Montana State appeared to have cured its offensive woes and affirmed its quarterback situation in Sacramento on Saturday night. Instead, the Bobcats suffered a cataclysmic collapse in losing to Sacramento State for the first time since 2004.
After Tyler Bruggman’s 1-of-6 start, MSU elected to go with true freshman quarterback Chris Murray for his first extended Big Sky Conference action. The 17-year-old from Lawndale, California ripped off a 17-yard touchdown on his first possession guiding the offense. He went on to score rushing touchdowns of 59 and 58 yards to stake MSU to a 31-21 lead three minutes into the second half.
With Murray operating the read option smoothly, he provided relief for senior running back Chad Newell, who scored an 11-yard touchdown on an option play to give MSU it’s biggest lead, 38-21 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
Then Sacramento State came storming back. Sac State mounted an 11-play, 96-yard drive early in the fourth quarter capped by Jordan Robinson’s short touchdown run to begin what would become a 20-point run. Nate Ketteringham threw two touchdowns to Jaelin Ratliff in the final 4:28, including a 15-yard lofting toss that Ratliff beat MSU safety Khari Garcia on for the go-ahead touchdown with 15 seconds left. Sac’s late scoring spurt lifted the Hornets to their first win of the season, Big Sky or otherwise, with a 41-38 triumph in Sacramento on Saturday night.
“We’ve had some hard lessons the last two weeks,” said Montana State head coach Jeff Choate, who’s Bobcats lost 17-15 last week to North Dakota in Bozeman. “We turned the ball over five times and lost to an outfit that beat Cal Poly today. I think this is a good footall team we played today. I know their record may not indicate it but they’ve improved week to week. You can ask Weber State if they are a good football team. Fresno State had them 10-3 in the fourth quarter. When they don’t give up explosive plays, they can make some things happen.”
Montana State’s last loss to Sacramento State came in 2004. Former MSU head coach Rob Ash posted eight wins during his nine seasons (the teams didn’t play in 2013) against the Hornets.
“Late in the game, we couldn’t get off the field defensively because we couldn’t possess the ball on offense to give our defense a breather,” Choate said. “That four-minute situation is something we practiced a lot. Instead of converting, we got two penalties and went backward.”
Ketteringham threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns and added 30 yards rushing as Sac moved to 1-4. Murray rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries as MSU piled up 385 yards rushing and 508 yards of total offense in the loss. MSU is now 2-3 overall, 0-2 in Big Sky play.
“I thought Ketteringham had a tremendous night,” Choate said. “As I mentioned before the game, I think he’s a guy who improved each week. On the other side, the good news is Chris came out and made a ton of plays. Now the bad news is now it’s all on film so teams will have an opportunity to game plan for that. Going into this, I’m not sure they knew how much they’d see him. We have to expand the package with him and we have to stay away from the poor decision with him.”
Bobcat senior Gunnar Brekke rushed for 106 yards, and Newell added 86 as MSU averaged 8.6 yards per rush.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, impacted by two Bobcats on offense and an aggressive defense. The first drive of the game, an MSU three-and-out, turned into a scoring drive when Sacramento State botched a punt and Mitch Herbert recovered. Gabe Peppenger’s 31-yard gave the Cats a 3-0 lead.
The Hornets answered late in the first quarter when Ketteringham found Isaiah Henne on an 11-yard scoring strike. The Cats answered when Newell plowed in from one yard out on the first drive of the second quarter. The first quarter belonged largely to Newell, who gained 53 yards on six rushes in that period. He carried only four more times (for eight yards) in the second quarter.
While Newell and Murray sparked the Bobcat offense, the defense was up to its old tricks. The Cats intercepted two passes in the first half and recovered a fumble, and although the turnovers only led to three points before intermission they squelched Hornets scoring chances.
MSU had one last possession following Ratliff’s second touchdown catch. Bruggman re-entered the game and hit Herbert for a 27-yard completion as the clock ticked under 10 seconds. But the Bobcats were flagged for an illegal procedure penalty, setting up the final play.
Bruggman, who threw three interceptions against North Dakota, finished 2-of-9 for 19 yards. Murray completed 4-of-12 passes for 104 yards but saw his receivers drop at least two touchdowns.
“The playbook grows each week and there was more this week than there was last week,” Choate said. “We are going to continue to expand that for him so he can make plays and run more of the offense. He was productive tonight.
“We will take a look at it,” Choate continued when asked about if Murray would be the starter going forward. “It’s about how he practices and how he prepares. Hopefully he will take the next step in terms of that maturation. He gives us the best chance to win right now but we have to take a look at that as a coaching staff and discuss that tomorrow.”
Bryson McCabe led the Bobcat defense with 11 tackles and two pass breakups from his strong safety spot. Mac Bignell added 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss. Fletcher Collins and Garcia each notched interceptions while Bignell, Marcus Ferriter and John Walker added sacks. But sac State rolled up 510 yards of total offense, including 213 in the fourth quarter alone.
“We had every opportunity to win the game and we didn’t take advantage, plain and simple,” Newell said. “It’s a feeling of absolute disappointment. Had chance to really put the game away down there on the goal line, sputtered with a fumble, missed a couple opportunities early in the game. We didn’t make enough opportunities to win the game. They did.”
