Photo by: Garrett Becker
GAME #6: Idaho State Visits Bobcat Stadium Saturday for Homecoming
10/6/2022 8:37:00 AM | Football
Cats face Idaho State squad fresh off near upset of UM
BOZEMAN, Montana – Saturday marks Montana State's 89th Homecoming football game, and Montana State coach Brent Vigen is strongly appreciative of the opportunity this week provides to play another football game in Bobcat Stadium.
"The crowds that we get, and the environment our opponents have to play in, is a part of it for sure," Vigen said of Montana State's home field advantage. "You know it is a hostile environment for an opponent, so I do think that helps us on each one of these game days. And it's a mark of a good team that you're able to defend your home turf."
The team's next opportunity to defend the Bobcat Stadium turf comes Saturday, when the Cats host long-time rival Idaho State. Kickoff is 2 pm, and the game is televised on the Montana Television Network's CBS stations around the state.
Vigen said ISU's 0-5 record is irrelevant as it pertains to the challenge awaiting Montana State on Saturday. The Bengals narrowly missed an upset of second ranked Montana in Holt Arena on Saturday.
"They're an improving team," Vigen said, "and a team that's really hungry. They made a coaching change and there's a new energy, there's a new hunger, and that hunger hasn't necessarily been satisfied with a victory to this point. But you can see them getting better and seeing Coach (Charlie) Ragle's post-game comments you can see the pain in his face. There's a tremendous amount of fight in them."
The Bengals bring plenty of talent to Bozeman, starting with a talented receiver corps. Xavier Guillory and Cyrus Wallace each rank among the nation's top 10 in catches per game. Quarterback Sagan Gronauer, in his first 2022 start, threw for 299 yards against Montana's stifling defense last week.
The Bobcats (4-1 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) have also displayed an effective offense through much of 2022, rushing for 296.4 yards a game, third in the FCS, and piling up 483.0 yards a game, eighth nationally. MSU has scored at least 28 points each time out this season. Another known quantity before every Bobcat home game in 2022 is that the team will enter the stadium to a packed house. Each of this year's regular season home games are sold out of reserved seats.
Montana State set its all-time home attendance record during this year's Gold Rush Game against McNeese when 21,687 fans jammed into Bobcat Stadium, and last week fell just short of that mark when a crowd of 21,637 assembled for the win over UC Davis. Those are two of the top eight crowds on played on an FCS campus this fall, MSU stands second in the FCS in average attendance this fall (21,084).
After Saturday's game the Bobcats hit the road again, traveling to Greeley, Colorado, for a 1 pm showdown with Northern Colorado.
#GoCatsGo
"The crowds that we get, and the environment our opponents have to play in, is a part of it for sure," Vigen said of Montana State's home field advantage. "You know it is a hostile environment for an opponent, so I do think that helps us on each one of these game days. And it's a mark of a good team that you're able to defend your home turf."
The team's next opportunity to defend the Bobcat Stadium turf comes Saturday, when the Cats host long-time rival Idaho State. Kickoff is 2 pm, and the game is televised on the Montana Television Network's CBS stations around the state.
Vigen said ISU's 0-5 record is irrelevant as it pertains to the challenge awaiting Montana State on Saturday. The Bengals narrowly missed an upset of second ranked Montana in Holt Arena on Saturday.
"They're an improving team," Vigen said, "and a team that's really hungry. They made a coaching change and there's a new energy, there's a new hunger, and that hunger hasn't necessarily been satisfied with a victory to this point. But you can see them getting better and seeing Coach (Charlie) Ragle's post-game comments you can see the pain in his face. There's a tremendous amount of fight in them."
The Bengals bring plenty of talent to Bozeman, starting with a talented receiver corps. Xavier Guillory and Cyrus Wallace each rank among the nation's top 10 in catches per game. Quarterback Sagan Gronauer, in his first 2022 start, threw for 299 yards against Montana's stifling defense last week.
The Bobcats (4-1 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) have also displayed an effective offense through much of 2022, rushing for 296.4 yards a game, third in the FCS, and piling up 483.0 yards a game, eighth nationally. MSU has scored at least 28 points each time out this season. Another known quantity before every Bobcat home game in 2022 is that the team will enter the stadium to a packed house. Each of this year's regular season home games are sold out of reserved seats.
Montana State set its all-time home attendance record during this year's Gold Rush Game against McNeese when 21,687 fans jammed into Bobcat Stadium, and last week fell just short of that mark when a crowd of 21,637 assembled for the win over UC Davis. Those are two of the top eight crowds on played on an FCS campus this fall, MSU stands second in the FCS in average attendance this fall (21,084).
After Saturday's game the Bobcats hit the road again, traveling to Greeley, Colorado, for a 1 pm showdown with Northern Colorado.
#GoCatsGo
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