Saturday, September 5
BOZEMAN
6:30 pm
Montana State University
vs
Butler
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
GAME #2: Cats Celebrate 1976, 2025 National Champs as Butler Visits Bobcat Stadium for Gold Rush
9/3/2026 4:09:00 PM | Football
MSU opens home portion of 2026 season on Saturday at 6:30 pm
BOZEMAN, Mont. (Sept. 2, 2026) – Montana State running back Adam Jones cherishes every opportunity to play college football, and treasures lining up with his Bobcat teammates. But some moments hit a little different than others, and he knows that one of his favorites occurs just before 6:30 pm on Saturday.
That's when the 2026 MSU football team enters Bobcat Stadium behind the school's championship rodeo team. And he knows what awaits.
"The runout," he says, "with the whole stadium painted in gold. It's burned into my memory."
The Cats relive that scene this week, when Butler visits Bobcat Stadium for the annual Gold Rush game. Both teams won a week ago, the Cats shutting out Utah Tech 54-0 while Butler came from behind to beat Georgetown (Ky.) College. MSU head coach Brent Vigen looks forward to his sixth Gold Rush game as the program's head coach.
"It's exciting to be back at home this weekend," he said. "Gold Rush has become an even unto its own, and we're excited to be in front of a packed crowd in Bobcat Stadium for the first time since December."
The Bobcats dominated in Utah Tech's Big Sky Conference debut. MSU out-gained the Trailblazers 447 yards to 227, piling up 24 first down's to UT's 12. The shutout was MSU's first in a season opener since a 19-0 win over Fort Lewis, the first when opening a season on the road since beating South Dakota State 27-0 in 1959, and the largest shutout ever of a Big Sky foe.
"Pleased with the first game performance," Vigen said. "What you're looking for is a clean performance, that's turnovers, that's penalties, those types of things. We had no turnovers, just a couple of penalties, and ultimately you're looking at effort, and I thought our effort was really good."
While MSU didn't turn the ball over and was penalized just twice, the Cats scored seven touchdowns. Seven different players reached the end zone, and the team scored in every phase. Brendon Ross returned an interception for a touchdown, while Xavier Ahrens scampered in with a punt that Colter Petre blocked.
Offensively, Justin Lamson threw touchdown passes to Dane Steel and Rylan Schlepp, and rushed for a touchdown himself. Adam Jones scored on a two-yard run, and Patrick Duchien tossed a 25-yard pass for Carter Dahlke for a score. It was the first time seven different Bobcats scored touchdowns in one game since MSU beat Utah Tech (then known as Dixie State) 61-7 in 2007.
In Butler, Vigen admits, "We're playing an opponent that's relatively unknown. I know we've played several teams out of the Pioneer League in past years, and looking back at last year's schedule we had a couple of common opponents in Weber and San Diego, but each year's a new year."
Quarterback Gabe Passini fueled Butler's win. The junior threw for 239 yards and rushed for 407 a year ago. Last week, he dashed through Georgetown's defense for 176 rushing yards and threw for 145 more. His 14 completions went to seven different pass-catchers.
Butler fell trailed 17-3 after 19 minutes of play, but tied the game on a Passini pass to Chet Yardley and Desmin Jackon's one-yard run. Unbowed, Georgetown kicked a field goal to end the first half and one late in the third quarter.
"They had to figure out a way to win a back-and-forth affair," Vigen said, "and that was impressive in its own right. They were down early and probably didn't think they should be. They were able to produce a run game, primarily from their quarterback, and they were able to negate any kind of run game from Georgetown."
Passini's nine-yard run late in the third quarter put the Bulldogs ahead for good, and Beck Janki hit a field goal with 10:14 to play. Georgetown threw for 336 yards, but rushed for only 34. That allowed Butler to hold the ball for nearly 35 minutes.
Saturday's game airs across Montana on CBS stations, and streams on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to be to their seats by 6 pm for ceremonies honoring Montana State's 1976 National Championship team, as well as the 2025 title winners.
#GoCatsGo
That's when the 2026 MSU football team enters Bobcat Stadium behind the school's championship rodeo team. And he knows what awaits.
"The runout," he says, "with the whole stadium painted in gold. It's burned into my memory."
The Cats relive that scene this week, when Butler visits Bobcat Stadium for the annual Gold Rush game. Both teams won a week ago, the Cats shutting out Utah Tech 54-0 while Butler came from behind to beat Georgetown (Ky.) College. MSU head coach Brent Vigen looks forward to his sixth Gold Rush game as the program's head coach.
"It's exciting to be back at home this weekend," he said. "Gold Rush has become an even unto its own, and we're excited to be in front of a packed crowd in Bobcat Stadium for the first time since December."
The Bobcats dominated in Utah Tech's Big Sky Conference debut. MSU out-gained the Trailblazers 447 yards to 227, piling up 24 first down's to UT's 12. The shutout was MSU's first in a season opener since a 19-0 win over Fort Lewis, the first when opening a season on the road since beating South Dakota State 27-0 in 1959, and the largest shutout ever of a Big Sky foe.
"Pleased with the first game performance," Vigen said. "What you're looking for is a clean performance, that's turnovers, that's penalties, those types of things. We had no turnovers, just a couple of penalties, and ultimately you're looking at effort, and I thought our effort was really good."
While MSU didn't turn the ball over and was penalized just twice, the Cats scored seven touchdowns. Seven different players reached the end zone, and the team scored in every phase. Brendon Ross returned an interception for a touchdown, while Xavier Ahrens scampered in with a punt that Colter Petre blocked.
Offensively, Justin Lamson threw touchdown passes to Dane Steel and Rylan Schlepp, and rushed for a touchdown himself. Adam Jones scored on a two-yard run, and Patrick Duchien tossed a 25-yard pass for Carter Dahlke for a score. It was the first time seven different Bobcats scored touchdowns in one game since MSU beat Utah Tech (then known as Dixie State) 61-7 in 2007.
In Butler, Vigen admits, "We're playing an opponent that's relatively unknown. I know we've played several teams out of the Pioneer League in past years, and looking back at last year's schedule we had a couple of common opponents in Weber and San Diego, but each year's a new year."
Quarterback Gabe Passini fueled Butler's win. The junior threw for 239 yards and rushed for 407 a year ago. Last week, he dashed through Georgetown's defense for 176 rushing yards and threw for 145 more. His 14 completions went to seven different pass-catchers.
Butler fell trailed 17-3 after 19 minutes of play, but tied the game on a Passini pass to Chet Yardley and Desmin Jackon's one-yard run. Unbowed, Georgetown kicked a field goal to end the first half and one late in the third quarter.
"They had to figure out a way to win a back-and-forth affair," Vigen said, "and that was impressive in its own right. They were down early and probably didn't think they should be. They were able to produce a run game, primarily from their quarterback, and they were able to negate any kind of run game from Georgetown."
Passini's nine-yard run late in the third quarter put the Bulldogs ahead for good, and Beck Janki hit a field goal with 10:14 to play. Georgetown threw for 336 yards, but rushed for only 34. That allowed Butler to hold the ball for nearly 35 minutes.
Saturday's game airs across Montana on CBS stations, and streams on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to be to their seats by 6 pm for ceremonies honoring Montana State's 1976 National Championship team, as well as the 2025 title winners.
#GoCatsGo
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
WR
/ FootballThursday, July 31
Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
