BOZEMAN — Almost exactly one year ago, the Mercyhurst football program made an 1,800-plus-mile trip from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Bozeman for its first-ever game against Montana State.
Despite losing 52-13, Mercyhurst head coach Ryan Riemedio reflects fondly on that September afternoon at Bobcat Stadium. He likened the experience to “old-school high school Friday night football” because so many people in the Bozeman community showed their passion for the Bobcats.
“As a kid, you would hope one day you get to play in that type of atmosphere, especially at the FCS level,” Riemedio told 406 MT Sports on Thursday, adding, “A lot of things we saw last year helped our administration and our folks here really understand what it takes to get to that type of level.”
Riemedio and the Lakers (1-2) return to Bozeman this weekend expecting to play in front of another loud crowd against another tough opponent. No. 4-ranked MSU (1-2), which earned a 41-7 home win over San Diego last weekend, is a 31.5-point favorite to win its final nonconference game of the season.
The 2025 Lakers might be harder to dispatch than they were in their first season of transition from Division II to the FCS. They’re coming off a competitive road loss to another ranked Big Sky Conference team, Sacramento State.
“A group that continues to get better,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said Monday, adding, “Our level of respect for what they’re becoming has to be there. It can’t just be about last year’s game.”
Here are five things to watch in Saturday’s game, which will be streamed on ESPN+, air on the Bobcat Radio Network and be televised on CBS in Bozeman and Butte and on The Spot-MTN in the rest of Montana:
Fans have multiple options to follow along with the Montana State Bobcats’ football season in 2025.
Line of sight
MSU starting center Burke Mastel has yet to play in a game this season, but he was in full uniform each of the last two weeks, and he should be able to take the cast off his injured right hand by Saturday, according to Vigen. Whether or not the redshirt sophomore from Red Lodge will play against Mercyhurst was uncertain as of Monday.
Mastel’s injury caused the Cats to move JT Reed from left guard to center, Titan Fleischmann from right tackle to right guard, Everett Carr from RG to LG, Cedric Jefferson from left tackle to RT and Braden Zimmer from backup LT to starter. The group was inconsistent in the opener at FBS now-No. 6 Oregon, in the home opener against FCS No. 2 South Dakota State and last week versus San Diego.
“We’re a group that’s gaining experience working together, so that’s where that communication piece needs to continue to improve,” Vigen said. “Fundamentally and really being able to strain and play with proper pad level, I think there’s room for improvement there.”
Vigen said Fleischmann has done “a good job” at RG, and he’s been “really pleased” with Reed’s performance at center. The coaches want to see Carr, Jefferson and Zimmer “find a higher level, a more consistent level,” Vigen added.
MSU’s O-linemen protected quarterback Justin Lamson well enough for him to complete 23 of 26 passes for 293 yards. But they also struggled to contain some blitzes.
“We took a couple sacks in that game. (On) one, they had us outnumbered. We’ve got to communicate better there,” Vigen said. “I thought we handled the twist game better in that game than we had in the first two. Again, that’s a group coming together, and the communication aspect in those critical situations is a pretty huge component.”
Mercyhurst isn’t Oregon or SDSU, but its defense might not be easy for MSU’s O-line to handle — with or without Mastel.
“They’re a team that throws a lot at you: different fronts, different pressures, different coverages,” Vigen said. “(We have) to be on the same page and communicate some of the things that haven’t been maybe awesome these first couple games. We’re going to have to be on our toes. It’s a good opponent to be able to test where we’re at.”
New Cats on the block
While the up front blocking left a little to be desired, MSU blocked well on the perimeter against San Diego, as wide receiver Ryan King and Dane Steel demonstrated on both of Taco Dowler’s TD receptions.
Steel earned national recognition as a wrestler at Sheridan (Wyoming) High school, so his ability to block “comes with the territory,” Vigen said. The redshirt freshman is also second on the team to Dowler with nine catches and 100 receiving yards, nearly all of which have come since he replaced an injured Chris Long as the starting “Z” receiver after the Oregon game.
