Bobcat head coach Brent Vigen
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
NOTES & QUOTES: A Look at Montana State's 41-7 Win Over San Diego
9/13/2025 9:45:00 PM | Football
Game notes and Brent Vigen quotes
Bobcat Notes & Quotes
Montana State 41, San Diego 7 * September 13, 2025
BOBCAT GAME NOTES
* Taco Dowler set a career receiving high for the second time in MSU's first three games, logging 116 yards against San Diego on Saturday.
* Ten different Bobcats caught passes on Saturday, including the first career snag for Kee Christiansen.
* MSU held the Toreros to 12 first downs and 209 total yards.
BOBCAT COACH BRENT VIGEN
On the win after two tough losses: "I think each week's its own week, and we have to take on whoever's in front of us. You know the team we faced last week is probably better than this team, but that can't affect our ability to get better. So I thought we did a good job of seeing the good and the bad from last week and really practicing hard and trying to work through that through the course of the week. This team beat a team last week that was ranked, so they're a solid outfit for sure. And we knew that we needed to control the line of scrimmage, limit their ability to run the ball. knew that we'd have to throw it a little bit more just because of how they wanted to load the box. And I think by and large that played out. It wasn't a perfect performance by any means, but we took a step forward. I think Justin (Lamson) definitely took a step forward. I loved how he responded after the interception, got another crack at the two minute drill. And that was mostly him in that drive. And we came out and scored a couple times with him at the helm in the second half. So each of these experiences for him are really accumulating now. He hasn't been the regular quarterback (in his college career) until now. He's played quarterback, but now he's the regular quarterback. It's his job. The ebbs and flows will be part of it and we're obviously behind him. I think he took a good step today."
On the two minute drills: "Those situations, we do practice, but they're so hard to truly replicate, with the rush, the situation, time on the clock, all that stuff. To see him be able to get two opportunities, essentially, you know, throw an interception after we got a first down, the first time, the defense gave us an opportunity. And then to see the offense go down the field, that's significant because what happens in the middle eight, the last four (minutes of) the first half and the beginning of the second half is so critical in our ability to win football games. When you're given those situations at the end of the game, those are beyond critical. So (that's) a step and in the right direction as far as him running that drill."
On the ground game: "They were committed to stopping to run. I didn't love where we were at with our running back rushing game at halftime, so we really challenged the group to come off the ball. And I know the result of it is we scored a couple times. I thought we came off the ball. Whether it was throwing the ball out there or not in the RPO game, are we doing everything we can to impose our will? And I thought we did. We responded well on those first couple of drives of the second half. I know Adam and Julius both got free a little bit there. And then Taco was able to do some things with some RPO plays. So that response was needed after halftime. It's not that we had played bad or anything, but I felt like there was more we could do, and we did (as the game when on)."
On running outside zone: "Getting outside, getting down the field, based on how they align, you can't do it every play, but there are some opportunities out there. So I know we had a few design things to get ourselves on the perimeter. I know a few runs bounced that way, in particular, I think about Adam on the third and short, we were kind of backed up at the beginning of the second half. And getting (Jones and Davis) in the flow and getting them going hasn't been easy here these first couple games. You know, that's a tandem that we're really going to lean on. So it was it was good to see them both have some success today.
What went into getting Taco Dowler freed up? "Those opportunities are a product of them loading up (the box). You've got a choice to make, and we've talked about it. Our ability to force the defense to play the width of the field is different this year. Last year, last few years, by and large, it was with Tommy, and Tommy being able to use his speed to really force that the defense into that conflict. Now it can be done a little bit more with spilling the ball out to Taco in particular, and he doesn't have to be the only one, but he's been the primary one and we can get him in space, he's a problem. I thought, you know, last week we didn't really get him in space. We got him in space more this afternoon, and I like the results of that."
Does the pass game set up the run more this year? "I think it's a function of how they play defense. You know, they're packed in there. And they have one more than we have, our ability to break out runs is going to be challenging. Now, we want to be able to be balanced for sure. So there is a philosophy there, but ultimately, it's still to take what the defense gives you, and whether it's a run or pass, ultimately we're coming off the ball like a run and it becomes a pass, that's still a run-first thought, I guess. So, we still have to establish a run game, but if a team is going to give us the perimeter and allow us to throw the ball out to our receivers, I think we're better equipped for that than we would have been the last few years."
