BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 45 Days Until Kickoff!
7/17/2019 3:00:00 PM | Football
A quick look at MSU's success against nationally-ranked foes
July 17: In addition to a quick look at players wearing the jersey number corresponding to the number of days remaining until Montana State's season opener at Texas Tech on August 31, Bobcats by the Numbers brings you another tidbit or two aligning with that number.
#45
Derryk Snell, TE: A big, physical tight end from Alaska, Derryk Snell enters 2019 in competition for playing time as a hybrid player who might look, at times, more like a fullback.
Alex Johnson, LB: An athletic linebacker, Alex Johnson joins the Bobcats from Helena High. A strong fall camp could provide the opportunity to contribute on the varsity this season in a special teams capacity.
45 – Wins over ranked opponents since 1978
Montana State has won 45 games against nationally-ranked opponents since 1978, when the Bobcats joined the ranks of Division I football. The most recent was the team's playoff win against Incarnate Word last November.
Chronology: Eldon Penfield (1926), JE Pepper (1930), Ed Arnold (1940), Marvin Markuson (1941), Edward Kirsman (1946), James Kane (1947), Harry Perrigo (1948), Marv Kildahl (1949), Dale Boatright (1950), Bob Black (1953-55), Ed Burns (1956), Bob Allen (1959), Bob Wickersham (1969), Bob Wickersham (1970), Gary Michael (1971), Roscoe Schmidt (1973-75), Brian Febach (1976), Britt Freeman (1977-78), Brian Matthews (1979-81), Mike Callaghan (1982-85), Tyler Huber (1986-87), Von Narcisse (1988), Cory Voggesser (1989-93), Rodney Ellis (1994), Errol Rice (1996), Charles Eaton (1997), Mike McCarfferty (1999-2001), Drew Vanderhoff (2002), Zach Wermers (2003), Ty McDonald (2004-07), Jason D'Alba (2008-10), Cody Dopps (2012), Luke Daly (2013-15, 2017), Sean Cooney (2018-), Deryk Snell (2018-), Alex Johnson (2019-)
Other #45 Notes: It's an obvious over-simplification to say that Treasure State products have been the backbone of the Bobcat football program for the century-plus of its existence. The Bobcat program began to really take off early in the 21st century, though, when non-scholarship and low-scholarship players from Montana began matriculating to MSU in larger numbers, and staying their entire careers. One of the greatest examples is Ty McDonald, a Montana High School Heisman winner who picked up the nickname "The Bus Driver" when that's the role a new assistant thought he held in the program on the trip to Great Falls for the Triangle Classic because he was attired in blue jeans and boots rather than team sweats or shorts. McDonald was a solid special teams contributor and reserve tight end, and coming from an agricultural family near Geyser his MSU heritage was strong. Away from the football field is where McDonald really made his mark. He won the University's Torley Award as the senior male who most exemplified the spirit of community service and involvement, he earned an International Stockmen's Education Foundation Travel Fellowship to the 2007 International Livestock Congress in Denver, a Val Glynn Award for leadership and scholarship, was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi agricultural honorary, interned for former U.S. Senator Conrad Burns in Washington D.C., and traveled to Taiwan to study international grain use in the spring of 2006. Ty McDonald was a favorite during his time at MSU, and remains a sterling example that college athletics provides opportunity far beyond the playing field…. Montana State's defenses around the turn of the century were very good, even as they were developing into something extraordinarily special that would form the heart of the program's return to championship football in 2002, '03 and '05. One player that was for briefly brilliant parts of those defenses was linebacker Mike McCafferty. A product of the Bay area, McCafferty moved to defensive end as a redshirt freshman late in 1999 and in the season's final two games logged eight tackles and two sacks. Considered a linchpin moving into Mike Kramer's tenure as head coach, McCafferty instead couldn't shake the grip of head injuries and missed all of 2000. In 2001 he was again brilliant when healthy, forcing two fumbles with seven tackles in MSU's streak-ending win over Weber State. But he was forced to miss five mid-season games, and retired after the season. McCafferty brought a positive intensity with him every time he pulled on the uniform.
