Usually there’s a lot of pre-game build up surrounding Montana State’s offensive line and whether or not its next opponent’s defensive line is going to be able to handle it. This week, the key matchup may be South Dakota’s offensive line and how it handles the Bobcats’ defensive front.
The Coyotes feature one first team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection in Joey Lombard and two second-team members in Joe Cotton and Bryce Henderson. Throw in first-team All-American tight end JJ Glabreath and first-team MVFC fullback Travis Theis, and you have a lot of talent in the trenches for USD.
Last week during South Dakota’s 35-31 win over UC Davis, the ESPN broadcasting crew consistently talked about how USD’s offensive line was “one of the best in the country” and “might be the best position group in all of the FCS”, which was a great compliment and also a veiled shot at Montana State’s premier offensive line along with the elite OL units at North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
This unique situation in the 2024 season will thrust MSU co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Shawn Howe, who’s been on staff at MSU for four years, to the front. His unit will take on the task of trying to tone down the Coyotes’ talented offensive line.
“I think (Howe) takes a great amount of pride in our success here at Montana State,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “He’s really poured in the time with his players since he’s been here.”
Howe is certainly aware of just how potent the South Dakota line is.
“I’ll say this, they’ll be the best offensive line we face this year that’s for sure,” Howe said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us and we’re going to have to make sure we go to work and make sure we’re sharp and we’re ready to go because we know we got a fight coming.”
South Dakota sports the best offense in the MVFC in terms of yards per game at 441.9 and is less than two points out of first in scoring at 37.2. They Coyotes average a league-high 7.5 yards per play and their rush offense in No. 2 at 222.2 per game and 6.1 yards per carry. They have two 1,000-yard rushers in Charles Pierre, Jr. (1,187) and Theis (1,062).
The line pass blocks well, too, as the team is third in pass efficiency at 167.6.
“Their offensive line has done a lot to carry that football team all year,” Howe said. “They’re a great group. They’re big, they’re athletic. They work well together; they’re very well thought out. They do everything you want if you’re an offensive line coach, they do everything you don’t want if you’re a defensive line coach.”
What the Bobcats will use to counter the Coyotes’ offensive interior is equally impressive. MSU had three members of its defensive line selected to the All-Big Sky Conference teams three weeks ago.
Leading the way is Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year defensive end Brody Grebe, second-team defensive tackle Paul Brott and honorable mention defensive end Kenneth Eiden IV. That trio is backed up by middle linebacker and first-team selection McCade O’Reilly. They’ve combined for 20.5 sacks on the season.
Perhaps MSU’s biggest strength along the line is the depth. The Bobcats rotate eight players around on the defensive line with Alex Eckert, Hunter Parsons, Zack Black, Zac Crews and Hunter Sharbono all getting significant minutes with little to no drop off. Dominic Solano is also picking up time.
“Since I’ve been here, the charge has always been we can’t just go there with four guys,” Vigen said. “We’ve gotta develop depth and I do think this is the deepest group we’ve had. Both in talent and experience as well.”
“I feel good about our group,” Howe said. “This is a group that likes to answer the bell and likes to work and likes challenges like this. It should be a good show on Saturday.”
That crew is a big reason why the Bobcats are leading several statistical defensive categories, including scoring (17.1), total yards per game (301.1), yards per play (4.9), rush yards per game (114.1), and defensive pass efficiency (116.4).
“We ask ourselves do we feel like we played at a championship level against Idaho (a 52-19 win) and the answer, man-to-man, including me and (defensive tackle) coach (Nicolas Jean-)Baptiste and the answer was ‘no we didn’t play well enough, no we didn’t coach well enough,’” Howe said.
“We’re more obsessed with getting ourselves to a national championship level than we are about what we’re doing against South Dakota. If we do that then it’s going to be about us at the end. We’re going to be able to hold our head high either way.”
Howe has an idea of what it’s going to take for the Bobcats to excel and get past the Coyotes this Saturday.
“It’s going to take a clean game,” Howe said. “You’re not going to be able to make mistakes against these guys, they’re too dang good. You’re going to have to play physical as heck, you’re going to have to get off get off blocks and at the end of the day, you’re probably going to have to play your best game of the year and that’s what it’s going to take to make it to the national championship. And you know what? That’s what it should take to make it to the national championship.”
The Bobcats have stuck to their tried-and-true mindset of going 1-and-0 every play and every game. The players have been a string of situations from getting to the national title game in 2021 when no one expected it and losing out in the second round much earlier than anyone thought they would.
“The cool thing about playing in a game like this is you don’t have to motivate anybody,” Howe said. “They know what’s at the end of the rainbow if you win a game like this. I know this sounds cliché and I know this sounds like coach talk, but honestly, it’s going back to what we’ve done for 14 weeks.
“It’s trying to go 1-and-0 this week. It’s working our butts off to try and be as sharp as we possibly can on Saturday. We’re working hard because we know we’ve got a hard, physical football team coming our way Saturday. It’s really doing what we’ve done 14 times before. I know it’s cheesy, but we don’t put it on the line and say, ‘this one’s for everything’ we treat them all that way.”
The Bobcats will take on the University of South Dakota Saturday at 1:30 in Bobcat Stadium with a shot at getting to their second Football Championship Subdivision championship game in four years.
