BOZEMAN — Nick LaSane stood in the hall right outside Reese Court, a dejected look on his face despite his career-high effort less than an hour earlier on the Inferno known as Roos Field.
The Montana State senior running back missed four games due to suspension. In his second game back, he rushed for a career-high 87 yards and scored a crucial touchdown. But the narrative for the 2017 season remained the same, and LaSane knew it.
“We are knocking on the door,” LaSane said as he stood in the narrow hallway. “Now we have to kick it in.”
Montana State senior Nick LaSane eludes an Eastern Washington tackler/ by Blake Hempstead
MSU hasn’t been able to land a knockdown kick but twice this season. Montana State showed respectably defensively at Washington State in its opener, limiting big plays in a 31-0 loss to a team that would climb as high as No. 8 in the FBS polls.
Sophomore quarterback Chris Murray appeared to come of age in a rally against South Dakota State. The Bobcats cut a 17-7 deficit to a 24-21 disadvantage before eventually falling 31-27 to the No. 4 team in the FCS.
Montana State battered North Dakota rushing for 341 yards in a 49-21 victory. MSU scored on seven of nine possessions during one stretch. The last month has included a 25-17 homecoming loss to No. 18 Weber State, a 30-22 win over Portland State that included a 407-yard rushing performance and last week’s loss in Cheney.
“We know we can play with just about anybody,” MSU second-year defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak said. “Now we need to prove we can beat anybody. We’ve scrapped with some of the best at our level. But we haven’t proven to anybody we can go win those games yet.”
Montana State played five ranked teams in its first six games. MSU is 2-4 entering the second half of the season, but the Bobcats already have as many league wins (2) as they did all of last season.
Montana State wide receiver Kevin Kassis fights for a pass vs Eastern Washington defensive back
“This is a process we are in right now and it’s painful because you look at the last four-game stretch that we have had in league play and you could make the argument that we could be in a much better position than we are,” Montana State second-year head coach Jeff Choate said on Monday.
“But we are who we are: we are 2-2 in league play. We have our destiny in front of us to win some games down the stretch and be competitive in this conference.”
MSU will almost certainly have to win out if the Bobcats want to play beyond its annual rivalry game against Montana in Bozeman in November. But five straight wins would put MSU at 7-4 and would include potentially three straight wins over ranked opponents — Kennesaw State on Nov. 4, at Northern Arizona on Nov. 11, then Montana on Nov. 18 — almost assuring the Bobcats a playoff bid.
“The stakes are definitely high and we all know that,” LaSane said. “Not the position we want to be in. We’ve lost a lot of really close games we should’ve won with a few errors. We have to win these next five games. And we will.”
That process of learning to win is one Eastern Washington knows full well. The Eagles have rallied from tie scores or deficits entering the final quarter more than two dozen times over the last seven years, a span that has seen EWU win 44 of 50 Big Sky games total and claim five of the last seven conference titles.
Montana State wide receiver Mitch Herbert (82) tackled by Eastern Washington linebacker Kenter Kupp
“It’s not an in-season structured piece. It comes out of season. We lift like everyone else lifts but we challenge our kids,” EWU first-year head coach Aaron Best, who has been at Eastern for nearly 20 years in some form, said on Wednesday. “We compete in everything we do. A lot of teams say that but not a lot of teams do that.
“We have checkers, we have Risk, we have dominos, we have chess in our locker room that stays out year round. And then when the season is done, we play table tennis. It’s not just players, it’s players versus coaches. Guys are always competing. Those are just the small things we do on the daily basis as far as competition is concerned. It ain’t over until there are four zeroes on the clock or until you hit 21 on the table tennis or you have grabbed my last checker.”
It’s a mentality Montana State saw first-hand last weekend. MSU cut a 24-7 lead to 24-19 early in the fourth quarter, then forced a fumble on an EWU kick return. Montana State then fumbled, marking MSU’s fourth turnover, a crucial factor in the failed upset bid. Eastern proceeded to execute a 13-play, 78-yard drive despite facing a 3rd down with 26 yards to go. On that play, EWU All-American junior quarterback Gage Gubrud threaded a 22-yard gain to Talolo Limu-Jones. On 4th & 4, Gubrud evaded Grant Collins and sprinted for a first down. EWU scored the game-sealing touchdown shortly after.
“I think it’s about learning how to finish in everything you do,” Montana State senior linebacker Mac Bignell said. “Having such a young team, a lot of guys don’t know how to finish their reps in the weight room, making it to all their classes, finish in every aspect of life so they are able to finish on the field too. That’s where we are right now, just not a very good team at finishing in key moments. That’s something that we have to continue to work on. I think once we figure it out, we will be a pretty good team.
Montana State quarterback Chris Murray (8) pitches to running back Nick LaSane
“I think we are an extremely good team but we haven’t had the ability to put a complete game together. We are showing up to play those top ranked opponents and those guys know how to finish. They have been in situations like that. We are still trying to figure it out.”
Montana State will try to turn the corner and finish in a crucial game at Northern Colorado (1-2 in Big Sky, 2-3 overall). MSU has not played in Greeley since 2013, adding yet another element the young Bobcats will have to conquer.
“There’s no magic formula. If there was a pill I could give them to make them fnish, I would,” Choate said. “We just have to go out and play hard. Many times, you make your own breaks. That’s what we have to do. We have to go out and finish drives on offense, finish series on defense, hold on to the football and continue to believe in the process we are doing. I think you can see vast improvement with our team and unfortunately our record doesn’t show that. So we have to stay the course and keep fighting for every ounce.”
Photos by Blake Hempstead and Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
