Jeff Choate told his offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham before his first Homecoming game as the head coach of the Bobcats if Chad Newell rushed for 100 yards, Montana State would defeat North Dakota.
Choate told defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak if his defense could corral UND star running back John Santiago, the Bobcats would have the upper hand against the Fighting Hawks.
From setting the tone on the opening defensive series by stripping Santiago to Newell ripping off a 16-yard carry on his first touch after missing two games with an injured hand to Montana State dictating the action for most of Saturday’s Big Sky Conference opener, the afternoon played out almost exactly how Choate expected. Montana State’s first-year head coach did not expect, however, that his Bobcats would commit five turnovers and force just one in coming up just short.
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“I felt like Saturday was an opportunity for us early in this process to have a defining moment,” Choate said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “To beat a good team at home — because it’s really hard to win on the road in this league — I felt it was a squandered opportunity and I felt that everyone in that locker room after the game felt the same way I did.
“All the things we talked about going into this game, the game played out almost identical to what we discussed with one exception and it was a glaring exception: the turnover margin.”
MSU quarterback Tyler Bruggman threw an interception in the first quarter and two more in the fourth. Newell rushed for exactly 100 yards but his second-quarter fumble set up the first of two Brady Oliveira touchdowns for UND and Newell’s stuffed two-point conversion dive late in the fourth quarter gave the visitors a 17-15 win.
One of Bruggman’s three picks came on a laser that bounced off John D’Agostino’s hands before being corralled by UND freshman Torrey Hunt. MSU’s third-quarter fumble came on a botched zone-read pull attempt by freshman quarterback Chris Murray. Montana State committed 11 penalties, resulting in 105 yards, including several at critical moments. The Bobcats had a slew of missed opportunities, from dropped passes to Bruggman under-throwing a streaking Justin Paige on a 42-yard gain that should’ve been a touchdown to inconsistent shotgun snaps from sophomore center Alex Neale for the duration of the afternoon.
“Everyone took their turn,” MSU senior captain left guard J.P. Flynn said after the loss. “North Dakota came out, had a great came plan, played well throughout, hat’s off to them: they played an astounding game. Everyone took their turn. One play it’s the offensive line, one play it’s the running back, one play it’s the wide receiver, one play it’s the quarterback. Next thing you know, you are getting negative plays stacked up next to each other.
“That’s bad, very bad and the tables got turned on us this week. That’s on the offense. Every time the defense needed a stop, they got it. It’s on us to perform. As an offensive line, we will have a great sense of urgency to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Bruggman finished the game 15-of-37 for a career-high 259 yards but his three interceptions proved detrimental to Montana State’s quest for a 1-0 start in Big Sky Conference play.
“Two of the interceptions were bad throws and I think Tyler would be the first to admit that,” Choate said. “That’s the bottom line: if we have to do some more hard count or look back so we can see where the pressure is coming from, do it.”
Choate went on to break down Bruggman’s first interception, a pick thrown right to UND senior outside linebacker Brian Labat on a quick out route to D’Agostino. Choate said UND junior safety Cole Reyes generally lined up on the side UND brought pressure from on studied game film. On Bruggman’s first pick, Reyes rolled down on top of the receiver, indicating the Sam linebacker was blitzing.
“I thought it was a great disguise,” Choate said. “No. 8, their big safety, rolled down right down on top of the receiver, we thought the Sam linebacker was coming. Both of them dropped, they ended up max dropping and undercutting the out. That was a really good call at the right time. By what we teach our quarterback, that’s where he should go with the ball pre-snap. That’s a well-coached outfit.”
Despite the calamity of errors by the Bobcats, MSU hung in the game until the final minutes. Newell’s three-yard touchdown run on the heels of Kevin Kassis’ 55-yard catch and run drew the Bobcats to within two points. Reyes stuffed Newell on the two-point conversion but Montana State fielded Gabe Peppenger’s onside kick. Two plays later, Bruggman threw his final pick with 64 seconds left.
“He was in a funk and yesterday I had to drag him out of it a little bit,” Choate said. “He takes things very seriously and very personally. There’s no one individual who ever wins or loses a football game. This is the greatest team sport in the world for a reason. I can point to many, many examples in that game where Tyler made the right decision, the right throw and gave us opportunities. I know he is going to beat himself up over it but his teammates have his back and so do we as coaches. I think he knows how he carries himself is respected by his team and certainly by us. He’s a very humble, hard-working young man who wants to do better. No one tries to go out there trying to make mistakes.”
Flynn said Bruggman took full accountability for his mistakes after the game.
“Tyler is a mentally stable player,” Flynn said. “First play of the game, last play of the game, you didn’t see any difference out of Tyler. I like that. He came up to us after the game, said, ‘Hey boys, I’m going to make better throws, that’s my bad.’ Done deal, flushed, washed, we are on to the next one.”
Montana State plays at Sacramento State on Saturday at 7 p.m. in California’s capital city.
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
