Photo by: Garrett Becker
BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK #11: Defense Rises to Occasion at UC Davis
11/17/2019 4:18:00 PM | Football
Montana State stymied UC Davis' high-powered offense after halftime
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS
ALL-PURPOSE: Troy Andersen, LB/QB (6-4, 233, Jr, Dillon, Montana)
Troy Andersen logged two tackles-for-loss and rushed for a touchdown in Montana State's 27-17 win over UC Davis. He also logged six tackles, all solo stops, and rushed for 51 yards. The day marked the fourth game in the last five in which Andersen registered both a touchdown and tackle-for-loss in the same contest. Andersen has rushed for seven touchdowns this season, four in the last five games, and his total is one from cracking the Big Sky's top 10. With 49 carries on the season, Andersen's rate of scoring once every 7.0 carries is the best in the league (Weber's Kris Jackson at once every 8.1 carries is 2nd). His 33rd career rushing touchdown places him 2nd in Bobcat history. Andersen also has 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks in the last five games.
OFFENSE/OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Mitch Brott, LT (6-6, 300, Sr, Billings, MT)
On the day he made his 45th consecutive start, which covers every game of his MSU varsity career, Mitch Brott keyed a historic Bobcat offensive effort. With Brott at left tackle, Montana State leads the Big Sky in rushing offense (259.9 yards per game) and sacks allowed (1.1 per game). Montana State averages a Big Sky-best 257.5 rushing yards per game, 8th in the FCS, and after allowing one UNC sack the Cats stand 8th in the FCS and lead the Big Sky with just 1.0 sacks allowed per game.
DEFENSE: Brayden Konkol, S (6-2, 215, Sr, Belgrade, MT)
Senior safety led the Bobcats with seven tackles – all solo stops – and cut down a potential UC Davis scoring drive just before halftime to lead Montana State to a 27-17 road win on Saturday. The pick, Konkol's first this season and fifth as a Bobcat, came near midfield with 19 seconds to play in the second quarter. Paced by its senior strong safety, the Bobcats held UC Davis to 430 yards and 17 points, both below their season averages against FCS opponents. The Bobcats didn't allow a first down in the game's final 20 minutes, and became the first FCS team to hold Jake Maier without a touchdown pass in the last 14 games.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Tristan Bailey, K (6-1, 210, Sr, Colorado Springs, CO)
Senior kicker Tristan Bailey impacted Montana State's 27-17 win at UC Davis Saturday in ways both obvious and subtle. Bailey scored 9 points in MSU's 10-point victory, including seven in a 13-point fourth quarter. His 37-yard field goal less than four minutes into the final period began the Bobcats' 13-0 game-closing run, and he nailed a 41-yard field goal with 3:39 to play to seal the victory. Bailey was also brilliant on kickoffs, helping the Bobcats limit UCD field position. He kicked off six times. Two resulted in touchbacks, and the other four all pinned the Aggies inside their own 25-yard line. Bailey is quietly posting a brilliant senior season, converting all 45 of his extra points and 10 of his 15 field goal tries. He is 6-for-7 inside of 40 yards, and 10-for-13 inside 50.
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
• MSU's eighth win of 2019 gives the Bobcats that many wins against Division I opponents during the regular season for just the fifth time in program's Division I era (since 1978). The other such seasons: 1984, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In all, the Bobcat football team has reached the 8-win plateau 16 times. By decade: 1950s – 4, 1960s – 1, 1970s – 3, 1980s – 1, 1990s – 0, 2000s – 1, 2010s – 6.
• Montana State has posted winning margins of 30 points or more three times this season, the first time that's happened against same-division opponents since the team did so four times in 1973 (42-7 vs. Idaho State, 38-6 vs. Fresno State, 33-0 vs. Weber State, 45-0 vs. NAU).
• Jeff Choate joins Tony Storti as the only Bobcat coaches in history with two eight-win seasons out of their first four. His win percentage of .543 is sixth-best among all Bobcat coaches through their first 46 games. Among those, only Sonny Holland and Choate's predecessor Rob Ash coached in the two-platoon era (since about 1964).
• The Bobcats allowed UC Davis just 11 plays, 23 yards, and no first downs in the fourth quarter. After scoring their only second half touchdown with six ticks under five minutes remaining in the third quarter the Aggies didn't gain another first down.
• Jake Maier, UC Davis' returning All-America and Big Sky Offensive Co-Player of the Year, had thrown at least one touchdown pass against 13 consecutive FCS opponents until the Cats held him without a scoring strike on Saturday.
