The 21-point win tied MSU’s fourth-largest margin of victory in a Bobcat post-season game, it extended the team’s conference tourney win streak to a program-best four games, and it gives the Cats a six-game winning streak against their arch-rivals. That is Montana State’s second-longest in series history.

For Bobcat head coach Tricia Binford, one factor stood out. “We’ve talked a about our bench being as important as our starters,” said MSU’s 21^st-year head coach. “The way we play, we need everybody. Teagan (Erickson) had an incredible game, Brooke (Fatupaito) had an incredible game, our entire bench came up big.”

Erickson scored 12 points, her most since early January, while Fatupaito added nine, her most since missing 17 games with an injury. All nine of her points came in the first quarter, and kick-started MSU’s dominant win. The Bobcat bench scored 42 of the team’s 78 points.

The quick start, though, set the tone. In fact, that has become customary for the Cats against UM. Montana State led the Lady Griz 21-7 after one quarter in the first meeting between the teams this season in January, 21-7 after the first quarter in the second matchup in February, and 23-7 on Sunday.

“We just tried to focus on that (first) quarter,” Binford said of her team’s fast starts against UM. “We try to take each quarter one at a time as far as keeping teams in check.”

MSU kept Montana in check in the first quarter using a series of body blows, with Montana State’s pressure defense decimating the Lady Griz first quarter offensive efforts. Montana shot 10 times in the opening period, making three, and turned the ball over 10 times. The Bobcats led 23-7 after the first quarter and Montana never pulled within single digits again.

Addison Harris won the opening jump, then six seconds later drained a corner three-pointer to open the scoring. Then Ella Johnson made a layup, Harris hit a jumper, and Issy Bunyan made one of two free throws.

After Kennedy Gillette scored two of her eight points, Fatupaito’s basket gave MSU an 11-2 lead. An Erickson triple stretched MSU’s advantage to 16-4, and then a three and a layup by Fatupaito closed the first quarter with MSU holding a 23-7 lead.

UM steadied itself in the second quarter, matching MSU’s 17 points and shooting 6-for-15 (40 percent). But the Cats continued to pressure UM, forcing five more turnovers. Chirrick registered four steals and four rebounds in the first half, while Teagan Erickson scored 10 points. MSU out-rebounded the Lady Griz 20-17 and forced 15 turnovers while giving the ball away just five times.

Montana made eight three-pointers, but never tied or led after Harris’ game-opening salvo. The Cats led by double-digits for the game’s final 32 minutes. The Lady Griz played without leading scorer Mack Konig on Sunday after playing without several other players in their first-round win on Saturday.

In addition to her nine points, Fatupaito contributed two rebounds and two steals. She said staying patient during her time on the sidelines wasn’t difficult. “I think the whole time Coach (Binford) always has had confidence in me, and was being like, ‘When you come back we’re going to need you, we’re going to need you to step into that role. And so that was really encouraging.”

As she has all season, Chirrick led the Bobcats. The Big Sky MVP’s 13 points matched Harris for team-high honors, her 10 rebounds marked her fourth double-double to go with two triple-doubles. In fact, coupled with six assists and five steals on Sunday she now has six four-by-five games (at least five points, rebounds, assists and steals). That is second-most in Division I, after eight by Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame.

The win boosts Montana State’s record to 24-6, the fourth-most wins in a season in program history. Montana ends its season at 9-22. The Bobcats play the winner of Monday’s Eastern Washington-Northern Colorado game on Tuesday at 2:30 pm in Boise’s Idaho Central Arena.

On Saturday in Missoula, Johnson looked and played like a stone-cold killer.

The lanky 6-foot-3 junior from Elk River, Minnesota has made a name for herself the last three seasons as one of the most versatile defensive players in the Big Sky Conference. She is one of the league’s best shot blockers as well as an athlete who can use her length to disrupt shooters on the perimeter and who can use her athleticism to guard off the dribble.

For all those strong suits, she’s never been known for her offense. Montana State head coach Tricia Binford joked that when the staff pulled Johnson’s redshirt a few years ago, her nickname was Ella “Don’t Shoot” Johnson.

“She works so hard, her nickname quickly became Ella “Shoot the ball” Johnson,” Binford said with a laugh. “We are getting her to shoot it more. She has a great looking shot.”

And boy, did Johnson shoot it here on Saturday afternoon.

The junior drilled three 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a career-high 17 points. She finished the game 7-of-8 from the floor as Montana State cruised to a 72-55 win over the Lady Griz in front of 3,149.

“What we emphasize is growing as a team and improving each and every day,” said Johnson, whose season high entering the game was 10 points and who’s career high was 14 points last year against Troy. “We just really wanted to come out there and throw the first punch.”

Addison Harris, one of Montana State’s leading scorers this season who finished with 15 points on Saturday, lit up when asked about Johnson’s offensive output. Saturday was Johnson’s seventh rivalry game. She had scored seven total points in those games.

“We are so proud of her,” Harris said. “She works so hard. She’s in the gym 24/7. She deserves to have game like these. She deserves it. She gets us fired up. We bring our own energy and we are cheering each other on. It’s super special. Super proud of her.”

While 17 points is a career-high for Johnson, it’s not some mind-bending total. But when you consider that Montana State is the most high-pressure team in the conference — MSU entered the game averaging more than 26 forced turnovers per game — and much of the Bobcats’ offense comes from getting out in the open court, if an opponent can get MSU to have to score in the half court, that’s a win.

And Montana did that on Saturday. The Lady Griz committed 18 turnovers, which was 14 less than in an 82-44 loss in Bozeman last month. MSU scored 17 points off turnovers on Saturday, which was 22 points less than the last rivalry showdown.

MSU countered those improvements by hitting 41 percent of its shots (9-of-22) from beyond the arc and shooting 50 percent overall in controlling the game from start to finish. Montana State scored 19 seconds into the shot block against the Lady Griz zone on the first possession of the game and never trailed.

“We had the right mentality,” Binford said after moving to 25-20 against the Lady Griz. “Teams have been throwing a ton of defenses at us and we can’t lose who we are…the right mentality in finding a great shot, whatever that looks like. We just wanted pace and I felt like Ella Johnson, this might be the best game I’ve seen out of her on both ends of the floor. She was fantastic today.”

Johnson scored seven points during the first six minutes of the game as MSU raced to a 13-4 lead. MSU pushed the lead to double figures, 17-7, with two minutes left in the first frame and ended the first quarter up 21-7.

