Bobcat Sunday Notebook #11

Saturday, November 15

Bozeman, MT

1:40 pm

Montana State University

8-3 , 6-1

IDAHO STATE (SENIOR DAY/MILITARY APPRECIATION/FFA DAY)

7-4 , 5-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Idaho State

Montana State

A hot time was had in freezing-cold Bobcat Stadium on Saturday

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

11/16/2014 7:36:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Impressive win sends Bobcats into Cat-Griz week

By: Bill Lamberty

A popular topic of conversation in the press conference after Montana State's thrilling 44-39 win over Idaho State in frigid Bobcat Stadium Saturday was the confidence gained by the home team from the win.

MSU's veteran head coach Rob Ash politely concurred. "I think we're playing with confidence right now," he said.

But he knows that while confidence is nice, production matters. And as he reviewed Saturday's performance, he was most pleased with his team's execution and production. "The offense played very well," he said. "Jake Bleskin threw the ball and executed the game plan, Chad Newell ran well, the receivers and tight ends had some good catches and runs."

In November, though, when temperatures dip to numbers reserved for quarterbacks and other skill-position players with seniority, Ash knows that the guys who wear the jerseys that remind us of the dreamy autumn days of September and October matter the most.

"I thought the big guys, the offensive linemen, were favulous," he said. "To control the line of scrimmage, to be able to run the ball, is the most important thing. I say it so often that I think it sounds like a cliche, but it's not. It's a tribute to the players on the offensive line and Coach Mac (Jason McEndoo). They have been the foundation of this program for years, and this year's line has been sensational."

Below is a closer look at Saturday's win over Idaho State, with a quick peek ahead to the Cat-Griz game...

INJURY REPORT
OUT - SEASON: WR David Dash, CB Jaylen Price, LB Blake Braun, DE Robert Wilcox, WR Brandon Davis, WR Manny Kalfell, WR Brian Flotkoetter, LB Wyatt Christensen, LB Michael Foster.
OUT – INDEFINITELY: DB James Nelson.
QUESTIONABLE: RB Shawn Johnson, WR Justin Paige., QB Dakota Prukop.

TEAM STATS REPORT
BIG SKY LEADERS: 2^nd in scoring (40.8), 2^nd in rushing offense (257.0), 3^rd in total offense (504.3), 1^st in pass efficiency (168.3), 1^st in punting (41.3), 3^rd in kickoff coverage (42.1), 3^rd in third down conversions (45.5), T3^rd in fourth down conversions (66.7), 3^rd in time of possession (31:49)
FCS LEADERS: 3^rd in completion percentage (.685), 1^st in net punting (41.3), 9^th in passing yards per completion (14.24), 8^th in punt return defense (3.58), 8^th in rushing offense (256.9), 6^th in scoring offense (40.8), 2^nd in team passing efficiency (168.27), 6^th in total offense (504.2)

MEDIA INFORMATION
Only Bobcat captains Tiai Salanoa, Na'a Moeakiola, Quinn Catalano and Cole Moore will be available for interviews this week.

BOBCAT NOTES
• In a time of year generally marked by conservative, low-scoring football, four of the Big Sky's 12 teams in action scored at least 40 points, and nine scored 30 or more. And of course, the team not in action Saturday was Eastern Washington, who leads the FCS in scoring.
• Montana State's eighth win, which came Saturday against Idaho State, pushes the Cats past to that plateau for fourth time in the last five seasons. Before 2010, the Bobcats reach at least eight wins only 10 times.
• Montana State has now scored 449 points in 2014, the most in one season in Bobcat history. The average of 40.8 per game currently clears the existing record of 35.8 per game in 1966. That is the only spot in the top five not presently occupied by a team from the Rob Ash era.
• Three different Bobcat quarterbacks have combined to produce seven 300-yard passing games in Montana State's last 22 games.
• Jake Bleskin has thrown for over 300 yards in all three of his career starts (Colorado Mesa and Stephen F. Austin last year, and Idaho State last week).
• Eryon Barnett's third quarter interception Saturday snapped a string of 10 consecutive quarters without a takeaway.
• Rob Marshall recovered his third fumble of the season Saturday, the most in the Big Sky and the seventh-most in a season in Bobcat history.
• The temperature at kickoff of the Montana State-Idaho State game Saturday was seven degrees, the second-coldest kickoff in Reno H. Sales/Bobcat Stadium history. The coldest was six degrees in the 2003 Cat-Griz game, when Corey Smith returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to help the Bobcats smite Montana 27-20.
• Five teams enter the Big Sky's final weekend alive in the Big Sky title chase, including the two competitors in this week's Cat-Griz game, but only Eastern Washington and Montana State control their own destinies by virtue of owning 6-1 league records. Three teams enter weekend play at 5-2 (UM, Idaho State and NAU).
• Anthony Knight's three rushing touchdowns Saturday gives him 12 for the season, the seventh-best season total in school history.
• Luke Daly's 33-yard field goal that was blocked by Idaho State was his first miss of the season inside 40 yards.
• With Chad Newell gaining 110 yards against Idaho State the Bobcats now have three players with 100-yard games in the same season for the first time since 1989 (Mark Rinehart, John Tetrault and Si Ryan each had one).
• The Bobcats' 32 first downs on Saturday was the sixth-best total in school history, and three of the top 12 marks have been compiled this season.
• Singleton is third in the FCS in solo tackles (7.0 per game), and Bryson Keeton is 25^th.
• Among Montana State's Big Sky foes in games completed this year, the Bobcats have current winning streaks of: 9 vs. Idaho State, 8 vs. Portland State, 5 vs. Weber State, 4 vs. UC Davis, 9 vs. Sacramento State. MSU's losing streak against Cal Poly is 8 games.
• The Bobcats rushed for at least 260 yards in six straight games, averaging 304.6 in that span. This year's MSU team has four 300-yard rushing games. Among Bobcat teams since 1993, only the 2011 squad posted more than one 300-yard rushing day. In fact, Rob Ash's eight MSU teams have now gained 300 yards or more rushing 10 times, while the previous 15 Bobcat squads combined for five.
• Senior tight end Tiai Salanoa has caught at least one pass in each game this season.
• The Bobcats continue to lead the FCS in net punting, at 41.1 yards per kick.
• Gunnar Brekke stands 9^th in the FCS, 2^nd in the Big Sky, in kickoff return average (27.3). He is also 64^th nationally, 6^th in the league, with 109.18 all-purpose yards per game.
• Montana State's win over Idaho State gave it the opportunity to play for a Big Sky Championship in the season's final day for the fourth time in five years and the eighth time since Mike Kramer's 2002 squad broke through with the program's first crown since 1984.

TEAM AWARDS vs. IDAHO STATE
OFFENSIVE SCOUT OF THE WEEK: WR Johnny D'Agostino (Bozeman, MT)
DEFENSIVE SCOUT OF THE WEEK: LB Grant Collins (Bozeman, MT), DT Tucker Yates (Colstrip, MT)
SPECIAL TEAMS SCOUT OF THE WEEK: John Gonzalez (Sammamish, WA)
SPECIAL TEAMS CORE PLAYERS: Cody Cleveland, Michael Foster, Chad Newell, Trace Timmer, Rhett Young