Big Sky Conference

GAME PREVIEW: Bobcats hosts Bryant for Gold Rush

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Marty Fine spent the entire week downplaying his team’s chances as his Bulldogs embark on the longest trip in the history of their program. If Bryant is to have any chance in Bozeman against host Montana State, Fine reckons his team will have to tap into old-school fighting principles.

“Did any of you ever do martial arts? All you newspaper people, all you do is throw pens and pencils at each other,” Fine teased during a conference call with the Billings Gazette, Bozeman Daily Chronicle and Skyline Sports. “Where I grew up (New York City), you had to be a little bit more than that. Where I grew up, you had boxing, martial arts, all of those sorts of things. The key to all martial arts is if they are pushing you, pull them, if they are pulling you, push them. Use their balance, their momentum, everything you can against them.

Bryant head coach Marty Fine/by Bryant Athletics

Bryant head coach Marty Fine/by Bryant Athletics

“I’ve always coached with that in mind because it works. You don’t have to be bigger, stronger, faster. Just get them to go the wrong way. If they are leaning backward, trip them and push them. If they are pushing you, pull to the side.

“We will use all the guile, all the whit, all the wisdom to try to keep the Montana State kids off balance, to slow them down, not let them get traction and see if we can stay in the game for awhile.”

While Fine has made a living on sand bagging all week long, in reality he brings a veteran, tough team to Bobcat Stadium for MSU’s “Gold Rush” home opener, the first home game of the Jeff Choate era at Montana State. The Bryant depth chart features 20 seniors on the two-deep, including four senior starting offensive linemen, a secondary featuring four seniors, a senior three-year starter in Dalton Easton at quarterback, a senior middle linebacker in captain Patrick Kenney and a senior versatile game changer in nose tackle Marquise Watson, a 6-foot, 309-pounder who will play all seven spots on the front seven Saturday.

The tiny private school of less than 2,000 students from Smithfield, Rhode Island may be an unknown to most FCS fans out West. Bryant has only played Division I football since 2009 and has never qualified for the FCS playoffs. But if folks in the Treasure State need an example of the challenge the Bulldogs present the Bobcats, look no farther than MSU’s fierce rival to the West.

The Montana Grizzlies opened Bob Stitt’s second season against Saint Francis, Bryant’s Northeast Conference rival. The Red Flash came into Missoula as an unknown but went toe to toe with the perennial Big Sky Conference power. SFU built a 10-0 lead by forcing three first-half UM turnovers. Late in the third quarter, the Red Flash still held a 17-13 lead thanks to Lorenzo Jerome’s stellar performance that included two interceptions and a kick return for a touchdown.

“St. Francis is probably the best team in our league,” said Fine, who claimed he did not know SFU played at Washington-Grizzly Stadium before a reporter told him so. “There coach (Chris Villarrial) does a terrific job of teaching blocking. He played in the NFL for all those years (11 seasons, six with the Bears, five with the Bills). I didn’t even play in the anything league. He’s a real football guy. He gets it and they block better than anybody we play. I would imagine they would go out there and put on a good show.”

MSU head coach Jeff Choate

MSU head coach Jeff Choate

Montana’s explosive spread offense eventually caught fire and the Grizzlies poured it on. Brady Gustafson threw three touchdowns and rushed for a fourth after halftime as Montana posted a 41-31 win. The contest put Montana State first-year head coach Jeff Choate on high alert.

“You watch the Saint Francis game and a lot of people were surprised with how game they were going into Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Well, this is a team (Bryant) that beat them a year ago,” Choate said on Monday. “Two years ago, they were the NEC champion (Bryant actually went 8-3 and finished third, missing the NEC title by a game).

“They have a three-year starting quarterback who I think is a very clutch player. He makes plays when the game is on the line. They played a lot of close games last year.

“They competed very well against Coastal Carolina (31-17 loss in Conway, South Carolina) who was No. 1 in the FCS at the time they played them. I see a team that has a very strong identity on both sides of the ball who has a veteran coaching staff, a veteran quarterback. They will be tough.”

Saturday’s matchup will be a battle of a Bobcat team trying to reclaim its identity of defensive toughness and roughneck offense against a Bryant squad that has been cultivating a similar identity during Fine’s 13 years at the helm.

Bryant will frequently line up in two-tight end sets and run the ball between the tackles. In last week’s 41-20 win over Division II Merrimack, the Bulldogs rushed for 272 yards and averaged 9.4 yards per carry despite listed starting tailback Ryan Black rushing for just three yards on four carries. Sophomores Christian Martey and Brenden Femiano combined for 191 yards on just 17 carries, including a 78-yard run deep into opponent territory on the second-to-last play of the game.

Easton completed 13-of-20 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns in the opener, including hitting senior receiver Taylor Barthelette seven times for 109 yards and three touchdowns.

MSU captain, safety Bryson McCabe (10)

MSU captain, safety Bryson McCabe (10)

“Montana State is pretty good defensively, have some good DBs, solid at defensive line, pretty good at linebacker but we do pretty well at offense as well so it will be a pretty good game,” said Easton, who mentioned BU would practice with cranked music at practice all week to prepare for the sellout Bobcat Stadium crowd. “We are a multiple offense who can do a bunch of different things, it just depends on every week. It changes week to week depending on who we are playing and this week, it will be different, I can promise you that.”

Montana State fell 20-17 to Idaho in its season-opener at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow. The Bobcats kept the game close by stringing together defensive stops for the last 40 minutes of the game, forcing two turnovers in the process. Senior captain running back Chad Newell led MSU’s offense by rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown, but his 25 bruising carries caused him to not practice this week, leaving his status for Saturday uncertain.

The Bobcat defense showed significant signs of improvement after two seasons of dismal showing, a bright sign for Choate and his staff after emphasizing that side of the football for the duration of the off-season.

One advantage MSU held against the Vandals came in the fact that Idaho had no film on Choate, a first-team collegiate head coach with a brand new staff. UI head coach Paul Petrino said Idaho studied plenty of University of Montana defensive film because MSU defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak worked in Missoula for 12 of the last 13 years. But MSU’s defense not very similar to the sack-happy attacks Gregorak led for the Griz. Gregorak used the element of surprise to his advantage.

“We had a lot of tight coverage and when we did mix our zones up, I thought it was very timely,” Choate said. “One advantage we had is they didn’t have a book on us. I think they were watching a lot of University of Montana stuff and we weren’t doing that. It was a mix of what we did at Washington and Boise State. I though Ty did a good job of adapting to our personnel.”

The “Gold Rush” home opener is always an event in Bozeman. Saturday’s forecast calls for a high of 78 degrees and clear, sunny skies — a “chamber of commerce afternoon”, Choate described. The afternoon should serve as a perfect debut, at least in terms of conditions, for Choate and his staff.

Martel Field at Bobcat Stadium/by Brooks Nuanez

Martel Field at Bobcat Stadium/by Brooks Nuanez

“Days like Saturday are why you do what you do here at Montana State,” said MSU linebackers coach Kane Ioane, a member of the Bobcats as a player or a coach since 2000. “You recruit guys here and you tell them the atmosphere is second to none in the FCS so it’s fun to watch some of the expressions and how some of the guys react to that first home game, that first Gold Rush when they come out of that blockhouse.

“I think the new guys will be pleasantly surprised. You can talk up our crowd all you want and tell them how great it is but until these guys experience it, they really don’t have any idea.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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