Saturday, October 31
Grand Forks, ND
1 pm CT/12 noon MT
Montana State University
at
North Dakota
North Dakota's Alerus Center
Bobcat Game Day Notebook #8: MSU at North Dakota
10/31/2015 11:32:00 AM | Football
Cats look to bottle up sensational UND freshman
The task gets much tougher, but Montana State head coach Rob Ash hopes the good feelings from his team's 63-7 win over East Tennessee State carry forward a week and permeate the rest of the season.
"It was really helpful to perform well and hold the points down last week," Ash said in the hours before his team's Big Sky contest against North Dakota. "That was very positive for the defense. But we still have a lot of issues to fix, so it was a learning experience as well. We were able to focus our attention this week on the things we need to correct."
Las week's game was marked by the team's top defensive performance of the season, and also by some tweaks to both scheme and personnel. The team settled on its tradition four-three alignment after experimenting with odd-man fronts, and also moved defensive end Jessie Clark into the starting lineup while shifting Zach Hutchins to the Will linebacker spot. End Robert Wilcox also saw more action.
"All those moves were made before the East Tennessee State so last week we were really getting people used to new roles," Ash said. "We had another week to practice it should be more natural."
* * * * *
Ash says movement keys North Dakota on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Defensively, UND employs "twists and a lot of line movement" to create confusion in the opposing offensive line. Offensively, it's the quick and sudden movement by freshman running back John Santiago that is the primary concern. "He has great quickness and speed," Ash says, "but is really good at reading where the hole will be. He can get to the outside or cut back, and if he finds a seam he'll be gone."
* * * * *
How important will Montana State's passing game be today? North Dakota has allowed 27 touchdowns this season, 24 through the air. Ash says he's not worried about two-thirds of the formula for aerial success. "I think on the throwing part and the catching part we'll be fine. But the protection part might be an issue."
Ash said UND's line games and blitzes may force the Bobcats to access different parts of the playbook than normal. "We don't want Dakota to be a sitting duck back there," he said. "We may be moving him around, throwing in situations that are not necessarily conventional passing situations. They come at you from a lot of different angles."
* * * * *
There is not a lot of news on the personnel front today. RB Gunnar Brekke remains out, and Logan Jones is among those expected to contribute at running back. OG Kyle Godecke is available, but Dylan Mahoney starts. Devin Jeffries is out for the season at DE, and Zach Wright moves into the depth chart. DeMonte King starts for Khari Garcia, but both will play.
* * * * *
An old friend travels to Grand Forks today with dual purposes. Bobcat All-America Brent Swaggert, who coached UND running back John Santiago in high school, will make an appearance. It is his record (and Jon Montoya's) of 48 consecutive starts that current left tackle John Weidenaar is approaching. Swaggert started every game of his Bobcat career, and Weidenaar nears that feat. Swaggert is one of Montana State's all-time great players.
"It was really helpful to perform well and hold the points down last week," Ash said in the hours before his team's Big Sky contest against North Dakota. "That was very positive for the defense. But we still have a lot of issues to fix, so it was a learning experience as well. We were able to focus our attention this week on the things we need to correct."
Las week's game was marked by the team's top defensive performance of the season, and also by some tweaks to both scheme and personnel. The team settled on its tradition four-three alignment after experimenting with odd-man fronts, and also moved defensive end Jessie Clark into the starting lineup while shifting Zach Hutchins to the Will linebacker spot. End Robert Wilcox also saw more action.
"All those moves were made before the East Tennessee State so last week we were really getting people used to new roles," Ash said. "We had another week to practice it should be more natural."
* * * * *
Ash says movement keys North Dakota on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Defensively, UND employs "twists and a lot of line movement" to create confusion in the opposing offensive line. Offensively, it's the quick and sudden movement by freshman running back John Santiago that is the primary concern. "He has great quickness and speed," Ash says, "but is really good at reading where the hole will be. He can get to the outside or cut back, and if he finds a seam he'll be gone."
* * * * *
How important will Montana State's passing game be today? North Dakota has allowed 27 touchdowns this season, 24 through the air. Ash says he's not worried about two-thirds of the formula for aerial success. "I think on the throwing part and the catching part we'll be fine. But the protection part might be an issue."
Ash said UND's line games and blitzes may force the Bobcats to access different parts of the playbook than normal. "We don't want Dakota to be a sitting duck back there," he said. "We may be moving him around, throwing in situations that are not necessarily conventional passing situations. They come at you from a lot of different angles."
* * * * *
There is not a lot of news on the personnel front today. RB Gunnar Brekke remains out, and Logan Jones is among those expected to contribute at running back. OG Kyle Godecke is available, but Dylan Mahoney starts. Devin Jeffries is out for the season at DE, and Zach Wright moves into the depth chart. DeMonte King starts for Khari Garcia, but both will play.
* * * * *
An old friend travels to Grand Forks today with dual purposes. Bobcat All-America Brent Swaggert, who coached UND running back John Santiago in high school, will make an appearance. It is his record (and Jon Montoya's) of 48 consecutive starts that current left tackle John Weidenaar is approaching. Swaggert started every game of his Bobcat career, and Weidenaar nears that feat. Swaggert is one of Montana State's all-time great players.
Players Mentioned
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DE
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DL
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RB
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OL
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OL
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DL
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