Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
GAME #6: Bobcats, Sacramento State Meet in Matchup of Big Sky Football Powers
10/18/2023 4:13:00 PM | Football
MSU and Hornets tied for the Big Sky title a year ago
BOZEMAN, Montana – Brent Vigen has spent two-plus years checking things off his list as Montana State's head coach, but a big one arrives Saturday when Montana State visits Sacramento State.
The last Big Sky opponent for third-year Bobcat coach Brent Vigen also offers a showdown between the two schools that survived the Big Sky Conference with unblemished records in 2022, sharing the Big Sky Championship with 8-0 records. The most recent meeting between MSU and the Hornets came in 2019, when Sac State became the most recent visiting team to win in Bobcat Stadium. Montana Sate's last game at Hornet Stadium was 2016, and those two games comprise the first MSU losing streak in the series since 1999-2000.
The biggest challenge, Vigen said, is much more fundamental than visiting a stadium for the first time or settling old scores. "They do things really well," he said. "Their transition to Coach (Andy) Thompson has gone very smoothly. A lot of that staff remained, and it shows up. They're continuing to do the things they've done so well the last couple years, really being solid to spectacular in all three phases. Finding ways to win games has been part of their calling card the last couple years, those tight games, and we'll certainly have our hands full come Saturday."
No two Big Sky teams have been better at winning games the last two-plus seasons than the Bobcats (5-1 overall, 3-0 Big Sky) and Sacramento State (5-1, 2-1). Since the beginning of 2021 the Hornets and MSU each stand 18-1 in Big Sky Conference games. MSU is 29-6 overall, while Sac State is 26-5.
Previous head coach Troy Taylor built a dynamic, explosive offense at Sacramento State, and spent the last two seasons dispelling the notion that a two-quarterback system can't work. Kaiden Bennett handles that role by himself this season, throwing for 225.0 yards per game and adding 56.5 yards per game on the ground. "It's a shift for them," Vigen said of the single-quarterback system. "What we've seen the last two years is that the combination, their two quarterback system, was very effective. What you see in (Bennett) is a very talented athlete, a passer, that allows them to do a lot of things they were doing with both guys the past couple of years."
Marcus Fulcher and Ezra Moleni each average 4.4 yards per carry as the Hornets' primary running backs. Five players have at least 15 catches, with Carlos Hill (21 receptions, 261 yards) and Devin Gandy (19 catches, 273 yards) leading he way. "A lot of things they're doing, the proficiency they're doing it with, are similar on offense," Vigen said.
While the Hornets phased out their two-quarterback system, the Bobcats keep rolling that way. Sean Chambers has scored 11 rushing touchdowns this season, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Tommy Mellott, on the other hand, has completed 21 of his 29 passes for 72.4%, throwing three touchdown passes without an interception.
Linebacker Armon Bailey's 51 tackles leads the Hornets, and he adds 2.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Safety Cameron Broussard has 47 tackles and one interception, while linebacker Brock Mather has 34 tackles, 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage, and one pick. Jeff Stanley and DeShawn Lynch each have 4.5 sacks.
"It's a very sound, disciplined group," Vigen said of Sacramento State's defense. "They are good at pressuring and disguising their pressure. In the back end they're good enough and capable of playing man but they play a fair amount of zone. They tackle well, they cover ground. Defensively it starts for them up front. They've got some really experienced guys."
The Bobcat defense remains balanced. Defensive end Brody Grebe's 5.5 sacks leads the team in that category, while linebackers Danny Uluilakepa (34) and McCade O'Reilly (33) pace the squad in tackles. Safety Rylan Ortt has two interceptions on the season.
Vigen said that, as with all programs enjoying long-term success, much of the Hornets' rise to Big Sky dominance began with a winning culture. "They have that belief, and that's apparent," he said. "They're not going to beat themselves. I know the Idaho didn't play their way, but by and large all these games have. We both tied for the conference championship this past year, they won it the previous year. We haven't played them as a program since '19, and we haven't played out in Sacramento since '16. There's unknowns even though you see teams in your conference quite a bit on crossover film, but they're the one team in my time here we haven't played."
