Date: Friday December 12, 2025
Time: 9:00 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN
The Quick Hits
For the first time since 2009, Stephen F. Austin (11-2) finds itself in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. A hard-fought win over Abilene Christian last week sends the Southland champion Lumberjacks up north for a date with Montana State on Friday. SFA brings a high-powered offense with it to Bozeman and is looking to add to its already-incredible 2025 season by punching a ticket to the semifinals for the first time in 30 years. To do so, though, the fellas in purple will have a tall order in front
of them.
MSU, like SFA, won its conference this year, going a perfect 8-0 in Big Sky play. They, too, ride in on an 11-game winning streak but, unlike their Texas counterparts, the Bobcats did not necessarily win convincingly in Round 2 last weekend. A tooth-and-nail victory over Yale has the ‘Cats playing the quarters for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. Montana State came close to winning the whole dang thing last year and now they’re looking to get back to the big one to finish the deal. It should be a good one as 2-seed meets 7-seed under the lights.
The Coaches
Colby Carthel knows how to win and he’s done it at different levels. After leading Texas A&M-Commerce (now East Texas A&M) two four conference titles and a Division II national championship, Carthel took over at Stephen F. Austin in 2019. Since getting hired on, he’s delivered two league championships to the Lumberjacks and now has them as far as they’ve been in the playoffs under during his tenure. He’s the 2025 Southland Coach of the Year and with good reason as his SFA squad didn’t lose a single conference game this fall.
Montana State is led by fifth-year head coach Brent Vigen who, like Carthel, guided his team to an unbeaten conference record and championship. Vigen has taken the Bobcats to the national championship game twice since being named the head coach in 2021 and has racked up an incredible 58-12 overall record during his time with MSU. Vigen, who was a candidate for the same position at Oregon State a few weeks ago, has opted to stay and lead the ‘Cats. He won this year’s Big Sky Coach of the Year accolade and took home last year’s Eddie Robinson Award, given annually to the top FCS coach in the country.
Stephen F. Austin Offense vs. Montana State Defense
SFA’s offense will be led by a guy who has seen the Bobcats before in senior quarterback Sam Vidlak. Vidlak transferred in from MSU’s rival Montana back before 2024 and has found a new rhythm since joining the Lumberjacks. This season in particular he’s been terrific, throwing for 2,447 yards and 21 touchdowns. With a completion percentage of 67.2%, Vidlak is one of the more accurate passers in the Southland and he only has six interceptions to boot.
One major reason he’s had such a great year is because he has one of the top wide receivers in the FCS to throw to in Kylon Harris. Harris and Vidlak have been on another level with their connection this fall, with the senior receiver hauling in 10 touchdowns. Harris is just 17 yards away from hitting 1,000 for the year and averages 13.1 yards per snag. He will be one of the better receivers the Montana State secondary has seen all season and MSU will need to game plan for #4 or he alone could put them on upset alert.
That Bobcats secondary, though, will also feature one of the best players at his position with junior safety Caden Dowler. Dowler’s production for the defense has been off the charts over the last several weeks. In his last four games, he’s come down with five interceptions, two pick sixes and two forced fumbles. Dowler is a turnover machine and Vidlak would be wise to keep the ball away from him as much as possible.
Up front Montana State will look to get after Vidlak with guys like Kenneth Eiden IV and Zach Crews. They make for a pass rushing duo that’s combined for 8.5 sacks and 72 total tackles this year. Those two along with linebacker Cole Taylor have all been key pieces for MSU in the first level of the defense this fall. Last week against Yale they were a big reason why the Bulldogs were only able to muster up 198 passing yards and 13 points. The SFA offense, though, is of a different cut.
Running back Jerrell Wimbley will see the bulk of the carries for the Lumberjacks when they do opt to keep it on the ground. Wimbley is the team’s leading rusher this year with 942 yards and nine touchdowns all on 184 carries. He sees more than twice as many touches as the next cl0ses back on the Stephen F. Austin roster and with an average of over five yards a pop, Wimbley will be another one that Montana State’s defense will need to hone in on.
Montana State Offense vs. Stephen F. Austin Defense
The most pivotal matchup of this game shapes up to be the one between the Bobcats’ dynamic rushing attack and SFA’s rush defense. Montana State will hit the Lumberjacks with the one-two punch of Julius Davis and Adam Jones out of the backfield and both are equally dangerous with a head of steam. Davis has a team-high 948 yards while Jones is tied with quarterback Justin Lamson with 11 rushing TDs. Both backs are extremely athletic, strong and are more than capable of taking it the distance if holes open up correctly. Against this Stephen F. Austin defense, though, that might not happen a whole lot.
The Lumberjacks currently boast the FCS’s third best run defense as they allow a mere 87.8 yards per game. That is thanks in large part to run stuffers like linebacker Jaydon Southard and defensive tackle Ky Thomas. That duo has been as good as any out there at thwarting the run with a combined 23.5 tackles for loss and 157 total stops. They also have racked up nine sacks between them and that will be important because Lamson will not be afraid to scramble and make things happen with his feet. Thomas along with linebacker Aaron Austin and cornerback Tim Muhammad all have double digit QB hits this season. They will all play a big role in slowing down the run-oriented Montana State offense.
Lamson does have viable options in the passing game, too, with the most notable being junior receiver Taco Dowler. Dowler has been the go to guy on the outside this year with 61 snags and 751 yards. He and freshman Dane Steel will need to be at their best in case the Bobcats do have to turn to the pass game earlier or more than they’d like to.
When MSU does throw, the main man Lamson will need to watch for is cornerback Charles Demmings. Demmings is an NFL prospect who has had a tremendous season on the back end for SFA. He’s come down with four picks and has five PBUs. He only has 18 tackles but that is mainly because opposing passers tend to avoid him as much as possible. He and fellow corner Jalen Mayo (who also has four picks) will look to frustrate Montana State’s receiving corps.
Prediction
Montana State knows it needs to play better than it did last week against Yale and it should do just that under the lights in a standalone game in its stadium. The Bobcats always seem to rise to the occasion in those moments in particular. Vidlak and his offense have to avoid mistakes early or things will snowball in a hurry and MSU’s defense is the best in the country. That doesn’t bode well for SFA. An early turnover will give the ‘Cats momentum and they won’t let up all game. Lamson, Jones and Davis will help the squad jump out to a sizeable halftime lead and the defense will hold it down. Harris should be able to make a few big plays for the offense against a defense that is, at time, suspect in the passing attack but it won’t be enough. SFA falls by two scores on the road to end its season. MSU moves on to the semifinals again.
Score Prediction: Stephen F. Austin: 21 – Montana State: 31
