BOZEMAN, Montana — During the first three seasons of his tenure as the head coach at Montana State, Jeff Choate had to adjust to playing 11-game seasons.
Saturday, MSU hosts Norfolk State for the fourth and final non-conference game of the rare 12-game schedule. Every five seasons, the FCS allows its members to play 12 games. At the FBS level, teams play 12 games consistently. Choate coached in the FBS with stops at Utah State, Boise State, Washington State, UTEP, Florida and Washington between 2002 and 2015.
“It was almost weird for me to play an 11-game schedule,” Choate said. “We always played a 12-game schedule at the FBS level.
“I think it’s really valuable because it allows you to find out a little bit more about yourself. Three games, it’s hard to say. Especially with the way you can schedule.”
Montana State played almost every player who made the trip to Texas Tech as the Bobcats opened the season at an FBS opponent for the third time in four seasons under Choate. MSU fell 45-10 in the first career start by redshirt freshman quarterback Casey Bauman.
In their annual ‘Gold Rush’ game, the Bobcats used an explosive, dominant 28-point third quarter to race to a 38-17 victory over No. 12 Southeast Missouri State.
“That game gave us a little bit of a glimpse of who we could be,” Choate said.
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Choate predicted his team’s trip to Western Illinois would be a trying affair filled with “trap game” elements. The difficulty of the trip combined with 12 Bobcat penalties made the 23-14 Montana State victory a struggle in a game Choate called “not very attractive”.
Several key players did not play against Western Illinois. Sophomore running back Isaiah Ifanse “might’ve played if we were playing Northern Arizona” or another Big Sky Conference opponent, Choate said. The addition of an extra game against an unknown opponent — MSU has never played Norfolk State, never played a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and never played a team from Virginia — a week before league play begins comes with benefits and challenges.
“You have to manage your roster differently with the extra game, especially if you are saying, ‘We are going to get into the playoffs and we want to make a little run.’” Choate said. “That changes that dynamic too because it’s such a long season.”
The Montana Grizzlies won their season opener at South Dakota thanks to an explosive second and third quarters. The Griz scored 31 straight points in a 31-17 victory that snapped a 16-game winning streak in home openers for the Coyotes.
Montana had several missed opportunities, including on a fake field goal, and gave up two long touchdown passes in trailing 17-16 at halftime to North Alabama in its home opener. The Griz scored 24 third quarter points and 21 more in the fourth quarter to run away with a 61-17 victory.
The Griz, now up to No. 19 in this week’s STATS FCS Top 25 poll, faced their most daunting task last week. UM went to Eugene to take on the No. 15 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. The visitors limited big plays and showed impressive effort defensively in limiting a team that scored 77 the week before to 35 in a 32-point loss Saturday night.
When asked about the benefits of playing a fourth non-conference game, Montana head coach Bobby Hauck was blunt.
“Generates revenue,” Hauck said. “Sells tickets.”
The Grizzlies open up Big Sky Conference play at UC Davis, the No. 4-ranked team in the FCS and the defending league co-champions. But that’s not for two weeks. First, the Griz will face an improved Monmouth team that has won 17 games over the last two seasons and advanced to the 2017 FCS playoffs, the first postseason berth in the program’s 26-year history.
“I don’t really treat any games as tune-up,” Hauck said when asked if he liked the extra week to evaluate and develop his team. “We don’t ever treat a game like a tune up. They all count, they all matter. These things have implications.”
The Griz enter the final week of non-conference play relatively healthy. Montana has been rotating along the offensive line with senior Angel Villanueva, junior college transfer Moses Mallory and redshirt freshman Tyler Ganoung all working in at guard. In the second half against Oregon, sophomore Dylan Cook replaced sophomore Colton Keintz at right tackle.
Defensively, the starters have not changed in three games even with senior nose tackle Jesse Sims going down with an upper body bang against South Dakota. Sophomore defensive lineman Braydon Deming has nursed a knee injury but has not missed time, although he and junior linebacker Jace Lewis collided in Eugene and were each down on the Autzen turf for a time. Each left the field under their own power.
Safety Gavin Crow suffered a gruesome lower leg injury against North Alabama. Sophomore tight end Matt Rensvold was on the Oregon sidelines on crutches late in the game. Other than that, Montana has avoided the injury bug thus far.
The Bobcats have not been so fortunate. Senior cornerback Greg “Munchie” Filer III, a preseason All-Big Sky selection, has not played a game yet due to an arm injury suffered in fall camp.
Junior tight end Jacob Hadley has not played since the opener in Texas because of an ankle injury. Sophomore nickel back/safety Ty Okada suffered a fall camp injury that has cost him the first three games. Sophomore wide receiver Willie Patterson went down against SEMO and has not returned. Junior left guard Taylor Tuiasosopo has been in and out of the lineup as he still recovers from an undisclosed injury suffered last season. Junior cornerback Tyrel Thomas continues to search for full health as well.
Ifanse didn’t start at WIU but Choate said he should be back sooner than later. Senior wide receiver Travis Jonsen continues to mend from a foot injury that has plagued the duration of his college career.
Perhaps most importantly, MSU junior two-way superstar Troy Andersen is trying to find full health. After missing spring practices as he recovered from off-season shoulder surgery, Andersen appeared to tweak his ankle against Texas Tech. He had a minor ankle ailment last year suffered in MSU’s win over Cal Poly.
Andersen appeared to turn the ankle again against Western Illinois. In Macomb, he only carried the ball seven times for 14 yards as WIU loaded up against him. And defensively, he mostly played on third downs. Choate said he will be limited in practice for the second straight week.
Preserving Andersen with Big Sky play on the horizon — MSU hosts NAU on September 28 to open conference competition — will be a priority this week against Norfolk State. That’s the roster management Choate is referring to with Big Sky play on the horizon.
“We have to look ahead to this conference slate,” Choate said. “We play seven games before we get a bye. And you can see what’s coming. This league is going to be a bear. It’s going to be really, really challenging.
“You look at the numbers NAU is putting up with (senior quarterback) Case (Cookus) back at quarterback. Sac State, a new offensive emphasis (under first-year head coach Troy Taylor), they are going crazy, breaking scoreboards left and right.”(Sac State scored 50 against Northern Colorado last week.)
“Montana is playing well. UC Davis is playing well. Eastern drops one but that is a tough place to play (49-45 at No. 10 Jacksonville State). Going down there, getting in a shootout,…it’s going to be a crazy league.
“There’s always going to be that team that jumps to the forefront. Idaho rebounds after a couple of tough weeks and almost knocks off Wyoming. Weber State should’ve probably beaten an FBS opponent in Nevada (a 19-13 loss) and dang near did two weeks ago against San Diego State (a 6-0 SDSU win).
“I’m not so sure this isn’t the best league in the country right now. A lot of people will point to the Missouri Valley. I just think this year in particular, with all the quarterbacks, the coaching in this league is really, really, really good. Recruiting is tough. This is a really challenging league.
“We need to be our best when our best is needed and that’s when we put all our chips on the table.”
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