Year of the Bobcat: How MSU football kicked off a historic run of success

Editor’s Note: This article is the first installment of a two-part series covering the athletics department at Montana State. Stay tuned for the second and final edition. 

MSU Athletics is in the midst of a sensational year. From Bobcat football’s national championship appearance to men’s and women’s basketball Big Sky Championship sweep. Many in and around the MSU Athletic Department have dubbed this year the “Year of the Bobcat” for the dominance shown throughout the athletic program. In January, MSU Head Football Coach Brent Vigen took the Bobcats to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) championship for the first time since 1984. Vigen reflected on the 2021 season and looked ahead to the fall in this Exponent exclusive.

Each fall, Bobcat Football takes center stage on MSU’s campus. After a 2019 season that saw the Bobcats make a deep run into the FCS playoffs and a 2020 campaign that was completely negated by the COVID-19 pandemic, fans were eager to fill Bobcat stadium in September 2021. Following a narrow loss to the University of Wyoming in week one, the Cats rattled off nine straight wins, vaulting themselves near the top of the national FCS rankings. 

“I think as the regular season went along we continued to  — for the most part — gain momentum,” MSU’s Head Football Coach Brent Vigen said. “We didn’t win that Wyoming game but we gained a lot of confidence. We knew we belonged on the field that day,” 

In the final game of the regular season, MSU lost the annual Brawl of the Wild matchup against the University of Montana for the first time since 2015. The Cats’ offense, which struggled in the weeks prior to the trip to Missoula, looked listless against their rival. As the Bobcats readied themselves for the FCS playoffs, they decided to make a change at quarterback, elevating freshman Tommy Mellot and benching Matthew McKay, who had started every game of the regular season. McKay promptly removed himself from the team and entered the transfer portal. 

“We knew that he wouldn’t be overwhelmed,” Vigen said of Mellott, “He’s a superior athlete at that position and we felt like he had come far enough along in the passing game.”

Mellott rushed for two touchdowns in his first game as a starter, leading the Bobcats to a playoff victory against UT Martin, 26-7. In the next two games — the FCS quarterfinals and semifinals — he would throw for 398 yards and rush for 231 while accounting for eight touchdowns. To say that Mellott had solidified his place as the starting quarterback would be an understatement: Bobcat Nation was abuzz about Touchdown Tommy. 

“Did [Mellott] exceed expectations? I don’t know,” Vigen said. “I think we expected big things and that’s why we made the change to him. We’re really excited to see what he can do from here on out.” 

Mellott was injured on the Cats’ opening drive of the FCS championship game against North Dakota State, and the Bobcats fell to the Bison, 38-10. 

Four months later, the Bobcats are already deep into preparation for the 2022 season. Teams are allotted 15 practices in the spring, and MSU spreads them out over a five-week span, which is roughly halfway complete.

 “This is the time to hone in on your schemes, your techniques,” Vigen said. “It’s an important part of the college football year cycle.”

Vigen began his coaching career at NDSU in 1998 and remained on the coaching staff until 2013, at which point he relocated to the University of Wyoming with current Cowboys Head Coach Craig Bohl. He was the primary mentor of Carson Wentz at NDSU and of Josh Allen at Wyoming. Both quarterbacks have gone on to find success on football’s grandest stage in the NFL. Now, Vigen is tasked with unleashing Tommy Mellott’s potential on the gridiron. 

In Mellott, Vigen sees a dual-threat quarterback who will be incredibly difficult for opposing defenses to subdue. 

“In our offense, we want to have a dynamic quarterback, a guy that can make plays with both his arm and his legs. Tommy certainly has all that,” Vigen said. 

Both Wentz and Allen are tall quarterbacks (both are 6’5”) who throw the ball much more than they run it. Mellott, on the other hand, is shorter than the average NFL quarterback and is equally threatening when running the ball as when throwing it. 

“I’m excited to see what he can become because he’s really just scratched the surface,” Vigen said. “He’s not your prototype, but I think the prototype — even at the highest levels — is changing a little bit with guys like (Arizona Cardinals quarterback) Kyler Murray having a lot of success.” 

Mellott faces high expectations heading into the 2022 season. If he is able to match the performance he displayed in the FCS playoffs, the Cats will be a formidable threat in the Big Sky Conference regular-season and a legitimate contender for another national championship.

The single most impactful change for Bobcat football in 2022 may not be at the quarterback position, or on offense at all. As the Cats play their first downs next fall, there will be a Troy Andersen-shaped hole on their defensive front. 

“We’re not gonna replace Troy.” We don’t have anybody on our team that will go out there and be 6’4” and 240 [pounds] and run a 4.42,” Vigen said, referring to Andersen’s 4.42-second 40 yard dash at last month’s NFL combine, the fastest time of any linebacker. 

Andersen was a force on both sides of the ball during his time at MSU. He played quarterback, fullback, running back and linebacker over the course of four seasons and excelled in each role. He will almost certainly be drafted into the NFL later this month and has an outside shot of being selected in the first round. In fact, BillsWire called Andersen the “NFL draft’s most unique player.” His importance to MSU’s defense last season cannot be overstated. 

“Some of the things we asked Troy to do because of his unique talents, we just won’t ask the next guy to do,” Vigen said. “You know you can’t replace him so you don’t ask the next guy to do the exact same things.” 

The logical successor to Andersen’s role is senior Callahan O’Reilly, who earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team last season. “It’s imperative that Callahan takes another step forward,” Vigen said.

Personnel changes on offense and defense aside, there is no reason to expect the Bobcats to be anything less than a title contender next season. In fact, Mellott’s emergence as a bona fide dual-threat starter may raise the Cats to favorite status in the Big Sky Conference. There has rarely been a more exciting time to be a Bobcat football fan.