Saturday, September 6
BOZEMAN
6 pm
Montana State University
vs
South Dakota State
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
GAME #2: Cats, Jackrabbits Get Together for Gold Rush in Top-Three Showdown
9/5/2025 9:43:00 AM | Football
Montana State hosts No. 2 South Dakota State on Saturday Night
BOZEMAN, Mont. (Sept. 4, 2025) – Montana State faces a familiar foe in unique circumstances on Saturday, when the third-ranked Bobcats host No. 2 South Dakota State in the annual Gold Rush game.
"We certainly do have history over the last four years, playing them three times, once here back in '21 in the semifinals and twice over in Brookings," said MSU head coach Brent Vigen. "They've been at the top, it's beyond obvious (to say), being a two-time champion and a two-time semifinalist in the last four years alone."
Montana State has also ascended to the upper reaches of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, reaching the FCS Championship game twice and the semifinal one other time in Vigen's four seasons. This meeting of top-flight teams is the first in Bobcat Stadium history between two teams ranked in the top three.
Add to that the electricity of Gold Rush, and Montana State's first-year quarterback Justin Lamson is anticipating an exciting evening. "It's going to be awesome," he said of playing his first home game as a Bobcat. "I know the guys have told me a little bit about running out of the tunnel like it's a feeling that you won't forget."
There's little carryover from the most recent meeting between the teams, a heart-stopping 20-17 Jackrabbits win in 2023. "They've had plenty of turnover," from 2024, Vigen said, "with Coach (Jimmy) Rogers leaving and Coach (Dan) Jackson coming in, players leaving to some extent, but they return a lot of players who have been in that program. There's plenty of continuity with how they've done things, how they've positioned this program where it's at, being a perennial championship contender."
Senior quarterback Chase Mason, in his first season as the team's starting quarterback, leads the Jackrabbits. He threw for 190 yards on 17-23 passing last week, and rushed for 20 yards. Running back Julius Loughridge battered Sacramento State for 159 yards on the ground.
Vigen said keeping Mason from getting loose is a key. "It's important that we corral Chase Mason because he's a dual threat," Vigen said. "Chase is a senior, he's been in that program, and this is his first opportunity to be the guy."
Loughridge rushed for over 3,000 yards before transferring from Fordham to SDSU. Vigen said he's not a one-trick pony as a running back. "It's a mixture," he said. "He can go inside and outside."
Justin Lamson proved a highly efficient passer at Oregon. He completed 23 of his 31 pass attempts for 198 yards, with Taco Dowler catching 12 of those tosses. That is the sixth-most catches in a game in school history. Caden Dowler led the MSU defense with 10 tackles in Eugene.
The rivalry between MSU and South Dakota State began in 1956, and continued through 1966. MSU won nine of those first 11 meetings. South Dakota State has won four of the last five, but Montana State's victory in that stretch propelled the team to the 2021 FCS Championship game.
Kickoff is at 6 pm Saturday. The game is televised live on CBS stations across Montana, streams on ESPN+, and airs on the Bobcat Radio Network.
#GoCatsGo
"We certainly do have history over the last four years, playing them three times, once here back in '21 in the semifinals and twice over in Brookings," said MSU head coach Brent Vigen. "They've been at the top, it's beyond obvious (to say), being a two-time champion and a two-time semifinalist in the last four years alone."
Montana State has also ascended to the upper reaches of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, reaching the FCS Championship game twice and the semifinal one other time in Vigen's four seasons. This meeting of top-flight teams is the first in Bobcat Stadium history between two teams ranked in the top three.
Add to that the electricity of Gold Rush, and Montana State's first-year quarterback Justin Lamson is anticipating an exciting evening. "It's going to be awesome," he said of playing his first home game as a Bobcat. "I know the guys have told me a little bit about running out of the tunnel like it's a feeling that you won't forget."
There's little carryover from the most recent meeting between the teams, a heart-stopping 20-17 Jackrabbits win in 2023. "They've had plenty of turnover," from 2024, Vigen said, "with Coach (Jimmy) Rogers leaving and Coach (Dan) Jackson coming in, players leaving to some extent, but they return a lot of players who have been in that program. There's plenty of continuity with how they've done things, how they've positioned this program where it's at, being a perennial championship contender."
Senior quarterback Chase Mason, in his first season as the team's starting quarterback, leads the Jackrabbits. He threw for 190 yards on 17-23 passing last week, and rushed for 20 yards. Running back Julius Loughridge battered Sacramento State for 159 yards on the ground.
Vigen said keeping Mason from getting loose is a key. "It's important that we corral Chase Mason because he's a dual threat," Vigen said. "Chase is a senior, he's been in that program, and this is his first opportunity to be the guy."
Loughridge rushed for over 3,000 yards before transferring from Fordham to SDSU. Vigen said he's not a one-trick pony as a running back. "It's a mixture," he said. "He can go inside and outside."
Justin Lamson proved a highly efficient passer at Oregon. He completed 23 of his 31 pass attempts for 198 yards, with Taco Dowler catching 12 of those tosses. That is the sixth-most catches in a game in school history. Caden Dowler led the MSU defense with 10 tackles in Eugene.
The rivalry between MSU and South Dakota State began in 1956, and continued through 1966. MSU won nine of those first 11 meetings. South Dakota State has won four of the last five, but Montana State's victory in that stretch propelled the team to the 2021 FCS Championship game.
Kickoff is at 6 pm Saturday. The game is televised live on CBS stations across Montana, streams on ESPN+, and airs on the Bobcat Radio Network.
#GoCatsGo
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