Saturday, October 9
BOZEMAN
2 p.m.
Montana State University
vs
Cal Poly
Lance McCutcheon
Photo by: Garrett Becker
GAME #6: Cal Poly Visits Bobcat Stadium Saturday
10/6/2021 5:08:00 PM | Football
Former Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin leads his second Mustangs team to Bobcat Stadium
BOZEMAN, Montana – Cal Poly may be making only its third visit to Bozeman in the last 17 years for Saturday's Big Sky matchup with Montana State, but there's plenty of familiarity.
The Cats earned an important overtime win in San Luis Obispo in 2019, and the year before that beat the Mustangs 49-42 in Bozeman. Beyond that, second-year Mustangs coach Beau Baldwin compiled a 7-2 record against Montana State as Eastern Washington's head coach from 2008-16. Saturday's 2 pm contest, MSU's Homecoming Game this season, stands as Baldwin's sixth time leading a team to Bozeman as head coach, and he's won four of the previous five.
Between Baldwin's head coaching success and the Mustangs' tradition, Bobcat head coach Brent Vigen said Cal Poly (1-4 in 2021, 0-2 in Big Sky play) is not a team to take lightly. "The first thing you look at is the record, that is what it is, and we have one common opponent in San Diego (MSU and Cal Poly both beat the Toreros)," Vigen said. "(In) their losses, they've played pretty good teams. They've played a pretty good schedule to this point. Much like Northern Colorado, it's a situation where Coach Baldwin took over at the beginning of 2020, didn't get that year, I know they played a few games in the spring, like he typically would have. So they're still finding themselves."
Baldwin and his staff is in the process of reshaping the Cal Poly program into a spread offense and a four-man defensive front, after years in a triple-option attack and a defense modeled after Arizona's Desert Swarm. From his days competing against the Mustangs while at North Dakota State, Vigen said CP's program has pride. "Cal Poly to me has been a real consistent program. When I was at North Dakota State we played them and had some real drag-outs. That's a while back, but they'd been a real consistent program that could recruit good athletes, smart athletes, and because of all of that I don't think their record indicates where they are and where they can go."
Linebacker Matt Shotwell, a long-time star for the Mustangs, leads the team's defense. His 47 total tackles is far and away the most on the team. Offensively, Baldwin has utilized four different quarterbacks. Vigen said that alone presents a difficulty. "I think it's a challenge. Any time you have that kind of number it's all a little bit different, how you defend them, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are."
Vigen said that Cal Poly's willingness to use young quarterbacks offers the program considerable upside. "Just how a young guy can develop from one week to the next is scary sometimes. You just don't know."
Montana State's defense ranks as one of the top in the FCS through five weeks of the 2021 season. Montana State stands sixth in the FCS in scoring defense, 11th in total defense, ninth in tackles-for-loss, and 14th in passes intercepted.
Vigen said his players have adapted to his staff's system well. "It gives us options for movement, for pressure that can aid in the run and the pass game," he said. "We've been able to use a variety in the first five games, and I think our guys have played really assignment sound, and when we're assignment sound we should be plus-one numbers-wise. And we've tackled well. Our guys more and more are understanding leverage and trusting their teammates. That's a really nice thing to see. Going back to our first scrimmage in the spring, that trust and understanding leverage was far from what it is today. We've made big strides in that area since April.
Offensively, quarterback Matthew McKay triggers a Bobcat offense that leans on a veteran offensive line and notable playmakers. Senior receiver Lance McCutcheon is fifth nationally in receiving yards, while Isaiah Ifanse is second in rushing yards. McKay is 15th in passing yards. "With our relative (offensive) balance, whether they'll try to load it up to stop the run, I would think that's where they would start, but we're still in the midst of figuring that out," Vigen said. "For us it's a little more comfortability than the last two weeks in the (defensive schemes) we faced."
Saturday's game against Cal Poly is televised on ROOT Sports Northwest, AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain, Las Vegas and Southwest. Outside of those ROOT markets, the game is available on ESPN+. It marks the end of a stretch of four home games in five weeks for the Bobcats, who next play at home on October 23 against Idaho State.
#GoCatsGo
The Cats earned an important overtime win in San Luis Obispo in 2019, and the year before that beat the Mustangs 49-42 in Bozeman. Beyond that, second-year Mustangs coach Beau Baldwin compiled a 7-2 record against Montana State as Eastern Washington's head coach from 2008-16. Saturday's 2 pm contest, MSU's Homecoming Game this season, stands as Baldwin's sixth time leading a team to Bozeman as head coach, and he's won four of the previous five.
Between Baldwin's head coaching success and the Mustangs' tradition, Bobcat head coach Brent Vigen said Cal Poly (1-4 in 2021, 0-2 in Big Sky play) is not a team to take lightly. "The first thing you look at is the record, that is what it is, and we have one common opponent in San Diego (MSU and Cal Poly both beat the Toreros)," Vigen said. "(In) their losses, they've played pretty good teams. They've played a pretty good schedule to this point. Much like Northern Colorado, it's a situation where Coach Baldwin took over at the beginning of 2020, didn't get that year, I know they played a few games in the spring, like he typically would have. So they're still finding themselves."
Baldwin and his staff is in the process of reshaping the Cal Poly program into a spread offense and a four-man defensive front, after years in a triple-option attack and a defense modeled after Arizona's Desert Swarm. From his days competing against the Mustangs while at North Dakota State, Vigen said CP's program has pride. "Cal Poly to me has been a real consistent program. When I was at North Dakota State we played them and had some real drag-outs. That's a while back, but they'd been a real consistent program that could recruit good athletes, smart athletes, and because of all of that I don't think their record indicates where they are and where they can go."
Linebacker Matt Shotwell, a long-time star for the Mustangs, leads the team's defense. His 47 total tackles is far and away the most on the team. Offensively, Baldwin has utilized four different quarterbacks. Vigen said that alone presents a difficulty. "I think it's a challenge. Any time you have that kind of number it's all a little bit different, how you defend them, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are."
Vigen said that Cal Poly's willingness to use young quarterbacks offers the program considerable upside. "Just how a young guy can develop from one week to the next is scary sometimes. You just don't know."
Montana State's defense ranks as one of the top in the FCS through five weeks of the 2021 season. Montana State stands sixth in the FCS in scoring defense, 11th in total defense, ninth in tackles-for-loss, and 14th in passes intercepted.
Vigen said his players have adapted to his staff's system well. "It gives us options for movement, for pressure that can aid in the run and the pass game," he said. "We've been able to use a variety in the first five games, and I think our guys have played really assignment sound, and when we're assignment sound we should be plus-one numbers-wise. And we've tackled well. Our guys more and more are understanding leverage and trusting their teammates. That's a really nice thing to see. Going back to our first scrimmage in the spring, that trust and understanding leverage was far from what it is today. We've made big strides in that area since April.
Offensively, quarterback Matthew McKay triggers a Bobcat offense that leans on a veteran offensive line and notable playmakers. Senior receiver Lance McCutcheon is fifth nationally in receiving yards, while Isaiah Ifanse is second in rushing yards. McKay is 15th in passing yards. "With our relative (offensive) balance, whether they'll try to load it up to stop the run, I would think that's where they would start, but we're still in the midst of figuring that out," Vigen said. "For us it's a little more comfortability than the last two weeks in the (defensive schemes) we faced."
Saturday's game against Cal Poly is televised on ROOT Sports Northwest, AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain, Las Vegas and Southwest. Outside of those ROOT markets, the game is available on ESPN+. It marks the end of a stretch of four home games in five weeks for the Bobcats, who next play at home on October 23 against Idaho State.
#GoCatsGo
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