BOBCAT TIME CAPSULE: Montana State Won a Gold Rush Thriller to Open 2018

Photo by: Garrett Becker

BOBCAT TIME CAPSULE: Montana State Won a Gold Rush Thriller to Open 2018

9/4/2020 12:54:00 PM | Football

Troy Andersen's first start was memorable, as the sophomore led the Cats to an impressive win

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Montana – A decade after Montana State's first Gold Rush game in 2008, there was considerable anticipation surrounding the team's season opener in 2018.

Well-established as a highlight of the Bobcat football season – and the gateway into each new academic year – that Gold Rush game featured an ascending Montana State team and a Western Illinois squad that qualified for the FCS Playoffs in the previous season that was studded with future NFL players. It was a marquee matchup in the Big Sky-Missouri Valley challenge, and was one of the most-anticipated among FCS non-conference contests.

And it also gave third-year MSU coach Jeff Choate the opportunity to roll out the newest iteration of his Bobcat offense, which was led by sophomore Troy Andersen. The Big Sky's Freshman of the Year in 2017 as a running back, Andersen was considered primarily a linebacker coming out of Dillon, but his unique and obvious talent inspired Choate to allow Andersen to affect a game to the greatest degree possible.

The confluence of that philosophy and the academic ineligibility of Chris Murray led Choate to a drastic revelation during the late spring and early summer – Andersen could do in MSU's offensive system what Murray did, but what Choate saw in the sophomore was not quantifiable. It was command of the huddle. It was the rare combination of confidence and humility. And it was the way Andersen at such a young age interacted with those around him.

It was leadership. It was real, and it was spectacular.

But when the Bobcats took the field on August 30, 2018, there was no way of knowing how this great experiment would play out. Taking the Bobcat Stadium field for Gold Rush games "is just so great," Andersen says. "The excitement, it's really almost like Cat-Griz." It was Western Illinois that took command early in the 2018 Gold Rush, though. The Leathernecks found the end zone on their second drive, while the Bobcats suffered through two three-and-outs to open the game.

MSU got on the scoreboard with the first of four Tristan Bailey field goals late in the first quarter, but after the second WIU touchdown Montana State trailed 13-6 with a minute remaining in the first half. A Brayden Konkol interception set the Bobcats up for a late field goal, and MSU entered the halftime leading 13-6.

The Cats gained just 83 yards and two first downs in the first half, but opened the second half by marching 81 yards in eight plays to tie the score. The teams traded touchdowns third quarter touchdowns, but a 38-yard Sam Cross field goal early in the final stanza gave WIU a 23-20 lead. On the ensuing drive completed four of his six pass attempts and Bailey connected from 50 yards to again tie the score.

On the next drive, the Bobcat defense rose up. Derek Marks and Bryce Sterk each logged tackles-for-loss, and as the clock ticked under six minutes Kevin Kassis returned WIU's punt 32 yards to the Leathernecks 26-yard line. An eight-yard run by Andersen set up Bailey's 35-yard field goal, and Montana State led for the first time. WIU to midfield, but a Bryce Sterk sack with one minute remaining ended the game.

Andersen was rock-solid in his first start at quarterback, rushing for 145 yards and throwing for 81 more. He scored two touchdowns. Kassis caught five of MSU's 12 completed passes for 33 yards, he returned two punts for 36 yards, and three kickoffs for 116 yards, including a 69-yarder. Konkol and Walker Cozzie each logged nine tackles, Sterk registered four sacks, and Tyrone Fa'anono's seven tackles helped the Bobcats establish the physical style of defense that would land the team in the FCS Playoffs for the first time in four years by season's end.

But it all started on a warm, overcast evening in 2018, when Troy Andersen and the Bobcats welcomed 18,507 to Bobcat Stadium for that year's Gold Rush.

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