BOZEMAN — If you want high stakes, look no further than the 124th Brawl of the Wild. A top-two seed, a Big Sky Conference championship and bragging rights are all on the line this Saturday.
Montana State sits at No. 3 in country with a 9-2 overall record as it looks to grab the first road win in this rivalry series since 2018. Let’s see how they got here.
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The Cats had a gauntlet to start the season — which began in Eugene, Oregon against one of the top FBS teams in the Ducks. After a 59-13 loss, the attention turned to Gold Rush: a top-three matchup against South Dakota State.
The game had it all: a blocked punt for a score, wild touchdowns and ended in double overtime where the Cats fell inches short and lost 30-24.
The team would not let an 0-2 start define the rest of the year, as it finished the nonconference schedule with wins over San Diego and Mercyhurst.
The team then stamped a major 57-3 win over Eastern Washington in Bobcat Stadium to start conference play.
Then attention turned to No. 13 Northern Arizona as the Cats traveled down to the Walkup Skydome. It was Taco Tuesday on Saturday, as Taco Dowler sparked his team with the longest punt return touchdown in program history. Julius Davis had a SportsCenter Top-10 hurdle for a touchdown, and MSU went home with a big 34-10 win.
The momentum carried into the next week, as MSU returned home to beat Idaho State 48-14, highlighted by Bozeman native Rocky Lencioni scoring two touchdowns, along with Adam Jones running all over the turf for over 173 yards and a touchdown.
Related: 124th Brawl of the Wild: No. 2 Montana Grizzlies season in review
After a bye week, it was back-to-back road trips for the Cats at Cal Poly and Northern Colorado. Davis shined under the lights in San Luis Obispo, Calif., running for 175 yards and a touchdown in the team's win. The Cats beat UNC 55-7, highlighted by Talon Marsh, a defensive lineman, having a 90-yard pick-6.
After nearly a month, the team finally returned home to face Weber State and roll to a 66-14 win.
Then it was a top-10 showdown in Bozeman on Nov. 15 against UC Davis. In front of a national audience, the defense stole the show, as captain Caden Dowler had a player of the week performance for the second week in the row. The Cats won 38-17.
The Cats started FCS regular-season play with a top-three game and will end with one, as well, as they face the No. 2 Montana Grizzlies at noon Saturday.
