'Brain Bowl' Set for Saturday
9/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Montana State's football, ranked 14th in the nation this week, faces perhaps its most important non-conference test on Saturday. The Bobcats host Cal Poly, ranked 22nd nationally, in a game with implications far past September.
"It feels like November," was Kramer's assessment on Thursday.
But the contest Montana State's fifth-year head coach really wants to see has nothing to do with football.
"I'd like to see the engineering students from these two schools face each other in a build-off or something," Kramer says of two of the premiere engineering programs in the western U.S. "These schools are so much alike, so committed to excellence, that it's always a tremendous challenge to play them, and it's fun."
While many people have focused on the matchup between MSU's Roger Cooper and Cal Poly's Jordan Beck, a pair of nationally-considered linebackers, Kramer draws the comparison between Beck and a different linebacker. "Jordan Beck really reminds me more of Mac Mollohan than Roger," he said. "They're both excellent students, they're both a little undersized, but they both play all-out all the time. Beck ranges from sideline to sideline, perfect for their system, and Mac is the same way. They're both instinctual, stylish players that really reflect the strengths of their schools."
Kramer believes that this September showdown between two top 25 programs may have ramifications into November. "This is a huge game for both teams. For either team to harbor playoff aspirations, this is the kind of game you need to win. Certainly, losing today doesn't kill those hopes for either team, but the team that wins has a leg up."
"It feels like November," was Kramer's assessment on Thursday.
But the contest Montana State's fifth-year head coach really wants to see has nothing to do with football.
"I'd like to see the engineering students from these two schools face each other in a build-off or something," Kramer says of two of the premiere engineering programs in the western U.S. "These schools are so much alike, so committed to excellence, that it's always a tremendous challenge to play them, and it's fun."
While many people have focused on the matchup between MSU's Roger Cooper and Cal Poly's Jordan Beck, a pair of nationally-considered linebackers, Kramer draws the comparison between Beck and a different linebacker. "Jordan Beck really reminds me more of Mac Mollohan than Roger," he said. "They're both excellent students, they're both a little undersized, but they both play all-out all the time. Beck ranges from sideline to sideline, perfect for their system, and Mac is the same way. They're both instinctual, stylish players that really reflect the strengths of their schools."
Kramer believes that this September showdown between two top 25 programs may have ramifications into November. "This is a huge game for both teams. For either team to harbor playoff aspirations, this is the kind of game you need to win. Certainly, losing today doesn't kill those hopes for either team, but the team that wins has a leg up."
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