“A guy like Dane is ready to go, and he’s taken advantage of that,” Vigen said. “We’ll get Chris back eventually, but I think at least to this point, Dane’s proven he should be out there.”
King, a former Georgia Tech and East Carolina player, finished with 162 yards on 15 receptions in 15 games last season as a backup. After becoming a starter for the first time in his career, he went catch-less with at least one drop in the first two games of this season. The senior from Georgia caught three passes for 44 yards against San Diego and showed why his coaches considered him “a really good blocker last year,” as Vigen put it.
“We don’t have a whole host of long runs quite yet, but ultimately, those long runs are a lot of time because of those receivers not quitting, hustling, playing to the whistle,” Vigen added. “Something we take great pride in, and I think those guys are doing a good job at this point.”
21 jumpstart?
On MSU’s sixth offensive play against San Diego, Jones lined up out wide to the right while fellow All-Big Sky running back Julius Davis stood in the backfield to Lamson’s left in shotgun formation. Jones motioned to the left and ended up right next to Lamson when the ball was snapped.
The result of the play — a 12-yard Davis run — was negated by an illegal motion penalty called on Jones. But it showcased MSU’s creativity with personnel groupings.
MSU found success with 21 personnel (two RBs, one tight end, two WRs) midway through the second quarter, when Davis and Jones both lined up alongside Lamson in the shotgun. Lamson faked a handoff to Davis on a run-pass option and fired to Jones down the left side for a 17-yard TD.
Those morsels of 21 personnel might signal more to come with Davis and Jones sharing the field.
“They’re obviously both capable runners, but they’re both capable blockers and they’re both capable pass catchers,” Vigen said, adding, “Being able to put them in different positions I think is the idea. It just gives the defense obviously more to contend with.
“That package of plays I would see expanding over time.”
‘Wide-ranging’ Lakers
Mercyhurst has lost seven turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles) so far this season, tied for ninth-most in the FCS.
If the Lakers can take care of the ball Saturday, they might pose problems for MSU’s defense.
Mercyhurst’s Adam Urena is second among all FCS QBs with 313.3 passing yards per game. The graduate student threw for 280 yards last week at Sac State, 349 in a Week 2 home win over New Haven and 311 in the season-opening loss at Youngstown State (a team that sits five spots behind Sac State in the latest Stats Perform FCS Top 25). His 67.2% completion rate this season is 22nd-best in the subdivision.
Urena — who Vigen called crafty, athletic and tough — went 28 of 44 (63.6%) for 213 yards, a TD and no turnovers at MSU last season.
“They’re a dangerous offense. A lot of elements to it,” Vigen said. “There’s certainly an RPO piece that, with the receivers they have down the field, can hurt you.”
Mercyhurst is averaging 140 rushing yards per game (58th in the FCS) on 4.16 yards per carry (47th), while MSU has held its two FCS foes to 94.5 yards per game on 2.91 yards per carry (which would be ninth-stingiest in the FCS).
“We want to make every team one-dimensional,” Vigen said. “It starts with us being able to stop the run, but we also have to be able to defend the quarterback run, defend him getting out of pocket and defend the RPO game too. There’s a wide-ranging amount of things we need to defend in this game.”
Third men
MSU held SDSU to 1 of 13 and San Diego to 2 of 11 on third down. That 3 of 24 (12.5%) success rate would be the lowest against all FCS defenses so far this season, and the Cats still rank 14th in the subdivision for lowest percentage of third-down conversions allowed (29.4%) despite Oregon’s 7-of-10 performance against them in that category.
Mercyhurst’s offense has converted 48.8% of its third downs this season, tied for 12th in the FCS.
The Lakers’ success, or lack thereof, on third down against MSU will largely be determined by their ability to move the ball on first and second down. If they constantly face third-and-mediums or third-and-longs, MSU’s strong D-line and creative pressure packages will probably force lots of punts.
Victor Flores is the Montana State Bobcats beat writer for 406 MT Sports. Email him at victor.flores@406mtsports.com and follow him on Twitter/X at @VictorFlores406
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