Saturday, October 21
Greeley, CO
12:30 pm
Montana State University
at
Northern Colorado
Chris Murray leads the Bobcats into Greeley
Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
GAME #7: Bobcats Visit Greeley to Face UNC for First Time Since 2013
10/20/2017 11:22:00 AM | Football
MSU and Northern Colorado get together for the first time since 2013 on Saturday
Montana State's football game Saturday at Northern Colorado is a Big Sky Conference affair, but may not feel like it.
This will be the first contest since 2013 between these ancient rivals who first shared a league affiliation nearly a century ago in the old Rocky Mountain Conference. No current Bobcat has played Northern Colorado, it's the first time the Bobcats have played on a grass field since 2014, and it's MSU's second-earliest start time so far this season.
"This is a different (situation)," Choate said of the convergence of factors that make playing the Bears at Nottingham Field in Greeley a unique experience for this Bobcat squad. "You try to think about, how do we moderate practice a little bit? How do we bring the appropriate energy on Saturday? That's one of the things that can happen, you can kind of get lulled to sleep and that's a dangerous place to be both physically and emotionally. You have to have your edge."
Northern Colorado enters Saturday's game, which kicks off at 12:30 pm and is the ROOT Sports Big Sky Game of the Week, with a 2-3 overall record, 1-2 in the Big Sky. The Bears are without starting quarterback Jacob Knipp, who was injured during the team's 48-38 loss at North Dakota on October 7. He averaged 270.4 yards a game passing, while backup Conor Regan has throws for 126 yards in his four games.
While lauding Knipp, Choate doesn't expect serious structural differences with the personnel change. "That's too bad. (Knipp is) a very, very talented football player. He has an extremely strong arm, he's a tough kid, but that said I don't think their style changes a whole lot. The Regan kid that played against North Dakota two weeks ago is physically very similar."
Regan or Keeton Mott, the other possibility to take over signal-calling Saturday, are surrounded by excellent players, Choate said. "(Alex Wesley) is a playmaker, doesn't matter who they play. If their game against Florida wouldn't have been cancelled he'd have made plays against them. He's their deep ball threat and can also do a nice job underneath. They're an inside-outside zone team on offense, and they do a nice job mixing in play-action." Dynamic running back Trae Riek rushes for 70.8 yards a game to give the Bears offensive balance.
Choate called Northern Colorado's defense "very versatile," and Bobcat offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong agrees. "They play about every defense known to man," he said. "There's a lot there to prepare for."
Linebacker Luke Nelson leads UNC with 45 tackles, three for a loss, and has an interception, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Safety Kane Stone has two interceptions, three breakups, and a fumble recovery. Aside from its multiple looks, Choate said the group is tied together by its intensity. "They play hard, and they do a nice job game-planning for their opponents," he said. "We're going to have to do a very good job of in-game adjustments."
While the weekly challenges presented in the Big Sky Conference loom, Choate still takes the long view. "This is a process that we're in right now, and it's painful," he said. "You look at the last four-game stretch that we've had in league play and you could make an argument that we could be in a much better position than we are. But we are who we are, we're 2-2 in league play, we've got our own destiny in front of us in terms of having the ability to win some games down the stretch and win some games in this conference."
After Saturday's road game the Cats return to Bobcat Stadium for back-to-back home games against Idaho State (October 28) and Kennesaw State (November 4).
This will be the first contest since 2013 between these ancient rivals who first shared a league affiliation nearly a century ago in the old Rocky Mountain Conference. No current Bobcat has played Northern Colorado, it's the first time the Bobcats have played on a grass field since 2014, and it's MSU's second-earliest start time so far this season.
"This is a different (situation)," Choate said of the convergence of factors that make playing the Bears at Nottingham Field in Greeley a unique experience for this Bobcat squad. "You try to think about, how do we moderate practice a little bit? How do we bring the appropriate energy on Saturday? That's one of the things that can happen, you can kind of get lulled to sleep and that's a dangerous place to be both physically and emotionally. You have to have your edge."
Northern Colorado enters Saturday's game, which kicks off at 12:30 pm and is the ROOT Sports Big Sky Game of the Week, with a 2-3 overall record, 1-2 in the Big Sky. The Bears are without starting quarterback Jacob Knipp, who was injured during the team's 48-38 loss at North Dakota on October 7. He averaged 270.4 yards a game passing, while backup Conor Regan has throws for 126 yards in his four games.
While lauding Knipp, Choate doesn't expect serious structural differences with the personnel change. "That's too bad. (Knipp is) a very, very talented football player. He has an extremely strong arm, he's a tough kid, but that said I don't think their style changes a whole lot. The Regan kid that played against North Dakota two weeks ago is physically very similar."
Regan or Keeton Mott, the other possibility to take over signal-calling Saturday, are surrounded by excellent players, Choate said. "(Alex Wesley) is a playmaker, doesn't matter who they play. If their game against Florida wouldn't have been cancelled he'd have made plays against them. He's their deep ball threat and can also do a nice job underneath. They're an inside-outside zone team on offense, and they do a nice job mixing in play-action." Dynamic running back Trae Riek rushes for 70.8 yards a game to give the Bears offensive balance.
Choate called Northern Colorado's defense "very versatile," and Bobcat offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong agrees. "They play about every defense known to man," he said. "There's a lot there to prepare for."
Linebacker Luke Nelson leads UNC with 45 tackles, three for a loss, and has an interception, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Safety Kane Stone has two interceptions, three breakups, and a fumble recovery. Aside from its multiple looks, Choate said the group is tied together by its intensity. "They play hard, and they do a nice job game-planning for their opponents," he said. "We're going to have to do a very good job of in-game adjustments."
While the weekly challenges presented in the Big Sky Conference loom, Choate still takes the long view. "This is a process that we're in right now, and it's painful," he said. "You look at the last four-game stretch that we've had in league play and you could make an argument that we could be in a much better position than we are. But we are who we are, we're 2-2 in league play, we've got our own destiny in front of us in terms of having the ability to win some games down the stretch and win some games in this conference."
After Saturday's road game the Cats return to Bobcat Stadium for back-to-back home games against Idaho State (October 28) and Kennesaw State (November 4).
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