Saturday, September 26
BOZEMAN
8:30 pm
Montana State University
vs
Northern Arizona
Dane Steel
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
GAME #5: Bobcats Host Nationally-Ranked Northern Arizona for Homecoming
9/25/2026 11:00:00 AM | Football
MSU, Lumberjacks get together under ESPN2's bright lights on Saturday night
BOZEMAN, Mont. (Sept. 23, 2026) – Montana State faces its first nationally-ranked opponent of the 2026 season on Saturday, hosting No. 18/17 Northern Arizona at 8:30 pm in Bobcat Stadium in a game nationally televised on ESPN2.
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The top-ranked Bobcats enter the Big Sky re-opener with a 4-0 overall record and a league win over Utah Tech in the season opener. NAU also topped a conference opponent to begin the 2026 season, and stand 3-1 with its only loss to Arizona of the Big 12.
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"We're into full-time conference play now, and excited about that," Vigen said. "We're excited about the opportunity this Saturday to play on the ESPN network and have a ranked team coming in here."
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Northern Arizona brings a balanced offense and talented defense to Bobcat Stadium on Saturday night, MSU coach Brent Vigen said. "It's going to take a complete effort," he said. "Northern Arizona is a really good team. They're a team that has found a way to win some tighter games, they have the goods."
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Lumberjacks quarterback Ty Pennington has started 29 straight games for the Lumberjacks, and triggers an offense that fired for 495 yards in last week's 35-23 win at Utah Tech in the first of three straight NAU road games. Pennington threw for 311 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kenveon Stone and Quran Gossett combined for 159 of the team's 184 rushing yards.
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"They have a vert experienced quarterback in Ty Pennington that has played so much football," Vigen said. "He has all this time working with Coach (Brian) Wright, even going back to (Pittsburg) State. He can throw it, he can run it, he can do it all. And they have a really good tandem of running backs, big, strong, that can run with power and are very athletic."
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The NAU offense faces a Bobcats defense that is 14th in the FCS in scoring defense and 18th in total defense. Without starters Caden Dowler at safety and linebacker Bryce Grebe, Montana State has continued to perform well. Colter Petre earned Big Sky Defensive Co-Player of the Week honors for his effort at Nevada while stepping in for Caden Dowler, and MSU's depth at linebacker was noted as early as last spring.
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The Lumberjacks' revamped defense is now under the direction of Trenton Greene, who coached Bobcat cornerbacks a season ago. "That's a group that's really coming into their own," Vigen said. "They've found a way to take the football away. They've taken it away 12 times in four games for a plus-seven turnover margin."
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Montana State's offense continues to show versatility and balance. The Bobcats rush for 156.3 yards per game and throw for 265.8, with the 422.0 yards of total offense per game standing 26th in the FCS. MSU also ranks eighth nationally with 40.0 points per game.
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As Vigen highlighted, football's give-and-take stands as the game's most noteworthy element. NAU's 12 takeaways leads the FCS, while MSU's three turnovers lost through four games is 28th nationally, second in the Big Sky. The Bobcats are 13th nationally in turnover margin, while NAU is third.
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Saturday is Montana State's 93rd known Homecoming game. The Cats own a 60-29-3 record in front of the alumni, including 5-3 with the Lumberjacks serving as guests. In addition to ESPN2, Saturday's game streams on the ESPN app and is broadcast around Montana on the Bobcat Radio Network with former Bobcats Leo Davis and Dan Davies joining Keaton Gillogly on the call, and on Learfield's Varsity app.
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#GoCatsGo
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The top-ranked Bobcats enter the Big Sky re-opener with a 4-0 overall record and a league win over Utah Tech in the season opener. NAU also topped a conference opponent to begin the 2026 season, and stand 3-1 with its only loss to Arizona of the Big 12.
Â
"We're into full-time conference play now, and excited about that," Vigen said. "We're excited about the opportunity this Saturday to play on the ESPN network and have a ranked team coming in here."
Â
Northern Arizona brings a balanced offense and talented defense to Bobcat Stadium on Saturday night, MSU coach Brent Vigen said. "It's going to take a complete effort," he said. "Northern Arizona is a really good team. They're a team that has found a way to win some tighter games, they have the goods."
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Lumberjacks quarterback Ty Pennington has started 29 straight games for the Lumberjacks, and triggers an offense that fired for 495 yards in last week's 35-23 win at Utah Tech in the first of three straight NAU road games. Pennington threw for 311 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kenveon Stone and Quran Gossett combined for 159 of the team's 184 rushing yards.
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"They have a vert experienced quarterback in Ty Pennington that has played so much football," Vigen said. "He has all this time working with Coach (Brian) Wright, even going back to (Pittsburg) State. He can throw it, he can run it, he can do it all. And they have a really good tandem of running backs, big, strong, that can run with power and are very athletic."
Â
The NAU offense faces a Bobcats defense that is 14th in the FCS in scoring defense and 18th in total defense. Without starters Caden Dowler at safety and linebacker Bryce Grebe, Montana State has continued to perform well. Colter Petre earned Big Sky Defensive Co-Player of the Week honors for his effort at Nevada while stepping in for Caden Dowler, and MSU's depth at linebacker was noted as early as last spring.
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The Lumberjacks' revamped defense is now under the direction of Trenton Greene, who coached Bobcat cornerbacks a season ago. "That's a group that's really coming into their own," Vigen said. "They've found a way to take the football away. They've taken it away 12 times in four games for a plus-seven turnover margin."
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Montana State's offense continues to show versatility and balance. The Bobcats rush for 156.3 yards per game and throw for 265.8, with the 422.0 yards of total offense per game standing 26th in the FCS. MSU also ranks eighth nationally with 40.0 points per game.
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As Vigen highlighted, football's give-and-take stands as the game's most noteworthy element. NAU's 12 takeaways leads the FCS, while MSU's three turnovers lost through four games is 28th nationally, second in the Big Sky. The Bobcats are 13th nationally in turnover margin, while NAU is third.
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Saturday is Montana State's 93rd known Homecoming game. The Cats own a 60-29-3 record in front of the alumni, including 5-3 with the Lumberjacks serving as guests. In addition to ESPN2, Saturday's game streams on the ESPN app and is broadcast around Montana on the Bobcat Radio Network with former Bobcats Leo Davis and Dan Davies joining Keaton Gillogly on the call, and on Learfield's Varsity app.
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#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
Thursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
