BOZEMAN — It's officially Week 1 of the college football season, as Montana State is set to start its season Saturday at Oregon. The Bobcats come into the season ranked second among the FCS, while Oregon is one of the premier FBS programs and ranked seventh in the country.
Justin Lamson, who was named the Cats' starting quarterback on Monday, has experience against Oregon. He got his first career start at Stanford against the Ducks in 2023 and explained what stands out most about them going into Saturday.
"I think the biggest thing about Oregon is just they got athletes," he said. "I think any team at that level is going to have some guys that can go. I think it will be a good challenge for us, and I’m looking forward to playing those guys there."
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MSU started its season against an FBS program last season, as well, when the Bobcats took down New Mexico in Week 0. They want to win on Saturday just as much as the team they’re facing.
"It may be a depth thing, but those guys play football just like we do," Lamson said about his message to the team about going to face Oregon. "And they’ve been playing football since they were 10 (years old) just like we have. It’s nothing different. You know, I believe in our guys. They might be bigger recruits, but I know guys in this locker room are not going to back down from a challenge."
"We’re looking to do whatever it takes," Montana State running back Adam Jones said. "We have a good game plan, and it’s just going to come down to details. Obviously they have a ton of talent. I’m not going to say we’re going to out-talent the University of Oregon, but we’re going to be super detailed in our game plan and what we have to do, so I think that’s what (it’s going to take)."
Dan Lanning enters his fifth season as head coach at Oregon, as the team is coming off an undefeated regular season in 2024 and top seed in the College Football Playoff, where the Ducks ultimately fell to the eventual champion in Ohio State.
They reached a program-high 10 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft and now look to replace that talent on both sides of the ball, but Oregon has proven to be exceptional at recruiting both out of high school and the transfer portal.
"They are going to be disruptive up front," Montana State coach Brent Vigen said about the Ducks. "They do return some guys up front. They did that last year, and they added guys like that. Less experience at quarterback than they’ve been the last few years. I would suggest that’s going to mean they’re going to have to lean more and more on all those playmakers. And those playmakers have changed a little bit, too."
The game kicks off at 2 p.m. Mountain time at Autzen Stadium and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