“The last week and a half, we’ve seen a lot of different defenses,” Binford said. “I think we’ve been preparing for some counters. We’ve seen a lot. Knowing that Jamison was getting into the paint that first time around, we were like, ‘ok, what are they going to try to take away because she was so aggressive.’ One option is zone and one option is putting somebody deep in the paint and they did both. We are trying to get better on some of those counters but more importantly, we had to get some stops on the defensive end because that team can put up points very quickly.”

Jamison Phillip, a freshman who scored a career-high 23 points in the first rivalry contest, spun her way to a nifty layup in the lane to push the lead to 34-10 midway through the second quarter before the Lady Griz woke up.

Montana ripped off a 12-0 run, bringing the crowd to life for the first and only time on Saturday. That run included a pair of 3-pointers from sophomore Avery Waddington, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds in 39 minutes.

“The game gets really hard when you don’t start playing the right way until 17 minutes into it,” said Montana head coach Nate Harris, who fell to 0-4 against MSU. “I thought that we started slow. It’s been our thing the last few games and we have to do a better job of getting off to a better start with some intensity.

“Give them credit: Ella Johnson steps up and buries three in the first half. Jamison Phillip hits one. Courtney Smith hits one. All three kids we had in our plan to make shoot those and they hit them. That’s 15 points right there.”

Montana State ended the second half with a pair of daggers. Taylee Chirrick, who finished with 14 points and went over 100 steals during her sophomore season with four swipes, hit a corner 3-pointer in transition. She then forced a turnover and Johnson hit a trailing 3-pointer from dead on. After the shot, she had an icy look in her eye as the only run of the afternoon by the hosts came to a screeching halt.

Johnson’s third triple of the first half helped the Bobcats take a 40-22 lead into halftime. Montana State never led by less than 13 points after that and never led by less than 16 points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s huge when you have veterans that aren’t showing a reaction,” Binford said. “When a team makes a run, you have two ways to respond. You can go next play or you can get a little bit tight. Last week (in a 73-70 overtime loss at Idaho), we got tight to be honest. When we were on the road, that really prepared us well coming into this week. We can’t react. The things we can control is what we can control. Those two hitting those shots right before the half certainly helped.”

Montana State has now won 15 of the last 17 rivalry games, including five in a row. The Bobcats are now 11-2 in conference and were able to keep pace with Idaho in the league standings. The Vandals have one league loss while MSU has two. The Bobcats are looking for their sixth regular-season Big Sky title under Binford.

Montana made strides, relatively, after getting blown out by the largest margin of victory in rivalry history last month. But like it has since Robin Selvig retired, the rivalry continued to belong to Montana State as yet another new star emerged for the Bobcats.

“Teams are going to make run, Montana is going to make a run, crowd is going to get on top, how do we want to react? What do we want to look like without the score? I felt like our kids stayed together and focused on each other,” Binford said. “That’s maturity and growth in a very young team. I’m proud of how they responded.”

In the aftermath of his team’s 76-67 loss at Montana State — just the fifth loss in 22 matchups against the rival for UM’s veteran head coach — DeCuire said that his team was playing good enough defense night in and night out to win ball games. That particularly night, Montana held the Bobcats to 41 percent shooting and got plenty of stops.

DeCuire said that his team needed to find their way offensively, especially when it came to turning the ball over.

Montana responded on Monday with a runaway 98-72 win over Northern Arizona that included a season-high for points for the Griz. But when UM turned the ball over 14 times in the first half and trailed 43-36 to Weber State on Thursday night at Dahlberg Arena, it seemed like the same demons that had thwarted this talented Montana squad were rearing their heads again.

Instead of spiral, DeCuire instead got his charges back on track. And once Montana found its footing, the Grizzlies raced to an 81-65 win over the Wildcats.

“That was another conversation after the Montana State game, which was we weren’t sharing the ball, just taking too many tough shots,” DeCuire said following his team’s 11^th win in its 20^th game. “There’s a lot of open guys out there where we crack the paint in transition, and 10 assists are not enough. We’ve got to be a team that you want to make the pass to whoever is open, let him get the shot and trust that they can make shots. And we’ve had over 20 assists since.”

DeCuire also referenced defensive adjustments to help limit Weber State’s secondary fast break, points in transition and points in the paint. He said that Montana made those adjustments after the under-12 media timeout in the first half. But it took until halftime to get those adjustments locked in.

Adjustments, assists…more than anything though, Montana took care of the ball in the second half. UM finished the game with 17 turnovers after committing 14 in the first stanza.

“I was pretty intense on the sideline before halftime,” DeCuire said when asked about his halftime inspiration. “We had some adjustments we were trying to make after the second media. We just never executed them, and they just continued to get too many points in the painting. We had to contain the ball. And so once we settled down and had five guys execute on the defensive side the ball, we got Weber out of the percentage shots. Our ability to communicate determines how well we execute defensively.”

When Montana takes care of the ball and guards like DeCuire demands, the Grizzlies have been one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country for three years running. UM is shooting 51 percent from the floor this season and has a field goal percentage over the last three seasons cumulatively that ranks 6^th in the country.

Thursday’s effort only bolstered that. UM shot 63 percent in the second half and 62 percent overall, finishing the game 31-of-50 from the floor despite leading scorer Money Williams being held to seven points and just 2-of-12 shooting.

The rest of the team went 29-of-40 from the floor. Tyler Thompson was 7-of-9 from beyond the arc in scoring a career-high 21 points. Senior Te’Jon Sawyer finished 5-of-6 from the floor on the way to scoring 13 points while Brooklyn Hicks went 6-of-8 and scored 13 points off the bench. In his second career start, Grant Kepley went 4-of-5 and scored 11 points.

“Simplify the play you are trying to make,” DeCuire said. “Every pass doesn’t have to be an assist. First half, we were trying to hit home runs. We were trying to squeeze the ball into small windows in the post. It’s ok to get a hockey assist and we got a ton of hockey assists in the second half.”

Montana finished with 22 assists, including six from Williams.

The Money man struggled shooting the ball. But he still managed to surpass 1,000 points in his career. He’s the sixth-fastest Griz to reach the mark despite missing the second half of his freshman season two years ago with an injury.

“It would’ve been faster if he wasn’t hurt,” DeCuire said with a grin. “He’s special. There’s not a lot of words for me to describe him as a player. But he can create offense every time down the court for himself or others. That’s pretty valuable to have.”

