Montana State’s ninth opponent of the season has a home field advantage like no other in the Big Sky Conference. Some league teams have loud domes and a couple have a throng of fans to give them an advantage. Northern Colorado, a perennial doormat in the BSC, has a remote stadium that forces players and coaches on opposing teams to hike nearly half a mile from the makeshift locker rooms, which are essentially the UNC basketball court, to the field. The nearly non-existent fans leaves the stadium with almost zero energy in it.
You wouldn’t think something like that would be a factor. But for the Bobcats and many other teams Nottingham Field has a history of being a house of horrors.
MSU got a big taste of that back in 2007 when it lost 16-13 to a then 0-7 UNC team and it sent the Bobcats, who were thinking playoffs, from a 5-2 record to a 6-5 mark at the end of the season. That Northern Colorado win was the first as a Big Sky member.
MSU has had other close misses there, including a 27-24 win in 2017 that required a last-second Gabe Peppenger field goal and 35-28 win in 2013 that needed a late touchdown by running back Cody Kirk. The only time a Montana State head coach Brent Vigen-led team played there was in 2022 and it fell behind 14-3 before scoring 34 unanswered points for a 37-14 win.
“We’ll see what the environment’s like,” Vigen said. “I know it hasn’t always been great just as far as fans in the stands. I know we have a good following there a lot of alumni down in the Denver metro area, so that’s real positive. I think we love the fact that it’s a noon game versus the five o’clock Pacific kickoff from last weekend. Relatively easy trip as far as staying in our time zone as well. The guys that were on the trip a few years back did struggle, but why did we struggle. I think it had a lot to do with their players and their ability than the environment.
“We can never make it about the environment. We gotta be able to take on whatever presents itself to us. Whether it’s the opponent, the environment, the weather or anything like that and bring our best.”
The Bears will bring a little more to the plate than their bizarre stadium atmosphere this Saturday as they’ve shown signs of growth under third-year coach Ed Lamb, who has his squad at 3-5, which is one more win that they’ve had in their previous two seasons. Lamb has been a high school recruit-heavy leader at UNC and his philosophy is showing growth.
“Credit to coach Lamb, because it was an about face for sure compared to how things had been in previous years,” Vigen said. “Clear that they hired that had been a head coach, that had a plan, and the administration just said, ‘go work your plan.’ They want to see progress I’m sure but in this day and age progress isn’t always allowed to take shape. They’re reaping the benefits of that. They’re getting better and better.”
UNC is one of the top defenses in the BSC and has several individuals who are excelling, according to the league stats. The Bears are third in points allowed (24.6), third in yards allowed per play (5.6), first in pass defense efficiency (105.2), first in pass yards allowed per play (6.1) and per game (180.3). Defensive back Cam Chapa is second in the league with three interceptions and is sixth in tackles at 7.9 per game.
Offensively, the Bears have struggled in some areas, as they’re only averaging 24.6 points per game and are rushing for just 3.4 yards per carry. The passing game, however, has excelled and is third in the league in yards and fifth in pass efficiency with former LSU transfer Eric Gibson Jr. quarterbacking the crew. The Bears are light years ahead of where they were over the past two season both offensively and defensively. Lamb’s first two seasons at the helm included just one win while UNC has won three times this year, including a 49-33 drubbing of Idaho in Moscow that turned heads around the league.
Wide receiver Carver Cheeks leads the league in receptions (52) and yards (804). He’s the only receiver averaging over 100 yards per game. Brayden Munroe, along with Cheeks, gives UNC the top receiver tandem in the league as he is fifth in the BSC in yards per game (82.8). Gibson is seventh in the league in passer efficiency at 140.1 and has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game four times this season already.
Most of the players on the Bears’ roster have come up through the ranks, which is something Vigen thinks is a key to their recent success.
“You look at their roster and like any team it’s a mix but leans way more heavy to kids that have come up through their system and are all of sudden these developed guys and you don’t see that on every roster,” Vigen said. “You’re like, ‘where’d that guy come from?’ Cheeks has been in their system he just became better and better player. Running back (Mathias) Price has been in their system and is just better and better player. Chapa is a younger player but he’s been in their program. You see that a lot more than you see guys that have come from all over the place.”
Lamb came to UNC from BYU where he spent seven seasons as an assistant head coach and special teams coordinator. Before that, he was the head coach at Southern Utah for eight years with the last four when it was in the Big Sky Conference. He won a BSC championship in 2015 and also qualified for the FCS playoffs in 2013. Lamb only faced the Bobcats once and the Thunderbirds came away with a 34-23 win in 2015.
“Coach Lamb is a proven head coach, and he has a plan and I’m sure first and foremost he said, ‘I’m going to stick to this plan, we’re going to see progress and we’re going to identify what it looks like,’” Vigen said. “Credit to him and his young men who continue to develop and believe what coach Lamb is teaching them.”
The game marks the third weekend without a home game for MSU, which had an open date after its home win over Idaho State, then played Cal Poly last weekend. Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday.
