Bobcats Topple 8th-Ranked Furman
11/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Jack Rolovich threw for 272 yards and redshirt freshman Jessie Anderson turned his own blocked punt into a touchdown, but Mike Kramer knew right where to lay much of the credit for Montana State's 31-13 NCAA Division I Playoff win over eight-ranked Furman on Saturday.
"There's no way I can back away from the fact that we did an excellent job on defense," said MSU's seventh-year head coach, who led the Bobcats to their first playoff win since he was a Montana State assistant 22 years ago. "Rob Christoff and the defensive staff did an excellent job. It's one thing to draw it on the board, but it's another to transmute it through the kids out to the field."
The Bobcat defense dominated the game until the outcome was beyond question. Furman, one of the top rushing teams in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, gained only 123 total yards through three quarters, and gained only one net rushing yard in the first half. "I think we have to say it was a great job of strangulation," Kramer said. "We got into a wrestling match with a great team that is strong running the ball, and we strangled the run out of them."
While MSU's defense kept Furman from mounting any serious first-half threats - Furman ran only two plays in Bobcat territory in the first half, and each, on separate drives, resulted in negative-yardage plays - the Bobcat offense capitalized on the big play. On MSU's third play from scrimmage, one that appeared hamstrung at the outset by a bad snap, Rolovich scrambled to the right and found Donell Wheaton all alone behind the secondary for a 51-yard score.
"When I'm scrambling around like that the first thing I look for, and it's not always a good thing, is guys to turn up field," Rolovich said. "Donell and Michael always keep plays alive by getting up the field."
By keeping plays alive -- Jefferson caught a 35-yarder that set up a touchdown under similar circumstances -- Montana State's offense kept the team's post-season dreams alive. But in the second quarter, when the 'Cats put the game away, the defense and special teams stood tallest.
With just under 10 minutes left in the first half, and Furman punting from its own end zone, Anderson crashed through the Paladin punt protection unit and blocked a punt by Trent Hawk. The ball bounded out to the four yard line, where MSU's Brian Williams picked it up and made a move toward the end zone. The ball popped loose, and Anderson, hustling, recovered for a touchdown. MSU led 17-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Williams forced a fumble and Kory Austin recovered, giving MSU possession on the Furman 25. On first down, Rolovich feathered a ball into Mike Jefferson's hands in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
"I just looked up," Jefferson said, "and the ball stuck in my hands."
With the Bobcat offense and special teams turning in big plays in the second quarter, the defense was solid. Furman ran only 12 offensive plays in three possessions in the period, three coming after the team's only second-quarter first down, which came on an MSU penalty.
With the Southern Conference runner-up dispatched, the doubts expressed by some about MSU's playoff worthiness seem silly. "There's so much to be proud of," Kramer said. "From clearing the field and getting it into great shape, to the outstanding crowd and the beautiful day, when you take everything that has gone before us, you have to understand that it is all behind us. What lies ahead is a golden opportunity."
Montana State plays at #1 Appalachian State, the tournament's top seed and the nation's no. one team, next Saturday. The time is to be determined.
"There's no way I can back away from the fact that we did an excellent job on defense," said MSU's seventh-year head coach, who led the Bobcats to their first playoff win since he was a Montana State assistant 22 years ago. "Rob Christoff and the defensive staff did an excellent job. It's one thing to draw it on the board, but it's another to transmute it through the kids out to the field."
The Bobcat defense dominated the game until the outcome was beyond question. Furman, one of the top rushing teams in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, gained only 123 total yards through three quarters, and gained only one net rushing yard in the first half. "I think we have to say it was a great job of strangulation," Kramer said. "We got into a wrestling match with a great team that is strong running the ball, and we strangled the run out of them."
While MSU's defense kept Furman from mounting any serious first-half threats - Furman ran only two plays in Bobcat territory in the first half, and each, on separate drives, resulted in negative-yardage plays - the Bobcat offense capitalized on the big play. On MSU's third play from scrimmage, one that appeared hamstrung at the outset by a bad snap, Rolovich scrambled to the right and found Donell Wheaton all alone behind the secondary for a 51-yard score.
"When I'm scrambling around like that the first thing I look for, and it's not always a good thing, is guys to turn up field," Rolovich said. "Donell and Michael always keep plays alive by getting up the field."
By keeping plays alive -- Jefferson caught a 35-yarder that set up a touchdown under similar circumstances -- Montana State's offense kept the team's post-season dreams alive. But in the second quarter, when the 'Cats put the game away, the defense and special teams stood tallest.
With just under 10 minutes left in the first half, and Furman punting from its own end zone, Anderson crashed through the Paladin punt protection unit and blocked a punt by Trent Hawk. The ball bounded out to the four yard line, where MSU's Brian Williams picked it up and made a move toward the end zone. The ball popped loose, and Anderson, hustling, recovered for a touchdown. MSU led 17-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Williams forced a fumble and Kory Austin recovered, giving MSU possession on the Furman 25. On first down, Rolovich feathered a ball into Mike Jefferson's hands in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
"I just looked up," Jefferson said, "and the ball stuck in my hands."
With the Bobcat offense and special teams turning in big plays in the second quarter, the defense was solid. Furman ran only 12 offensive plays in three possessions in the period, three coming after the team's only second-quarter first down, which came on an MSU penalty.
With the Southern Conference runner-up dispatched, the doubts expressed by some about MSU's playoff worthiness seem silly. "There's so much to be proud of," Kramer said. "From clearing the field and getting it into great shape, to the outstanding crowd and the beautiful day, when you take everything that has gone before us, you have to understand that it is all behind us. What lies ahead is a golden opportunity."
Montana State plays at #1 Appalachian State, the tournament's top seed and the nation's no. one team, next Saturday. The time is to be determined.
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