Williams is one of the leading scorers in the Big Sky at 19.1 points per game. He is also averaging nearly six assists per contest as well. The Big Sky’s Top Reserve a year ago has embraced a leadership role as a junior as he tries to guide the Griz back to the NCAA Tournament.

“I didn’t know I got it, or that I was that close,” Williams said with an endearing smile. “I was locked in in the huddle and I looked up at the scoreboard and saw, 1,000 points. I’m just grateful. It’s a blessing.”

Montana has won two straight since the rivalry loss and now sit at 5-2 in Big Sky Conference play, alone in third place in the standings behind Portland State and Montana State.

The Griz lost six seniors off last season’s NCAA Tournament team. After an up and down non-conference that included a win at UNLV and a loss to NAIA Montana Tech at home, Montana seems to be meshing entering February.

“We have to not be complacent, not be satisfied,” Williams said. “In Bozeman, we got punched in the mouth. Now we know. We won’t let that happen again.”

The Bobcats moved to 12-8 overall and 6-1 in Big Sky play with the victory, winning their sixth straight contest at home and pushing their overall winning streak to three games. The Cats have now won 14 of their last 15 matchups against the Bengals, including each of the last three contests.

“They played like great seniors do – like all-conference seniors do,” head coach Matt Logie said of McMahon and Miller. “They’ve got ownership in this deal, so they know when it’s time to step up and make big plays, and they certainly did that tonight.”

The two teams played a tight ballgame early, with Montana State leading, 9-5, heading into the first media timeout before the half turned into a game of runs. Montana State pushed their lead to 14-7 on a 5-2 run before the Bengals countered with six-straight points to trim the Bobcats’ lead to 14-13 at the 10:57 mark. Montana State pushed their lead back to six points three times over the next four minutes and led 30-24 with just under six minutes left in the first half.

Idaho State countered with a 10-2 run to take their first lead since the first two minutes capping off the run with a three-pointer, two free throws, and a layup to take a 34-32 advantage at the 2:07 mark. That was the last time the Bengals would lead as the Cats scored six-straight points to lead, 38-34 at halftime. McMahon and Miller led the Bobcats with nine points each in the half as Montana State shot 42.4% from the floor to Idaho State’s 44.4%.

Idaho State sunk the first two buckets coming out of the break to tie the game at 38, but McMahon and Davian Brown countered with a pair of layups to push the lead to 42-38, at the 17:20 mark. The Bobcats slowly increased their lead to seven points, 51-44, over the next several minutes as McMahon led the way with three more buckets by the 13:59 mark. After an ISU bucket in response, the Bobcats used a game-high 8-0 run to push their lead to 13 points, 59-46, with 11:18 left in regulation. From there, the Bengals countered with eight-straight points to bring their deficit back to five, 59-54, at the 6:43 mark. That was the closest the Bengals would come for the remainder of the game as Miller knocked down a three to shift the momentum with 5:05 to play, sparking a 12-4 run to put the Cats back up by 13, 71-58, with 1:31 to play. The Bobcats went on to win, 74-62, as the Bobcats shot 45.2% from the floor and an impressive 54.5% (6-of-11) from three in the final 20 minutes while outrebounding Idaho State, 20-13, in the second half.

Montana State outshot Idaho State, 43.8% to 40.7%, in the contest and held the Bengals to just 28.0% from downtown. The Bobcats led for 34 minutes, scored 13 points off nine ISU turnovers, and tallied 13 fast-break points to Idaho State’s seven.

Miller posted his fourth 20-point game of the season, all of which have come in Big Sky play, with a 6-of-11 shooting performance for 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and one steal. McMahon tallied an impressive 19 points, a career-high nine rebounds, and one assist to finish just one board short of his first career double-double. Brown tallied his third-straight double-digit scoring effort with 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

The Lady Griz, who have won consecutive games for the first time this season, grabbed the lead late in the first quarter and built their advantage to 11 points in the second quarter, 12 in the third before having to hold off the Wildcats down the stretch.

Montana (5-13, 2-5 BSC) took a 41-33 lead into the final period but Weber State (6-14, 0-7 BSC), which was seeking its first Big Sky win, opened the quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers to tighten the game in a hurry.

It would be a one-possession game over the final eight minutes.

Waddington made a pair of game-winning plays in the closing moments. After Weber State tied it at 44-44 with 4:29 to go, Waddington hit a 3-pointer. Her lay-up with 48 seconds left put the Lady Griz up 51-48.

The Wildcats made it 51-50 with 13 seconds left but had only committed one foul in the period. By the time Weber State was able to foul enough to put Montana at the free throw line, the clock had run out.

It was Waddington’s third 20-point scoring game of the season, her first since early December. With Mack Konig still sidelined, Montana needed every one of Waddington’s points to secure the victory.

“That’s what we needed from her today,” said coach Nate Harris. “I don’t know how many times I told her, lead us there. Take over. This is yours. And she did. She made some huge plays down the stretch.”

Montana won despite shooting 7 for 30 from the 3-point line and 35.1 percent overall. Defensively, the Lady Griz held the Wildcats to 33.3 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers.

“Any win is a good win. I’m never going to apologize for the kids finding a way to get it done,” said Harris. “Proud of the kids for battling, proud of the kids for finding a way.

“Our kids really leaned on our defense. We’re starting to make some strides as a defensive team that can take some things away.”

The celebration continued at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse into the afternoon with a rivalry hoops double header on the docket. And by 3 p.m., a football national title banner had been unfurled, another Big Sky Conference trophy had been placed in the trophy case and the MSU women’s hoops team were in full control.

The banner unveiling occurred at halftime of the women’s rivalry game between the defending Big Sky Conference champions from MSU and the struggling but once-mighty Lady Griz.

By the time 5 p.m. rolled around, Montana State had an 82-44 win in its back pocket in the women’s game, marking the largest margin of victory over the Lady Griz and the least number of points Montana has scored in a rivalry game in exactly 50 years.

And by the time 6:30 p.m. rolled around, The Brick was packed to the gills as a Bobcat Nation clad in nothing but gold hoped to have one more piece of bragging rights against the rivals from Missoula.

Matt Logie has beaten the rivals before. But never in Bozeman and neve rin the regular season. With all the fanfare that had proceeded his team’s contest against the archrival, Logie had a simple, sharp thought.

“I didn’t want to be that guy,” Logie said with a chuckle.

Montana cut a 13-point second-half deficit to forge a one possession game in the waning minutes in the nightcap here on Saturday night.

