Montana State’s pregame warm-ups finished a few minutes before the Portland State Vikings finished up their preparations. Even when MSU was warming up, it was easy to see the intensity PSU brought before kickoff. That intensity carried over into the game as the Vikings posted a 59-42 win over the No. 16 Bobcats.
“We knew they played hard but it was elevated when we played them live,” MSU second-year running backs coach Michael Pitre said. “You could see before the game. During the pre-game, it was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen. They basically had a defensive practice before the game began. I knew the mentality that team was going to have and you saw it when we played.”
MSU running back Chad Newell looks for space against Portland State
Intensity and effort are the biggest differences for a Portland State team that continues to surprise as it strives to prove it belongs in the Big Sky Conference title race. Montana State coaches certainly noticed the vigorousness at which the Vikings operated. This week, Montana State gets a reprieve from Big Sky play with a non-conference sure thing in FCS independent East Tennessee State in town.
The Buccaneers are a fledgling program after ETSU cut football in 2003 only to revive it this season. All but seven of the Bucs’ players are true or redshirt freshmen. Las Vegas oddsmakers have MSU as a 53-point favorite. Still, Montana State needs to find itself in a season that has reached must-win status for the remainder of the games on the schedule.
“We think we are playing hard and we do a pretty good job of playing hard but how much harder can we play?’” Pitre said. “That violence Portland State plays with, we have to have that. That violent string that (third-year offensive coordinator) Coach (Tim) Cramsey talks about, we need that. If we can do that for the duration of a game, the sky is the limit for us. We are doing some good things but we want to be great.”
Montana State’s schedule appeared favorable leading up to the current season. MSU had its bye week following a Thursday opener against a Division II school, essentially providing a second fall camp for a team trying to find at least eight new defensive starters. The 16-day break paid no dividends as MSU’s defense struggled mightily in a 55-50 loss to Eastern Washington. It seemed a premonition of things to come and indeed was. MSU has given up 41 points per game to Division I opponents, including 54.3 points per game on the road as the Bobcats’ overall road losing streak has reached five straight. The Bobcat defense currently ranks 118th out of 123 FCS teams in total defense and MSU is allowing Division I teams to pile up 530 yards per game.
The ‘Cats enter the eighth week of their season with a 3-3 record, including 2-2 in the Big Sky. The Bobcats will have to win their final five games to reach seven Division I wins, the benchmark for playoff eligibility. MSU will likely have to win four straight conference games with other Big Sky teams succumbing to the league parity to finish the season as champions.
ETSU tunnel run/ETSU Athletics
“At the beginning of the season, I probably would have told you I would prefer a bye right now but right now, I’m glad we are not in a bye week,” MSU ninth-year head coach Rob Ash said. “We need to play. We need to get out there and get some things fixed. I’m really happy we have a game right now.”
ETSU might be the perfect game to work out the kinks. The Buccaneers have lost six straight in their re-introduction to the FCS. East Tennessee State joins the Southern Conference next season but this year, the Bucs are an FCS independent. The schedule thus far has included a pair of Division III schools (Maryville, Emory & Henry) who have gotten the best of ETSU. No matter how badly the No. 21 Bobcats are struggling, they are still the overwhelming favorite against a team that hasn’t played a ranked FCS opponent since its rebirth.
“I don’t want to take anything away from our other opponents but I think this is the best football team we’ve played to date,” said ETSU head coach Carl Torbush,, a veteran coach who has made stops as a head coach at Louisiana Tech and North Carolina and defensive coordinator stops at UNC, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas A&M and Kansas during his 40-year career. “Montana State is a traditional FCS power who has had great success year in and year out.”
Defensively, ETSU has struggled mightily against Division I opponents. The Bucs are surrendering just short of 56 points in four FCS losses while scoring just eight points per contest. Despite the defensive struggles and inconsistency in key moments by the offense, the MSU scoring attack is a unit to be reckoned with.
Montana State leads the Big Sky in scoring at 43.2 points per game and total offense at 544 yards per game. Junior quarterback Dakota Prukop is seventh in the country in passing yards, 31st in the FCS in rushing yards and second in the Big Sky in rushing touchdowns (8) as his 394 yards of total offense per game leads the nation. Prukop is throwing for more than 325 yards per game and rushing for nearly 100 per outing. He’s accounted for 22 total touchdowns.
MSU quarterback Dakota Prukop and runnin back Chad Newell run the zone read vs. PSU
“They have really, really good athletes led by their quarterback, a great player and I’ve said it and I mean it with all sincerity, he is to FCS football what Johnny Manziel was at Texas A&M to FBS football,” Torbush said. “He’s exciting to watch. When you watch him on film, you enjoy watching him play. You just wish you didn’t have to play him.”
Montana State finds advantages across the board even with junior running back Gunnar Brekke (concussion) and senior offensive guard Kyle Godecke (neck) on the shelf. ETSU redshirt freshman linebacker Dylan Weigel is a leader and will admit the Bucs have struggled defensively. But his team is treating Saturday’s game like a golden opportunity to play a prestigious opponent and ETSU feels it can hang in Bobcat Stadium.
“I think we will be able to come out and play with them,” said Weigel, whose 66 tackles and seven tackles for loss leads the Bucs by a mile in each. “It should be a good matchup for us. Our defense is ready; we are ready to take on this challenge. It’s good for our program to take on Montana State with who they have been in the past and who they are now. It’s a good challenge we are ready for.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez or Noted. All Rights Reserved.
