BOZEMAN— Montana State was heavily favored in its second-round home game against playoff newcomer Yale, but the Bobcats had their hands full against the Bulldogs.
In the end, MSU prevailed 21-13 to advance to the quarterfinals and run their win streak to 11, and having to grind out a victory in their first postseason game provided this team with a chance to grow.
"It was a great learning opportunity within that game," coach Brent Vigen said during his weekly press conference Monday. "All this time of year is about is moving forward. We're fortunate enough to do that. I don't think we're lucky, we're fortunate because of making enough plays in ultimately a game that we can learn a lot from."
Hear from Brent Vigen:
The Bobcats are now set to host Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin in the quarterfinals on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Lumberjacks' season followed a similar path to MSU's — dropping their first two contests before reeling off 11 straight wins while capturing a conference title. SFA fended off Abilene Christian 41-34 in the second round.
Located in Nacogdoches, Texas, the Lumberjacks were supposed to play MSU at Bobcat Stadium last year and then in Nacogdoches this season before SFA abruptly canceled the home-and-home series just three months before the Bobcats were set to open their 2024 campaign.
"It's an exciting matchup and I said it the other day, when you're one of eight (teams remaining in the playoffs) you should expect really good teams that are in your path, and Stephen F. Austin certainly is that," said Vigen. "Excited about the opportunity on Friday."
This will be the second-straight season the Bobcats will host a Friday night quarterfinal, with MSU routing Idaho 52-19 in that game last season on its way to a national championship appearance.
"Our familiarity with playing Friday night in the quarterfinals is I think a good thing," said Vigen. "Expect a good crowd on Friday night. I know the crowd on Saturday was phenomenal. And we need that, that's part of the home field advantage that has to be behind you."
Vigen also took time during Monday's media availability to address a heated exchange between him and running back Julius Davis following the win over Yale that went viral.
Emotions on both teams were running high after a tough game and Vigen felt that there was nothing positive to be gained by the continued chatter between the teams afterward.
"Our expectation as a football program is, win or lose, we're going to show our opponent a level of respect," said Vigen. "Shake hands, go down to the Sonny Holland End Zone, sing the school song, and then get back together in the middle of the field and have a team prayer."
"Following the game, it was apparent that our two teams were interacting more than we needed to. In that moment, I wanted to protect Julius Davis in particular. He was in a situation that I didn't feel was great for him, and I wanted to get him out of that situation.
"Putting all of the context together sometimes isn't there for everyone to understand and that's okay, that's the world we live in. But I will tell you this — the relationship that Julius and I have is as strong as anybody on this team."
