The No. 1 team in the FCS will be without a pair of its top offensive weapons tonight, Skyline Sports confirmed on Saturday afternoon through multiple sources.
Justin Lamson, a preseason All-Big Sky Conference selection at quarterback and the Most Outstanding Player in last year’s FCS title game, will miss tonight’s start against Northern Arizona with a leg injury suffered last week against Central Connecticut State.
Taco Dowler, a second-team All-Big Sky wide receiver last season who was also a star during Montana State’s run to the FCS championship, will also miss tonight’s nationally televised contest against the No. 18 Lumberjacks with an undisclosed injury.
Patrick Duchien Jr. will make his first career start at quarterback for the Bobcats.
Duchien has appeared in three games this season and has completed 10 of 12 passes for 140 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Florence, Montana, product has also rushed for 15 yards and a touchdown. His 83.3 percent completion rate leads the Bobcats this season among quarterbacks with at least one attempt. When Lamson went out last week, Duchien came in and ripped off a rushing touchdown on his very first touch of the game.
Duchien has already flashed his big-play ability this season. Against Butler, he entered late and connected with Jabez Woods on a 35-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of Montana State’s 51-24 victory.
Dowler has 23 catches for 218 yards so far this year and is also averaging more than 20 yards per punt return, the top average in the country. With Dowler sidelined, Dane Steel, Jabez Woods and Jordan Reed are expected to be among Duchien’s primary targets.
Steel enters tonight’s game in the midst of a breakout junior season. He has 17 catches for 326 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
Woods has already made his mark as one of Montana State’s most explosive playmakers. Against Butler, the junior returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown — the Bobcats’ first kickoff-return touchdown since 2022 — before catching a 35-yard touchdown from Duchien later in the game.
Reed, a 6-foot-6, 228-pound fifth-year senio and former quarterback, gives Duchien a massive target on the outside.
Montana State enters tonight’s game 4-0 and ranked No. 1 in the FCS. The Bobcats have won 18 consecutive games dating back to last season’s national championship run.
The timetable for Lamson & Dowler’s recoveries are undetermined. This story will be updated.
