BOBCAT GAME DAY NOTEBOOK #11: Tyrone Fa'anono Celebrates Senior Day in Sensational Style
11/11/2018 12:59:00 PM | Football
Troy Andersen continues piling up numbers
A look back at Montana State's 35-7 win over Northern Colorado at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday...
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS
OFFENSE: Troy Andersen, QB (6-3, 225, So) – Troy Andersen rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, leading Montana State to a 35-7 win over Northern Colorado in Bobcat Stadium. Andersen's seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season came on only 13 carries, an 8.0-yard-per-carry average, and included a 36-yard touchdown run that sealed the win. Andersen also completed seven of his 12 passes for 34 yards, and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass.
Andersen's contributions also included 32-yard quick kick out of shotgun formation that pinned Northern Colorado at its own five-yard line.
DEFENSE: Tyrone Fa'anono, DE (6-3, 270, Sr) – Tyrone Fa'anono made his Senior Day one to remember. The fifth-year defensive end logged four tackles, one for a loss, and accounted for two Northern Colorado turnovers at crucial moments of the game. On UNC's first possession of the second quarter, with MSU leading 14-7, Fa'anono stepped in front of a Keanon Mott pass near mid-field for his first career interception. Then, with the Cats leading just 21-7 in the fourth quarter's early moments, Fa'anono forced a fumble with UNC threatening to close the margin at the MSU 19-yard line. The Cats recovered, then marched 88 yards to give the team a 28-7 lead.
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
Injury Report: Out Indefinitely – S Shawn Borges, LB Josh Hill, WR Jabarri Johnson, LB Chad Kanow, RB Tyler Natee, WR Willie Patterson, QB Tucker Rovig.
• Troy Andersen's five consecutive 100-yard rushing games (current) ties four other Bobcats (Cody Kirk, Demetrius Crawford, Ryan Johnson and Steve Kracher) for the most in Montana State history. His eight career 100-yard games is 10th in school history, and his seven this season is MSU's third-highest total ever.
• Troy Andersen's 104 yards rushing vs. Northern Colorado – his second straight week with that many – boosts his season total to 1,092, with his 109.2 yards per game 14th in the FCS and his 7.90 per carry 3rd.
• In 21 career games, Andersen has rushed for 1,607 yards, 18th-most in MSU history, while spending time on defense and limited by a hand injury.
• Troy Andersen's 21 career rushing touchdowns is tied for 9th on MSU's career list, and his 16 this season is 3rd at MSU.
• On a day when the offensive tackle also caught a pass, Mitch Brott became the first Bobcat to block a field goal since Alex Singleton against Montana in 2013
• Jalen Cole's seven tackles vs. Northern Colorado was his career high – he had only 11 in 2018 entering Saturday – and the sophomore cornerback also broke up a pass.
• Grant Collins logged 10 tackles Saturday, his fourth straight in double-figures.
• Michael Jobman forced his first career fumble Saturday.
• Of Montana State's 2,269 rushing yards through 10 games, Troy Andersen has gained 1,092 (48.2%) and Isaiah Ifanse 780 (34.4%).
• In two games since returning from injury, Logan Jones has rushed for 73 yards on 13 carries, a 5.6 yards-per-carry average, to boost the Bobcat ground game.
• The Cats have surrendered just nine sacks in 2018, and at 0.9 per game stands 11th in the FCS and first in the Big Sky.
• Junior end Bryce Sterk is third in the Big Sky 1.4 tackles-for-loss per game (27th in the FCS).
• The Bobcats have lost just six fumbles in the last 21 games, and the team's three fumbles lost this season is 8th in the FCS, but Montana State has lost one fumble in back-to-back games.
• MSU has recovered two fumbles in each of the last three games, its first six of the season, and now have a takeaway in seven straight games. The Cats have 11 takeaways in the last four games, moving the team's turnover margin from not worth mentioning near mid-season to 27th in the FCS and fifth in the Big Sky entering the season's final regular season weekend.
• Montana State is third in the Big Sky in rushing offense at 262.3 yards per game.
• Saturday's win marked only the second time in Jeff Choate's Bobcat tenure that his team held an opponent to less than 10 points (MSU beat Western Oregon 55-0 in 2016).
STAT SNIPPETS
Montana State has recovered six fumbles this season, 11th in the Big Sky, but all six of those come in the last three games. Meanwhile, Montana's 11 fumbles lost this season is 11th in the Big Sky… Montana's explosive offense has scored more than 40 points in the last two games and five times in the team's 10 games, while the Cats have allowed 40 points twice and 34 points on two other occasions… Montana is ninth in the FCS in kickoff return average (24.3 yards per return), while the Cats stand 114th in the FCS in kickoff return defense (24.1).