#45
Derryk Snell, TE: A big, physical tight end from Alaska, Derryk Snell enters 2019 in competition for playing time as a hybrid player who might look, at times, more like a fullback.
Alex Johnson, LB: An athletic linebacker, Alex Johnson joins the Bobcats from Helena High. A strong fall camp could provide the opportunity to contribute on the varsity this season in a special teams capacity.
45 – Wins over ranked opponents since 1978
Montana State has won 45 games against nationally-ranked opponents since 1978, when the Bobcats joined the ranks of Division I football. The most recent was the team's playoff win against Incarnate Word last November.
Chronology: Eldon Penfield (1926), JE Pepper (1930), Ed Arnold (1940), Marvin Markuson (1941), Edward Kirsman (1946), James Kane (1947), Harry Perrigo (1948), Marv Kildahl (1949), Dale Boatright (1950), Bob Black (1953-55), Ed Burns (1956), Bob Allen (1959), Bob Wickersham (1969), Bob Wickersham (1970), Gary Michael (1971), Roscoe Schmidt (1973-75), Brian Febach (1976), Britt Freeman (1977-78), Brian Matthews (1979-81), Mike Callaghan (1982-85), Tyler Huber (1986-87), Von Narcisse (1988), Cory Voggesser (1989-93), Rodney Ellis (1994), Errol Rice (1996), Charles Eaton (1997), Mike McCarfferty (1999-2001), Drew Vanderhoff (2002), Zach Wermers (2003), Ty McDonald (2004-07), Jason D'Alba (2008-10), Cody Dopps (2012), Luke Daly (2013-15, 2017), Sean Cooney (2018-), Deryk Snell (2018-), Alex Johnson (2019-)
Other #45 Notes: It's an obvious over-simplification to say that Treasure State products have been the backbone of the Bobcat football program for the century-plus of its existence. The Bobcat program began to really take off early in the 21st century, though, when non-scholarship and low-scholarship players from Montana began matriculating to MSU in larger numbers, and staying their entire careers. One of the greatest examples is Ty McDonald, a Montana High School Heisman winner who picked up the nickname "The Bus Driver" when that's the role a new assistant thought he held in the program on the trip to Great Falls for the Triangle Classic because he was attired in blue jeans and boots rather than team sweats or shorts. McDonald was a solid special teams contributor and reserve tight end, and coming from an agricultural family near Geyser his MSU heritage was strong. Away from the football field is where McDonald really made his mark. He won the University's Torley Award as the senior male who most exemplified the spirit of community service and involvement, he earned an International Stockmen's Education Foundation Travel Fellowship to the 2007 International Livestock Congress in Denver, a Val Glynn Award for leadership and scholarship, was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi agricultural honorary, interned for former U.S. Senator Conrad Burns in Washington D.C., and traveled to Taiwan to study international grain use in the spring of 2006. Ty McDonald was a favorite during his time at MSU, and remains a sterling example that college athletics provides opportunity far beyond the playing field…. Montana State's defenses around the turn of the century were very good, even as they were developing into something extraordinarily special that would form the heart of the program's return to championship football in 2002, '03 and '05. One player that was for briefly brilliant parts of those defenses was linebacker Mike McCafferty. A product of the Bay area, McCafferty moved to defensive end as a redshirt freshman late in 1999 and in the season's final two games logged eight tackles and two sacks. Considered a linchpin moving into Mike Kramer's tenure as head coach, McCafferty instead couldn't shake the grip of head injuries and missed all of 2000. In 2001 he was again brilliant when healthy, forcing two fumbles with seven tackles in MSU's streak-ending win over Weber State. But he was forced to miss five mid-season games, and retired after the season. McCafferty brought a positive intensity with him every time he pulled on the uniform.
Players Mentioned
TE
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