Photo by: Garrett Becker
BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK #13: After First Playoff Win Since 2012 Cats Face Top-Ranked NDSU
11/25/2018 7:00:00 PM | Football
Bobcats log fourth eight-win season in last decade
A quick look back at Montana State's First Round FCS Playoff win over Incarnate Word on Saturday, with a glance at the daunting task that awaits at North Dakota State on Saturday...
MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS
OFFENSE: Troy Andersen, QB (6-3, 225, So, Dillon, Montana) – In his first post-season start, sophomore quarterback Troy Andersen led the Bobcats to a 35-14 win over Incarnate Word in the FCS Playoffs on Saturday in snowy Bobcat Stadium. Andersen rushed for 84 yards (21 carries) and a touchdown. His rushing touchdown pushed him into a tie with legendary Don Hass for the MSU single-season record with 20. Andersen raised his season total to 1,283 rushing yards, most ever by a Big Sky Conference and now seventh-most in a season by a Bobcat. Andersen posted his best passing day as a Bobcat, also, completing 12 of his 19 passes for a career-high 174 yards and one touchdown. In the last five games, Andersen is 57-for-93 passing (.612) with two touchdowns and one interception, for 593 yards.
DEFENSE: Brayden Konkol (6-2, 205, Jr, Belgrade, Montana) – On a snowy day in late November, against one of the best passing teams in the FCS, Montana State junior Brayden Konkol, who grew up within 20 minutes of Bobcat Stadium, played one of the great defensive games in MSU post-season history. The junior safety recorded five tackles (four solos), including one for a loss, and terminated Incarnate Word's last three possessions of the game – the first when MSU led only 28-14 – to clinch the Bobcat victory. First, early in the final period, he forced a fumble with MSU leading by just two touchdowns which was recovered by Ty Okada. That turnover occurred near midfield, and MSU scored the game's final points on the ensuing drive. On UIW's next drive, he recovered a fumble caused by Jahque Alleyne at the Bobcat 12-yard line and returned it to the MSU 31 to effectively end the game. For good measure, his interception came on the next Cardinals drive, with 5:44 to play, and the Cats held onto the ball to drain the clock.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Jered Padmos, P (6-1, 195, Jr, Boulder, Montana) – Befitting a Treasure State native, Jered Padmos' brilliant late-season punting continued Saturday in Montana State's win in blustery Bobcat Stadium. He punted twice for a 50.0 yards-per-punt average, with a 60-yarder that pinned UIW at its own 11-yard line. Padmos now averages 42.2 yards per punt this season, 19th in the FCS.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Ifanse, RB (5-10, 190, Fr, Bellevue, Washington) – Isaiah Ifanse made Bobcat history on Saturady, rushing for 139 yards to lead Montana State to a 35-14 home playoff win over Incarnate Word. That raises his season total to 982 yards, a new Bobcat freshman rushing record, and his fifth 100-yard rushing games is the most ever by an MSU frosh. Ifanse averaged 4.8 yards per rush with a long of 18, but his relentlessly physical style of rushing helped the Bobcats wear down UIW's defense. MSU rushed for 257 yards after halftime, with Ifanse collecting 28 yards in the third quarter and 62 in the fourth.
POST-SEASON NOTEBOOK
• North Dakota State becomes Montana State's first third-time playoff opponent on Saturday (the Cats also faced NDSU in 1976 and 2010), moving the Bison to the top of MSU's playoff opponent list. The Cats have faced Sam Houston State and New Hampshire twice each.
• Montana State raised its all-time post-season record to 11-8-2 with Saturday 35-17 win over Incarnate Word. That includes a 10-7 record in the NCAA Playoffs, and a 7-7 mark in the FCS/I-AA Playoffs.
• MSU's win Saturday was the Bobcats' first at home since 2012, when the Cats beat Stony Brook, and snapped a two-game playoff losing streak. The Bobcats have now won at least one playoff game in five different seasons.
• Fifth-year senior defensive end Tyrone Fa'anono is the only current Bobcat that has played in two different post-seasons, having played in the team's 47-40 home loss to South Dakota State in 2014, although current MSU Director of Football Operations Cole Moore was a senior linebacker, and running back Maleek Barkley's brother Shawn Johnson played on that snowy Saturday four years ago. Current Bobcat running backs coach DeNarius McGhee was 2-3 as Montana State's quarterback in playoff games.
