Bobcats Slip Past Southern Utah
10/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Senior cornerback Kory Austin's interception with 33 seconds to play helped Montana State lock Southern Utah out of the end zone and preserve a 7-3 MSU victory in muddy Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.
Montana State's defense proved on Saturday that it doesn't need to score to help Montana State win, forcing three Southern Utah turnovers and limiting the Thunderbird option attack to 319 yards and three points. Montana State's defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the last four games, all Bobcat wins.
To quarterback Jack Rolovich, whose offense provided just enough firepower for the win, personal stats and margin of victory didn't matter on Saturday. "It was a team effort," Rolovich said of MSU's win on a day dominated by defense and overshadowed by field conditions. "The defense may have been a little more productive today, but we won as a team. That's all that matters."
All that mattered to the Bobcat defense was keeping SUU out of the end zone, said Bobcat linebacker Bobby Daly. "It seems like we're a bend-but-don't-break defense," said the junior who compiled 17 tackles, including 11 solos, and added two sacks. "We'd rather not bend at all, but it really comes down to making plays. We made plays when we needed to."
Southern Utah got its only points of the day on the first possession of the second half. The Thunderbirds returned the second-half kickoff to the Bobcat 46 and moved to the MSU 31 before Steve Pulver nailed a 48-yard field goal.
After forcing SUU punts on the next three possessions, the fireworks began for the MSU defense. With just under 10 minutes to play in the game and Southern Utah on the move, Kevin Retoriano stepped in front of a Wes Marshall pass at the Bobcat eight. That interception, and the 21-yard return, got the Bobcats out of a first fourth-quarter jam. On the next possession, the Bobcats forced Southern Utah to turn the ball over on downs in MSU territory.
"The game turned on several important plays," Ash said, "and our defense made most of them."
The most important of those plays came on Southern Utah's final possession. The Thunderbirds took over at the Southern Utah 13 following a Bobcat punt, and Marshall marched his team down the field with surgical precision. After moving 76 yards in just six plays, SUU faced a second-and-10 from the Bobcat 11. Marshall rolled to his right, and under pressure threw into the end zone. Kory Austin made the interception with 33 seconds left to essentially end the game.
"Kory is such a clutch player," Ash said. "I know he was back there thinking, 'Throw it my way.'"
While most will look at MSU's offensive statistics and see futility, Rolovich saw efficiency. "(The offense) scored seven points, and without that the score's 3-0," he said. Rolovich proved that he could find more than one way to help his squad. While the senior threw for only 75 yards, saying the muddy and wet conditions made handling the football difficult at times, he also rushed for 26 yards. He and running backs Demetrius Crawford, Aaron Mason and Isaiah Taito combined to rush for 144 yards on the day. Mason scored the afternoon's only touchdown, slipping in from seven yards out with 12:01 to play in the second quarter.
With the win, Montana State raised its record to 4-1 overall. Southern Utah, having played Division I FCS' most brutal schedule dropped to 0-5 overall, with four of those losses to nationally-ranked opponents. The Bobcats travel to Woodward Stadium in Cheney, Wash., next week to face Eastern Washington.
Montana State's defense proved on Saturday that it doesn't need to score to help Montana State win, forcing three Southern Utah turnovers and limiting the Thunderbird option attack to 319 yards and three points. Montana State's defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the last four games, all Bobcat wins.
To quarterback Jack Rolovich, whose offense provided just enough firepower for the win, personal stats and margin of victory didn't matter on Saturday. "It was a team effort," Rolovich said of MSU's win on a day dominated by defense and overshadowed by field conditions. "The defense may have been a little more productive today, but we won as a team. That's all that matters."
All that mattered to the Bobcat defense was keeping SUU out of the end zone, said Bobcat linebacker Bobby Daly. "It seems like we're a bend-but-don't-break defense," said the junior who compiled 17 tackles, including 11 solos, and added two sacks. "We'd rather not bend at all, but it really comes down to making plays. We made plays when we needed to."
Southern Utah got its only points of the day on the first possession of the second half. The Thunderbirds returned the second-half kickoff to the Bobcat 46 and moved to the MSU 31 before Steve Pulver nailed a 48-yard field goal.
After forcing SUU punts on the next three possessions, the fireworks began for the MSU defense. With just under 10 minutes to play in the game and Southern Utah on the move, Kevin Retoriano stepped in front of a Wes Marshall pass at the Bobcat eight. That interception, and the 21-yard return, got the Bobcats out of a first fourth-quarter jam. On the next possession, the Bobcats forced Southern Utah to turn the ball over on downs in MSU territory.
"The game turned on several important plays," Ash said, "and our defense made most of them."
The most important of those plays came on Southern Utah's final possession. The Thunderbirds took over at the Southern Utah 13 following a Bobcat punt, and Marshall marched his team down the field with surgical precision. After moving 76 yards in just six plays, SUU faced a second-and-10 from the Bobcat 11. Marshall rolled to his right, and under pressure threw into the end zone. Kory Austin made the interception with 33 seconds left to essentially end the game.
"Kory is such a clutch player," Ash said. "I know he was back there thinking, 'Throw it my way.'"
While most will look at MSU's offensive statistics and see futility, Rolovich saw efficiency. "(The offense) scored seven points, and without that the score's 3-0," he said. Rolovich proved that he could find more than one way to help his squad. While the senior threw for only 75 yards, saying the muddy and wet conditions made handling the football difficult at times, he also rushed for 26 yards. He and running backs Demetrius Crawford, Aaron Mason and Isaiah Taito combined to rush for 144 yards on the day. Mason scored the afternoon's only touchdown, slipping in from seven yards out with 12:01 to play in the second quarter.
With the win, Montana State raised its record to 4-1 overall. Southern Utah, having played Division I FCS' most brutal schedule dropped to 0-5 overall, with four of those losses to nationally-ranked opponents. The Bobcats travel to Woodward Stadium in Cheney, Wash., next week to face Eastern Washington.
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