But Davian Brown, Jed Miller and the Bobcats would not be denied as Montana State put the icing on the cake of an unforgettable coronation for the Blue & Gold with a 76-67 victory over the Griz.
“We are very process-oriented here and I thought we had a great week of prep,” Logie said. “It’s your ability to execute that process that allows you to enjoy a day like today. I think it was not lost on anybody what this day could mean for Bobcat nation to celebrate what has occurred and celebrating where we are at as a department.

“We are thrilled to get the victory tonight and continue to build off of that momentum.”

Montana entered the weekend having largely dominated the rivalry in men’s hoops thanks in large part to Travis DeCuire, last season’s Big Sky Coach of the Year and a three-time league champion during his time leading his alma mater. DeCuire entered the game with a 17-5 record against the Bobcats that included a 7-3 mark in Bozeman.

The Griz got off to an 8-2 start, led 12-4 after five minutes and held 23-13 advantage midway through the second half. But the Bobcats battled back, capping the first half with a Seth Amunrud buzzer-beater that gave the Cats a 32-31 lead at the half.

MSU’s close to the first half and open to the second was too much to overcome for the Griz as Logie defeated DeCuire for the first time in the regular season.

“We got off to a really good start, they made adjustments throughout the game and they took advantage of our breakdowns,” DeCuire said. “The stat sheet says they only had 10 points off turnovers. I know for a fact they had a lot more than that.

“What happens is if they steal it and don’t turn it into a layup right away, that doesn’t count. But the reality is that if they turn the ball over and then they hit the 3 multiple seconds later, that’s a point off turnover.

“Hat’s off to Montana State. Their guys showed up in a critical game in a great environment. We struggled offensively and they made buckets when they needed them down the stretch.”

Montana State’s first win over Montana in Bozeman in Logie’s three years at the helm also marks MSU’s 4^th Big Sky win in five outings this winter. MSU blew a sizeable lead its last time out at the University of Idaho, falling 92-89.

MSU built a 49-36 lead in the first five minutes of the second half behind slick offensive execution and an eight-point spurt that included a pair of triples from Brown, who scored 24 points to lead MSU in his rivalry debut. Despite Montana’s late efforts, the Bobcats never trailed in the second half.

Montana star Money Williams, the Big Sky’s Top Reserve last season and the preseason MVP entering this season, played with a head of steam like he most often does. He scored 10 points in the first nine minutes of the game, helping UM to its double-digit lead.

With eight minutes to play in the first half, Jaden Steppe went to the rim, only to have his attempt sent into the stands as well as his body. No foul was called.

Steppe protested the call, earning a technical. But in the scrum after the hard non-foul, Williams also received a technical foul.

Technical fouls count as personal fouls, and that was Williams’ second of the game. It impacted his minutes in the first half and when he picked up his fourth foul with four minutes to play, he headed to the bench again.

He came into the game averaging 20 points per game. He endured a 25-minute scoreless streak to finish with a Griz-high 17 points.

“That fourth foul got him out and he was then passive on the defensive side of the ball, and I think the technical foul in the first half killed our momentum,” DeCuire said.

Brown, who’s older brother Darius helped MSU advance to the Big Dance in 2023, was a catalyst in the biggest moments all night. He had five straight points when Montana’s lead pushed to 10 to help MSU stem. And he had an eight-point spurt during Montana State’s pivotal run to open the second half.

“I’ve been through a long journey and this being my sixth year, I’m really just trying to enjoy the moment,” Brown said. “Games like this, it’s just exciting. I’m not going to forget about this. I’m just trying to enjoy every moment, every practice and rivalry wins like this.”

As has been all season, Miller continued to be the catalyst for the Bobcats. The steady point guard has played spot minute over his first three seasons with MSU. He’s been the floor general, the distributor and the captain for MSU during his senior season.

DeCuire took note, as did Miller’s teammates after the diminutive yet aggressive point guard rolled up 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

“He got them shots; he came down and got them in the offense they called for and got them into good shots out of timeouts,” DeCuire said. “He got them the shots they wanted almost every possession. He was a critical decision maker and he beat the shot clock a few times. That’s what point guard do.

“He also had five offensive rebounds. That’s what leaders and winners do. They find a way to scrap. We always ask guys: how do you impact the game if you aren’t scoring? Well, He got five offensive rebounds.”

Earlier in the week, DeCuire expressed his concern about Montana State’s never-ending switching defense and how different the Bobcats operate, on both sides, than every other team in the conference.

On Saturday, after the first 10 minutes of the game, Montana State looked like the team that has represented the Big Sky in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments because of that unorthodox style.

And because Saturday was a Saturday for the Bobcats.

“First and foremost, I’m happy for our fans,” Logie said. “This is the first time in my tenure that we have won this game at home. The support they’ve show our coaching staff and these players the first three years I’ve been here has been remarkable. And you want to play that back. You want to show gratitude for those efforts and there are a lot of people who are responsible for Montana State’s success.  

“You see that this morning when there is a parade downtown and you have thousands of people showing up. They are invested. They are invested with their hearts, their minds, the resources. And when everyone is pulling in the same direction, you can experience something like this.”

Saturday at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, two teams going in opposite directions squared off on an exuberant day that saw Montana State celebrate its football national championship all morning long.

The Bobcat women’s basketball team entered the clash forcing 27 turnovers per game and with the lone undefeated record in Big Sky Conference play through the first two weekends of 2026.

The Lady Griz entered the game with a 3-11 record that included an 0-4 mark in Big Sky play. And to make matters more complicated, Mack Konig, Montana’s all-conference point guard, missed her 4^th consecutive game. She was seen on the sideline wearing a walking boot.

The most high-pressure defense in the conference playing a struggling team without its point guard in a raucous rivalry atmosphere? It went just about how you thought it would here on Saturday.  

Montana State forced 14 turnovers in the first five minutes of the game and 19 before halftime in holding UM to a season-low 17 points in the first half. And although the Lady Griz used a 2-3 zone defense to stem the tide a bit in a second quarter where MSU held just an 11-10 advantage, a halftime celebration seemed to re-ignited the hosts.

At the break, Montana State unveiled its football banners, rolling down its 18^th Big Sky Conference title banner and its fourth national championship banner to the delight of the 4,173 in attendance.

After the celebration, the Bobcat women re-lit the fuse, starting the second half on an 8-0 run, winning the third quarter by 15 points to push the advantage to 30 and cruised from there, posting an 82-44 victory.

