Bobcats Feast on Idaho State 48-14 in Bozeman

Saturday, October 11

BOZEMAN

1 pm

Montana State University

5-2 , 3-0

Idaho State

2-5 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Idaho St.

Montana St.

Paul Brott pressures Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke

Photo by: MSU photo by Kelly Gorham

10/11/2025 8:18:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Offense, defense take care of Bengals

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Mont. (Oct. 11, 2025) – By the end of Montana State's 48-14 win over Idaho State on Saturday, everyone in the Blue and Gold had feasted.

"We said going into this game that the defense would feed the offense," said Bobcats head coach Brent Vigen, and the offense would feed the defense. I'm so proud of the way the guys did embrace that. This is a team game, and both phases had to step up today against a good team."

Montana State's offense appeared ravenous early, marching 75 yards in six plays on the game's opening drive and then 74 yards on five plays the next time the Cats had the ball. Quarterback Justin Lamson completed all five of his passes on those two possessions, while the team churned up 82 yards on six rushing attempts to post a 14-0 lead.

"I think the offense putting those points on the board (early), making them almost completely one dimensional from the start, was really, really important," Vigen said.

The MSU defense helped stake to team to that 14-0 lead by forcing a Bengals three-and-out in the middle of the two game-opening scoring drives. That forced ISU to play catch-up all afternoon. When Idaho State scored on the team's second possession to cut MSU's lead to 14-7, the offense responded by leaning on the ground game.

Julius Davis hit runs of seven and five yards, then Adam Jones rambled for 17 yards. Adding on a 15-yard face mask penalty gave MSU the ball at the Bengals 34. Lamson then ran for 10 yards, and Jones dashed into the end zone from 24 yards out for a touchdown and a 20-7 lead.

Again, and for the final time, the Bengals answered. After a six-yard pass from Jordan Cooke to Tsion Nunnally, Cooke again found Nunnally for a 69-yard catch-and-run to pull ISU within 20-14. And that's when Vigen saw the best example of one of his team's phases picking up another.

"I think it was 20 to 14 and we needed a drive," he said, "and we put together that drive. Really, (it was the) run game and the pass game within that. And I think it was really raining during that stretch, so that was the offense really picking the defense up."

The Cats put together a methodical 75-yard drive that chewed up nearly eight minutes to grab 27-14 lead, then after forcing a Bengals punt took over at their own six with just under four minutes remaining in the half. With Jones doing much of the heavy lifting – five carries for 56 yards – MSU marched 94 yards and capped the driving when Lamson feathered a 13-yard pass to Rocky Lencioni for a touchdown.

That drive gave the Bobcats a 34-14 halftime lead. The Bobcats piled up 204 yards in the second quarter, and held the ball for 12 minutes. The Cats entered the intermission outgaining Idaho State 373 yards to 193.

"I thought in that stretch, it was a matter of this team hanging in there and believing in one another," Vigen said. "The drive before the half to open (the lead) up to 20 points, that was important."

While Montana State's offense put up gaudy numbers, 48 points and 568 total yards, the defense again spent the afternoon smothering its opponent. Idaho State gained 404 yards, 80 below its season average, and ISU's 14 points was 34 less than it averaged entering Saturday's game. Montana State has not allowed an FCS opponent to score more than 17 points in regulation play this season.

Lamson, MSU's junior quarterback, proved to be a true dual threat on Saturday. He completed 17 of his 21 passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried 16 times for 60 yards and a touchdown. Adam Jones paced the ground game with 173 yards, but Julius Davis added 65 and Colson Coon 32. Taco Dowler caught six passes for 45 yards.

Caden Dowler led the Cats with seven tackles, and MSU forced three ISU turnovers. Carson Williams forced a fuble that Cole Taylor recovered, while Tayden Gray and Brock Steel intercepted passes. "I just can't say enough about the complementary aspect of how we played today," Vigen said.

Montana State enters its bye week with a 5-2 record and five consecutive wins, including a 3-0 mark in Big Sky action. Idaho State falls to 2-5 overall, 1-2 in the league. The Bobcats play again on October 25 at Cal Poly, while ISU hosts Northern Arizona on the same day.

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