BOZEMAN — As Jeff Choate emerged from the Montana State locker room following a deflating loss, he took a moment to compose himself, bent over, his hands on his knees taking a few deep breaths before recapping the thrashing his team had just taken at the hands of the No. 3 team in the FCS.
One would forgive Choate if he was feeling sick after MSU’s 45-14 loss at South Dakota State on Saturday evening in Brookings, South Dakota. The Bobcats mustered just one first down in the first half and just six overall. Montana State, the top rushing team in the Big Sky Conference last season, gained just 29 yards on the ground.
With quarterback Troy Andersen on a limited snap count at other positions because of surgery on an injured left hand, MSU struggled with communication and operation offensively, leading to its defense having to play nearly 40 minutes of football. The fatigue from that many snaps caused for misalignments and fundament errors to pile up as the Bobcats suffered one of their most lopsided losses in Choate’s three seasons at the helm.
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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