“I don’t know if we were playing off the crowd or what but we couldn’t ask for a better start,” Montana State head coach Tricia Binford after moving to 24-20 against the Lady Griz in her career, including 13-8 at home. “We set the tone with our defense. Then our bench gave us a great rotation and the crowd was fantastic.”

The win is Montana State’s 12^th* straight in Bozeman over Montana. The Bobcats have won 14 of the last 16 in a rivalry once dominated by the Lady Griz.

MSU is now 5-0 in league play thanks in part to forcing 32 turnovers and snaring 19 steals. Taylee Chirrick led the charge, swiping three steals and pouring in 19 points in just 23 minutes. Freshman point guard Jamison Phillip had a breakout in her first rivalry game, streaking her way to 23 points and chipping in three steals.

“All around, everyone was playing great defense,” Chirrick, a Roberts product, said following the win. “You have Elle (Johnson) with her long arms running around. Everyone was on the same page and it was working for us.

“As soon as we started getting after them, it was like a trigger light and we wanted to keep it rolling.”

Montana is now 0-5 in league play after shooting 34 percent from the floor and 5-of-20 from beyond the arc. Abby Shubert led Montana with eight points.

The margin of victory for Montana State is the steepest ever in the history of the rivalry. Saturday marked the lowest point total by a Lady Griz team against Montana since 1975.

“Montana State played better than us today,” Montana first-year head coach Nate Harris said. “We have to do a better job of putting them in position. We thought we had a plan to break the press. As soon as we changed personnel at the front of the press, we changed how we were going to attack it. And Montana State is relentless. Trish has done such a good job of getting those kids to play super hard and have those kids have very active hands and attack, attack, attack.

“I’m never making excuses but you play any game without your primary ball handler (Konig), it hurts. You play this game without your primary ball handler? It’s pretty daunting.”

Montana treaded water briefly in the second quarter when Harris switched into an aggressive 2-3 zone. That forced Montana State to miss 14 times in 15 field goal attempts. The Bobcats also teurned the ball over five times in that stretch.

Yet the Lady Griz still could not cut the lead under 11 points despite MSU’s cold streak.

“I thought getting it under 10 would’ve been big for our confidence, honestly,” Harris said.

Montana State did not shoot the ball particularly well from deep, finishing 5-of-20 from beyond the arc. But four of those triples came in the third quarter when MSU blew the game back open. Isobel Bunyan, who joined Chirrick and Phillip in double figures with 11 points, drilled all three of her triples during that stretch.

“We just talked at halftime and pulled it together,” Chirrick said. “We had a dominant first quarter and we let up second quarter, so halftime, Coach Bin said let’s step it up. Doing that in the third quarter was important for us.”

Chirrick, who started her prep career at Billings West before finishing at Class C Roberts, continues to be a revelation. She was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman as MSU set a league record with 30 wins last season. This year, she’s taken her game to the next level. She is averaging nearly 19 points and nearly eight rebounds per game while also ranking near the national lead in steals per game.

“We’ve asked Taylee to be a bigger scorer for us this year,” Binford said. “She comes through in every regard. This kid is so consistent packing the stat sheet every time she steps on the floor. She’s a true competitor and there’s nothing she can’t do. Her motor is amazing. She’s really improved her shot. She’s hit some clutch shots in big situations. The offensive end has been something she’s taken to heart for us and the defense will always be there.”

Chirrick has an unorthodox motion on her set shot from beyond the arc. But she’s managed to become an elite shooter. She’s hitting 50 percent of her 3-point attempts in league play and went 2-of-5 on Saturday.

“If she’s hitting shots from 3 at that rate, she becomes truly unstoppable because she’s such an elite athlete,” Harris said.

Montana State has beaten several of the top contenders in league play already. The Bobcats have a different look from a year ago, but a similar feel in terms of the good vibes and obvious chemistry of the team. With a home rivalry win now in the rearview, the pursuit of another Big Sky title is in sharp focus for the Bobcats.

“We are young and in the preseason, I would not say we were the best practice team but we would show up and be relentless in games,” Binford said. “We have gotten much better in practices. That’s really helping them get better and improve. I love the accountability that they have for each other in that regard.

“Our bench has gotten more consistent, too. When you have a really competitive bench, and you get everybody playing fresher, that’s powerful.

“Our ability to trust and rely on each other, that’s our key. We want them to love each other.”

The Bobcats took an earth-shaking 35-34 win when Justin Lamson hit Taco Dowler on fourth and 11 from the 14 in the first overtime to knock off Illinois State, the Cinderella of the FCS playoffs this year after taking out the defending champions from North Dakota State. Myles Sansted converted the extra point and MSU won its first national championship in 41 years.

“If you followed our season, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It was rocky at times,” Dowler said. “We had a blue-collar mentality. And breathing – we do breathing exercises to be calm. The game today is a great testament to the good men in the program and I couldn’t be prouder of the guys.”

Montana State’s 14^th straight victory after an 0-2 start helped avenge last season’s 35-32 loss to the Bison and helped boost MSU to its fourth national title overall.

“What a hard-fought game. These things aren’t supposed to come easily,” Vigen said. “The first thing I want to do is credit Coach Spack and that team. We knew their track record and we knew they wouldn’t go away. We certainly had some moments in the second half where we could’ve extended the lead and we just didn’t do it.

“A ton of credit goes to them but also a ton of credit goes to us, our players, our coaches. I remember sitting up at this podium in Frisco a year ago. That belief that maybe pulled us through doesn’t come easy. Our players and their constant work and their constant wanting to be coached, I can’t say enough about our mindset.”

Vigen not only graduated or lost seven All-Americans this last off-season but he also saw half of his coaching staff leave, too. Rather than endure a rebuild, MSU had a rebound that turned into a resounding moment that will never be forgotten by Bobcat Nation.

“Putting a new coaching staff together, that group coming together to figure it out, continuing to find ways to put our guys in the best position on Saturdays and in this case on Monday, it’s impressive,” Vigen said.  

“And I want to give tons of credit to Bobcat Nation. That was a scene and we’ve seen some scenes back home. To take our fan base down to Nashville that was certainly impactful tonight, so it’s been a long time coming. Forty-one years in the making. I couldn’t be more proud of our players. That’s what you keep coming back to because players win games. When you’re in fourth and long and you need a play like those two made. Those guys were the stars.”

