Jeff Choate has advocated for Tyler Bruggman since the first day the former four-star quarterback stepped on Montana State’s campus in January. Through spring drills where Bruggman showed flashes of his ability to compete in the Big Sky Conference to fall camp in which he solidified the starting job to a wildly inconsistent first half of the 2016 season, Choate spoke of his confidence in the fourth-year junior, rolling him out as Montana State’s starter under center for six consecutive weeks.
In losses to Sacramento State and Northern Arizona however, true freshman Chris Murray took the majority of the meaningful snaps, particularly after halftime. In the 20-14 defeat to NAU in Bozeman, the offense sputtered to a standstill with Bruggman at the helm but scored on two consecutive possession to make it a one-score game and nearly mounted a game-winning two-minute drill under Murray’s direction.
With Montana State’s season hanging in the balance and the Bobcats staring their first 0-3 start in Big Sky Conference play since 2001 straight in the face, Choate and the Bobcat offensive coaching staff decided to make a change.
Montana State freshman QB Chris Murray/ by Brooks Nuanez
In Montana State’s contest against Weber State in Ogden, Utah on Saturday afternoon, Murray made his first career start. He became the second Bobcat to throw three touchdowns in his first career start, joining former junior college transfer Joe Volek (1990) as the only Bobcats to do it. Murray finished with 199 passing yards, the ninth-most by a first-time starter in MSU history, and he rushed for131 yards to reach 330 yards of total offense in his debut. But he threw two interceptions and had a fumble, Montana State’s defense gave up touchdowns on six consecutive possessions to start the game and the Bobcats could never catch up in a 45-27 loss.
“I thought he played well, did some good things with his feet,” Choate said following his team’s fourth straight loss, the first time MSU has endured four consecutive defeats in 16 years. “My biggest frustration was late in the game there where we had a call where we had the exact look we wanted that we had talked about all week. Instead of going to where we talked about going with the ball, he tried to throw the hitch. That was one of those – well true freshman. That opening series, second series of the game where he spits the ball and it’s a low pitch to Gunnar (Brekke), true freshman. But he gives us a chance with some of the things he does with his feet. He still has a tendency to sail some balls. But today he showed a great deal of improvement.”
Montana State fell behind 21-0 before the game was 10 minutes old thanks to two costly turnovers. Montana State’s first drive stalled out and Weber’s first possession resulted in an 11-play, 79-yard march capped by senior quarterback Jadrian Clark’s first of three first-quarter touchdowns. On MSU’s second possession, the Bobcats ran a pitch option play and Murray bounced the ball to Brekke. Weber freshman Trey Hoskins recovered on the MSU 24 yard line and Weber scored four plays later. Logan Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Livingston cashed in on his second touchdown catch of the quarter and the rout was on.
With Montana State trailing 45-21 early in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats forced Weber to punt for the first time. Murray hit Mitch Herbert for a 24-yard gain near midfield, but two plays later made the wrong read and threw an interception ton Xequille Harry for Murray’s second interception on the day.
Weber State cornerback Xequille Harry celebrates a fourth quarter interception/ by Brooks Nuanez
Murray did throw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Brekke on a screen and a 14-yard touchdown catch to junior Jayshawn Gates on arguably the most tightly thrown spiral of his young MSU career. MSU cut the Wildcat lead to 21-7 and 28-14 but Weber’s onslaught did not stop as WSU build a 42-14 lead by halftime.
But Murray showed flashes, from his improved pocket poise to his still-electric ability to get loose in the open field. His third touchdown pass came on a lofting throw to redshirt freshman Cam Sutton for Sutton’s first career catch and touchdown. Murray also tortured Weber State’s normally stout defense, averaging 6.8 yards per carry as he glided in and out of his cuts, evaded defenders and avoided big hits for most of the afternoon.
“Murray, getting out the gate was a little disappointing and he hit a couple throws on us that are frustrating from a defensive back’s perspective,” Weber State head coach Jay Hill said. “But that kid is going to make a lot of plays. He’s going to be a dang good player in this league for a long time.”
With his 131 yards, Murray is not Montana State’s leading rusher with 440 yards on the ground, already the third-best total for a freshman in MSU history. Aaron Mason rushed for 645 yards in 206 and quarterback Dave Alt rushed for 455 for Montana State’s 1956 national championship team. Travis Lulay (262 yards at Idaho State in 2002) and Mark Fisher (204 yards against Idaho in 1991) are the only Bobcat freshmen to throw for more yards in their first starts.
