Injuries have weaved their way in and out of the Montana State lineup from start to finish this year, but the Bobcats haven’t missed a beat after dropping their first two games to two of the best teams on their schedule. Now MSU takes a 13-game winning streak to Nashville, Tennessee looking for its first national title in 41 years.
While plenty of injuries have infiltrated their way in and out of the MSU roster, the most befuddling is defensive tackle Paul Brott’s ankle injury that has ailed the All-American for the better part of the second half of the season. But in his last time out against Montana (a 48-23 win over the Griz), Brott seemed less hobbled.
That’s good news, especially with MSU getting an extra nine days of rest and rehab leading up to the January 5 national title game. Brott was initially injured against Northern Colorado on November 1 and didn’t play much of the second half in a 55-7 MSU win. The following week, he was absent from the lineup in MSU’s 66-14 win over Weber State. The 6-foot-3, 304-pounder needed assistance getting off the field against UC Davis, Montana, Yale and Stephen F. Austin . He could be seen showing his frustration by slamming his fists onto the turf or slamming his helmet on the sidelines.
“We get this done, it’s going to be amazing,” Brott said on Monday. “I’m working my butt off, just so we can go in there and we can play, so I can play at my healthiest, play at my best. And everyone on this team is doing that.”
Despite the nagging injury and last year’s heartbreaking 35-32 title game loss to North Dakota State, Brott is focused solely on getting the Bobcats’ their first national title in 41 years – a number that matches his legacy jersey number, a digit dedicated to Montana being the 41st state in the union and its 1941 team that lost 14 players during World War II.
“I thought about it, I’d see it up on like YouTube or something, but through the course of this year, I mean, I haven’t really cared about last year’s loss,” Brott said. “I cared about this team, and I just cared about each game and each day and how we can get better. Because at first, I mean, I don’t think a lot of people were thinking we’re going to go to the national championship. But I knew we were. And I knew we had a lot of work to do. That’s why I’ve kept fighting all year.
“I knew with the amount of young guys we had and the amount of work we had to do, we didn’t have time to think about the past. What can we do now? How can we make this team better?”
While Brott’s injury is concerning, he’s been able to take the field each week. Playing defensive tackle means his statistical performance isn’t a definitive measure of how well he’s playing. It’s worth noting, however, that he averages about 1.5 tackles per game over the course of the season yet in the last five games he’s averaged 2.0 tackles per game, including a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.
“We’re not focusing on what’s to come after, what’s before. We’re focusing day by day. I mean, we talked about it last year, we had a bunch of people leaving the team, coaches leaving the team, and, that might have, might have hindered some people last year,” Brott vented on Monday. “And so we’re just keeping the main point, the main point, and focusing on this game. And once we get it done, it’ll be sweet.”
Currently, MSU appears to be dealing with perhaps the worst injury it’s had in 2025. The Bobcats lost Caden Dowler, the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year, to an apparent right arm injury MSU’s win over the Griz. Dowler went out during the second possession Montana State’s last time out. .
“Caden is going to do everything he can to play,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said Monday. “That’s his mindset right now. We are probably not exactly where he’s running around at practice at full speed by any means. But I think given the extra week, Caden being on the field is a real possibility.”
MSU will be without safety JJ Dolan, who broke his fibula in the regular-season game against UM in late November. Budding freshman backup linebacker Xavier Ahrens, who suffered a leg injury against UC Davis, is also said to have a good chance of seeing the field against Illinois State.
“I think the chance to get Xavier (Ahrens) back is a real possibility,” Vigen said.
“Otherwise, we have been carrying some things with us, but guys have been playing and we are in a pretty good spot with guys who have been dealing with some things.”
The Bobcats went into their first game at Oregon knowing that wide receiver Chris Long and offensive guard Blake Mastel were nursing injuries and came out of the game without the services of starting safety Taki Uluilakepa and starting linebacker Neil Daily. Bryant Meredith filled in for Uluilakepa until he finally began working his way back into the lineup against Weber State in Week 10. Meredith snagged an interception against Northern Arizona, who he started his career with.
Daily was replaced nearly seamlessly when Cole Taylor emerged as one of the best tacklers on the team the next week. Daily was back when MSU faced Eastern Washington in Week 5 and suddenly the Bobcats had one of the best and deepest linebacking corps in the nation. Daily also missed the second-round playoff game against Yale with illness before returning against Stephen F. Austin.
Numerous players have stepped up for the Bobcats to ease the effects of injuries to their key players.
“Cole Taylor is the first guy who comes to mind,” Vigen said. “Going into that first game against Oregon, he was going to be in there, but he was going to be a rotating piece. Then Neil Daily goes down in the first half and it’s on for Cole. He has gotten better and better throughout the course of the year and that was unexpected. You knew Cole would be a piece but maybe not the piece he became.”
Long played against Oregon and South Dakota State the next week, but he would miss the next three games and struggled in his return against Northern Arizona in MSU’s first road conference game. Long, however, has emerged as a prime target for Bobcat’ quarterback Justin Lamson the past eight games, catching his first touchdown for MSU against UC Davis in the last regular season home game. He has 15 catches for 184 and has scored twice – alertly recovering a Lamson fumble in the end zone for MSU’s first score in the quarterfinals against Stephen F. Austin – in the last eight games after just eight catches for 99 yards and no scores over the first seven games to start the season.
Mastel’s injury has been the most significant to date. He wouldn’t get back in starting lineup until the fourth game and even then, it took a couple more games for the Bobcats to get into sync up front. MSU has been improving its run game as the season has worn on and is back to its standard going into the championship game.
Defensive end Zac Crews injured his arm against UC Davis but, like Brott, hasn’t missed significant time. He made a key play the next week when he blocked a field goal attempt against Montana, which led to a Bobcat’ touchdown. Tight end Rylan Schlepp was also banged up late in the season and sat out the Yale game, while fellow tight end Hunter Provience missed a game in the middle of the season with a lower leg injury. Both were back against Montana in the semifinals and threw key blocks to spring another fellow tight end, Rocky Lencioni, for the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter.
Despite the list of wounded players, MSU has emerged well considering it has played 15 games, including seven against FCS or College Football Playoff teams. Dowler’s injury still looms, however, and it may not be known until game time if he’ll be back. If not, Colter Petre, who filled in for Dowler more than adequately against Montana, will get the start. The sophomore from Helena emerged as the second -eading tackler in the game for the Bobcats with six tackles to go along with a pass breakup.
“I’m so thankful to be able to play this great game with my brothers,” Brott said. “Since we’ve been here, we have been checking off all the boxes on our to-do list. And now we get the opportunity to check the last box. Nothing is guaranteed. But we have the chance.”
The Bobcats will travel to Nashville later this week to prepare for their title game showdown against Illinois State on January 5.
