One of the biggest games in the FCS this weekend takes place in Bozeman on Saturday night with #1 Montana State (4-0) hosting #18 Northern Arizona (3-1). As the heart of Big Sky play gets underway, though, both the Bobcats and Lumberjacks enter this primetime contest in a bit of a odd place. Despite both teams getting wins over opponents they should have ran away from last weekend, both fell rather flat and had to scrape it together. Is that cause for concern for one, both or niether of these programs
as they begin what they both hope is a run to a conference title and beyond?
The real shocker of the week was MSU’s struggle against winless Central Connecticut State. The defending champions have worn the #1 next to their name all season but they looked far from the top team in their 35-30 victory over the Blue Devils. Uncharacteristic mistakes on both sides of the ball made it so Montana State had to battle back from a 21-7 third quarter deficit at home (a place they have only lost two regular season games in the last six seasons) to escape with a win.
Justin Lamson and company got it done but it was not pretty. When the dust had settled the ‘Cats had more turnovers, fewer first downs and less time of possession. Had it not been for 14 CCSU penalties that bailed them out, they very well could have ended up on the wrong side of one of the biggest upsets in FCS history as 42.5-point favorites. Is that a harbinger of things to come, though, or… maybe… is it just the wake up call that a team who has now won 18 straight games needed as it comes into the most important part of its season?
“There’s not a single excuse we’re going to make,” said head coach Brent Vigen plainly after the game. “We’ve got to show up and play. We didn’t do that well enough today… every once in a while you find yourselves in these situations and you hope like crazy you get out of them and you can win and you can learn in winning. And we’ll do that.”
The Bobcats’ opponent come in with a similar feeling, albeit one of much lesser magnitude. Northern Arizona had to stave off a pesky Utah Tech squad on the road. The Trailblazers have not even come close to winning a game this year and yet had Brain Wright’s team on the ropes in the fourth quarter. The Lumberjacks opened up a two-score lead but only had a four-point edge well into the final 15 minutes. Their 35-23 win was by far the closest defeat that winless Utah Tech has suffered up to this point.
NAU missed on seven of its ten third down attempts and gave the ball away twice, one of which directly led to points for the Trailblazers on a pick six. For a team that many have picked to be at least an at-large qualifier to the postseason this year, there sure appeared to be a lot of dents in the armor last weekend. It’s the type of ho-hum win that can go one of two ways; either the Lumberjacks will play incredibly inspired in a much more difficult matchup on Saturday or they’ll crumble.
“None of us thought we were playing very well or coaching very well,” said Wright following the contest. “But to watch our team stay composed and get ready for the next play is something we can carry with us moving forward.”
One thing that should give NAU fans some relief is that, despite the struggles, quarterback Ty Pennington still looked sharp. He completed 18 passes and averaged 11.5 yards per throw with two touchdowns. The connection with receiver Myseth Currie was clicking as he went for five catches and 117 yards. The issue, as it was for Montana State in their game, was largely on defense. The tackles were not all that easy to come by for either team and the failure to wrap up opposing ball carriers hurt.
Both teams have their backs against the wall as they meet up but the eyes on Montana State are a lot more scrutinous. The good news for MSU is that it has faced adversity before. Last year they notably struggled in a similar sort of game against Mercyhurst in the same juncture of the season then went on to win the next week 57-3 over Eastern Washington. Vigen’s teams are known for their discipline and ability to weather storms and the same issues rarely rear their heads twice in a row with him in charge. That is something that ought to give ‘Cats fans some peace of mind.
What might not, though, is how formidable of an opponent this Northern Arizona team tends to be against them. Last year the Lumberjacks had them in a 7-7 gridlock midway through the second quarter in Flagstaff before MSU eventually pulled away. In 2022 it took a last second field goal for Vigen’s team to come out with a 41-38 victory. That game still marks the most points the Bobcats have allowed to a Big Sky team since the turn of the decade.
Someone is going to get a much-needed palate cleanser on Saturday night.
The game will be aired on ESPN2 and will kick off at 10:30 PM (ET).
