EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared in Outlaw Magazine and Explore Big Sky.
BOZEMAN, Montana — How do you replace this player and that player? It’s one of the most intriguing and fun parts of following any given college football program.
Talented players come and talented players go. No program is immune to transition.
But very few, if any, football programs in the history of the Big Sky Conference have ever had to replace a player the caliber of Troy Andersen. And the do-everything All-American wasn’t even the only Bobcat drafted into the NFL.
As Montana State is set to begin Big Sky Conference play on Saturday September 24 at No. 15 Eastern Washington, the fourth-ranked Bobcats remain a complete unknown.
Following last season’s run to the FCS national championship game – MSU’s first run to the title tilt since 1984 — scuttle filled the narrative surrounding one of the most consistently competitive small school football programs in the nation.
How would head coach Brent Vigen handle his second season at the helm? Could he recreate the magic that helped him architect three consecutive national championships while the offensive coordinator at North Dakota State from 2011 to 2013?
What could quarterback Tommy Mellott possibly do for an encore? The hard-nosed, cerebral signal caller from Butte, America took the FCS by storm last season, making his first college start in the postseason after Matt McKay left the Bobcats high and dry following a 29-10 whooping handed down by arch rival Montana.
Mellott looked like the second coming of Russell Wilson mixed with the between the tackles running gumption of Emmitt Smith in leading MSU to three straight playoff wins, including a 42-19 win at defending national champion Sam Houston State that marked MSU’s first-ever road postseason victory. But was the magical playoff run simply a matter of catching lightning in a bottle?
More than any of those questions though, the Bobcats were and are faced with lies in replacing the most talented senior class in school history. Andersen — a Dillon, Montana product who attained mythical status for earning All-American honors at running back, quarterback, outside linebacker and inside linebacker — is impossible to replace. He is one of the great talents in the history of Montana State or the Big Sky Conference, a superb athlete with supreme speed and a 4.42-second time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine last spring. Those wheels plus his position versatility and unparalleled upside made him a second-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons.
And that’s only part of the departing standouts. Daniel Hardy blossomed into one of the best pass rushers in program history during his one year as a starter, developing so rapidly he too had his name called in the NFL Draft. Lance McCutcheon, a Bozeman product, joined Hardy in making the active roster for the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. And Lewis Kidd, a four-year starter and two-time All-American offensive lineman, also made the active roster with the New Orleans Saints.
That’s not to mention Tre Webb, an All-Big Sky safety last fall. Or defensive tackle Chase Benson or defensive end Amandre Williams, each All-Americans during the Bobcat careers. Or Taylor Tuiasosopo, a four-year starter on the offensive line.
Montana State is so challenging to analyze despite playing three games so far this season because the Bobcats are yet to play a like opponent. McNeese State came to Bozeman to open the season as a once-proud program that has been ravaged by a pandemic, two hurricanes and the general unrest that trademarks college football in the 21st century. A total of 59 new players on the Cowboys’ roster participated in first-year head coach Gary Goff’s first game at the helm, a 40-17 MSU victory.
The following week, Morehead State, a school from rural Eastern Kentucky that does not offer football scholarships, came to Bozeman, collected a game check and received a 63-13 drubbing by the Bobcats.
And the non-conference wrapped last week in Portland, Oregon as Montana State was the one on the receiving end of a payday. But is $675,000 worth giving up 68 points in a 40-point loss like MSU did to Oregon State? The OSU point total marked the second-most Montana State has allowed since World War II.
Mellott has show flashes but also has come back down to earth. He threw three picks against Oregon State, the first three interceptions thrown of his young career. The offensive line might shock the world and be better overall as a unit, but that remains to be seen.
Veteran players like inside linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, nickelback Ty Okada and free safety Jeffrey Manning Jr. are still adjusting to life without their talented and vocally inspiring former teammates.
“I think a game like Saturday, tests our vocal leadership way more than the previous two Saturdays and it might not even be in the moment on Saturday night but it’s the moments that to occur through this week,” Vigen said on Monday. “When you see something, say something. I think that’s always the hardest thing for an emerging leader is feeling comfortable when things aren’t going quite the way you think they should, should I say something? Or should I just swallow it? And I think we need guys to keep learning how to do that.”
And MSU is still trying to find a semblance of a traditional running back with All-American Isaiah Ifanse (and seemingly all his backups) on the shelf.
The Bobcats are among the favorites to compete for their first Big Sky Conference title since 2012. MSU’s first win in Cheney since 2012 came last season and proved to be a determining factor in the Bobcats earning a playoff seed and a first-round bye.
The process of answering the proliferation of questions that accompanies Montana State in the midst of Vigen’s second season begins Saturday at the Inferno.
“We can’t be this team that rides this wave of, okay, this game is more important than this game. I think those teams that think that way set themselves up for failure,” Vigen said. “And I think teams in our league are too good to think we can ride the roller coaster.”
