Vigen addresses viral postgame clash with RB Julius Davis
By Colter Nuanez SKYLINE SPORTS
BOZEMAN—We might not ever really know what lit the fuse that sent Brent Vigen and Julius Davis into a heated argument following Montana State’s second-round victory over Yale at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.
A video of the post-game confrontation lasts about two minutes and shows the almost always emotional Davis and his normally even-tempered head coach yelling at each other with plenty of passion and perhaps plenty of anger.
A fervor exists in Bozeman these days. And Saturday after Montana State’s 21-13 win over the upstart Bulldogs, it boiled over. The video went viral and the impassioned argument is the talk of the Treasure State.
But in reality, the moment is probably more indicative of the pressure that exists right now at Montana State, and unlikely a dysfunctional locker room or a brewing schism between head coach and one of the team’s emotional leaders. That pressure comes from the opportunities that Vigen continues to provide himself and because of the opportunity the 2025 Bobcats have to reach a level unattained since 1984.
Vigen addressed the dispute in Monday’s press conference, calling it “a great learning opportunity” and describing MSU’s desire to show respect to every opponent, especially during postgame handshakes which can sometimes become complicated. “It’s my job as the head coach, to do everything I can to protect our program… And in the moment, following that game, it became apparent that our two teams were interacting more than we needed to.
“And in that moment, I wanted to protect Julius Davis, in particular. He was in a situation that I didn’t feel was great for him, and I wanted to get him out of that situation,” Vigen said. “… The relationship that Julius and I have is as strong as anybody on this team.”
Montana State got all it could handle from the sharp, well-prepared and tough Bulldogs. Josh Pitsenberger, Yale’s captain and All-American running back, and the Yale rushing attack helped the visitors manufacture 24 first downs and possess the ball for nearly 34 minutes in a game where Justin Lamson looked scrambled in his reads and MSU only threw for 92 yards.
And while some might see a red flag in No. 2 MSU’s eight-point win at home against an Ivy League team coming off its first-ever playoff victory, followed by a heated exchange between a star player and MSU’s fifth-year head coach, the explosion could be a product of the circumstances that exist right now in the Football Championship Subdivision for one of its top contenders.
Between Montana State’s signature 31-28 victory over then-No. 2 Montana in Missoula on Nov. 22—a victory that booked home games for the ‘Cats throughout the playoffs leading up to the national championship game on Jan. 5 in Nashville, if MSU can keep its 11-game winning streak going—and Saturday afternoon’s slugfest, Vigen’s name has been featured in the coaching carousel for FBS openings around the West.
He was confirmed as a candidate for the head coaching job at Oregon State during MSU’s first-round bye week. Less than 24 hours before Saturday’s second-round game, Washington State opened when Jimmy Rogers bailed for Iowa State after just 11 months in Pullman. Vigen was a candidate to replace Jake Dickert last season at ‘Wazzu before Rogers, who was slated to be Vigen’s defensive coordinator, got the job when South Dakota State lost to North Dakota State in the semifinals and Montana State’s 2024 playoff run was still alive.
That’s why the stakes are so high at Montana State. The football program has never been so strong. MSU has won three of the last four Big Sky Conference titles. Vigen is 37-3 in league games and has led MSU to undefeated marks in league play three times. All three of those undefeated runs through the Big Sky were accentuated by wins over Montana, including Vigen’s first win in Missoula less than a month ago.
The Bobcats have defeated the Grizzlies in seven of the last nine rivalry games. They’ve become almost unbeatable at home—Vigen has one home loss during the regular season and one loss at home during the playoffs. And they’ve become almost unbeatable, period. MSU has won 58 of the 70 games Vigen has coached in since the beginning of 2021.
You take all that success and the fact that Vigen is a top commodity among FBS job prospects, and you couple it with the fact that North Dakota State lost before the quarterfinal round of the playoffs for the first time ever—and the time is now for a Montana State program that has not won a national title since 1984.
Then you throw in a chippy, smack-talking Yale team that came to Bozeman ready for a fight and you include the fact that Lamson struggled for the first time all season. It’s easy to see how emotions ran high.
Channeling those emotions will be the key if Montana State is to give Vigen and his staff another shot to win it all. Certainly, No. 7 Stephen F. Austin and their former Griz quarterback Sam Vidlak will provide a stiff challenge in Friday night’s nationally televised quarterfinal. If the ‘Cats can get by the Lumberjacks and if Montana can handle South Dakota on Saturday afternoon, a rematch of the fiercest rivalry in the West will descend upon Bozeman on Dec. 20.
A second clash in less than a month will certainly pour gasoline on the already raging rivalry. And with North Dakota State coming out on the wrong end of a 29-28 home loss to Illinois State, it’s certain that there will be a new FCS national champion for the first time since 2023 and a non-NDSU champion for just the fourth time since 2011. The winner of the Cat-Griz rivalry contest, if it happens, will be a giant favorite in Nashville.
For Montana State to be that team and snap a 41-year streak without a banner, channeling emotions—regardless of what’s spurring them on—will be pivotal.
Colter Nuanez has covered the Big Sky Conference for 19 seasons and has directly covered Montana State since 2011. His work can be found at skylinesportsmt.com and he can be reached at Colter.Nuanez@gmail.com.