• Brayden Konkol's interception at UC Davis was his 1st in 2019 and the 5th of his career.
• Troy Andersen has 9.5 tackles-for-loss in the last six games, and has touchdowns in four of those.
• Isaiah Ifanse (77 yards, one touchdown) and Travis Jonsen (93 yards, one touchdown) combined for 170 of MSU's 284 rushing yards after each had missed time with injuries.
• Montana becomes Montana State's seventh straight opponent to win the game before playing the Cats.
• In the last five games Troy Andersen has 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks, with an interception and a two breakups. He has been in on at least one tackle behind the line of scrimmage in six straight games.
• Montana State has forced at least one turnover in 21 consecutive games, with yesterday's coming in the form of Brayden Konkol's first interception on the season.
• Senior safety JoJo Henderson extended his run of exceptional play with six tackles (all solo stops) and a pass breakup at UC Davis.
• The Cats have committed more than one turnover in just one of the team's 11 games.
• The Bobcats have lost just 12 fumbles in the last 35 games.
• Montana State has run 172 plays in the fourth quarter against FCS opponents this season, with 136 of them running plays. The Cats kept the ball on the ground 21 times in 23 plays against UC Davis, rambling for 141 yards on the ground in the final period.
• Jered Padmos' average of 45.0 yards per punt is fourth in the FCS, and he has allowed only opponent returns on 15 of his 52 punts.
• Montana State is 26th in the FCS with 5.3 penalties per game.
• The Bobcats stands 10th in the FCS and 1st in the Big Sky with 1.1 sacks allowed per game.
• Montana State has allowed 62 fourth-quarter points this season (21 of them at Cal Poly) while scoring 84, and outscore opponents 171-105 after halftime. The Cats have outscored the opponent in every quarter this season.
STAT SNIPPETS
Montana State is 8th in the FCS in rushing yards per game (259.9 yards per game), while Montana is 13th in rushing yards allowed (112.6)… the Grizzlies score 37.9 points per game, 7th in the FCS, while the Cats allow 22.2 (27th)… UM throws for 299.3 yards a game, 12th nationally, while MSU's 242.6 yards allowed is 89th… Montana's defense registers 2.64 sacks per game, 22nd in the FCS, while the Bobcats allow 1.09 sacks per game, 10th in the FCS.
ALL-PURPOSE: Troy Andersen, LB/QB (6-4, 233, Jr, Dillon, Montana)
Troy Andersen logged two tackles-for-loss and rushed for a touchdown in Montana State's 27-17 win over UC Davis. He also logged six tackles, all solo stops, and rushed for 51 yards. The day marked the fourth game in the last five in which Andersen registered both a touchdown and tackle-for-loss in the same contest. Andersen has rushed for seven touchdowns this season, four in the last five games, and his total is one from cracking the Big Sky's top 10. With 49 carries on the season, Andersen's rate of scoring once every 7.0 carries is the best in the league (Weber's Kris Jackson at once every 8.1 carries is 2nd). His 33rd career rushing touchdown places him 2nd in Bobcat history. Andersen also has 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks in the last five games.
OFFENSE/OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: Mitch Brott, LT (6-6, 300, Sr, Billings, MT)
On the day he made his 45th consecutive start, which covers every game of his MSU varsity career, Mitch Brott keyed a historic Bobcat offensive effort. With Brott at left tackle, Montana State leads the Big Sky in rushing offense (259.9 yards per game) and sacks allowed (1.1 per game). Montana State averages a Big Sky-best 257.5 rushing yards per game, 8th in the FCS, and after allowing one UNC sack the Cats stand 8th in the FCS and lead the Big Sky with just 1.0 sacks allowed per game.
DEFENSE: Brayden Konkol, S (6-2, 215, Sr, Belgrade, MT)
Senior safety led the Bobcats with seven tackles – all solo stops – and cut down a potential UC Davis scoring drive just before halftime to lead Montana State to a 27-17 road win on Saturday. The pick, Konkol's first this season and fifth as a Bobcat, came near midfield with 19 seconds to play in the second quarter. Paced by its senior strong safety, the Bobcats held UC Davis to 430 yards and 17 points, both below their season averages against FCS opponents. The Bobcats didn't allow a first down in the game's final 20 minutes, and became the first FCS team to hold Jake Maier without a touchdown pass in the last 14 games.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Tristan Bailey, K (6-1, 210, Sr, Colorado Springs, CO)
Senior kicker Tristan Bailey impacted Montana State's 27-17 win at UC Davis Saturday in ways both obvious and subtle. Bailey scored 9 points in MSU's 10-point victory, including seven in a 13-point fourth quarter. His 37-yard field goal less than four minutes into the final period began the Bobcats' 13-0 game-closing run, and he nailed a 41-yard field goal with 3:39 to play to seal the victory. Bailey was also brilliant on kickoffs, helping the Bobcats limit UCD field position. He kicked off six times. Two resulted in touchbacks, and the other four all pinned the Aggies inside their own 25-yard line. Bailey is quietly posting a brilliant senior season, converting all 45 of his extra points and 10 of his 15 field goal tries. He is 6-for-7 inside of 40 yards, and 10-for-13 inside 50.
