BOZEMAN — Montana State had a tough start to the season Saturday, falling on the road to FBS powerhouse Oregon 59-13 in its season opener.
The team still found a positive outlook. The Bobcats noted how they were tested right away to start the year.
Related: Montana State overmatched by FBS Oregon in season-opening rout
"You want games like this to start the season," Montana State wide receiver Taco Dowler said. "You don’t want a team that isn’t up to your caliber. So coming into this stadium, playing this team, you get to see where you really stack up."
"It’s definitely a benefit to start the year, we talked about it, we could’ve had the vice versa, paid somebody to come play us, but we wanted to go against a good opponent," Montana State defensive tackle Alec Eckert said. "You know, iron sharpens iron and get some reps against a good squad."
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Despite the loss, Dowler showed promise for what’s to come this season. The Billings native had 12 receptions for 107 yards and credited the trust between he and first-year starting quarterback Justin Lamson.
“We’re good friends first off. Trust is everything in football. He trusts me, I trust him. I got to be in the right spot at the right time, and I trust he’ll put it on me. So, just the fact that we’re good friends, he’s a good guy, I trust him a lot as my quarterback.”
MSU coach Brent Vigen also expanded on what he was able to take away from Lamson’s debut with the Bobcats.
"Justin is a competitor, and we can go places with that," Vigen explained. "He’s a new guy, but here’s a new guy taking it all on. I definitely think we got something in Justin."
Now the Cats will turn around and prepare to face perennial FCS championship contender South Dakota State. It’s going to be a top-three showdown at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday for the annual Gold Rush game.
"You know, the things that went well, build off of those," Vigen said of how the team needs to turn the page to Week 2. "The things you didn’t, figure out how to do them better. And as coaches, in a game like that, with a lot of new people in new places, I think now, how can we continue to stretch our guys and who can we build off of?"
Dowler echoed Vigen's sentiment, as he explained what the coach told the team in the locker room after the loss to Oregon.
"Coach Vigen said it in there, 'You don’t lose, you learn,'" he said. "So us not losing twice because of this. We need to learn from this and adapt just as we did after the first couple drives, but adapt from week to week too. (We) just need to make more plays, and obviously we play another powerhouse team, so I’m excited for that."
