Saturday, September 22
Portland, OR
3 pm
Montana State University
at
Portland State
Photo by: Garrett Becker
GAME #4: Bobcats Open Big Sky Play at Portland State Saturday at 3 pm MT
9/20/2018 2:59:00 PM | Football
MSU visits a Vikings team yet to face FCS competition in 2018
BOZEMAN, Montana – Watching Portland State on film in the early days of preparing his Montana State football team to play the Vikings has Bobcats head coach Jeff Choate thinking of his days as an assistant coach at the University of Washington. And not in a nostalgic, feel-good way.
"I think Portland State is as talented as anyone we play," Choate said. "They've got a couple of guys that we recruited at the University of Washington playing for them that are Pac 12-level talents on the offensive side of the ball. They're talented."
The Vikings enter Saturday's Big Sky opener for both teams with a 1-2 record, but have yet to face an FCS opponent. Portland State lost at Nevada 72-19 and Oregon 62-14 before whipping the College of Idaho 63-14 in its home opener last weekend. In spite of the wide variance of opponent talent level, trends have emerged for the Vikings.
Portland State has found a comfort level playing two sophomore quarterbacks. Jalani Eason leads the team in carries, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt, while Davis Alexander has thrown twice as many passes as his running mate. Both players average just under 21 yards per completion, with Alexander completing 43.2 percent of his passes and Eason connecting on 57.1 percent. The two have combined for eight touchdown passes and only one interception in three games, and PSU's 21.4 yards per completion is third in the FCS.
"It's kind of a two-headed monster," Choate says of Portland State's quarterback situation. "I think they want to go with (Alexander) as their starting quarterback, he seems to be their primary guy, he's maybe a little bit better passer, but the Eason kid is a really good athlete. You're going to have to be able to defend some quarterback run, some option game, when he's in there. Then you've got their pistol run game, their DNA offense, and a lot of empty."
Portland State has spread the wealth in the run game, with six players averaging at least five carries a game. Eason (36.0 yards a game) and Alexander (32.3) combine for nearly one-third of the team's carries, but Antwone Williams gains 6.9 yards on his 14 carries, while Darian Green averages 26.7 yards a game.
Choate also lauds the team's collection of talented receivers, but one offensive weapon emerges as the team's most important. Tight end Charlie Taumoepeali has nine catches, turning five of those into touchdowns. He has at least one catch of 70 yards in each of the team's three games, and has personally accounted for nearly one-third of the team's catches and nearly half of PSU's receiving yards. "He's a real problem in terms of matchups," Choate said.
First-year defensive coordinator Payam Saadat, who traces his coaching roots to Rich Ellerson's excellent Cal Poly defenses of over a decade ago, has assembled a talented stop unit that pressures opposing offenses and creates confusion and, according to Choate, "a lot of negative plays. They've got a couple of guys that can really get after the passer. They're very, very difficult for an offense to prepare for because their defense is kind of a hybrid flex. It's a very, very unique style that they play. It's not an easy defense to ID up front, and they mix the coverages. It's a problem."
Montana State counters with an offense that, like the Vikings, broke out last week. Two freshmen led the way. Tucker Rovig threw for 310 yards in his second college game, while running back Isaiah Ifanse gained 146 yards on the ground, matching sophomore teammate Troy Andersen for the earliest in his freshman season a Bobcat has ever dashed past the century mark. Kevin Kassis, whose 126 receiving yards Saturday marked the second time he has surpassed 100, has emerged as a weapon in the pass and returns game.
Choate likes the progress his offense has made through the non-conference portion of 2018. "Tucker had a nice day, he missed some throws early but once he settled down and got in the flow of the game I thought he made much better decisions," Choate said. "He's a guy that I think is going to continue to improve."
Ifanse's emergence as a strong option at running back gives Choate the option of using Troy Andersen, who expects to be healthy this week after nursing a hand injury the past two, in a number of roles. Andersen started the first game at quarterback, but has seen a limited role since. Even in scant playing time at running back, the sophomore impacted Saturday's game. He carried three times for 64 yards, and scored on a 57-yarder that perfectly displayed his strength in breaking arm tackles and his breakaway speed.
"Our big challenge right now is making the right decision in terms of how are we going to utilize (Rovig) and Troy. I feel strongly that Troy is one of our key leaders on the offensive side of the ball, a young man who through the body of fall camp had the confidence of his teammates and his coaches. And while he has a different skill set perhaps than Tucker he's a guy who can do a lot of really good things, and that's taking nothing away from what Tucker did." Choate indicated that personnel decisions involving quarterback and running back will occur later in the week.
Montana State's defense continues to evolve, as well. The team continues to "have some shuffling of the deck at the linebacker position," with Grant Collins' return to Mike last week. That moved Michael Jobman to Will, and this week the Bobcats could re-insert Chad Kanow, injured in fall camp, into the rotation. Choate said the uncertainty at the defense's middle level has created some uncertainty, not just on a game-to-game basis but play-to-play.
"Defensively, in the first half in particular, I think we did a poor job of aligning for success," Choate said of that unit's inconsistent performance. "That's such an underrated part of being a good defensive football player, being in a pre-snap position to be able to execute your assignment. We had some pretty serious errors in that area. Those are going to be points of emphasis moving forward."