On Justin Lamson's decision making: "If I'm correct, I know he's got six carries, must be a couple sacks in there, so let's call that four. I think he kept his eyes downfield. He made a couple passes without scrambling. I know he scrambled a few times. I know in that one two minute drive, you obviously scrambled for the touchdown. So I think that's going to be a weapon, and that's a good weapon, but there's that fine line of, okay, can I keep my eyes now downfied? Can I, when I do get out of pocket, get the ball in someone else's hands? So I think there was growth in that regard in the fact that he has just six carries is a positive thing."
On the Bobcats defense: "I complement our defense. You know, that was a team that spread people out these first couple weeks, had some success running the football. Their running back (Matt Colombo was) at 50 plus carries in these first two games and we eliminated that part of their game. I know they got some yards as the game went along, but at halftime, they really didn't have anything to speak of running wise and really, the effort was to make their quarterback as one dimensional as we could and we did that and really made it hard on them. You know, (it was) another really good performance on third down. There were two of 11, and if we can do that, win that third down margin, we're going to be all right. But that's about a defense really playing together. So I think our growth the last couple of weeks has been what we wanted, and we're not done growing by any means. I know we got a bunch of guys in that game, which I think will be helpful, but I think we've made some strides on defense the last couple of weeks."
On the state of his team: "We're three games in, I told the team this, we're not a young team anymore. You get the experience that we've had. I think those guys are different players. And I think what you see is a group that now you get some games behind you, you've played against some really good people. There's a resiliency that comes along with that. Teams are going to complete passes. Ideally, we don't let them get behind us. But I think the last two games that group has challenged more in coverage. We've been more challenging in our coverage. And I think we have the athleticism to do that. I think we've tackled significantly better in the last two games in the secondary than we did in that first game. So I think you see really noticeable growth. We're going to be without Taki (Uluilkepa) for a while, so the continued emergence of Bryant (Matthews) and J.J. Dolan has been big, and getting some other guys in there. I think we're playing all four of those corners right now, I don't think that was necessarily going to be how we were going to do it, but that's how it's worked out, and that's good. That's more depth we have there. So progress, you know, I think we need to keep pushing that entire group because obviously the better they play, the better our defense plays."
Montana State 41, San Diego 7 * September 13, 2025
BOBCAT GAME NOTES
* Taco Dowler set a career receiving high for the second time in MSU's first three games, logging 116 yards against San Diego on Saturday.
* Ten different Bobcats caught passes on Saturday, including the first career snag for Kee Christiansen.
* MSU held the Toreros to 12 first downs and 209 total yards.
BOBCAT COACH BRENT VIGEN
On the win after two tough losses: "I think each week's its own week, and we have to take on whoever's in front of us. You know the team we faced last week is probably better than this team, but that can't affect our ability to get better. So I thought we did a good job of seeing the good and the bad from last week and really practicing hard and trying to work through that through the course of the week. This team beat a team last week that was ranked, so they're a solid outfit for sure. And we knew that we needed to control the line of scrimmage, limit their ability to run the ball. knew that we'd have to throw it a little bit more just because of how they wanted to load the box. And I think by and large that played out. It wasn't a perfect performance by any means, but we took a step forward. I think Justin (Lamson) definitely took a step forward. I loved how he responded after the interception, got another crack at the two minute drill. And that was mostly him in that drive. And we came out and scored a couple times with him at the helm in the second half. So each of these experiences for him are really accumulating now. He hasn't been the regular quarterback (in his college career) until now. He's played quarterback, but now he's the regular quarterback. It's his job. The ebbs and flows will be part of it and we're obviously behind him. I think he took a good step today."
On the two minute drills: "Those situations, we do practice, but they're so hard to truly replicate, with the rush, the situation, time on the clock, all that stuff. To see him be able to get two opportunities, essentially, you know, throw an interception after we got a first down, the first time, the defense gave us an opportunity. And then to see the offense go down the field, that's significant because what happens in the middle eight, the last four (minutes of) the first half and the beginning of the second half is so critical in our ability to win football games. When you're given those situations at the end of the game, those are beyond critical. So (that's) a step and in the right direction as far as him running that drill."