MSU suffered eight egregious false start penalties and totaled 14 penalties throughout the game. While the Bobcats scored touchdowns on their first two possessions despite four of those fouls, the miscues caught up to them in the second half. The Bobcats allowed 14 straight points in the fourth quarter to squander a 28-14 lead. Then they went three-and-out on their ensuing possession to give the ball back to the soaring Redbirds, who burned the clock down until it sent kicker Michael Cosentino out to kick a potential game-winning field goal with 1:03 to play.

Bobcat’s cornerback Jhase McMillan, who ran a 10.3 100-meter dash in high school, blew in from the right end and blocked the 38-yard attempt. MSU’s Seth Johnson scooped it and ran it to the ISU 45. Lamson hit Dane Steel for eight yards on the next play and just like that MSU was on the verge of getting a game-winning field goal attempt of its own. But just as quickly as the Bobcats turned the game around, they gave it all back when Lamson was sacked for a six-yard loss and fumbled the next snap to lose another 20 to send the game to overtime.

Dylan Lord, a freshman who finished with 13 catches for 161 yards, scored on ISU’s second play of OT and sent Cosentino out to make it a seven-point lead. But this time, the Bobcats sent pressure up the middle and blocked the extra point, which gave the opportunity to win the game with a touchdown and extra point.

Not so fast.

The Bobcats advanced the ball to the 11. But the latest and last false start set the drive back before Illinois State pushed MSU’s season to the brink. Facing a 4^th down with the season on the line, Lamson threw a perfect pass through contact that settled perfectly into Dowler’s bread basket to tie the game.

“Coach (Pete) Sterbick likely saw on I believe it was the second play of that drive – it’s a play we call flag banger – and an inside-out read,” Lamson said. “The first one was little bit behind Jabez (Woods) and he couldn’t catch it, but Taco won on the corner, so he came back to it and that’s just good stuff out of a really good OC. Taco was wide open. I got hit so I just kind of gave him a chance and the rest is history and Myles did his thing. It was a great play call. Taco and I just did what we were supposed to do.”

The roller coaster ride of emotions, which also included an unpenalized face mask after MSU picked up the block extra point and began running back for what could’ve been two points for the Bobcats, over the last minute and overtime was about all Vigen could handle.

“Well, we’re still alive,” Vigen said of flurry of dramatic plays. “I know that much. We picked up that ball, and we got face masked and that’s one way to tackle a guy. It’s an automatic decline; I didn’t know that rule. If tonight did not reinforce this group’s never say die attitude, I don’t know what will. That’s not easy to come by.

“The great thing about this team, and I think it ultimately does push us over, is the main thing is the main thing going into this team. That’s just us trying to play as one. We are at our best when we play as one.”

The MSU fans turned out in droves for the game, which was the second highest attended in FCS/I-AA history with 24,105, and that fact wasn’t lost on the Bobcats.

“They just keep surprising me,” Lamson said of MSU’s fan base. “They had the Super Brawl last week. I didn’t’ think they could top that and we almost filled out all of Vandy Stadium. I continue to say it takes an army. It takes a lot of people behind us. It’s not just the players, it’s the alumni, it’s the town. It’s all these people that are coming together to support us. The reason I say that is because it hasn’t happened in 41 years, but people laid the foundation for us and they continue to support us throughout those 41 years. I’m just thankful that we were the group to bring it back to Bozeman.” 

MSU looked as if it would cruise to a win, especially after Dane Steel made a catch along the sideline, broke a tackle, hurdle an ISU defender, kept his balance, broke another tackle and then dove into the end zone to cap off a quick three play, 75-yard drive with :36 left in the half to go ahead 21-7 knowing that it would get the ball to start the second half.

“If I look back a key play in the game was the score right before the half,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said. “They had three big chunk plays and it was bang, bang, bang touchdown.”

The Redbirds rose to the occasion and began to steadily build momentum throughout the second half as they stopped the Bobcats on their first possession and put together a mesmerizing 17 play, 85-yard drive and after MSU’s last score of regulation a 15 play, 81-yard drive that culminated with a four-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Tommy Rittenhouse to Daniel Sobkowicz to make it a 28-21 game.

With MSU needing to score to slow the Redbirds down, the ISU defense didn’t fold, getting the ball back with 5:10 to play and with Lord hauling in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Rittenhouse that he used to maneuver his way to the end zone.

That set up one of the most dramatic finishes media, fans and players had ever seen.

“That’s what I told the team in there,” Spack said. “It’s hard for them to understand right now. That it all comes down to one play, well it wasn’t the field goal, it wasn’t the extra point. There’s a lot of things that could’ve happened in that game. If you make one of those plays you win a game like this. I think they’ll see that someday, I hope.” 

The game had prolific performances from multiple players on both sides of the ball. Lamson would be named the game’s Most Outstanding Player for his 18 for 27, 280-yard performance with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for touchdowns on MSU’s first two possessions and had 30 yards rushing. Rittenhouse totaled four touchdowns as well as he went 33 for 46 for 311 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions.

ISU running back Victor Dawson ran the ball 29 times for 126 yards, while MSU’s Dowler had eight catches for 111 yards plus a 22-yard rushing touchdown and the game winner. Sophomore linebacker Cole Taylor collected 16 tackles.

The Bobcats, long known for their propensity to run the ball, did so just 24 times, which is about half their average. They gained 101 yards but had more pass attempts than rushes.

The Redbirds played a big part in that as they controlled the ball for nearly 40 minutes during regulation limiting MSU in doing so. ISU ran 84 plays and averaged 5.6 yards per play to just 51 plays that got 7.5 yards per play for the Bobcats. ISU started the game 0-5 on third downs but finished seven for 14.

Monday night matched MSU’s fourth national championship. The first came in 1956 in the NAIA, the next was an NCAA Division II title in 1976, the third was in I-AA in 1984. MSU has won its last three after slow starts to the season with all the losses coming in September. This season started at 0-2, 1984 it was 2-2 and 1976 it was 2-1. They never lost another game once the calendar hit October in those years.

Montana State and the University of Montana have combined for six titles with all of them coming after collecting wins on the rivals home field. The last one came in 2001 a span of 24 years, which is the longest stretch that neither school brought home a trophy since MSU’s 1956 title. 

Montana State is the first Big Sky Conference team to win a national championship since Eastern Washington accomplished the feat in 2010.

“I think you always dream of winning a national championship and I really do think that’s become the standard at Montana State,” said Lamson, the title game Most Outstanding Player. “I know we lost a lot of guys coming out of last season and that’s all I heard coming into the season. But coming in, I already knew we had dudes, guys not a lot of people were talking about.

