BOZEMAN, Montana — Zac Crews acknowledged both the positives and negatives of one of the defining collective personality traits of the 2026 Bobcats following Montana State’s 38-33 win over Weber State last week.
On one hand, this version of Montana State has shown it never gives up the fight. Second-half rallies had become a common trend during MSU’s 7-1 start, which caused plenty of hand-wringing around Bobcat Nation. After all, Montana State went 29-3 during the 2024 and 2025 seasons with an average margin of victory of nearly four touchdowns per outing. Blowout wins had become almost commonplace.
On the other hand, while fighting to the end is in his team’s DNA, the Montana State captain also acknowledged that starting faster and not having their collective backs shoved against the wall would be necessary for the defending FCS champions to make a run.
Consider Crews’ postgame message received, and resoundingly.
Montana State wasted no time on Saturday, literally, in burying Cal Poly to take a head of steam into the final month of the regular season.
True freshman Carter Dahlke, a Bozeman native who graduated from Gallatin High early to enroll at Montana State in January, continued his transcendent rookie season. He ripped off a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the very first play of the game to spark the hosts.
After missing more than a month with a knee injury, Bobcat senior captain Caden Dowler made his first big splash play of the season. He’s played the last two weeks, but he now looks back to full strength. He snared an interception to thwart Cal Poly’s first offensive possession, and the Bobcats quickly turned it into points as senior captain quarterback Justin Lamson punched in a 20-yard touchdown run.
MSU led 14-0 less than five minutes into the game. The Bobcats pushed the lead to 27-0 by the end of the first quarter and 48-0 before Cal Poly got on the board late in the first half. The 48 first-half points were the fourth most ever scored in two quarters by a Bobcat football team and helped MSU sprint to a 61-7 victory in front of another sellout crowd at Bobcat Stadium.
“Really excited about the effort today,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said. “When you start off with a kick return touchdown, that definitely set the tone. Heck of a play by Carter. He continues to do things that add on to what kind of player he is.
“That was a team we beat today that’s beaten both Idaho schools and took Weber State to double overtime. We certainly respected what they were capable of, and I think our guys came out and played that way. Obviously we want to be playing our best ball as we get into November and give ourselves the opportunity to play beyond that. Really proud of the guys today. It was all facets, and I feel like again we took a step.”
Montana State is back in a familiar and, some would say, customary position entering the final month of the regular season: in first place. The Bobcats are 5-1 in conference play and 8-1 overall, and October’s 35-34 loss at Idaho seems like an increasingly distant memory.
In MSU’s previous three home games, the Bobcats found themselves either tied or trailing at halftime. MSU was down by as much as 21-7 in the second half to Central Connecticut State before a torrid rally paced by Adam Jones’ unforgettable effort. An injury-riddled MSU team missing Lamson, Jones, Caden and Taco Dowler plus a collection of other veteran contributors found a way to earn a 28-14 win over Northern Arizona.
(NAU rallied for a 34-27 win at Southern Utah on Saturday to also take a 5-1 Big Sky Conference mark into the final month of the regular season.)
And last week, Montana State allowed a kick return touchdown, fumbled a kick return to gift Weber State points and had a field goal blocked at the halftime buzzer to go into the break trailing 27-17.
MSU, of course, rallied to win all three. On Saturday, no such resilience was required. Instead, the Bobcats rolled up 285 yards rushing, 518 yards of total offense and 27 first downs. The Bobcats converted 10 of 11 third downs and steamrolled their way to a 15th straight home victory.
“We want to start fast every week, and just because you want it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen,” Vigen said. “Certainly special teams set the tone with that play, and from that point forward the defense really set the offense up well. We’re continuing to chase a better version of ourselves each and every week, and I think we did that today.”
Several milestones were met on Saturday, including Jones scoring his 40th career touchdown. He joins Cody Kirk (47) and Tommy Mellott (42) as the only Bobcats ever to reach 40 rushing touchdowns in their careers.
“Super consistent, durable, a guy that’s clearly after a higher level each and every time out there,” Vigen said of Jones. “He really pushes himself. Whether he’s got to carry more of the load or less of the load, he’s going to do everything he can with the opportunities he gets. I think he embodies what we want to be as players on this team, with an unselfish nature. And the durability piece at that position means a lot, because the more durable you are, the more opportunities you get, and he’s really done well with them.”
Now Montana State’s attention turns to November. The Bobcats are 15-2 in November under Vigen, with the only losses coming in Vigen’s first two trips to Missoula to take on archrival Montana, in 2021 and 2023. Montana State hasn’t lost a November game since. And if Saturday’s performance is any indication, MSU rolls into November with the momentum to continue that dominance.