• Isaiah Ifanse's 139 rushing yards vs. UIW (readjusted after he was incorrectly credited for a 30-yard run during the game) set a single-game post-season record for the Bobcats, topping the 115 yards gained by Tom Kostrba vs. New Hampshire in 1976 and Chad Newell's 115 yards vs. South Dakota State in 2014.
• Kevin Kassis' seven catches was third-most in a post-season game by a Bobcat, matching Elvis Akpla (NDSU, 2010) and Demetrius Williams (UNI, 2003), and trailing Joe Bignell's 10 (La Tech, 1984) and Akpla's eight (New Hampshire, 2011).
• MSU's 339 rushing yards Saturday came one yard shy of the school's single-game playoff rushing record (440 yards vs. New Hampshire, 1976). The 66 rushes were third-most by a Bobcat team in a playoff game.
• Jeff Choate is the eighth coach to lead the Cats into the post-season (joining Rob Ash, Mike Kramer, Dave Arnold, Sonny Holland, Jim Sweeney, Tony Storti and Clyde Carpenter), and joins Ash, Kramer, Arnold, Holland and Sweeney as MSU coaches to record post-season victories.
• Montana State played in three different stand-alone bowl games – the 1946 Harbor Bowl in San Diego (a 13-13 tie with New Mexico), the 1956 Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas (also considered the NAIA Championship, a 0-0 tie with St. Joseph's, Indiana), and the 1964 (28-7 win over Sacramento State) and 1966 (28-7 loss to San Diego State) Camellia Bowls.
• Troy Andersen is the sixth quarterback to lead MSU into the post-season as a sophomore (Dennis Erickson-1966, Paul Dennehy-1976, Kelly Bradley-1984, Travis Lulay-2003, DeNarius McGhee-2011).
• Troy Andersen joins Foy McClung (sr., 1964), Dennis Erickson (so., 1966), Paul Dennehy (so., 1976), and Kelly Bradley (so., 1984) as first-year full-time starting quarterbacks to lead the Cats to post-season wins.
• Montana State remains the only school in college football to win National Championships at three levels of competition – NAIA (1956), NCAA Division II (1976), and NCAA Division I-AA (1984).
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
• Saturday's win raised MSU's record to 8-4, giving the Bobcats their first eight-win season since 2014 and fourth in the last decade.
• By beating 24th-ranked Incarnate Word, the Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing streak against nationally-ranked opponents that dated to a 49-21 win at No. 17 North Dakota on September 23, 2017.
• Troy Andersen's touchdown Saturday boosted him to an MSU single-season scoring record, 122 points, eclipsing Don Hass' 120 points in 1966
• Troy Andersen raised his season rushing total to 1,283 with his 84 yards on Saturday, and his rushing touchdown was his 20th this season. That ties Don Hass for Montana State's single-season record.
• Troy Andersen's career rushing total is 1,798, 12th all-time, and his 25 career rushing touchdowns is 5th in MSU history.
• Isaiah Ifanse rushed for 139 yards Saturday, the most by a Bobcat in a playoff game, and his 982 yards this season breaks the school freshman rushing record (860, Chris Murray, 2016).
• Montana State's 2,837 yards rushing as a team this season is fourth in school history, and its 236.4 yards per game is just short of the team's all-time top 10.
• The team's .584 completion percentage, at the moment, is 9th-best in Bobcat history.
• In the last four games, Travis Jonsen has rushed 17 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns, is 4-for-4 passing for 41 yards and a touchdown, and has 13 catches for 177 yards.
• After forcing four turnovers with one giveaway on Saturday, the Cats now stand +10 on the season, and the team's +0.83 turnover margin is 10th in the FCS. The Cats have at least one takeaway in nine straight games.
• The Cats have surrendered just nine sacks in 2018, and at 0.75 per game stands 9th in the FCS and first in the Big Sky.
• The Bobcats have lost just seven fumbles in the last 23 games, and the team's four fumbles lost this season is 10th in the FCS and leads the Big Sky.
• MSU recovered three UIW fumbles last week after getting exactly two in the previous four contests. The Cats have recovered 11 opponent fumbles in the last five games.
STAT SNIPPETS
While Montana State runs the ball on 65.3% of its offensive plays, North Dakota State rushes 68.0% of the time, and does so behind an offensive line that averages 6-5, 306 lbs… while the Bobcats rush for 236.4 yards a game, 17th in the FCS, North Dakota State averages 265.4 yards a game, 10th-best in the nation… NDSU leads the nation in both 4th Down Percentage (.833) and 4th Down Defense (.130)… while the Bison throw only about one-third of the time, the team is 4th in the FCS in passing efficiency.
