Montana State running back Isaiah Ifanse didn’t completely tear up the Bobcat Stadium turf in his return to action for the first time this season. He did, however, give a nice sample of things to come for the hometown fans who cheered his every move in Saturday’s second round FCS playoff 33-25 win over Weber State.
Ifanse ran for 91 yards on just 10 carries with a four big runs of 10 yards or more. The 2021 All-American also was involved in a two poor exchanges with quarterback Tommy Mellott that led to near turnovers and played big roles in forcing MSU to kick field goals instead of potentially scoring touchdowns.
“I thought there were a couple runs where you said, ‘there it is’ as far as breaking tackles and making people on the back end frustrated with trying to tackle him,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said of his star’s 2022 debut. “But there was a little rust, too. It was probably a 50-50 proposition on what looked really good and what – due to timing or whatever – there’s still to be work done on.
“He blocked well, too, when he had to, so it wasn’t just him carrying the football. I think his presence out there was felt. I anticipate, that with a game under his belt, he’ll be able to take a step forward this week.”
If past history is any indication, then his step forward might just be one giant leap.
In 2019, Ifanse came back after taking two weeks off, and that was on the heels of playing off-and-on for about four weeks. Then-MSU head coach Jeff Choate seemed to take a conservative approach when the Bobcats played UC Davis. Ifanse had 10 carries for 77 yards and touchdown in that game. A similar approach by Vigen against Weber State resulted in the aforementioned 10 carries for 91 yards. If that step forward Vigen is talking about mimics the one from 2019, MSU is in for a big treat.
A week after the UC Davis game, Ifanse lit up Montana for 171 yards and three touchdown runs as part of MSU’s 48-14 win. Two weeks later he started MSU’s 24-10 quarterfinal win over Austin Peay with a 60-yard touchdown run that led to a 26 carry, 196-yard performance.
“This is the first time I’ve felt as healthy as I do right now in quite some time,” said Ifanse, who rushed for 1,623 yards to set MSU’s single-season rushing record in 2021. “The rehab went well. There were some downs in there, there were some ups, too. Just being around the guys and being around the team is what helped me most through rehab.”
Ifanse pointed out that there were no ill affects from being on the field and taking his first hits in nearly a year.
“I just felt fresh. Fresh legs. I’m not really sore or anything. The knee I did have work done on doesn’t hurt or anything. It’s not swollen, so I feel pretty good right now.”
Ifanse is eligible to play again next season, since he won’t play more than four games this season and will be able to use 2022 as his redshirt year. He’s currently just 94 yards shy of the school record for career rushing yards currently held by Ryan Johnson. He needs just one more 100-yard rushing game to match Johnson in that department. Another 10 touchdowns will move him into second for career TDs.
“A big part is I wanted to play another full year,” Ifanse said of his reason for wanting to return. “Obviously, the no-brainer is the entire offensive line is returning. This is their first year meshing together and you see the chemistry they have, so next year is just going to be even better. Every day they bring max effort to practice. Every game they bring max effort. I’m just thankful to be on the field and play with them for the rest of the season.”
A season ago, Ifanse re-injured his knee in a game against Idaho. He played a week later but was only able to muster 50 yards on 19 totes against Montana in MSU regular season finale. The Bobcats earned a bye week in the playoffs and Ifanse scorched UT-Martin for 176 yards and a touchdown in a 26-7 win. A week later he was sluggish early but ended up with 105 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown run late in the Bobcats 42-19 win over No. 1 ranked Sam Houston State. The first two playoff games had taken their toll, however, and he was forced to the sideline for MSU’s all-important semifinal game against South Dakota State, which it won 31-17.
Ifanse was back for the FCS championship game against North Dakota State – a bitter 38-10 loss. He was solid against the Bison with 18 carries for 84 yards and a pair of receptions for nine more yards, but shortly after was scheduled for surgery.
After idling by for spring practices, summer workouts and preseason practice, then 12 weeks of the regular season, Ifanse finally got his feet wet Saturday against the Wildcats.
“The wait was definitely tough watching the first 11 games and what-not, but with each month I got closer to being healthy,” Ifanse said. “It was fun helping out the running backs in the room with whatever they needed help with. It was just fun being back with the guys.
“Probably the biggest challenge of the rehab was the part where I felt I was ready to run, but I wasn’t ready to run. Waiting the month and half for that was challenging. That and reading the outside zone.”
Ifanse has had to make his own adjustments to MSU’s changes on offense. The Bobcats went from running mostly inside zone with their running game to an outside zone scheme.
“With inside zone everything is more downhill with just one true read,” he said. “With outside zone you can be more creative with it. When I first came back after the bye week, I was a little uncomfortable.”
The Bobcats put WSU away when it ran eight straight running plays to burn off the final 4:42 of the game.
“We were able to run our base stuff really well,” Ifanse said of handling the Wildcats defense. “And towards the end, we kind of figured the offense had to finish the game. We had Sean (Chambers) out there and he is a phenomenal runner and is so hard to bring down. It was fun watching him close the game out for us.”
Ifanse is looking forward to being under the lights and on ESPN2 this Friday night and he sees the benefits from the Bobcats having been in the FCS playoffs for the past four seasons.
“It definitely takes some of the pressure off being in the playoffs for the past four years,” he said. “Having it at home I feel like we’re going to be comfortable out there. I’m looking forward to it. It’s gonna feel just like high school again, we’ll be under the Friday Night Lights! Keys to victory are just sticking to our base plan, playing with our relentless effort. That’s pretty much it.”
MSU hosts William & Mary at Bobcat Stadium with game time set for 8:15 Friday night.
