Taco Dowler caught five passes in Saturday's Bobcat win over Butler
Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services
Bobcats roll in annual Gold Rush
9/5/2026 9:52:00 PM | Football, General
Justin Lamson tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another to key Montana State's 51-24 win over Butler on Saturday night in Bozeman.
In front of a sold-out Gold Rush crowd of 22,277, the Bobcats rolled to their program record 16th straight win dating back to last season's national championship campaign.
The two teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter before MSU scored four unanswered touchdowns. The rally started when Jabez Woods returned a kickoff 100 yards, getting a key block downfield from Jared White. The return for a touchdown was MSU's first since 2022 at Oregon State by Marqui Johnson and put MSU ahead 10-3. Adam Jones then scored from the 1-yard line. Lamson later added a 1-yard score of his own. Before the first half ended, Lamson found Dane Steel on a 29-yard scoring pass to make it 30-3 at halftime.
To open the third quarter, Lamson found Taco Dowler on three straight completions, the final one covering 20 yards to give the top-ranked Bobcats (2-0) a 37-3 lead. Dowler finished with five receptions to move up to No. 5 on the all-time receiving list for MSU with 142.
For the night, Lamson completed 15 of 20 passes for 239 yards. The Bobcats totaled 498 yards as Jones led all rushers with 77 yards on 13 carries.
Butler (1-1) of the Pioneer League scored a pair of touchdowns to make the score 37-17 after three quarters, but the Bobcats continued to roll in the fourth quarter. A short run by White bumped the advantage to 44-17. Backup quarterback Patrick Duchien then found Woods in the right flank and the speedy junior raced 35 yards into the endzone for his second score of the night.
A late touchdown by Butler before the game clock hit 0:00 accounted for the final score. The Bobcats were able to corral Butler quarterback Gabe Passini who rushed for 176 yards in the Bulldogs season-opening win. Against MSU, Passini was held to just 22 yards and the Bulldogs totaled 83 on the ground and 190 through the air.
The Bobcats travel to FBS Nevada next week to play the Wolfpack. MSU's next home game is Sept. 19 against Central Connecticut State. Butler plays host to Franklin next week.
In front of a sold-out Gold Rush crowd of 22,277, the Bobcats rolled to their program record 16th straight win dating back to last season's national championship campaign.
The two teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter before MSU scored four unanswered touchdowns. The rally started when Jabez Woods returned a kickoff 100 yards, getting a key block downfield from Jared White. The return for a touchdown was MSU's first since 2022 at Oregon State by Marqui Johnson and put MSU ahead 10-3. Adam Jones then scored from the 1-yard line. Lamson later added a 1-yard score of his own. Before the first half ended, Lamson found Dane Steel on a 29-yard scoring pass to make it 30-3 at halftime.
To open the third quarter, Lamson found Taco Dowler on three straight completions, the final one covering 20 yards to give the top-ranked Bobcats (2-0) a 37-3 lead. Dowler finished with five receptions to move up to No. 5 on the all-time receiving list for MSU with 142.
For the night, Lamson completed 15 of 20 passes for 239 yards. The Bobcats totaled 498 yards as Jones led all rushers with 77 yards on 13 carries.
Butler (1-1) of the Pioneer League scored a pair of touchdowns to make the score 37-17 after three quarters, but the Bobcats continued to roll in the fourth quarter. A short run by White bumped the advantage to 44-17. Backup quarterback Patrick Duchien then found Woods in the right flank and the speedy junior raced 35 yards into the endzone for his second score of the night.
A late touchdown by Butler before the game clock hit 0:00 accounted for the final score. The Bobcats were able to corral Butler quarterback Gabe Passini who rushed for 176 yards in the Bulldogs season-opening win. Against MSU, Passini was held to just 22 yards and the Bulldogs totaled 83 on the ground and 190 through the air.
The Bobcats travel to FBS Nevada next week to play the Wolfpack. MSU's next home game is Sept. 19 against Central Connecticut State. Butler plays host to Franklin next week.
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