MONTANA STATE PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS
OFFENSE: Troy Andersen, QB (6-3, 225, So, Dillon, Montana) – In his first post-season start, sophomore quarterback Troy Andersen led the Bobcats to a 35-14 win over Incarnate Word in the FCS Playoffs on Saturday in snowy Bobcat Stadium. Andersen rushed for 84 yards (21 carries) and a touchdown. His rushing touchdown pushed him into a tie with legendary Don Hass for the MSU single-season record with 20. Andersen raised his season total to 1,283 rushing yards, most ever by a Big Sky Conference and now seventh-most in a season by a Bobcat. Andersen posted his best passing day as a Bobcat, also, completing 12 of his 19 passes for a career-high 174 yards and one touchdown. In the last five games, Andersen is 57-for-93 passing (.612) with two touchdowns and one interception, for 593 yards.
DEFENSE: Brayden Konkol (6-2, 205, Jr, Belgrade, Montana) – On a snowy day in late November, against one of the best passing teams in the FCS, Montana State junior Brayden Konkol, who grew up within 20 minutes of Bobcat Stadium, played one of the great defensive games in MSU post-season history. The junior safety recorded five tackles (four solos), including one for a loss, and terminated Incarnate Word's last three possessions of the game – the first when MSU led only 28-14 – to clinch the Bobcat victory. First, early in the final period, he forced a fumble with MSU leading by just two touchdowns which was recovered by Ty Okada. That turnover occurred near midfield, and MSU scored the game's final points on the ensuing drive. On UIW's next drive, he recovered a fumble caused by Jahque Alleyne at the Bobcat 12-yard line and returned it to the MSU 31 to effectively end the game. For good measure, his interception came on the next Cardinals drive, with 5:44 to play, and the Cats held onto the ball to drain the clock.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Jered Padmos, P (6-1, 195, Jr, Boulder, Montana) – Befitting a Treasure State native, Jered Padmos' brilliant late-season punting continued Saturday in Montana State's win in blustery Bobcat Stadium. He punted twice for a 50.0 yards-per-punt average, with a 60-yarder that pinned UIW at its own 11-yard line. Padmos now averages 42.2 yards per punt this season, 19th in the FCS.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Ifanse, RB (5-10, 190, Fr, Bellevue, Washington) – Isaiah Ifanse made Bobcat history on Saturady, rushing for 139 yards to lead Montana State to a 35-14 home playoff win over Incarnate Word. That raises his season total to 982 yards, a new Bobcat freshman rushing record, and his fifth 100-yard rushing games is the most ever by an MSU frosh. Ifanse averaged 4.8 yards per rush with a long of 18, but his relentlessly physical style of rushing helped the Bobcats wear down UIW's defense. MSU rushed for 257 yards after halftime, with Ifanse collecting 28 yards in the third quarter and 62 in the fourth.
POST-SEASON NOTEBOOK
• North Dakota State becomes Montana State's first third-time playoff opponent on Saturday (the Cats also faced NDSU in 1976 and 2010), moving the Bison to the top of MSU's playoff opponent list. The Cats have faced Sam Houston State and New Hampshire twice each.
• Montana State raised its all-time post-season record to 11-8-2 with Saturday 35-17 win over Incarnate Word. That includes a 10-7 record in the NCAA Playoffs, and a 7-7 mark in the FCS/I-AA Playoffs.
• MSU's win Saturday was the Bobcats' first at home since 2012, when the Cats beat Stony Brook, and snapped a two-game playoff losing streak. The Bobcats have now won at least one playoff game in five different seasons.
• Fifth-year senior defensive end Tyrone Fa'anono is the only current Bobcat that has played in two different post-seasons, having played in the team's 47-40 home loss to South Dakota State in 2014, although current MSU Director of Football Operations Cole Moore was a senior linebacker, and running back Maleek Barkley's brother Shawn Johnson played on that snowy Saturday four years ago. Current Bobcat running backs coach DeNarius McGhee was 2-3 as Montana State's quarterback in playoff games.
• Isaiah Ifanse's 139 rushing yards vs. UIW (readjusted after he was incorrectly credited for a 30-yard run during the game) set a single-game post-season record for the Bobcats, topping the 115 yards gained by Tom Kostrba vs. New Hampshire in 1976 and Chad Newell's 115 yards vs. South Dakota State in 2014.