“We all know what Chris is about,” Brekke said. “When stuff gets crazy and breaks down, he can make plays with his feet. I think he did an outstanding job from that standpoint. There is still some growing pains with him. You can tell things still happen a little fast with him in the passing game. But I’m tremendously proud of him. He takes responsibility for everything.
“He’s a pretty good leader, too. He’s young but he has some leadership qualities that I don’t even know if he recognizes yet. That kid is special and he’s got a bright future here. I’m just extremely proud of him.”
Weber State senior quarterback Jadrian Clark/ by Brooks Nuanez
Weber State’s torrid start caused for a flashback of sorts. In WSU’s second game this season at South Dakota, the Wildcats burst out to a 21-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. By the five-minute mark of the third quarter, Weber State led 42-21.
With 5:44 on the clock on Saturday, Weber State led 42-21. The Bobcats had just scored and stopped the Weber offense for the first time.
“If you are not thinking about that stuff, you are not very smart because that means you are not learning from your mistakes,” Hill said. “I was on the sideline telling them that. We talked about playing a full 60 minutes. For the most part, we did a pretty good job of that today.”
Weber State jolted to six straight scores despite stud running backs Eric Wilkes and Treshawn Garrett missing the game with ankle injuries. Emmanuel Pooler, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown off the bench in Weber’s 14-10 over Portland State week earlier, rushed for 39 yards on the opening drive before spraining his ankle as well.
“I don’t know what the heck is going on with our running backs group but Eric Wilkes, Treshawn Garret and Emmanuel Pooler all have ankles right now,” Hill said. “Maybe it’s something we are feeding them (laughs).”
Weber’s running back depth is formidable. Zach Smith, a senior who rushed for 792 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry as a sophomore in 2014, is Weber’s sixth-string running back. Senior Cory Thompson scored on a five-yard touchdown reception on Saturday but did not earn a carry. Instead, Weber turned to fifth-string Haini Moimoi.
Weber State senior running back Haini Moimoi/ by Brooks Nuanez
The 6-foot, 210-pound senior signed with Weber State head coach Ron McBride in McBride’s second-to-last season in 2010. He spent the next five years on an LDS mission between 2012 and 2014 before returning to Weber for his junior year last fall. He entered Saturday’s game with seven carries for 39 yards in his entire career. Against Montana State, he rushed 20 times for 85 yards and his first two career touchdowns.
“Haini is a great kid and he’s had some ups and downs,” Hill said. “There’s been times where he has had a lot of success and times where he has had to battle back. That shows how resilient that kid is. He’s tough, he does things right. I really love having him on this football team. It shows me the program we are trying to build is working because I want those kids who have maybe not have a lot of success to be ready to pick up that rifle when the time comes and really let it rip. He did that today.”
Choate stated in his first comments after the loss that he took full responsibility for “not getting my team ready to play.” He said the team came out flat and the initial turnovers were too much to overcome.
“I thought there was two critical moments in the game: in the red-zone on an option flip, they go down and score and we fumble on the kickoff, they get the ball on the exact same spot and the dam broke open at that point in time,” Choate said. “Credit Jay and his group. They are a very good football team.
“Guys are hard to read before games. Our warm ups are probably what they have been. But you could tell the air came out of the balloon after their second touchdown when we put the ball on the ground on the kickoff.”
Following the action, a despondent Brekke and a sullen Bryson McCabe addressed the media as well. McCabe, MSU’s hard-hitting junior safety, affirmed his love for the game of football and said he still looked forward to going to work with his teammates for the final four weeks of the season. Brekke expressed is displeasure with MSU’s 2-5 start but emphasized that the Bobcats would not quit.
Montana State senior Gunnar Brekke/ by Brooks Nuanez
“It’s disappointing no doubt from a competitive standpoint but at the same time, I have to control what I can control and that’s being a good leader, a good teammate,’ Brekke said. “When I get out between these white lines, we have 10 other guys out there. It is frustrating but if you can go out and compete and compete and compete and find those guys who want to do that with you, that’s all you can really do.
“I know all these coaches, that’s all they ask from us and they deserve that for us. These coaches, they spend so much time in those offices putting together game plans. We finally have a great staff that really, really cares. That’s ultimately what is the most frustrating part to me at times. They are not reaping the benefits. That’s how life is. That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far. We are not going to quit. We will show up to practice tomorrow ready to work.”
