Thursday, September 3
7:05 pm
Montana State University
vs
FORT LEWIS
Gold Rush 2015 is here!
Bobcats Open 2015 Season with Gold Rush Game
9/3/2015 4:45:00 PM | Football
Fort Lewis visits Thursday night
The head football coach of Fort Lewis College surveyed the new Bobcat Stadium while gnawing on a toothpick, a smile creasing his face.
"It's changed a lot since the last time I was here," said John L. Smith, now in his third season leading the Skyhawks. Nearly 22 years have passed since Smith's last trip to the football stadium near 11th & Kagy in Bozeman. In the interim he left the University of Idaho, which he had perched No. 1 in the I-AA rankings in late October of 1993, for Utah State, then Louisville, Michigan State and Arkansas.
If Smith doesn't remember particulars about that day long ago he can be excused, but it's one Bobcat fans will never forget. Montana State knocked off the Vandals 40-35, a stunning upset that set up one of the great two-week spans in program history. The next week, the Cats won at Boise State for the only time in school history.
But Thursday, the attention is on Bobcat Stadium in the here and now, as MSU kicks off a season with high hopes and a high level of anticipation. MSU returns eight starters from an offense that set school records for points and yards, led by quarterback Dakota Prukop. Ninth-year head coach Rob Ash expects big things from this year's offense, but says he's not willing to put a measuring stick on it before the season even starts.
"It will be a tall order and a challenge to rise to (last year's) levels," Ash said. "We had a new quarterback, and it was the first year that it was really Tim Cramsey's offense, so there were a lot of unknowns in preparing for us early in the year. People will have seen us on film and will be better prepared. But on the flip side, we'll be better at what we do.
"It sounds like a cliché, but our goal on offense is to score enough points to win that game on that day," he continued. "That's really our only offensive goal."
Much of the preseason intrigue has centered on the defense, and Ash admitted that he is "excited to see what (co-coordinator) Kane (Ioane) has dialed up. I think he's going to have some fun, I think he's going to get after people, I think the defense will make mistakes but ultimately I hope we force mistakes, too. I really want to come away from this game with the defense having a lot of confidence in themselves."
Ash said Fort Lewis, a pistol offense, looks structurally like Portland State but "they do a lot of the things that Weber State and North Dakota do. They'll be very fundamentally sound and very creative, maybe running on first and 10 then using play action on third and one. They are very sound on both sides of the ball, very well-coached."
Kickoff Thursday is 7:05 pm.
"It's changed a lot since the last time I was here," said John L. Smith, now in his third season leading the Skyhawks. Nearly 22 years have passed since Smith's last trip to the football stadium near 11th & Kagy in Bozeman. In the interim he left the University of Idaho, which he had perched No. 1 in the I-AA rankings in late October of 1993, for Utah State, then Louisville, Michigan State and Arkansas.
If Smith doesn't remember particulars about that day long ago he can be excused, but it's one Bobcat fans will never forget. Montana State knocked off the Vandals 40-35, a stunning upset that set up one of the great two-week spans in program history. The next week, the Cats won at Boise State for the only time in school history.
But Thursday, the attention is on Bobcat Stadium in the here and now, as MSU kicks off a season with high hopes and a high level of anticipation. MSU returns eight starters from an offense that set school records for points and yards, led by quarterback Dakota Prukop. Ninth-year head coach Rob Ash expects big things from this year's offense, but says he's not willing to put a measuring stick on it before the season even starts.
"It will be a tall order and a challenge to rise to (last year's) levels," Ash said. "We had a new quarterback, and it was the first year that it was really Tim Cramsey's offense, so there were a lot of unknowns in preparing for us early in the year. People will have seen us on film and will be better prepared. But on the flip side, we'll be better at what we do.
"It sounds like a cliché, but our goal on offense is to score enough points to win that game on that day," he continued. "That's really our only offensive goal."
Much of the preseason intrigue has centered on the defense, and Ash admitted that he is "excited to see what (co-coordinator) Kane (Ioane) has dialed up. I think he's going to have some fun, I think he's going to get after people, I think the defense will make mistakes but ultimately I hope we force mistakes, too. I really want to come away from this game with the defense having a lot of confidence in themselves."
Ash said Fort Lewis, a pistol offense, looks structurally like Portland State but "they do a lot of the things that Weber State and North Dakota do. They'll be very fundamentally sound and very creative, maybe running on first and 10 then using play action on third and one. They are very sound on both sides of the ball, very well-coached."
Kickoff Thursday is 7:05 pm.
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