Montana State wins Brawl rematch, advances to FCS national title with win over Montana
BOZEMAN – A record crowd of 25,437 crammed inside Bobcat Stadium for the biggest sporting event in Montana history.
It was the 125th edition of the “Brawl of the Wild” game between Montana State and Montana. For the first time, the programs were meeting in the FCS playoffs. With a trip to the national title game on the line, the archrivals’ rematch felt like a historic moment in the Treasure State.
In recent history, the Brawl matchup has favored the Bobcats. And Saturday’s FCS national semifinal saw that trend continue.
Montana State extended its winning streak against Montana to three and won the Brawl for the eighth time in the past 10 meetings, racing to a 48-23 victory.
The third-seeded Bobcats (13-2) are making a return trip to the FCS championship, where they’ll meet Illinois State on Jan. 5 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. The unseeded Redbirds (12-4) won at Villanova later Saturday.
Montana State will be favored to become the first FCS champion out of the Big Sky Conference since Eastern Washington in 2010.
MSU, making its fourth appearance in the title game, is seeking its second FCS crown and first since 1984. The Bobcats have reached the final three times under fifth-year coach Brent Vigen, losing to North Dakota State last season and in 2022.
“We knew it’d be unlike anything we’ve ever seen and it certainly was,” Vigen said in a postgame news conference. “We talked all week about trying to make this as simple as possible and going out and playing a football game, and not adding the magnitude of everything, and everything I’m sure the fans felt. This was about, how can we complete this journey and go as far as possible.”
MSU, which topped the Grizzlies (13-2) on Nov. 22 in Missoula to claim the Big Sky title, jumped out to an early 20-3 lead before third-seeded Montana stormed back to go up 23-20 in the third quarter. But the Bobcats responded with a long touchdown drive, then made a stop and got a game-changing play from receiver Taco Dowler, who broke free for an 87-yard TD reception to put MSU ahead 34-23. Vigen called that play arguably the best in program history.
After another defensive stop, the Bobcats extended their lead on quarterback Justin Lamson’s 7-yard scoring run, his fourth TD and third of the second half, and capped the day with Bryce Grebe’s 40-yard interception return for a TD on the ensuing Montana possession.
It was as heartbreaking a finish as possible for Montana and longtime coach Bobby Hauck – who is the winningest coach in Big Sky history but is still searching for his first FCS title. The Grizzlies had championship aspirations all season, and their hopes had been buoyed further after title favorite North Dakota State got upset in the second round by Illinois State. But Montana just couldn’t conquer its fiercest rival this year.