The Bobcats spent the first few months of the off-season soaking up the celebration of Montana State’s first national championship in more than four decades. Then the Bobcats spent the spring and summer preaching a collective mentality that what’s won is now done.
It’s easier said than done, though, to not let complacency creep in, to not rest on your laurels, to not believe your own hype.
If Saturday night in St. George, Utah, is any indication, the top-ranked team in the FCS remains plenty hungry to make another run.
Montana State looked sharp and focused, deep and dominant in the desert on Saturday night. MSU did whatever it wanted offensive as senior All-American quarterback Justin Lamson operated efficiently. The Bobcats played all 36 players that came on the trip for the unorthodox Week 0 Big SKy Conference opener against the overmatched Trailblazers of Utah Tech. Montana State had a variety of highlights on special teams too, as senior captain Taco Dowler set the Big Sky’s career record for punt return yards, Colter Petre blocked a punt and rising linebacker Xavier Ahrens scooped it on the way to an ST touchdown, too.
The result of the comprehensive performance was the only blowout of the first week of 2026 as the Bobcats exploded to a 54-0 win, the 15th straight for the reigning FCS national champions.
“For a first game, ultimately, the result is what we were after and I was really pleased with our effort, first and foremost,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said after moving to 62-10 leading the Bobcats. “You come down here and it’s hot and I thought our effort was great and I thought our guys went after it. We scored in all three phases. That punt block really broke it open.
“Defensively, to keep them off the board, that’s always a great accomplishment especially when you consider we played everybody we brought [36 players] on the defensive side of the ball this evening,” Vigen said
“Generally speaking, it was a clean effort so you walk out of it feeling good about the overall performance where we set the bar. We were in command,” he continued. “Our guys felt that but kept going after it.”
Last season, Montana State sputtered to an 0-2 start to give the program a three-game losing streak for the first time in recent memory. MSU lost 35-32 to North Dakota State in the 2024 national title game, then had the unenviable task of opening 2025 at No. 6 Oregon (a 59-13 loss) and against FCS No. 3 South Dakota State (a 31-24 overtime loss at home) that put the Bobcats behind the eight-ball right out of the gates.
The rough start did nothing to determine MSU. The Bobcats ripped off 14 straight wins, including a pair of iconic victories over archrival Montana in the span of 28 days. Those unforgettable triumphs somewhat overshadowed the final act of the 2025 season, that is until Montana State won 14 in a row to claim its first title since 1984 and the fourth in its decorated football history.
“We talk about it all the time, respecting the opportunity to play,” Vigen said. “You only get so many chances to play this game and if you are not about it regardless of who you play, where you play, I don’t know what you are doing. We work alot. The days we work out are plentiful but the number of games we get to play are limited. So I think our guys, old to young, that message that we need to appreciate these opportunities and respect our opponents.”
Montana State reached new heights last season despite graduating one of the most decorated senior classes in school history coming out of the 2024 campaign. Off-season questions centered upon how MSU would replace Tommy Mellott, a folk hero of sorts after rising up to become a four-year starter who led MSU to two Big Sky titles and two national championship games.
Where would MSU turn without Marcus Wehr, the only two-time first-team All-American offensive lineman in the program’s history? Who would replace Brody Grebe, a three-time All-American defensive end who was the 2024 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year? How would MSU rebuild its offensive line without Wehr along with Conner Moore, the No. 1 transfer portal prospect in college football who left Montana State to transfer to Michigan State just days after the national title game loss to NDSU?
And on down the line. The Bobcats had to figure out a way to remake its offensive line just days before the season opener against Oregon when starting center Burke Mastel broke his hand. MSU had to figure out how to reshuffle its inside linebackers after Neil Daily got hurt in Eugene. But those two circumstances allowed for the emergence of offensive tackle Braden Zimmer and inside linebacker Cole Taylor, each who ended up as All-Americans by the end of last season.
That seems to be the Bobcat way these days. Under Vigen, basically every question mark—whether it’s a change in offensive or defensive coordinators or position coaches or the replacing of personnel—is acknowledged, addressed and taken care of in short order.
Which is why Bobcat Nation is thinking big entering this week’s Gold Rush game against Butler. MSU is the consensus No. 1 team in the country. The resounding performance in St. George did nothing but affirm that notion. The emergence of budding stars like freshman wide receiver Carter Dahlke, a Bozeman native, or sophomore tight end Carter Curnow or sophomore defensive tackle Josiah Asuega or sophomore linebacker Xavier Ahrens helps Montana State continue to fortify its ranks.
Depth plus dominant performance plus lofty expectations are the early trademarks of this Montana State team, which is something Vigen wants to maintain.
‘We were able to set the bar where we set it, and now, excited for that second opportunity to hopefully see us raise the bar,” Vigen said.
Colter Nuanez has covered the Big Sky Conference for 19 seasons and has directly covered Montana State since 2011. His work can be found at skylinesportsmt.com and he can be reached at Colter.Nuanez@gmail.com.