On the ground game: "They were committed to stopping to run. I didn't love where we were at with our running back rushing game at halftime, so we really challenged the group to come off the ball. And I know the result of it is we scored a couple times. I thought we came off the ball. Whether it was throwing the ball out there or not in the RPO game, are we doing everything we can to impose our will? And I thought we did. We responded well on those first couple of drives of the second half. I know Adam and Julius both got free a little bit there. And then Taco was able to do some things with some RPO plays. So that response was needed after halftime. It's not that we had played bad or anything, but I felt like there was more we could do, and we did (as the game when on)."
On running outside zone: "Getting outside, getting down the field, based on how they align, you can't do it every play, but there are some opportunities out there. So I know we had a few design things to get ourselves on the perimeter. I know a few runs bounced that way, in particular, I think about Adam on the third and short, we were kind of backed up at the beginning of the second half. And getting (Jones and Davis) in the flow and getting them going hasn't been easy here these first couple games. You know, that's a tandem that we're really going to lean on. So it was it was good to see them both have some success today.
What went into getting Taco Dowler freed up? "Those opportunities are a product of them loading up (the box). You've got a choice to make, and we've talked about it. Our ability to force the defense to play the width of the field is different this year. Last year, last few years, by and large, it was with Tommy, and Tommy being able to use his speed to really force that the defense into that conflict. Now it can be done a little bit more with spilling the ball out to Taco in particular, and he doesn't have to be the only one, but he's been the primary one and we can get him in space, he's a problem. I thought, you know, last week we didn't really get him in space. We got him in space more this afternoon, and I like the results of that."
Does the pass game set up the run more this year? "I think it's a function of how they play defense. You know, they're packed in there. And they have one more than we have, our ability to break out runs is going to be challenging. Now, we want to be able to be balanced for sure. So there is a philosophy there, but ultimately, it's still to take what the defense gives you, and whether it's a run or pass, ultimately we're coming off the ball like a run and it becomes a pass, that's still a run-first thought, I guess. So, we still have to establish a run game, but if a team is going to give us the perimeter and allow us to throw the ball out to our receivers, I think we're better equipped for that than we would have been the last few years."
On Justin Lamson's decision making: "If I'm correct, I know he's got six carries, must be a couple sacks in there, so let's call that four. I think he kept his eyes downfield. He made a couple passes without scrambling. I know he scrambled a few times. I know in that one two minute drive, you obviously scrambled for the touchdown. So I think that's going to be a weapon, and that's a good weapon, but there's that fine line of, okay, can I keep my eyes now downfied? Can I, when I do get out of pocket, get the ball in someone else's hands? So I think there was growth in that regard in the fact that he has just six carries is a positive thing."
On the Bobcats defense: "I complement our defense. You know, that was a team that spread people out these first couple weeks, had some success running the football. Their running back (Matt Colombo was) at 50 plus carries in these first two games and we eliminated that part of their game. I know they got some yards as the game went along, but at halftime, they really didn't have anything to speak of running wise and really, the effort was to make their quarterback as one dimensional as we could and we did that and really made it hard on them. You know, (it was) another really good performance on third down. There were two of 11, and if we can do that, win that third down margin, we're going to be all right. But that's about a defense really playing together. So I think our growth the last couple of weeks has been what we wanted, and we're not done growing by any means. I know we got a bunch of guys in that game, which I think will be helpful, but I think we've made some strides on defense the last couple of weeks."
On the state of his team: "We're three games in, I told the team this, we're not a young team anymore. You get the experience that we've had. I think those guys are different players. And I think what you see is a group that now you get some games behind you, you've played against some really good people. There's a resiliency that comes along with that. Teams are going to complete passes. Ideally, we don't let them get behind us. But I think the last two games that group has challenged more in coverage. We've been more challenging in our coverage. And I think we have the athleticism to do that. I think we've tackled significantly better in the last two games in the secondary than we did in that first game. So I think you see really noticeable growth. We're going to be without Taki (Uluilkepa) for a while, so the continued emergence of Bryant (Matthews) and J.J. Dolan has been big, and getting some other guys in there. I think we're playing all four of those corners right now, I don't think that was necessarily going to be how we were going to do it, but that's how it's worked out, and that's good. That's more depth we have there. So progress, you know, I think we need to keep pushing that entire group because obviously the better they play, the better our defense plays."
Players Mentioned
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