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
• MSU's eighth win of 2019 gives the Bobcats that many wins against Division I opponents during the regular season for just the fifth time in program's Division I era (since 1978). The other such seasons: 1984, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In all, the Bobcat football team has reached the 8-win plateau 16 times. By decade: 1950s – 4, 1960s – 1, 1970s – 3, 1980s – 1, 1990s – 0, 2000s – 1, 2010s – 6.
• Montana State has posted winning margins of 30 points or more three times this season, the first time that's happened against same-division opponents since the team did so four times in 1973 (42-7 vs. Idaho State, 38-6 vs. Fresno State, 33-0 vs. Weber State, 45-0 vs. NAU).
• Jeff Choate joins Tony Storti as the only Bobcat coaches in history with two eight-win seasons out of their first four. His win percentage of .543 is sixth-best among all Bobcat coaches through their first 46 games. Among those, only Sonny Holland and Choate's predecessor Rob Ash coached in the two-platoon era (since about 1964).
• The Bobcats allowed UC Davis just 11 plays, 23 yards, and no first downs in the fourth quarter. After scoring their only second half touchdown with six ticks under five minutes remaining in the third quarter the Aggies didn't gain another first down.
• Jake Maier, UC Davis' returning All-America and Big Sky Offensive Co-Player of the Year, had thrown at least one touchdown pass against 13 consecutive FCS opponents until the Cats held him without a scoring strike on Saturday.
• Brayden Konkol's interception at UC Davis was his 1st in 2019 and the 5th of his career.
• Troy Andersen has 9.5 tackles-for-loss in the last six games, and has touchdowns in four of those.
• Isaiah Ifanse (77 yards, one touchdown) and Travis Jonsen (93 yards, one touchdown) combined for 170 of MSU's 284 rushing yards after each had missed time with injuries.
• Montana becomes Montana State's seventh straight opponent to win the game before playing the Cats.
• In the last five games Troy Andersen has 9.0 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks, with an interception and a two breakups. He has been in on at least one tackle behind the line of scrimmage in six straight games.
• Montana State has forced at least one turnover in 21 consecutive games, with yesterday's coming in the form of Brayden Konkol's first interception on the season.
• Senior safety JoJo Henderson extended his run of exceptional play with six tackles (all solo stops) and a pass breakup at UC Davis.
• The Cats have committed more than one turnover in just one of the team's 11 games.
• The Bobcats have lost just 12 fumbles in the last 35 games.
• Montana State has run 172 plays in the fourth quarter against FCS opponents this season, with 136 of them running plays. The Cats kept the ball on the ground 21 times in 23 plays against UC Davis, rambling for 141 yards on the ground in the final period.
• Jered Padmos' average of 45.0 yards per punt is fourth in the FCS, and he has allowed only opponent returns on 15 of his 52 punts.
• Montana State is 26th in the FCS with 5.3 penalties per game.
• The Bobcats stands 10th in the FCS and 1st in the Big Sky with 1.1 sacks allowed per game.
• Montana State has allowed 62 fourth-quarter points this season (21 of them at Cal Poly) while scoring 84, and outscore opponents 171-105 after halftime. The Cats have outscored the opponent in every quarter this season.
STAT SNIPPETS
Montana State is 8th in the FCS in rushing yards per game (259.9 yards per game), while Montana is 13th in rushing yards allowed (112.6)… the Grizzlies score 37.9 points per game, 7th in the FCS, while the Cats allow 22.2 (27th)… UM throws for 299.3 yards a game, 12th nationally, while MSU's 242.6 yards allowed is 89th… Montana's defense registers 2.64 sacks per game, 22nd in the FCS, while the Bobcats allow 1.09 sacks per game, 10th in the FCS.
Players Mentioned
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