ST. GEORGE, Utah — Montana State football begins its FCS title defense on the road Saturday against Big Sky Conference newcomer Utah Tech.
The teams last met in 2024 in a non-conference game, and the weather from that game is something safety Caden Dowler remembers well.
Watch the video here:
"I remember it was hot," Dowler said. "I mean, they're in the Big Sky for a reason, so they're a well coached team and they have a lot of good players. (With) any Big Sky opponent, we're going to have to bring our best."
"And really what I remember is it was really hot at kickoff and it was kind of dark out there," Dowler said.
The Trailblazers' third-year head coach, Lance Anderson, is known for his defensive mind.
Bobcat quarterback Justin Lamson says Utah Tech returns talent as well.
"I think they're going to come out swinging and we've got to be ready to play our best football," Lamson said. "They're a good team and we're looking forward to this Saturday."
The Bobcats will look to extend their Big Sky conference winning streak to 17 games.
Arguably the biggest test for the Bobcats' defense will be stopping the run.
Dowler says Utah Tech's starting running back, Asa "Ace" Chatman, is really good.
"He's kind of the best of both worlds. He's not really a speed back and he's not really a power back," Dowler said. "He's a mixture of both and they use him in the pass game. We're just going to have to bring our best against him because he's a solid back and one of the best backs we'll see all season."
Despite Utah Tech's 2025 record, Montana State head coach Brent Vigen says this Trailblazers team had a lot of close games.
"All you've got to do is look at the beginning of their season last year where they played (UC) Davis, Northern Arizona and Idaho, all from our league, very tough," Vigen said. "In particular in that opener against Davis, they should have won that game. So they have talent and they're certainly going to be hungry to play us.
"First conference game for them and I anticipate that it'll be a great challenge," Vigen said.
The game kicks at 8 p.m. Mountain time and will be broadcast by Scripps Sports on The Spot - MTN.
