Montana State has two players who wear No. 2 jerseys.
On offense, senior captain running back Gunnar Brekke is No. 2 this year after wearing No. 27 his first three years at MSU. On defense, junior defensive end Shiloh Laboy wears No. 2 but he has not played during MSU’s five Big Sky Conference games as he nurses a shoulder injury.
So when No. 2 took the field on defense with nine minutes left in the second quarter against Eastern Washington on Saturday in Bozeman, and Laboy could be seen standing on the sideline in street clothes, it gave more than a few observers pause.
Brekke was a first-team Class AA all-state defensive back during his standout prep career at Helena Capital. With Montana State’s recent struggles in the secondary combined with EWU’s FCS-leading passing offense, the MSU coaching staff elected to play Brekke on both sides of the ball.
“With the issues we’ve had in the secondary, you get a guy like Gunnar who is a tough, competitive kid and played DB in high school and has a good skill set for that, we had a package for him going in,” Montana State head coach Jeff Choate said. “He ended up playing more downs than I thought he would because we actually got into third and extra long more than we thought.”
Montana State running back Gunnar Brekke lined up against Eastern Washington wide receiver Nic Sblendorio/ by Brooks Nuanez
Brekke would enter the game in Montana State’s “dime” packages. On his first defensive snap with 9:02 to play in the first half, he lined up in EWU three-time All-American Cooper Kupp. He covered Kupp two other times but most of the rest of the dozen or so defensive snaps he played, Brekke played zone coverage underneath or blitzed EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud off the edge.
“It was different for sure – I haven’t been in a back pedal since high school,” Brekke said. “Speed of the game is what it is. I think I’m used to it by now. It’s way different playing the game backward. Playing on defense, I haven’t been on the field with those guys. It was cool for sure and I would do anything for this team.”
Kupp is the all-time Division I leader, FBS or FCS, in yards and touchdowns. He needs 25 more catches for that all-time mark. On Saturday, he finished with 13 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown for the 27th 100-yard game of his peerless career. When Brekke found himself lined up over the greatest receiver to ever play in the Big Sky, he harbored no fear.
“I knew going into it I had help over the top,” Brekke said. “As good as that kid is, you can’t go out there with any fear or any thought in your mind you are going to back down to anyone. I went out there, got lined up and said, ‘let’s go.’ I acted as if it was (MSU sophomore tight end) Connor Sullivan at practice. That’s the only way you can attack that. That kid being a three time All-American is an outstanding player but at the same time, you can’t go out there with any fear.”
Montana State running back Gunnar Brekke/ by Brooks Nuanez
Brekke wore many hats on Saturday. He lined up in the slot. He lined up in the backfield as a single tailback. He lined up behind and next to MSU freshman quarterback Chris Murray in the Bobcats’ three-back full-house sets. He even lined up at quarterback, taking two direct snaps in third down short-yardage situations, converting both.
“Kid is a versatile dude, a competitor, going to do the best job with what position he is in,” said MSU senior captain offensive guard J.P. Flynn . “Whether it’s nickel, dime package or wrestling in the living room, he’s going to come out with a full head of steam.
“One thing I’ve always looked up to Gunnar is the kid has a work ethic like no other. It’s one thing I’ve always admired. Bum ankle, whatever, he’s going to work hard at practice, work harder than anyone in the weight room, work harder than anyone at all times. He’s definitely been a role model for me and the fellows up here as well.”
Murray threw a 53-yard touchdown to Sullivan on the fourth play of the game. He completed just four of his next 11 passes for 18 yards. He threw two interceptions. MSU finished Saturday 7-of-20 for 98 yards and three interceptions.
“We don’t throw the ball very well,” Choate said of using Brekke in the ‘Wildcat’. “We have to find a variety of ways to run the ball. That’s one way we can take pressure off Chris in the quarterback run game and get the ball into a good player’s hands.”
Brekke held his own defensively but the Eagles still moved the ball up and down the field at will. Gubrud completed 37-of-51 passes for an EWU-record 520 yards and four touchdowns. EWU drew 12 penalty flags for 105 yards, many putting the Eagles in second down and third down and long situations. Gubrud’s ability to extend plays and find streaking receivers combined with MSU’s inability to tackle EWU’s playmakers in space helped EWU score 27 unanswered points in Saturday’s 41-17 victory.
