GAME #2: Bobcats Host Drake for Annual, Highly-Anticipated Gold Rush Game

Saturday, September 4

Laramie, WY

2 p.m.

Montana State University

Wyoming

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Treyton Pickering scored his first MSU touchdown at Wyoming

Photo by: Garrett Becker

GAME #2: Bobcats Host Drake for Annual, Highly-Anticipated Gold Rush Game

9/8/2021 6:24:00 PM | Football

FB Notes 21.#2.Drake Drake Notes at MSU

Montana State's first home game in nearly two years kicks off at 6 pm and is completely sold out

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Montana (September 8, 2021) – The excitement is tangible, the anticipation so real you can feel it.

"Gold Rush in front of all our fans," said freshman center Justus Perkins, a Bozeman native, earlier this week, "that's something we're all excited about." That moment finally arrives on Saturday at 6 pm, when the Cats host Drake for the first Montana State game in Bobcat Stadium in over 600 days.

The game marks the first opportunity to play in a home game for 64 current Bobcats (including those on the roster in 2019 who didn't see game action), as well as head coach Brent Vigen and five assistant coaches. Montana State opened 2021 with a narrow 19-16 loss at Wyoming last Saturday, an emotional experience for a program that didn't play a single game in 2020-21. Vigen acknowledged the extra juice that game carried, but cautions against anything less in Saturday's much-anticipated home opener.

"We have to get better for our own sake," he said. "It's easy to get up for your first game in a long time, it's easy to get up for a game when you play an FBS opponent, none of that can creep in (this week). I know it's Gold Rush, which I think will be exciting for our guys, our first home game in a long time, but we can't look at it and say it's not (an FBS) opponent. We need to have the mindset of getting better, because we need to get better."

The Bobcats played Wyoming on even terms through much of the night, but the Cowboys scored on their final three possessions to claim the victory. Vigen said his impression Sunday after watching film "was very much what we thought walking off the field. We played very hard, we did a lot of things well, but didn't seize control of the game. We had opportunities offensively to open the lead up, we had a couple leads in the fourth quarter when the defense had a chance to close the deal, and neither of those things happened. Special teams-wise we were on the cusp of making a huge play, a game-changing play, and we had a penalty on it, so each of those phases contributed to us not finishing it off. There are a lot of things to correct, but a lot of things to praise, too. How we respond is the most important thing."

Drake, on the other hand, opened with an easy 45-3 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. The Bulldogs piled up 529 yards, 304 on the ground, and led 21-0 before the first quarter had expired. Cross Robinson rushed for 100 yards on just 13 carries, while quarterback Ian Corwin completed 8 of his 11 passes for 180 yards. He connected with Colin Howard on a 79-yard touchdown pass.

Vigen said Drake has faced solid competition in recent seasons. "I know they went head-to-head against San Diego, who we (next week), and that was a back-and-forth affair. I think back to '19 and they played South Dakota State, North Dakota, and certainly hung around. (In) '18 they played Iowa State late in the season. So they're a very capable program, and you have to look at it from a big picture perspective and not the small sample sizes, the small sample size being the game last week where they really played well and they had a decided advantage. I suspect with a couple extra days they'll be well-prepared to play us. They utilize a lot of different weapons on offense. Defensively they certainly pose some problems and play very sound."

Balance on offense and experience on defense stand out as hallmarks, Vigen said. "Offensively we feel like their quarterback can make plays. He can get out of the pocket and create some problems. Running back-wise they have two guys who 0put up some big yards. Robinson is a good-sized kid who has really good feet. Receiver-wise, they have some ability. Defensively they return a bunch of guys, particularly from the spring. They play well up front, they play sound, so we can't get in our own way. We did that some on Saturday."

While the Bobcats may not have made the big play it takes to win a game against an FBS team, MSU also didn't burn down its own house with mistakes. MSU's only turnover was a fumble deep in Cowboys territory, and the Cats picked off a Wyoming pass and scored on the next play.

Vigen said taking care of the football and takeaways are likely to stand as important factors on Saturday. "They're not a team that's going to make huge mistakes," he said, "that's not Drake. They're going to be in the right places. To beat a team like that you have to be consistent."

Saturday's Bobcat Prowl begins at 3:45 pm, an earlier departure for the team from the Fieldhouse than in years past. Gates open at 4:30 pm and kickoff at 6 pm, and fans are reminded to download tickets before arrival. Saturday's Gold Rush Game completely sold out on Wednesday, but is televised on Fox stations around Montana and NBC KULR8 in Billings. Zach Mackey, Mikey Rider and Dan Davies call the action on the Bobcat Sports Radio Network throughout Montana, and the game streams on ESPN+.

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