Siupeli Anua exploded off the edge and tracked down Chris Murray from behind, spearing Montana State’s freshman quarterback and forcing the ball to burst into the air. Northern Arizona linebacker Xavier Stephens picked up the ball and started racing down the field.
Stephens didn’t need to score — NAU led 20-14 with 12 seconds on the clock — but with no Bobcats to beat, it still looked like the NAU linebacker would waltz into the end zone for an exclamation point for the visitors and salt in the open would of the reeling hosts.
As Stephens entered the red-zone, Gunnar Brekke sprinted to take him down from behind. The play itself was inconsequential to the final result but it showed Jeff Choate a great deal about the competitive spirit of his senior captain tailback.
[restrict paid=”true”]“After we turn the ball over and they are scooping it up and running down for what you think is going to be an apparent touchdown and just to see what that kid showed and displayed and the fight he displayed in that moment, he’s a tremendous competitor and that showed me what type of young man he is,” Choate said during his weekly press conference in a team room on the first floor of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
Brekke chasing down Stephens is likely an empty consolation prize for a Montana State team still searching for its first Big Sky Conference win. The Bobcats have lost four games in Choate’s first season by a total of 14 points. The NAU loss drops MSU to 0-3 in Big Sky Conference play for the first time since 2001. The head coach has talked all season about his team having a small margin of error, preaching he wants to lay a foundation for success while chasing wins along the way.
“The one thing I see is these guys fight and the one thing we have talked about around here is process over product,” Choate said. “I used the analogy yesterday that I’m not a carpenter but I can probably build a house. The process isn’t going to be right and the product is probably not going to be very good.
“As a football coach, it’s hard to be disciplined and stick to the plan and stick to the process because there are some painful moments that come with that. But I’ve been really pleased with the way these guys have understood that what we are trying to do is to build a really strong foundation here that is going to last. It’s not a game to game program, it’s a season to season program.”
Despite a plague of injuries that has decimated MSU’s defensive line, a completely revamped defense starting three players on its front seven playing new positions, replacing four new starters on the offensive line and, thus far, inadequate replacements for All-America quarterback Dakota Prukop, Montana State has played five tight games in six outings.
The Bobcats pitched a shutout for the final three quarters but couldn’t manufacture any points in the game’s last 25 minutes in a 20-17 loss to Idaho. MSU got over the hump by forcing five turnovers in a 27-24 win over Bryant the next week, Montana State’s lone Division I win.
In Big Sky Conference play, North Dakota junior safety Cole Reyes stuffed MSU senior running back Chad Newell on a two-point conversion in the final two minutes before Bobcat junior quarterback Tyler Bruggman threw an interception with 64 seconds left as Montana State lost 17-15 in Bozeman. In Sacramento, the Bobcats blew a 38-21 lead, giving up 20 unanswered fourth quarter points in a 41-38 loss to previously winless Sac State. Against NAU, MSU had the ball with less than two minutes to play and a chance to take the lead only to have another turnover thwart the comeback effort.
“I feel like we are definitely going to come back from this loss,” MSU senior cornerback John Walker said following the NAU loss. “We will take the rest of this night and think about this game and tomorrow (Sunday), we have to put it in the back of our minds and get ready for a new team.
“It’s hard in a way but stuff happens and you have to move on. If you don’t move on, that’s just going to make it worse.”
With the influx of the toughness Choate demands, MSU has made profound strides defensively. After having one of the most vulnerable defenses in the Big Sky for a season and a half, the Bobcats are giving up 20 points per game, tops in the league halfway through the season. The offensive, however, has found no answers at quarterback to replace Prukop, making yards and points hard to come by.
Bruggman, a journeyman who has made stops at Washington State, Louisville and Scottsdale Community College before arriving at MSU, has been wildly inconsistent, completing just 48 percent of his passes and getting the hook each of the last two weeks. With true freshman Chris Murray at the helm, MSU has run the ball effectively at times but the offense becomes one-dimensional — Murray is just 15-of-36 this season throwing the ball.
The offensive line suffered a blow with the loss of junior left tackle Dylan Mahoney to turf toe, an injury that might cost him the Weber State game as well. MSU rotated redshirt freshman Mitch Brott, senior Patrick Carroll and junior Caleb Gillis at the tackle spots in Mahoney’s absence, with Carroll also playing guard as junior Monte Folsom went in and out with what Choate called “nicks”. Anua had a heyday regardless of who he lined up against, notching three sacks, forcing two fumbles and earning Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“You almost need to have tunnel vision and focus on the old Lou Holtz acronym WIN – What’s important now,” said MSU offensive line coach Brian Armstrong, formerly the head coach at . “And not get frustrated and believe in it. I’ve been through a building process at Rocky (Mountain College). If you truly believe in it and stick with it, you will see some returns on your investment.
“I’ve never questioned the fight these kids have. They play their tails off, they work hard. We are a lunch pail program. Guys come to work and don’t stop work until it’s quitting time, they work until the job is done.”
Montana State’s defense has performed admirably despite its shortcomings. MSU lost defensive linemen senior Robert Wilcox and juniors Devin Jeffries and Tyrone Fa’anono for the season early on. On Saturday, sophomore nose guard Tucker Yates went down with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and did not return. Yates is questionable for Saturday’s game at Weber State, Choate said.
The defensive line also features sophomore Grant Collins, last year’s starting middle linebacker, playing Buck end and sophomore Zach Wright, recruited as a defensive end, playing the tackle spot next to Yates. The other defensive end spot has been manned for the first half of the season by redshirt freshman Marcus Ferriter, true freshman Derek Marks and redshirt freshman Woody Brandom, a converted tight end.
Montana State’s linebacker unit features junior All-Big Sky Conference performer Mac Bignell and senior captain middle linebacker Fletcher Collins. The third spot is manned by Josh Hill, a 6-foot, 208-pound redshirt freshman on a partial scholarship.
The cornerback spot opposite Walker has seen a revolving door — Choate called the field corner position “(secondary coach) Gerald Alexander’s unemployment office where he is accepting weekly applications for the job” — featuring sophomore Tre’von Strong, junior Bryce Alley, sophomore Tavon Dodd and, against NAU, primarily redshirt freshman Chris Harris.
The defense turned in stop after stop as Montana State rallied back from a 20-0 deficit against Northern Arizona. MSU has 16 takeaways this season, best in the FCS entering Saturday’s contest. But the Bobcats did not force a turnover against the Lumberjacks. Still, the defense helped the Bobcats stay in the game until the final possession.
“The one thing that gives me the most solace out of this whole deal is the way we fought back in the second half,” Choate said. “If that wouldn’t have occurred, I would really question where we were at in terms of the character of our program and were we implementing the culture we want in the right way.”
Choate coached at winning programs for his 11 years as an assistant in the FBS ranks with stops at Utah State, Boise State, Washington State, Florida and Washington on his path to Montana State. But the Gators, Cougars and Huskies all experienced struggles under new coaching staffs before finding success once again. It’s all part of the process Choate continues to preach.
“I think I’m a very competitive guy and I’m certainly not going to be satisfied with anything less than us having success around here,” Choate said. “But I also think I understand that there’s a process involved in it. You have to look at it and be realistic. You can’t just be throwing temper tantrums for no reason.
“We have to give ourselves a chance and eventually, we will stop knocking on that door and we will kick it down. It will be like a tidal wave. If we have the discipline to stick to this thing and build it the right way, it’s going to be really special.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