Kickoff Saturday is 8:35 pm MT on ESPN2.
#GoCatsGo
The last Big Sky opponent for third-year Bobcat coach Brent Vigen also offers a showdown between the two schools that survived the Big Sky Conference with unblemished records in 2022, sharing the Big Sky Championship with 8-0 records. The most recent meeting between MSU and the Hornets came in 2019, when Sac State became the most recent visiting team to win in Bobcat Stadium. Montana Sate's last game at Hornet Stadium was 2016, and those two games comprise the first MSU losing streak in the series since 1999-2000.
The biggest challenge, Vigen said, is much more fundamental than visiting a stadium for the first time or settling old scores. "They do things really well," he said. "Their transition to Coach (Andy) Thompson has gone very smoothly. A lot of that staff remained, and it shows up. They're continuing to do the things they've done so well the last couple years, really being solid to spectacular in all three phases. Finding ways to win games has been part of their calling card the last couple years, those tight games, and we'll certainly have our hands full come Saturday."
No two Big Sky teams have been better at winning games the last two-plus seasons than the Bobcats (5-1 overall, 3-0 Big Sky) and Sacramento State (5-1, 2-1). Since the beginning of 2021 the Hornets and MSU each stand 18-1 in Big Sky Conference games. MSU is 29-6 overall, while Sac State is 26-5.
Previous head coach Troy Taylor built a dynamic, explosive offense at Sacramento State, and spent the last two seasons dispelling the notion that a two-quarterback system can't work. Kaiden Bennett handles that role by himself this season, throwing for 225.0 yards per game and adding 56.5 yards per game on the ground. "It's a shift for them," Vigen said of the single-quarterback system. "What we've seen the last two years is that the combination, their two quarterback system, was very effective. What you see in (Bennett) is a very talented athlete, a passer, that allows them to do a lot of things they were doing with both guys the past couple of years."
Marcus Fulcher and Ezra Moleni each average 4.4 yards per carry as the Hornets' primary running backs. Five players have at least 15 catches, with Carlos Hill (21 receptions, 261 yards) and Devin Gandy (19 catches, 273 yards) leading he way. "A lot of things they're doing, the proficiency they're doing it with, are similar on offense," Vigen said.
While the Hornets phased out their two-quarterback system, the Bobcats keep rolling that way. Sean Chambers has scored 11 rushing touchdowns this season, averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Tommy Mellott, on the other hand, has completed 21 of his 29 passes for 72.4%, throwing three touchdown passes without an interception.
Linebacker Armon Bailey's 51 tackles leads the Hornets, and he adds 2.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Safety Cameron Broussard has 47 tackles and one interception, while linebacker Brock Mather has 34 tackles, 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage, and one pick. Jeff Stanley and DeShawn Lynch each have 4.5 sacks.
"It's a very sound, disciplined group," Vigen said of Sacramento State's defense. "They are good at pressuring and disguising their pressure. In the back end they're good enough and capable of playing man but they play a fair amount of zone. They tackle well, they cover ground. Defensively it starts for them up front. They've got some really experienced guys."
The Bobcat defense remains balanced. Defensive end Brody Grebe's 5.5 sacks leads the team in that category, while linebackers Danny Uluilakepa (34) and McCade O'Reilly (33) pace the squad in tackles. Safety Rylan Ortt has two interceptions on the season.
Vigen said that, as with all programs enjoying long-term success, much of the Hornets' rise to Big Sky dominance began with a winning culture. "They have that belief, and that's apparent," he said. "They're not going to beat themselves. I know the Idaho didn't play their way, but by and large all these games have. We both tied for the conference championship this past year, they won it the previous year. We haven't played them as a program since '19, and we haven't played out in Sacramento since '16. There's unknowns even though you see teams in your conference quite a bit on crossover film, but they're the one team in my time here we haven't played."
Kickoff Saturday is 8:35 pm MT on ESPN2.
#GoCatsGo
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