• Kevin Kassis' seven catches was third-most in a post-season game by a Bobcat, matching Elvis Akpla (NDSU, 2010) and Demetrius Williams (UNI, 2003), and trailing Joe Bignell's 10 (La Tech, 1984) and Akpla's eight (New Hampshire, 2011).
• MSU's 339 rushing yards Saturday came one yard shy of the school's single-game playoff rushing record (440 yards vs. New Hampshire, 1976). The 66 rushes were third-most by a Bobcat team in a playoff game.
• Jeff Choate is the eighth coach to lead the Cats into the post-season (joining Rob Ash, Mike Kramer, Dave Arnold, Sonny Holland, Jim Sweeney, Tony Storti and Clyde Carpenter), and joins Ash, Kramer, Arnold, Holland and Sweeney as MSU coaches to record post-season victories.
• Montana State played in three different stand-alone bowl games – the 1946 Harbor Bowl in San Diego (a 13-13 tie with New Mexico), the 1956 Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas (also considered the NAIA Championship, a 0-0 tie with St. Joseph's, Indiana), and the 1964 (28-7 win over Sacramento State) and 1966 (28-7 loss to San Diego State) Camellia Bowls.
• Troy Andersen is the sixth quarterback to lead MSU into the post-season as a sophomore (Dennis Erickson-1966, Paul Dennehy-1976, Kelly Bradley-1984, Travis Lulay-2003, DeNarius McGhee-2011).
• Troy Andersen joins Foy McClung (sr., 1964), Dennis Erickson (so., 1966), Paul Dennehy (so., 1976), and Kelly Bradley (so., 1984) as first-year full-time starting quarterbacks to lead the Cats to post-season wins.
• Montana State remains the only school in college football to win National Championships at three levels of competition – NAIA (1956), NCAA Division II (1976), and NCAA Division I-AA (1984).
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
• Saturday's win raised MSU's record to 8-4, giving the Bobcats their first eight-win season since 2014 and fourth in the last decade.
• By beating 24th-ranked Incarnate Word, the Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing streak against nationally-ranked opponents that dated to a 49-21 win at No. 17 North Dakota on September 23, 2017.
• Troy Andersen's touchdown Saturday boosted him to an MSU single-season scoring record, 122 points, eclipsing Don Hass' 120 points in 1966
• Troy Andersen raised his season rushing total to 1,283 with his 84 yards on Saturday, and his rushing touchdown was his 20th this season. That ties Don Hass for Montana State's single-season record.
• Troy Andersen's career rushing total is 1,798, 12th all-time, and his 25 career rushing touchdowns is 5th in MSU history.
• Isaiah Ifanse rushed for 139 yards Saturday, the most by a Bobcat in a playoff game, and his 982 yards this season breaks the school freshman rushing record (860, Chris Murray, 2016).
• Montana State's 2,837 yards rushing as a team this season is fourth in school history, and its 236.4 yards per game is just short of the team's all-time top 10.
• The team's .584 completion percentage, at the moment, is 9th-best in Bobcat history.
• In the last four games, Travis Jonsen has rushed 17 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns, is 4-for-4 passing for 41 yards and a touchdown, and has 13 catches for 177 yards.
• After forcing four turnovers with one giveaway on Saturday, the Cats now stand +10 on the season, and the team's +0.83 turnover margin is 10th in the FCS. The Cats have at least one takeaway in nine straight games.
• The Cats have surrendered just nine sacks in 2018, and at 0.75 per game stands 9th in the FCS and first in the Big Sky.
• The Bobcats have lost just seven fumbles in the last 23 games, and the team's four fumbles lost this season is 10th in the FCS and leads the Big Sky.
• MSU recovered three UIW fumbles last week after getting exactly two in the previous four contests. The Cats have recovered 11 opponent fumbles in the last five games.
STAT SNIPPETS
While Montana State runs the ball on 65.3% of its offensive plays, North Dakota State rushes 68.0% of the time, and does so behind an offensive line that averages 6-5, 306 lbs… while the Bobcats rush for 236.4 yards a game, 17th in the FCS, North Dakota State averages 265.4 yards a game, 10th-best in the nation… NDSU leads the nation in both 4th Down Percentage (.833) and 4th Down Defense (.130)… while the Bison throw only about one-third of the time, the team is 4th in the FCS in passing efficiency.
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