BOZEMAN — For three years the casual Big Sky Conference football fan knew about Taco Dowler, the Billings West star turned Montana State speedster.

Then in 2025 Caden Dowler, Taco’s twin (who some refer to as “Burrito”), exploded onto the scene with such a strong season he was named the Big Sky’s Defensive Player of the Year. Suddenly he wasn’t Taco’s brother; he was a play-making safety and leader of MSU’s stingy defense. 

On Montana’s second offensive series Saturday, Caden Dowler went out with an arm injury. Then Taco Dowler, relegated to the background the last several weeks, shined in MSU’s 48-23 win. 

His 87-yard touchdown with 12:05 left in the gate put MSU up 34-23 and really erased all doubt of the outcome. He finished with five catches for 125 yards and also averaged 12.8 yards on four punt returns.  

Afterward, he embraced his sling-wearing brother in celebration, he said. “Cried a little bit,” he added. 

“These two brothers are something,” Vigen, seated next to Dowler at the postgame press conference, said. “The fact that for 14 games-plus they’ve both operated at a high clip, I think that’s pretty special. I know they’ve had moments where one has been up and the other hasn’t. I guess that happened today.  

“So maybe he’s your brother again,” Vigen added, looking at Taco. “You’re not his brother. They’ve poured so much in, they’ve dealt with quite a bit and they support each other like twin brothers should, I suppose.” 

Historic Play 

Vigen wondered if there had ever been a bigger play in MSU’s proud football history, but  

Dowler wasn’t thinking about history at the time. He just wanted to stay on his feet. 

“It was a fun play but people don’t realize that Justin (Lamson) kept the play alive and scrambled and threw a great ball to me,” Dowler said. “He doesn’t do that, I don’t get a chance to run and score.” 

Lamson, who was 13 of 19 passing for 209 yards, scrambled to his right and neared the line of scrimmage on the throw. Montana hadn’t blitzed; two Grizzlies tangled as Dowler made the catch. 

“If you don’t want him to scramble you’d probably better pressure him,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “There was some discussion but it’s third and 20. You don’t want to have a guy fall down and give up a big one. is basically the thinking.  

“Then we had a guy fall down.” 

As for bigger plays in MSU history, one answer would be Joe Roberts’ 97-yard interception return in the Cats’ 1984 home win over Rhode Island, also in the semifinals. The Cats won their lone I-AA/FCS title that season. 

Setting the Bar 

Montana coach Bobby Hauck praised the job Vigen and his staff have done with the MSU program; it was far from mediocre when Vigen came in, but has reached unprecedented heights. 

“The bar was set in his conference by us and there’s been a desperate urgency at this place to catch up,” Hauck said. “Certainly they have.  

“We have good football programs, good players, good coaches. We're highly competitive whether it’s recruiting or on the field, and competition is good. That’s why you do this. It’s highly and wildly competitive, and it’s my impression that the wrong team won today. But that’s 50 percent of the state. I’m not the only one.” 

QUICK KICKS: Eli Gillman picked up 107 yards on 16 carries for UM, while Adam Jones ran 16 times for 131 (and 2 TDs) for MSU. Julius Davis ran 14 times for 56 yards for MSU. ... Lamson ran for 43 yards. ... UM’s Keali’i Ah Yat was 27 of 42 passing for 251 yards, with the one interception to Bryce Grebe. ... Colter Petre, in for Caden Dowler at safety, had six tackles for the Cats, and LB Cole Taylor led the team with eight. ... Caleb Otlewski and Peyton Wing had 11 stops each for UM. ... Michael Wortham had 105 all-purpose yards (85 receiving o 8 catches, 7 rushing and 44 on returns) for the Griz.