“I thought about this moment but to be here is a little bit different. You think it’s going to happen. But now that it’s really happened, it’s a dream come true. I’m just trying to take it all in.”

PHOTOS BY BROOKS NUANEZ, BLAKE HEMPSTEAD, JASON BACAJ

The game was a story of three thirds. The Bobcats took a 20-3 lead over the first 20 minutes. The Grizzlies bounced back to score 20 straight points over the next 20 minutes.  Then MSU put the hammer down with 28 unanswered to stride past UM and into the history books, not to mention the third national title game appearance in the last five seasons.

“That was a game with a lot of different feels, for sure,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said after moving to 40-2 at home in his five seasons at the helm for the Bobcats.  “We got off to an excellent start both offensively and defensively. Ultimately, plenty of back and forth, then all of sudden we find ourselves down. This team has continued to be a forward-thinking outfit and continues to believe, and the offense came out, drove it down and took the lead back and that piece is just a microcosm of what we’ve been about all season. To be able to truly finish it off in the fashion that we did.

“Clearly the play from (quarterback) Justin (Lamson) to (wide receiver) Taco (Dowler),  I don’t know if that’s not the best play in the history of our program I don’t know but it certainly was the biggest play today. Our guys just kept going after that.”

The play of the game, which Vigen referred to, was a third down and 20 after MSU had taken the lead on a pop pass from Lamson to tight end Rocky Lencioni and then forced a punt by the Grizzlies that Dowler returned to the MSU 30 only to have it called back and force the possession to start on MSU’s own 10. After a first down, the Bobcats saw Lamson get sacked for a seven-yard loss, then got flagged for a false start to move the ball back to the 13.

Then it happened.

Lamson dropped back and was flushed out of the pocket and appeared to look like he was going to try to run. At that moment, he saw Dowler cutting across the seams about 20 yards downfield. Dowler had the first down but he wasn’t done once he caught the ball. He broke at tackle at the point of his catch, then another 20 more yards downfield, then cut back from the sideline to evade two more UM tacklers for the 87-yard score. Montana State had 34-23 lead and never looked back.

“It was a fun play, but people don’t realize that Justin kept the play alive, scrambled and threw the ball to me,” Dowler said. “If he doesn’t do that then I don’t get to run and score so Justin just made a great play on a great play call.”

The game was a physical and tumultuous one for both teams.

MSU lost Big Sky Conference Defensive Dlayer of the Year Caden Dowler, Taco’s twin brother, in the first quarter on the UM’s second possession when he left the field with an wrist injury and went straight to the locker room. The junior captain returned with no shoulder pads or jersey to root the team on, but his day was over.

Moments later UM wide receiver and a star of the first Cat-Griz game four weeks ago, Brooks Davis, was hit along the MSU sideline and left the game with an apparent ankle injury. The freshman did not return. In the second quarter, UM first-team all-conference tight end Evan Shafer was tackled after a long reception inside the MSU 5-yard line but injured his leg and also didn’t return. There were multiple other big hits and players leaving the field.

The Bobcats didn’t let up after Dowler’s electrifying score as they got a three and out and quickly went 60 yards on five plays. Lamson finished the drive by punching in a touchdown run.  Then Bryce Grebe intercepted Griz quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat and returned it 40 yards for a scored, all of a sudden the score was 48-23 and the party was on at Bobcat Stadium.

“I’ve kept dreaming about (getting an interception return for a touchdown) telling myself this is going to happen I just have to be patient,” Grebe said. “It hit me right in the chest, I’m not gonna lie. I kind of figured that was the dagger. We still needed to lock in and go back out and get another stop on defense, which we were able to do, and it was all over from there.”

The Bobcats had their star on their minds and were set on letting him down.

“We were saying at halftime, do it for Caden,” Grebe said of his injured teammate. “You guys know how good he is. He’s got us here. He got us to this point. He’s a huge part of our team, a captain, a huge leader and just to be able to do that for him was amazing.”

Third-year sophomore safety Colter Petre replaced Dowler, finishing the game with six tackles – second most on the team – and a pass breakup. MSU finished with eight tackles for loss, three sacks, five pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and two turnovers.

The unit has been a mark of consistency all season as they only allowed three FCS teams to surpass 400 yards. They had to deal with the adversity of UM’s 20 straight points, which was season first for an opposition, along with the injury to Dowler.

“That’s five games in a row where we’ve faced really good offenses,” Vigen said. “We know that they are going to sort things out on their side and make some plays. They happen to score and I know the short field helped them get the back-to-back (touchdowns) before the half, but I think everybody had faith that the defense would find a way and that’s been the measure of this team. We’ve faced a lot of different types of explosive players and offenses but our ability to really limit the big, big play, the play that where everybody in the stadium can say well, they really screwed that up is the mark of this defense.”

MSU allowed just one play over 20 yards in the game –  a 35-yard reception by UM’s mesmerizing wide receiver Michael Wortham – that set up a short touchdown pass to backup tight end Jake Olson, who was filling in for Shafer and gave UM its only lead of the day at 23-20 but also appeared to give the Grizzlies all the momentum.

“I thought Keali’i was a little more on the money,” Hauck said of his quarterback during UM’s run. “Our protection was good, the run game was good, and everything was kind of clicking. We had balance. I wish we’d got off to a little better start and as we started losing those (injured) guys it really hurt. A lot of the game plan, it involved Shafer and Brooks.”

Prior to that drive the Bobcats were desperate to get something going on offense and looked like they got a spark when Taco Dowler was unable to come down with a pass that would’ve given MSU a first down. The play was reviewed and it was revealed that UM defensive back Micah Harper had targeted Dowler, and he was ejected from the game to UM head coach Bobby Hauck’s chagrin.

“The targeting call on third down you can say what you want about that, I know what I think,” Hauck said.

The Bobcats await the winner of the other semifinal game between Illinois State and Villanova as they begin making plans to play in the national championship in Nashville, Tenn. MSU has now defeated UM in eight of its last 10 matchups. It was the Bobcats’ fifth semifinal game in the past six seasons (MSU didn’t participate in the Covid season) and the third trip to the finals in five years.

Between the Bobcats and Grizzlies, neither team has won a national championship without first beating the other on the road. The Bobcats defeated UM in Missoula in 1956, 1976 and 1984 before winning NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I-AA titles. The Grizzlies beat the Bobcats in Bozeman in 1995 and 2001 before winning their two national titles.