Eastern Washington quarterback Gage Gubrud/ by Brooks Nuanez
“It takes a lot of mental toughness,” Gubrud, a sophomor from McMinnville, Oregon, said. “You don’t want to be in those situation where you are 2nd & 25 but as a team, you get used to it and we have so much confidence in our offensive line, skill players, receivers, that we know we can have a 3rd & 25 and go convert it.”
Montana State employed a “cloud” coverage to avoid giving up anything over the top. Eastern had no play for more than 40 yards but the Eagles ripped off yards in chunks, from Gubrud’s 36-yard strike to Shaq Hill on 3rd & 25 to his 32-yard screen pass to Sam McPherson to set up EWU’s first second half touchdown.
“The reason they got so many yards is we struggled tackling today,” MSU redshirt freshman inside linebacker Josh Hill said. “They had a ton of yards after contact, which is something we have to work on. Our game plan was to eliminate explosives and not let anything get over the top.
“It’s frustrating. We were there, we had pressure on him, but he got out of the pocket, made throws downfield that got them first downs and chunks of yards.”
Montana State again fell victim to a plague of turnovers. The Bobcats have turned the ball over 21 times during their 0-5 Big Sky start, including five turnovers in Saturday’s loss.
The first turnover came as Montana State led 17-14 and had forced a EWU field goal down by the goal line to take possession. But Murray and Brekke botched a handoff on a zone-read play, EWU recovered and converted it into an Antoine Custer touchdown to take its first lead with two minutes left in the first half. Eastern Washington never trailed again.
“That one was on me,” Brekke said. “It’s easy for everyone to point fingers at him but I have to take that one. I didn’t make that decision so I put that one 100 percent about me.
“That was a huge play. Momentum shifted. We had all the momentum at that point. Defense was playing great, offense was playing great. You give the ball up in your own red-zone and for an offense like that, that’s another opportunity and that’s exactly what we didn’t want to do.”
Montana State junior quarterback Tyler Bruggman/ by Brooks Nuanez
Following the first fumble, Choate inserted junior Tyler Bruggman into the game for the final 2:08 of the first half. He completed his first pass, a 20-yard strike to junior Mitch Herbert, and a second to senior running back Chad Newell in a drive that resulted in a punt. EWU used the final 32 seconds of the first half to earn a field goal to take a touchdown lead, 24-17, into halftime.
On Montana State’s first possession of the second half, Nick LaSane ripped off a 40-yard run to get MSU down to the EWU 26-yard line. On the next play, EWU’s Samson Ebukam, a senior defensive end who wreaked havoc on MSU all day, met Murray in the hole on a keeper and ripped the ball from his hands.
“Eastern did some things on the edges to take away the runs we were hitting,” Choate said. “The one, he has a first down and he gets manhandled by their defensive end. That’s a physical match that is hard to win and he has to know when to cut his losses.”
EWU drove the length of the field but Montana State redshirt freshman Chris Harris blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt to keep the Bobcats within a score with seven minutes left in the third. Murray and the offense went 3-and-out, McPherson’s long gain on a screen pass set up Jayce Gilder’s 1-yard touchdown catch and Eastern all of a sudden led 31-17.
Choate inserted Bruggman again to a wave of boos from the 18,087 in attendance. The journeyman threw four straight incompletion, the fourth in which Herbert drew a pass interference flag to give MSU a first down. On the very next play, Bruggman threw an interception right to EWU safety Zach Bruce and the boos returned voluminously.
“We were going to play with Tyler anyway but I do think Chris was rattled and I could see it in his demeanor on the sideline,” Choate said. “It was his time to relax and process what was going on and get him back in once he had a chance to get in the flow again mentally.”
Flynn did not observe Murray appearing rattled.
Montana State freshman quarterback Chris Murray/ by Brooks Nuanez
“Chris’s expression never really changes, regardless of if he runs in a 75-yard touchdown run or if he fumbles within the 10-yard line so I couldn’t tell you,” Flynn said. “Chris’s demeanor, he is good at shaking off plays and rolling from there in my opinion. I didn’t see him rattled.”
Eastern Washington’s attention now turns to Montana, a 45-34 loser at Northern Arizona on Saturday. MSU takes a much-needed bye with games at Southern Utah, at home against UC Davis and in Missoula against the rival Griz remaining.
“We just talked about it: it’s going 3-0,” MSU senior cornerback John Walker said. “We have to finish off strong. I am not going to be here next year. But I want to send these guys off to the new season with good energy and leave a positive impact.”
