Montana State football is not a flash in the pan. The Bobcats have been simmering for years and the end product is a team with just one goal in mind: win the 2024 national championship and bring Montana State its first national crown in 40 years.
Rolling into the 2021 season, the Bobcats had revived themselves from a 4-7 season in 2016 by earning a playoff spot in 2018. The following season, MSU advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1984. A season off in 2020 and a coaching change in January of 2021 didn’t seem to faze MSU as it got off to a 9-1 start under new head coach Brent Vigen.
A loss to rival Montana in the season finale led to a quarterback change and the Bobcats seemingly came out of nowhere in 2021 when now superstar quarterback Tommy Mellott burst onto the scene by getting his first start in MSU’s first playoff game that season. The whirlwind tour didn’t end until he suffered an ankle injury on the first possession of the FCS title game, a 38-10 loss to North Dakota State.
Since then, the Bobcats have advanced to the semifinals in 2022 for the third time in three seasons and last season looked destined to be in the title game again when they – based on their own self-evaluation – lost focus after a near-miss loss at then reigning and eventual national champion South Dakota State the second week of the regular season. MSU stumbled down the stretch before dropping out of the playoffs on a blocked extra point in their opening game – its only home loss under Vigen — at the hands, again, of North Dakota State, who ended MSU’s seasons in 2018, 2019 and 2021 as well.
Montana State has experienced a little bit of everything over the past three-plus seasons and now there’s just one thing left to do.
Entering their second-round playoff game with University of Tennessee-Martin, the Bobcats have a championship mentality given all they’ve gone through. While getting deep into the playoffs and reaching the championship game were all nice accomplishments, there’s nothing left to do but win it all in 2024.
Asked about his team’s mind-set MSU head coach Brent Vigen kept it in focus and perspective.
“Because of the way we went about our business each weekm we can continue to live that way and understand that the biggest difference now is that going 1-and-0 is the only catalyst continuing this thing on,” Vigen said. “What do we have to do to be in that mode. Being the top seed is something we desire to be, but it doesn’t guarantee us anything. We have to go out and play as hard as we can. Be as sharp as we can against a really good Tennessee-Martin team on Saturday and that’s all that matters.”
The Bobcats’ mantra all season has been “go 1-an-0 in everything we do” and they’ve done just that in becoming the first football team in Big Sky Conference history to finish the regular season with a 12-0 record.
MSU is loaded with seniors and players who have been in big moments over the last four seasons under Vigen. The Bobcats have pulled out tight road wins, held off late rallies, and rallied from deep deficits.
The things that have been burned into the team’s collective psyche has been the losses. Namely a 24-21 loss to Idaho and a 35-34 overtime playoff loss to North Dakota State last season. The loss to Idaho included numerous dropped passes, untimely penalties and poor special teams execution. The NDSU loss saw the Bobcats hold a 150-yard edge in total offense and the inability to get into field goal range late in regulation, then see its extra point in overtime get blocked.
The Bobcats appear to have shaken off those losses and more importantly learned from them in 2024. The comeback attempt from 10 points down against Idaho didn’t fall short this time against New Mexico when they recovered from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats held off a rally by UC Davis unlike in 2023 against SDSU and NDSU.
“I think the maturity that comes out of our senior group is critical,” Vigen said. “The experience of last year and how abrupt that was and I’m certain the thoughts this group and particularly this senior group had after that game, was, ‘ya know, we’re not going to let that happen to us again.’ We let that thing slip from our grasp and we’ve lived in this world all year.”
More than any other sport the mood of football changes as the season progresses. The tension is amped up and the urgency is palpable.
“You have to have a team that can play December football,” Vigen said going into this week’s game that has a forecast high of 48 degrees. “Meaning you throw the conditions out the window. You can run it and hopefully you can stop (the run). That’s where championship football starts. You have a team that believes in one another and truly wants to play for one another. I think we have that.”
Vigen acknowledges that the players, individually, need to be able to handle the stress of critical plays at critical times in order to win a championship.
“You gotta have a bunch of guys that the moment isn’t too big for them,” Vigen said. “Fortunately for us we have a good chunk of our bunch of guys that have been in some big moments. Whether it’s been this year or going back to ’21.
“There’s something to experience and to know that the next play is the most important play. These guys embody that. It’ll all play out though. Just because I’m explaining how we have some of the elements doesn’t mean much. We’re not guaranteed anything. Be physical first and foremost, and our guys belief in one another and their willingness to play for one another.”
The Bobcats and Skyhawks will kickoff this Saturday at 1:00 in Bobcat Stadium.
