Fans were waiting. The media was waiting. Opponents were getting their hopes up. But the Montana State running game results against Idaho State may have put an end to all the anxiety and anticipation.
The Bobcats had been struggling, relatively that is, to move the ball on the ground through its first six games. After getting at least 6.0 yards per carry and usually closer to 7.0 per carry every year over the past several years, MSU’s runners were collectively in the low 5.0 range in 2025.
Although MSU was still one of the top rushing teams in the conference through the first half of conference play and despite the fact that passing game is undeniably more diverse with Justin Lamson at the helm, whispers about the production of the Bobcat ground game persisted.
But against ISU, it was back to business as usual as the Bobcats put up 384 rushing yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry in their 48-14 rout of the Bengals. ISU came into the game allowing just 30 yards on 28 carries against Northern Colorado two weeks earlier and then just 118 yards on 35 carries to Montana, which saw league-leading running back Eli Gillman get held to just 48 yards on 16 carries, which was less than half his average per carry.
“It’s always awesome,” running back Julius Davis, who had 65 yards on eight carries and caught a 22-yard touchdown pass against ISU. “Whenever the juice squad can get going. We’re ultimately there for the win but if we can contribute in any way, we’d love to do that. If not, then as long as we’re winning, that’s all we’re focused on. Not particularly the personal stats but as long as we keep growing, keep getting better as a team and keep going and attacking the day.”
For his running mate, Adam Jones, the personal stats caught everyone’s eye. Jones was a microcosm of the struggles of MSU’s run game. Something head coach Brent Vigen did not think was justified and Davis was happy to see get put to rest. Jones ran for 173 yards and a touchdown on just 16 rushes.
“That’s awesome, especially being a career-high, too,” Davis said. “I didn’t know his stats until it was over in the locker room but when we got in there and I saw, I was so excited for him. That doesn’t come around a lot. It’s not usual for you to have 150-plus yards, especially now that you’re not having like 30 carries. I was excited for him because he had like 10 yards per carry, I think a touchdown or two and I was just living through him pretty much. I saw his family afterwards and I was like, ‘that is insane!’ The sky is the limit.”
“Adam’s been running the ball fine all year,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said with a little extra pitch to his voice after the ISU game. “He hasn’t had the opportunities maybe and hopefully this will get everybody beyond that thought, ‘what’s wrong with Adam?’ Adam’s a good football player; he’s a really good football player and that showed up today.”
The offensive line, of course, played a big role sparking the run against ISU. The unit had to reshuffle early when Burke Mastel went down in fall camp with a hand injury. That caused left tackle Cedric Jefferson to switch to right tackle. All-American Titan Fleishmann moved from right tackle to right guard. JT Reed moved from guard to center. And redshirt freshman Braden Zimmer slid in at left tackle. Everett Carr, a redshirt sophomore, played left guard until Mastel returned. When the Red Lodge product came back, Carr went to the second string and Mastel slid in at left guard as the coaches elected to keep Reed at center and to keep Fleishmann and Jefferson anchoring the right side as Zimmer continued to rapidly develop on the blind side.
“It was fun to be able to go out there and do what we do best and establish that running game and letting everybody know that we’re a well-rounded offense. We can still run the ball,” Fleishmann said.
Fleischmann credits a lot of that success to his offensive linemates’ ability to mature in a hurry.
“A lot of guys have had to grow up real fast,” Fleischmann said. “My brain goes back straight to (offensive tackle) Braden Zimmer. He’s a young guy, a redshirt freshman, that dude has been able to step up in a big way and figure it out fast. I talked a lot about learning three days’ worth of work in one day. I feel like the O-line has figured that out. We’ve been able to put together a lot of good days and grow a lot every single day. That eagerness has helped us grow as a group.”
Davis sees the growth that Fleischmann is referring to in the tight end group as well.
“There’s a lot of younger guys in that room, but they’re all stepping up to the plate,” Davis said. “They’re all improving week by week. You’re seeing more guys step up and wanting those opportunities and wanting to compete and get better every day. You’re slowly starting to see that come alive on game day.”
Improved consistency has been a hallmark of MSU’s progress as the 2025 season rolls along. The Bobcats went through a mistake-plagued game against South Dakota State, then struggled to get Mercyhurst off the field two weeks later despite earning a shutout. Since then, MSU has made strides on both sides of the ball.
“We have a hungry team that realizes its best is still out there,” Vigen said. “We’re after a consistent approach, we’re after improvement and we’ve been able to see that. We’ve done more than scratch the surface, but we’ve got a ways to go and we have not arrived by any means.”
MSU takes on Cal Poly this week and the Mustangs have shown signs of rapid improvement on both sides of the ball after a few years residing near the cellar of the Big Sky Conference. In 2022, Cal Poly was thumped by MSU 72-28 and got a bad taste of what the Bobcats can do running the ball as they allowed 554 yards rushing that night.
This year, Cal Poly is fifth in the BSC in terms of yards allowed per carry as it’s giving up just 4.5. The Mustangs allowed a respectable 177 yards on 44 carries against No. 4 ranked Montana in Missoula. The prior week against No. 6 UC Davis they gave up just 136 yards on 37 carries, so they’ll test whether or not MSU’s big day against Idaho State was just a random outlier or if the Bobcats can continue to run the ball with authority.
“They’ve been extremely competitive, especially in conference games, this season,” Vigen said of Cal Poly. “They’ve been on the road a lot and have only played two games at home, so I’m sure they’re excited to get home. You look at their conference season and they’ve started fast. That’s maybe the most impressive thing. They’ve got themselves in position to be awfully competitive. They won at Sacramento, lost a close game at Davis and until that thing got away from them in Missoula they were right there.
“It’s also an opportunity for us to see where we can go. I think that’s the biggest thing. We used the bye week well, healed some guys up and mostly had guys say, ‘what can we do to get better, individually?’ Guys came out of it pretty charged up.”
Kickoff for the game in San Luis Obispo, California is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
