play goes drives offense’s success in a lot of ways and I know the experience that they have at that position with a couple of
those guys is significant and you know they have some mobility mixed in there amongst the guys that are battling for it so the uncertainty of who’s going to play is a piece to our preparation for a couple different types.”
Following the 800-mile trip to St. George, the Bobcats will play three of its next four games at home with the lone road game against FBS and former head coach Jeff Choate’s University of Nevada squad in what figures to be another hot road site.
For the Bobcats a win would match the school record for consecutive wins set in 2024 when they won their first 15 games of the season before losing to North Dakota State in the championship. It would also match the most games without a loss with the 1956-57 teams, which had one tie (the 0-0 1956 NAIA national title game against St. Francis)
over two seasons.
The Bobcats and Trailblazers kickoff at 8 on Saturday night in Greater Zion Stadium, which has a capacity of 10,500. The stadium was renovated in 2018 when a south grandstand was added, which featured modern sky and press boxes.