With the Big Sky season at hand, Choate knows that things change. "The intensity level rises, the level of preparation needs to increase, as we go into Big Sky Conference play. "
Kickoff is 3 pm MT/2 pm PT Saturday, and marks Montana State's first visit to Hillsboro Stadium in suburban Portland, where the Vikings are 7-7 all-time. The game is televised across the Treasure State by SWX Montana on ABC stations (SWX in Billings, channel 503).
"I think Portland State is as talented as anyone we play," Choate said. "They've got a couple of guys that we recruited at the University of Washington playing for them that are Pac 12-level talents on the offensive side of the ball. They're talented."
The Vikings enter Saturday's Big Sky opener for both teams with a 1-2 record, but have yet to face an FCS opponent. Portland State lost at Nevada 72-19 and Oregon 62-14 before whipping the College of Idaho 63-14 in its home opener last weekend. In spite of the wide variance of opponent talent level, trends have emerged for the Vikings.
Portland State has found a comfort level playing two sophomore quarterbacks. Jalani Eason leads the team in carries, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt, while Davis Alexander has thrown twice as many passes as his running mate. Both players average just under 21 yards per completion, with Alexander completing 43.2 percent of his passes and Eason connecting on 57.1 percent. The two have combined for eight touchdown passes and only one interception in three games, and PSU's 21.4 yards per completion is third in the FCS.
"It's kind of a two-headed monster," Choate says of Portland State's quarterback situation. "I think they want to go with (Alexander) as their starting quarterback, he seems to be their primary guy, he's maybe a little bit better passer, but the Eason kid is a really good athlete. You're going to have to be able to defend some quarterback run, some option game, when he's in there. Then you've got their pistol run game, their DNA offense, and a lot of empty."
Portland State has spread the wealth in the run game, with six players averaging at least five carries a game. Eason (36.0 yards a game) and Alexander (32.3) combine for nearly one-third of the team's carries, but Antwone Williams gains 6.9 yards on his 14 carries, while Darian Green averages 26.7 yards a game.
Choate also lauds the team's collection of talented receivers, but one offensive weapon emerges as the team's most important. Tight end Charlie Taumoepeali has nine catches, turning five of those into touchdowns. He has at least one catch of 70 yards in each of the team's three games, and has personally accounted for nearly one-third of the team's catches and nearly half of PSU's receiving yards. "He's a real problem in terms of matchups," Choate said.
First-year defensive coordinator Payam Saadat, who traces his coaching roots to Rich Ellerson's excellent Cal Poly defenses of over a decade ago, has assembled a talented stop unit that pressures opposing offenses and creates confusion and, according to Choate, "a lot of negative plays. They've got a couple of guys that can really get after the passer. They're very, very difficult for an offense to prepare for because their defense is kind of a hybrid flex. It's a very, very unique style that they play. It's not an easy defense to ID up front, and they mix the coverages. It's a problem."
Montana State counters with an offense that, like the Vikings, broke out last week. Two freshmen led the way. Tucker Rovig threw for 310 yards in his second college game, while running back Isaiah Ifanse gained 146 yards on the ground, matching sophomore teammate Troy Andersen for the earliest in his freshman season a Bobcat has ever dashed past the century mark. Kevin Kassis, whose 126 receiving yards Saturday marked the second time he has surpassed 100, has emerged as a weapon in the pass and returns game.
Choate likes the progress his offense has made through the non-conference portion of 2018. "Tucker had a nice day, he missed some throws early but once he settled down and got in the flow of the game I thought he made much better decisions," Choate said. "He's a guy that I think is going to continue to improve."
Ifanse's emergence as a strong option at running back gives Choate the option of using Troy Andersen, who expects to be healthy this week after nursing a hand injury the past two, in a number of roles. Andersen started the first game at quarterback, but has seen a limited role since. Even in scant playing time at running back, the sophomore impacted Saturday's game. He carried three times for 64 yards, and scored on a 57-yarder that perfectly displayed his strength in breaking arm tackles and his breakaway speed.
"Our big challenge right now is making the right decision in terms of how are we going to utilize (Rovig) and Troy. I feel strongly that Troy is one of our key leaders on the offensive side of the ball, a young man who through the body of fall camp had the confidence of his teammates and his coaches. And while he has a different skill set perhaps than Tucker he's a guy who can do a lot of really good things, and that's taking nothing away from what Tucker did." Choate indicated that personnel decisions involving quarterback and running back will occur later in the week.
Montana State's defense continues to evolve, as well. The team continues to "have some shuffling of the deck at the linebacker position," with Grant Collins' return to Mike last week. That moved Michael Jobman to Will, and this week the Bobcats could re-insert Chad Kanow, injured in fall camp, into the rotation. Choate said the uncertainty at the defense's middle level has created some uncertainty, not just on a game-to-game basis but play-to-play.
"Defensively, in the first half in particular, I think we did a poor job of aligning for success," Choate said of that unit's inconsistent performance. "That's such an underrated part of being a good defensive football player, being in a pre-snap position to be able to execute your assignment. We had some pretty serious errors in that area. Those are going to be points of emphasis moving forward."
With the Big Sky season at hand, Choate knows that things change. "The intensity level rises, the level of preparation needs to increase, as we go into Big Sky Conference play. "
Kickoff is 3 pm MT/2 pm PT Saturday, and marks Montana State's first visit to Hillsboro Stadium in suburban Portland, where the Vikings are 7-7 all-time. The game is televised across the Treasure State by SWX Montana on ABC stations (SWX in Billings, channel 503).
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