BOZEMAN — Montana State's 31-28 Brawl of the Wild victory over Montana on Nov. 22 checked a lot of boxes for the Bobcats.
It was head coach Brent Vigen's first victory at Washington-Grizzly Stadium since taking over the program in 2021 and MSU's first win there since a goal-line miracle in 2018. It was also the Bobcats' 10th consecutive victory as they secured back-to-back Big Sky Conference titles.
And it set the tone for what MSU hopes to accomplish in the postseason as they set their sights on making a consecutive trip to the national championship.
"We went and did something we hadn't done," said Vigen of earning the victory in Missoula. "That's something in itself. And I think the way we went about it, we were really aggressive in our thinking. I think our players played with a lot of conviction. And you do that and you hope you can accomplish whatever is out in front of you."
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After receiving the No. 2 seed in the FCS playoffs and a first-round bye, MSU is now set to host Yale University (9-2 overall, 6-1 in league play), with the Bulldogs earning the Ivy League's first-ever automatic qualification after defeating previously unbeaten Harvard in the regular season finale. This is the first season that Ivy League teams have been allowed to compete in the playoffs.
The Bulldogs faced Youngstown State in the opening round and stunned the Penguins by erasing a 28-point second-half deficit to win 43-42 to set up the first-ever meeting between Yale and Montana State.
"Yale brings in a very resilient team," said Vigen. "The type of comeback they had on Saturday doesn't come about for the faint of heart. How they got it done and how they put it together at the core of it had to be a ton of belief. Awfully impressive for them to win that game."
Guaranteed home-field advantage through the semifinals, Montana State has looked near unstoppable since opening the season with losses to Oregon and South Dakota State. And now set to host a team they've never faced, the Bobcats are focused on continuing to do the things that have gotten them to this point as they look to pick up an 11th straight victory.
"We don't need to change who we've been," said Vigen. "It's still, 'What do we need to do to win the game in front of us?' And that's all you're guaranteed. It's not like we're trying to win four games at a time. We're not guaranteed more than one.
"So, what do we have to do? Look back each week at how we've gone about our business and our preparation and allow that to carry us forward against whoever the next opponent is."