The Bobcats honor one player with the “41” jersey in memory of the players that fought and died in WWII and also to commemorate the state being the 41^st to join the United States. It’s been 41 years since Montana State won a national title. They’ll get a shot to do that on Jan. 5 in Nashville.

MSU pin-balled plays of 64, 42, 40, and four more over 20 yards from scrimmage, while the defense collected four turnovers, with the first two leading to touchdowns as the Bobcats won their 12th straight game, ending SFA’s 11-game winning streak in the process.

The Bobcats got an amazing effort from Kenneith Eiden IV, who had three sacks and two forced fumbles, 160 total yards and three touchdowns from running back Adam Jones, 96 yards rushing from Julius Davis, and a 20 for 26, 246-yard passing effort from quarterback Justin Lamson.

Eiden, who went through graduation earlier in the day, was feeling himself a bit in the post-game press conference.

“It was kind of a day that was all about me,” the Bozeman High product joked to the delight of the post-game press conference crowd. “I had a nice morning this morning and got to play football with my buddies.”

Despite all that, it took a time consuming 13 play, 69-yard drive in the fourth quarter that culminated in an innocuous field goal by Myles Sansted to finally put the Lumberjacks away.

SFA bounced back from a horrendous start that put it in a 24-0 hole with just 1:33 left in the first half. The Lumberjacks then got 14 unanswered points on back-to-back drives of 75 and 76 yards to cut MSU’s lead to 24-14 only to see the Bobcats answer their second half threats each time.

“They weren’t going to go away,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “The score before the half kept them in it and the score after the half did more of that. But our guys continued to answer.”

Aside from taking a knee at the end of the half and game, MSU scored on all but two possessions, including all four in the second half as SFA’s relentless offense kept the pressure on.

One drive ended on quarterback Justin Lamson’s interception with MSU in the red zone. It was just his third interception of the season, but it cost MSU at least three points.

“That’s elementary stuff,” Lamson said. “Just not throwing across my body on a rollout. I’m better than that, I know I’m better than that.

“I am happy with the way I bounced back on the next drive. I went out there and completed passes and got us right back. Coach Vigen was saying, ‘hey, you can’t let this effect you.’ I thought I handled that well but can’t let it happen in the first place.”

The Bobcats went three and out on their first possession of the game and it resulted in their only punt of the night. SFA quarterback Sam Vidlak went right to work driving the Lumberjacks to the MSU 27 as they appeared set to make an early statement.

Eiden IV brought that drive to an abrupt halt when he sacked Vidlak, who played at Montana in 2023, and forced a fumble that fellow defensive end Zac Crews recovered. Lamson followed that with seven straight completions to set up Jones for a one-yard scoring run as the Bobcats seized control despite not developing their run game.

MSU was held to just 27 yards on 20 carries in the first half, which ballooned the confidence of colorful SFA head coach Casey Carthel at halftime.

“Defense played unbelievable in the first half,” he said. “First half they had 27 yards rushing on 20 attempts. That don’t happen very often around here. Montana State Bobcats can run the football. We were like, ‘who’s going to go take it.’”

The Bobcats got a field goal and then forced a three and out after SFA’s second half opening touchdown but looked like they would turn it over when wide receiver lost the ball after a 24-yard gain. The play was reviewed and overturned then Lamson’s third down pass to Taco Dowler was flagged for pass interference. Jones followed with a 40-yard run and MSU was in the end zone three plays later to go up 34-14.

Davis made a great move at the line of scrimmage late in the third quarter and raced 69 yards for an apparent score only to see the touchdown negated for giving the peace sign to a SFA defensive back as he went into the end zone. The ball was placed at the SFA 20 and his sidekick, Jones, rolled in from the 16 two plays later as MSU took command 41-21.

SFA, as it did all game, pressed forward and scored with 10:05 to play to set up the Bobcats for one of their familiar long, game-ending drives.

“Obviously, when you get a drive like that to close out the game it’s huge,” Lamson said. “Wish we would’ve scored there but Stephen F. Austin they didn’t go away. It’s not easy here at Bobcat Stadium and those dudes kept fighting. We knew it was going to be a dog fight. They responded right before half but having that eight-minute drive or whatever it was is huge. We’ve had a couple of those this year, so I’m just happy with the way the guys finished the game and its super important.”

The Bobcats ran the ball 11 straight times until it got to the SFA one-yard line. By then they had burned up eight minutes and despite settling for a Myles Sansted field goal left the Lumberjacks with less than two minutes to score 16 points.

Sansted made all three of his field goal attempts and all five of his extra points.

“The first one we had a penalty before that and it ended up being a 47-yarder,” Vigen said. “Even at the end to get us up 16 – I know we wanted to score a touchdown there – but getting that lead to 16 was critical there, so he’s been really steady.”

The Bobcats were marred on offense with seven false starts and the team had 12 penalties for 100 yards.

“I know we had a several procedure penalties and they had a couple delay of games, so there was this balance there of what they were doing to get us moving,” Vigen said. “They got called for it twice, we got called for it way too many times. We want our guys to play hard. There’s two types of penalties: the pre-snaps where we absolutely need to eliminate those and then the aggressive penalties. That the one number that jumps out at me – 12 penalties for 100 yards – where would we have been with that number not being quite what it was.”

The Bobcats were solid on third downs, including a third and 20 play that Lamson found Jones crossing the middle of field and he scored on the play to put MSU up 14-0.

“Third down is important and you hate to see yourself in a third and 20 like that, but that was a huge play,” Vigen said. “It was checkdown, so it was good timely pass by Justin and a great finish by Adam.”

Caden Dowler continued his incredible run over the last part of the season. In the last five games, Dowler has all six of the interceptions he’s made and what has made them even more incredible are the returns he’s made after catching the ball. Dowler set the Big Sky Conference record for most interception return yards in a season when he took away the ball on SFA’s second possession at the MSU four-yard line and returned it to the 41. He needed just three yards to set the record and got 37, which gives him 267 on the season.

“He’s playing at an elite level,” Eiden IV said. “I think he’s the best competitor in the country. One of the best players in the country and he deserves all the praise and accolades he gets. He just keeps showing up for us every single week and sets the offense up the best he can and really saving us on defense a few times. He’s a guy we lean on to make plays for us, and he shows up every single time.”

The Bobcats await the winner of the Montana-South Dakota quarterfinal game to determine who they play next week in the semifinals. That game will be played in Bozeman on Saturday.