Photo by: Garrett Becker
BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK #15: Cats Continue to Count on Grinding Ground Game
12/15/2019 5:59:00 PM | Football
Isaiah Ifanse continues to pace Montana State's offense
A quick look at Montana State's 24-10 win against Austin Peay in the FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals on Friday...
NOTES
• Isaiah Ifanse's 196 rushing yards and 60-yard run Friday each set MSU post-season records, as does his 417 career post-season yards (topping Tom Kostrba's 306 in 1976). He also threw a touchdown pass Friday night.
• Montana State has earned playoff berths in consecutive seasons for the third time in school history – 2002-03, 2010-12, and 2018-19.
• The Bobcats raised their post-season record to 13-9-2 with Friday's win, including 12-8 all-time in NCAA Playoff games, 9-8 in the FCS/I-AA Playoffs, 3-0 in the Division II Playoffs, and 1-1-2 in bowl games.
• North Dakota State (three meetings, 1-2 record) is Montana State's most common playoff opponent. The Cats have faced New Hampshire and Sam Houston State twice each.
• Austin Peay surrendered 5.7 tackles-for-loss per game before Friday, but Montana State stopped the Governors behind the line of scrimmage nine times. The nine TFLs and four sacks logged by MSU were each the most Austin Peay allowed this season.
• Montana State's 279 rushing yards was also the most APSU allowed in 2019.
• During Montana State's current six-game win streak the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 233-83. That streak comes on the heels of a 16-12 loss at North Dakota.
• The Cats have topped 130 rushing yards in six of the team's seven home playoff games this decade (Sam Houston held MSU to 72 rushing yards in 2012), gaining 482 during the 2019 post-season to this point.
• Saturday's game in Fargo marks the latest date the Bobcats have played since the 1956 Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas. That game – played to a scoreless tie on December 22 – gave Montana State its first National Championship. The Bobcats only other game played later in a season fell on January 1, 1947, when the Cats battled to a 13-13 tie in the Harbor Bowl, the team's first-ever post-season appearance.
• Montana State's 279 rushing yards against Austin Peay raises its season total to 3,723, a program record. The team's 265.9 yards per game to this point of the 2019 season is 4th in program history.
• Bryce Sterk's 20 tackles-for-loss this season is tied for 6th in Bobcat history, and his 15 sacks 4th-most at MSU.
• Montana State's turnover margin is +6 in the four playoff games played under head coach Jeff Choate, without a single game in the negative.
STAT SNIPPETS
Montana State's 11 turnovers is sixth-lowest in the FCS, while North Dakota State's five leads the nation… NDSU's FCS-leading pass defense faces a Bobcat aerial attack ranked 103rd… in the last month the Bobcats rushed for 382 yards against the FCS' 13th-ranked rush defense (the Grizzlies), 203 against the 47th-ranked rush defense (UAlbany), and 279 yards against the 7th-ranked rush defense… MSU is 7th in the FCS in turnover margin at +0.93, while North Dakota State is 4th (+1.14).
NOTES
• Isaiah Ifanse's 196 rushing yards and 60-yard run Friday each set MSU post-season records, as does his 417 career post-season yards (topping Tom Kostrba's 306 in 1976). He also threw a touchdown pass Friday night.
• Montana State has earned playoff berths in consecutive seasons for the third time in school history – 2002-03, 2010-12, and 2018-19.
• The Bobcats raised their post-season record to 13-9-2 with Friday's win, including 12-8 all-time in NCAA Playoff games, 9-8 in the FCS/I-AA Playoffs, 3-0 in the Division II Playoffs, and 1-1-2 in bowl games.
• North Dakota State (three meetings, 1-2 record) is Montana State's most common playoff opponent. The Cats have faced New Hampshire and Sam Houston State twice each.
• Austin Peay surrendered 5.7 tackles-for-loss per game before Friday, but Montana State stopped the Governors behind the line of scrimmage nine times. The nine TFLs and four sacks logged by MSU were each the most Austin Peay allowed this season.
• Montana State's 279 rushing yards was also the most APSU allowed in 2019.
• During Montana State's current six-game win streak the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 233-83. That streak comes on the heels of a 16-12 loss at North Dakota.
• The Cats have topped 130 rushing yards in six of the team's seven home playoff games this decade (Sam Houston held MSU to 72 rushing yards in 2012), gaining 482 during the 2019 post-season to this point.
• Saturday's game in Fargo marks the latest date the Bobcats have played since the 1956 Aluminum Bowl in Little Rock, Arkansas. That game – played to a scoreless tie on December 22 – gave Montana State its first National Championship. The Bobcats only other game played later in a season fell on January 1, 1947, when the Cats battled to a 13-13 tie in the Harbor Bowl, the team's first-ever post-season appearance.
• Montana State's 279 rushing yards against Austin Peay raises its season total to 3,723, a program record. The team's 265.9 yards per game to this point of the 2019 season is 4th in program history.
• Bryce Sterk's 20 tackles-for-loss this season is tied for 6th in Bobcat history, and his 15 sacks 4th-most at MSU.
• Montana State's turnover margin is +6 in the four playoff games played under head coach Jeff Choate, without a single game in the negative.
STAT SNIPPETS
Montana State's 11 turnovers is sixth-lowest in the FCS, while North Dakota State's five leads the nation… NDSU's FCS-leading pass defense faces a Bobcat aerial attack ranked 103rd… in the last month the Bobcats rushed for 382 yards against the FCS' 13th-ranked rush defense (the Grizzlies), 203 against the 47th-ranked rush defense (UAlbany), and 279 yards against the 7th-ranked rush defense… MSU is 7th in the FCS in turnover margin at +0.93, while North Dakota State is 4th (+1.14).
Players Mentioned
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