BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: Mitchell Herbert Enjoys Big Day

Mitchell Herbert

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK: Mitchell Herbert Enjoys Big Day

9/18/2016 7:39:00 PM | Football

Bobcat junior catches 100-yards worth of passes for second time in career

By: Bill Lamberty

Montana State forced five opponent turnovers for the second straight week and shut out Western Oregon 55-0 in Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcat offense started slowly, hitting just a field goal in the first quarter, but exploded for 31 points in the second. Tyler Bruggman threw for 211 yards, 100 to Mitchell Herbert, on 17-for-29 passing. MSU did not turn the ball over, was penalized just four times, and surrendered a single sack. Meanwhile the Bobcat defense suffocated Western Oregon's offense to the tune of eight first downs and 190 total yards allowed.

Big Sky & National Player of the Week Nominees
Offense – WR Mitchell Herbert (6-4, 210, Jr, Eugene, Oregon): Junior receiver Mitchell Herbert caught six passes for 100 yards and one touchdown to lead Montana State to a 55-0 win over Western Oregon on Saturday. Herbert's touchdown catch was a 32-yarder on the first drive of the second half, and he also impacted the game early by catching a 24-yard pass on MSU's third touchdown drive of the second quarter – the longest play of that drive – that gave MSU a 24-0 lead. The game pushed Herbert past the 1,000-yard receiving mark for his career (he now has 1,098 yards for his career, 500 short of 10^th place on MSU's career list). Herbert's touchdown pushed gives him 14 for his career, tied for fifth in school history and seven behind Kelly Davis' MSU record.
Defense – DE Jessie Clark (6-3, 245, Sr, Amite, Louisiana): Senior defensive end Jessie Clark recorded four tackles Saturday, two of which were sacks, in Montana State's 55-0 win over Western Oregon. Clark helped the Bobcats poste their first shutout since 2013 with one strip-sack, which gave MSU the ball at the WOU three-yard line and set up MSU's first touchdown of the game, and another sack for 11 yards in the third quarter that knocked the Wolves out of a drive. Clark also broke up another pass, and hurried the WOU quarterback once. He now has four forced fumbles in his 14 games at Montana State, along with 7.5 career sacks.
Special Teams – none
Freshman of the Week – QB Chris Murray (6-2, 180, Fr, Inglewood, California): Montana State's freshman reserve quarterback continues to impact the Bobcat offense, rushing for 33 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries in the 55-0 Bobcat win over Western Oregon. Murray also completed three of his six passes for 50 yards. Murray has carried the ball 18 times this season, third-most on the Bobcat team, and his 4.3 yards-per-carry is a team-high for players with more than five attempts.
Offensive Lineman of the Week – OG JP Flynn (6-6, 315, Sr, Bettendorf, Iowa): Senior guard JP Flynn helped anchor an offense that produced 55 point in a win over Western Oregon on Saturday. MSU's 55 points and 428 yards were each season highs, and the Cats have surrendered only four sacks and one turnover in three games this season.

MSU Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week – WR Mitchell Herbert (jr., Eugene, Oregon) Defensive Player of the Week – Jessie Clark (sr., Amite, Louisiana) Special Teams Player of the Week – Joey Michael (sr., Cashmere, Washington) Lineman of the Week – JP Flynn (sr., Bettendorf, Iowa)
Offensive Scout of the Week – Brady McChesney (fr., Kalispell, Montana) Defensive Scout of the Week – Denver Krone (fr., Choteau, Montana) Special Teams Scout of the Week – Balue Chapman (fr., Bozeman, Montana)
Carrying the Brand – Joey Michael American Flag – Jessie Clark Montana Flag – Marcus Ferriter
Captains – Chad Newell, Fletcher Collins, Mitchell Herbert

Statistical Rankings
Top 20 in NCAA Team Rankings – 1. Red Zone Offense (1.000), 1. Turnover Margin (3.67), 1. Turnovers Gained (12), 1. Fumbles Lost (0), 1. Passes Intercepted (7), 4. Red Zone Defense (.500), 4. Fumbles Recovered (5), 6. Blocked Punts (1), 6. Turnovers Lost (1), 7. Scoring Defense (14.7), 11. Fewest Penalties per Game (4.33), 13. Fewest Penalty Yards per Game (38.33), 14. Team Passing Efficiency Defense (95.67).
Top 10 in NCAA Individual Rankings – Mac Bignell: 8^th in Fumbles Recovered (1), 17^th in Solo Tackles (6.7). Fletcher Collins: 8^th in Fumbles Recovered (1). Lukas McCarthy: 7^th in forced fumbles (2). John Walker: 2^nd in Interceptions per Game (1.0). Grant Collins: 8^th in Fumbles Recovered (1). Walker Cozzie: 8^th in Fumbles Recovered (1). Marcus Ferriter: 8^th in Fumbles Recovered (1).

Post-Game News and Notes
Injury Report: Out for Season – DE Devin Jeffries, DT Robert Wilcox.

• MSU's 31 second-quarter points Saturday was tied for third-most the team has scored in that, or any, period
• John Walker intercepted his third pass of the season, and is halfway to joining the school's top 10 list in that category
• Before Saturday, Montana State's 11 takeaways this season is just two from its 2015 season total (13) and five from 2014 (16)
• After not losing a fumble in the first seven games of the 2015 season, MSU has not lost one in the first three games of 2016
• Montana State's seven takeaways leads the Big Sky Conference, and its one giveaway is second in the league
• Nick LaSane's 23-yard run Saturday was MSU's longest from scrimmage of the day, snapping freshman quarterback Chris Murray's string of holding that distinction in games one and two
• Montana State's shutout was its first since beating Colorado Mesa 26-0 in 2013, which was also the last time MSU's defense held an opponent to below 200 total yards and to as few as eight first downs
• Montana State's back-to-back wins is the first for the program since November, 2014
• Mitchell Herbert's 100 receiving yards gave him at least that many for the second time in his career, and pushed him past the 1,000-yard mark in his career

First Look: Montana State vs. North Dakota
Game Details: Date – Saturday, September 24 Kickoff – 2 pm Tradition – Homecoming Promotion – Stripe the Stadium Day (see msubobcats.com for details) Audio – Statewide on the Bobcat Radio Network and msubobcats.com Video – Statewide on SWX Montana (please check local listings)

At A Glance: Saturday's contest matches a pair of teams riding the wave of success. While the Cats have won back-to-back games for the first time under first-year head coach Jeff Choate – and the first time since November or 2014 – North Dakota earned a come-from-behind win against non-league rival South Dakota for its first victory of 2016.