Montana State University
NORTH DAKOTA (HOMECOMING)
Bobcat Game Day Notebook #5: MSU vs. North Dakota
9/27/2014 1:26:00 PM | Football
Cats feature wounded receiver corps
Montana State brings a wounded offense into today's showdown with North Dakota.
Starters Brian Flotkoetter and Tanner Roderick will each miss today's game after injuries suffered last week. Manny Kalfell is also out, and add in the absence of David Dash and MSU's receiving corp is decimated. The Cats will start true freshmen Justin Paige and Mitchell Herbert and Will Krolick.
Injuries are not the only factor the Bobcats will be forced to deal with in the passing game today. "The rain is one thing, but the wind is also a very important factor," Bobcat coach Rob Ash said of Saturday's weather conditions. "That affects the passing game, for sure," Ash said, adding that a renewed emphasis on taking care of the football takes on renewed importance. "The biggest thing is ball security,handling a wet football. It might limit some things you try to do, but the important thing is just to hang on to it."
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The Bobcats are also missing defensive tackle Taylor Dees today. He was also injured last week, and Nate Bignell - whose father Joe was part of the 1984 National Championship squad honored today - gets the start.
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According to members of the North Dakota travel party, the last game UND played in the rain was quite likely 1996. The Cats have playe in rain recently in Portland.
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UND's ground-oriented offense seems tailored for today's weather. So too, Ash says,does the team's blitzing defense. "We won't change our system to account for their blitzes," Ash said. "We'll just call our plays and react after the fact. We have some pre-snap reads that will be important, but the important thing will be executing."
