Dakota Prukop runs upfield in Saturday's win over Cal Poly.
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Newell, Sandland spark Bobcats in win over Cal Poly
9/26/2015 5:19:00 PM | Football, General
Rob Ash coaches his 100th game for the Blue and Gold
For the past few seasons, Montana State has struggled against ranked teams, but that was not the case on Saturday in Bozeman as the 15th-ranked Bobcats blew away No. 20 Cal Poly, 45-28 in the 100th game coached at MSU by Rob Ash.
The Bobcats (2-1 overall, 1-0 in Big Sky action) entered the game with six straight losses to ranked opponents, but behind the passing of Dakota Prukop and the running of Chad Newell, it was the Mustangs from San Luis Obispo, Calif., who endured the setback. Prukop enjoyed a stellar day, tossing two touchdown passes to Beau Sandland and another to Jayshawn Gates that covered 88 yards.
Meanwhile, Newell bulldozed his way to 111 yards and three scores, the first two giving MSU a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Two key plays triggered the second scoring drive: A successful fake punt engineered by Trevor Bolton gained 12 yards, and on the very next play, Prukop handed the ball to Mitch Griebel who flipped it back to Prukop who found Sandland downfield for 51 yards. Moments later, Newell was in the endzone on a 4-yard scamper.
Sandland had his best game as a member of the Blue and Gold since transferring from Miami during the offseason. The Mustangs couldn't stop the hulk-like senior who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds as he finished with five catches for 156 yards.
It was still in the opening quarter when Prukop found the streaking Gates who casually stuck his hands out in midstride as the ball settled nicely over his shoulder. The play covered 88 yards, making it the third longest pass play in MSU history and energized the Homecoming crowd of 19,707 which was in full roar for most of the afternoon.
The Mustangs (1-3, 0-1) still had some fight left in them. A nice drive that ended in a 36-yard run by Joe Protheroe made it 21-7, but on the first play of the second quarter, Prukop connected with Sandland for a 63-yard score.
Cal Poly, which relies almost exclusively on running the ball, finally completed a pass in the second quarter, and it was a big one. Chris Brown, who finished six of 15 for 50 yards, found Willie Tucker in the endzone to trim it to 28-14. Following a Luke Daly field goal of 33 yards, the Mustangs made the halftime score 31-21 on a Kori Garcia 6-yard sweep around the right end.
While the second half may have lacked the scoring explosions exhibited by both teams in the first half, the Bobcats played much more methodical, dominating the time of possession and preventing the Mustangs from amounting a comeback and ensuring that Ash, the longest-tenured Bobcat coach, would improve his mark in Bozeman to 67-33.
A 13-yard scoring reception by Sandland opened the second half. Moments later, Nate Bignell sniffed out a 4th down screen pass, and on the Bobcats' ensuing possession, they once again marched the ball down the field as Newell found the endzone for the third time, putting the game out of reach, 45-21.
Cal Poly's final score came on a 12-yard throw from Brown to Jordan Hines, the only score by either team in the fourth quarter.
One week after amassing 718 total yards in a 55-50 loss at Eastern Washington, MSU racked up 602 yards against the Mustangs. Prukop had a fine day throwing the ball, completing 19 of 26 passes for 399 yards. While Sandland gained the most yards, it was Griebel who collected six balls for 67 yards.
On a day when the offense was working well, MSU's defense held serve behind the inspired play of Tucker Yates and Devin Jeffries, both of whom were making their first career starts in a Bobcat uniform and helped MSU hold Cal Poly to 406 total yards. Protheroe ran for 156 yards and Garcia another 106, but Brown, who came in averaging 113 yards on the ground, was held to just 58.
Next up for the Bobcats is a road trip to Northern Arizona, which played at Montana on Saturday. Cal Poly plays host to Idaho State, which visited UNLV late Saturday.
The Bobcats (2-1 overall, 1-0 in Big Sky action) entered the game with six straight losses to ranked opponents, but behind the passing of Dakota Prukop and the running of Chad Newell, it was the Mustangs from San Luis Obispo, Calif., who endured the setback. Prukop enjoyed a stellar day, tossing two touchdown passes to Beau Sandland and another to Jayshawn Gates that covered 88 yards.
Meanwhile, Newell bulldozed his way to 111 yards and three scores, the first two giving MSU a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Two key plays triggered the second scoring drive: A successful fake punt engineered by Trevor Bolton gained 12 yards, and on the very next play, Prukop handed the ball to Mitch Griebel who flipped it back to Prukop who found Sandland downfield for 51 yards. Moments later, Newell was in the endzone on a 4-yard scamper.
Sandland had his best game as a member of the Blue and Gold since transferring from Miami during the offseason. The Mustangs couldn't stop the hulk-like senior who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds as he finished with five catches for 156 yards.
It was still in the opening quarter when Prukop found the streaking Gates who casually stuck his hands out in midstride as the ball settled nicely over his shoulder. The play covered 88 yards, making it the third longest pass play in MSU history and energized the Homecoming crowd of 19,707 which was in full roar for most of the afternoon.
The Mustangs (1-3, 0-1) still had some fight left in them. A nice drive that ended in a 36-yard run by Joe Protheroe made it 21-7, but on the first play of the second quarter, Prukop connected with Sandland for a 63-yard score.
Cal Poly, which relies almost exclusively on running the ball, finally completed a pass in the second quarter, and it was a big one. Chris Brown, who finished six of 15 for 50 yards, found Willie Tucker in the endzone to trim it to 28-14. Following a Luke Daly field goal of 33 yards, the Mustangs made the halftime score 31-21 on a Kori Garcia 6-yard sweep around the right end.
While the second half may have lacked the scoring explosions exhibited by both teams in the first half, the Bobcats played much more methodical, dominating the time of possession and preventing the Mustangs from amounting a comeback and ensuring that Ash, the longest-tenured Bobcat coach, would improve his mark in Bozeman to 67-33.
A 13-yard scoring reception by Sandland opened the second half. Moments later, Nate Bignell sniffed out a 4th down screen pass, and on the Bobcats' ensuing possession, they once again marched the ball down the field as Newell found the endzone for the third time, putting the game out of reach, 45-21.
Cal Poly's final score came on a 12-yard throw from Brown to Jordan Hines, the only score by either team in the fourth quarter.
One week after amassing 718 total yards in a 55-50 loss at Eastern Washington, MSU racked up 602 yards against the Mustangs. Prukop had a fine day throwing the ball, completing 19 of 26 passes for 399 yards. While Sandland gained the most yards, it was Griebel who collected six balls for 67 yards.
On a day when the offense was working well, MSU's defense held serve behind the inspired play of Tucker Yates and Devin Jeffries, both of whom were making their first career starts in a Bobcat uniform and helped MSU hold Cal Poly to 406 total yards. Protheroe ran for 156 yards and Garcia another 106, but Brown, who came in averaging 113 yards on the ground, was held to just 58.
Next up for the Bobcats is a road trip to Northern Arizona, which played at Montana on Saturday. Cal Poly plays host to Idaho State, which visited UNLV late Saturday.
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