BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: Bobcats Finish 2016 in Style

Saturday, November 19

12 noon

Montana State University

4-7 , 2-6

Montana

6-5 , 3-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Montana State

Montana

Chris Murray and Chad Newell led the Cats to glorious victory in Missoula

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: Bobcats Finish 2016 in Style

11/20/2016 5:26:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Chris Murray, Bobcat offense make history with spectacular win over Grizzlies

By: Bill Lamberty

For the third time in the last four visits Montana State left Washington-Grizzly Stadium with the Great Divide Trophy, after the Bobcats beat the Grizzlies 24-17 on Saturday. Montana State gashed the Grizzlies for 368 rushing yards, piling up nine runs of 10 yards or longer and three of more than 45 yards. Still, the game was decided largely by a pair of fourth-and-ones. With just under 20 minutes to play, Montana faced fourth-and-goal from theBobcat one-yard line. Grizzlies quarterback Brady Gustafson tried to sneak into the end zone, but Missoula product Matt Brownlow delivered the key hit in stuffing the play and MSU's defense held. Then, with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cats faced a fourth-and-one from the UM 29, Chris Murray found Connor Sullivan inside the five-yard line for MSU's second completion of the day and the Cats politely knelt three times to end the game. Hysteria ensued.

Big Sky & National Player of the Week Nominees
Offense – QB Chris Murray (6-2, 180, Fr, Inglewood, CA): Montana State freshman quarterback Chris Murray rushed for 142 yards and threw for 37 more to lead the Bobcats to a 24-17 win over Montana in Missoula on Saturday. Murray became one of just three Bobcat freshmen to engineer wins against the Grizzlies in at least 50 years, scoring two touchdowns and triggering an MSU offense that held the ball for more than 38 minutes. On Montana State's game-clinching drive, facing a fourth-and-one in Grizzly territory, Murray completed only his second pass of the game (to tight end Connor Sullivan for 26 yards). He rushed for more than 10 yards on five different plays, and two of them came on third down. Murray finishes his freshman season with 860 rushing yards, a school record, and his 6.23 yards per carry is 16^th in the FCS. Murray scored 12 touchdowns on the ground, 13^th in the nation.
Defense – LB Josh Hill (5-11, 200, Fr, Kalispell, MT): Freshman linebacker Josh Hill registered eight tackles, one for a loss, forced a fumble, and intercepted a pass in Montana State's 24-17 win over Montana on Saturday. The freshman from Kalispell led a Bobcat defense that held Montana 195 yards and 24 points below its season average on its home field. The interception was Hill's second of the season, and the forced fumble was his first.
Special Teams – none
Freshman of the Week – QB Chris Murray (6-2, 180, Fr, Inglewood, CA): Montana State freshman quarterback Chris Murray rushed for 142 yards and threw for 37 more to lead the Bobcats to a 24-17 win over Montana in Missoula on Saturday. Murray became one of just three Bobcat freshmen to engineer wins against the Grizzlies in at least 50 years, scoring two touchdowns and triggering an MSU offense that held the ball for more than 38 minutes. On Montana State's game-clinching drive, facing a fourth-and-one in Grizzly territory, Murray completed only his second pass of the game (to tight end Connor Sullivan for 26 yards). He rushed for more than 10 yards on five different plays, and two of them came on third down. Murray finishes his freshman season with 860 rushing yards, a school record, and his 6.23 yards per carry is 16^th in the FCS. Murray scored 12 touchdowns on the ground, 13^th in the nation.
Offensive Lineman of the Week – OG JP Flynn (6-5, 305, Sr, Bettendorf, IA): In the last game of his career, JP Murray led a brilliant performance by Montana State's offensive line. Montana State rushed for 368 yards in a 24-17 win over Montana in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. MSU averaged 5.9 yards per carry on the afternoon, and on the season MSU gained 5.1 yards per rush and 212.0 yards per game. The team's only senior offensive line starter, Flynn capped a tremendous career by starting his 43^rd straight game, the sixth-longest starting streak in school history. The Preseason All-Big Sky choice and his linemates allowed just 16 sacks on the season.

Statistical Rankings
Top 25 in NCAA Team Rankings – 15. Red Zone Offense (0.882), 15. Punt Returns (13.15), 19. Punt Return Defense (4.43), 20. Rushing Offense (212.0), 20. Net Punting (37.9), 22. Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game (46.4), 24. Fewest Penalty Yards (510), 25. Kickoff Return Defense (18.2), 25. Kickoff Returns (21.82).
Top 30 in NCAA Individual Rankings – Mac Bignell: 10^th in Solo Tackles (5.8, which leads the Big Sky, 20^th in fumbles recovered (2), 36^th in tackles-for-loss (1.3); Fletcher Collins: 20^th in fumbles recovered (2); Kevin Kassis: 6^th in punt returns (12.8); Chris Murray: 16^th in rush yards per carry (6.23), 13^th in rushing TDs (12), 30^th in rushing yards (860), 26^th in total touchdowns (12).
.

Post-Game News and Notes
• Jeff Choate becomes Montana State's first rookie head coach to beat the Grizzlies since Dave Arnold in 1983, and the first to do so in Missoula since Tom Parac in 1968
• Montana State's 368 rushing yards Saturday marked MSU's second-most in a Cat-Griz game, nine shy of the record set in 1974.
• By rushing for 96 yards Gunnar Brekke narrowly missed his second 100-yard game of the season.
• Montana State's win Saturday marked its third in the last four visits to Missoula, the best road stretch for MSU in this series since the Bobcats won four of five in old Dornblaser Stadium from 1972-80.
• Senior RB Chad Newell rushed for 72 yards on Saturday. He finishes his career with 2,111 yards, 10^th in MSU history, and 29 rushing touchdowns, tied for second with The Iron Tumbleweed Don Hass. He finished with 231 yards and three touchdowns against the Grizzlies.
• By starting the final 43 games of his career JP Flynn moves into a 7^th-place tie in consecutive starts at Montana State.
• Montana State scored between 14 and 27 points in nine of its 11 2016 games.
• Freshman quarterback Chris Murray is 16^th in the FCS in rushing yards per carry, and only one freshman – Joe Logan of Northern Arizona – is ahead of him. Murray remains the only quarterback in the top 20.
• Chris Murray rushed for 142 yards against Montana on Saturday, the first 100-yard rushing game by a Bobcat against UM since Orenzo Davis dashed through the Grizzlies for 140 in 2010. Murray's 100-yard game is the first by a Bobcat quarterback vs. UM since Mike Holder in 1973.
• Murray's 860 yards rushing this season is an MSU freshman record, and his 12 rushing touchdowns is tied for 7^th on MSU's single-season list. That total is second-most for a Bobcat quarterback, behind Dakota Prukop's 13 two seasons ago, but it's the most ever by an MSU freshman.
• This year's Bobcat defense trimmed its points allowed from 34.3 yards per game in 2015 to 25.1 this year, and its yards allowed total from 472.6 to 388.6
• After failing to take the ball away from its opponent in four straight games (with a turnover margin of -17 in that stretch) the Bobcats took the ball away one time in each of the final two games (with a +2 margin).
• The Bobcats protected the ball flawlessly in the second, third and 11^th games this season, turning it over 25 times in the other eight games combined.
• Since Montana State veered away from the triple option offense in 1991, yesterday's 2 pass completions is program's fewest in a single game.