I know what you are thinking – Montana State, yeah, big deal. A Big Sky opponent should get steamrolled by a BCS team, and this is definitely an easy one for the Cougs. Well, we’ll see about that. The thing is, there have been some memorable FCS upsets over BCS teams the last several years, so it does happen. We all remember Appalachian State’s monumental upset over Michigan in the Big House in 2007, and that’s the “flagship” game all the pundits point to when the discussion comes up over BCS/FCS matchups. So, no mistake about it – a BCS loss to an FCS school can ruin your day.
But those major shockers are the ones we remember, yet we forget about all the other games that go, well, you know, as everyone pretty much expected. This includes not just BCS teams either, but the non-BCS conferences but are included as FBS teams (think WAC, Mountain West, etc). For example, per Phil Steele, in 2008 there were a total of 87 “crossover” games, meaning FBS teams playing FCS teams. Guess how many FCS teams actually beat an FBS team? TWO. New Hampshire beat Army, 28-10, and Cal Poly beat San Diego State, 29-27 (and it must also be said that Poly took Wisconsin to OT before losing). But that’s it. In other words, the FCS went 2-85 vs. FBS teams in ’08. So it does happen, but it’s extremely rare.
WSU last played an FCS team in ’08, and they did, in fact, steamroll their opponent, smacking around Portland State 48-7. But to be totally honest, WSU ’08 is not a team people look to with a whole lot of fondness, know what I mean? That team is not one that gets talked about around the tailgates ‘n’ such, or if they are, it isn’t usually a good thing. The Cougs hung up a 2-11 record in ’08. But even as bad as they looked that season, they still outgained Portland State by almost 400 YARDS of total offense in that game (638-246), outrushing them 277-8 and totaling 36 first downs, to just 15 for Portland State. So yes, there is usually a pretty wide disparity in pure talent, even in some down years for the BCS foe.
That said, the FCS has produced some pretty good NFL players of late, including first-rounders Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee State and Joe Flacco of Delaware to Baltimore. So it isn’t like they don’t have any top-shelf players, they do. But while the quality might be there, it’s the quantity of top-shelf talent that sets the BCS and FCS programs apart.
LAST YEAR: 7-4, 5-3 in the Big Sky. They sputtered a bit in the middle of the year, dropping to 4-3 after a loss at EWU, but recovered to win three of their last four games before losing to Montana in their annual rivalry game. In terms of BCS teams, they opened the year vs. Michigan State, and were pretty much overwhelmed, losing 44-3.
LAST TIME vs. WSU: You have to go back a bit, but WSU and Montana State last played in 2002, with the Cougars topping the Bobcats 45-28. While the final score wasn’t exactly overwhelming, WSU did race out to a 31-7 lead into the 3rd quarter, so the outcome wasn’t really in doubt.
FANS ARE: Pretty happy overall, and there is optimism for 2010. Montana State is a perennial winner in the Big Sky, with a winning record in eight straight seasons. They aren’t quite back to the level they enjoyed early in the century, where they won the Big Sky in ’02, ’03 and ’05, but they are still churning out winning seasons. Hard to complain about that, but, yeah, you know, it would be nice to beat Montana again! They haven’t beaten the hated Griz since 2005, and have lost five of their last six in the series.
’09 OFFENSIVE STATS: Fifth in the Big Sky in total offense at 361.6 yards per game. They did run the ball well, ranking second in the conference in rushing yards per game (147.2). But the bad news was the passing game, where they placed ninth at just 214.5 yards per game.
‘09 RETURNING STARTERS: Montana State is projected to welcome back a total of 16 starters, with eight on both sides of the ball.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER: There are some interesting players on offense, including former Oregon QB Cody Kempt, who has split time at QB the last couple of years. But the best returning offensive player has to be WR Everett Gilbert.
’09 DEFENSIVE STATS: Number one in the Big Sky in total defense, allowing 343 yards per game. They were especially stout against the run, giving up just 82.5 yards per game on the ground, also tops in the conference. They were the only Big Sky defense to hold opponents under 100 rushing yards per game. They also led the conference in sacks, with 31.
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER: While they do return eight starters, they did lose some pretty good players off this defense, including Dane Fletcher, the Big Sky Defensive MVP/All-American defensive end who was among the nation’s best in terms of tackles for loss. But the top returning starter on defense will be linebacker Clay Bignell.
TOP THREE SPRING QUESTIONS:
1) WHO’S THE QB? While many might have assumed that former Quack QB Cody Kempt would be the guy as the senior coming into next year. After all, he’s played quite a bit, and started parts of the last two seasons. Well, it’s not such a slam dunk. Kempt hurt his knee during spring drills, and was held out of the spring game. That opened the door for the talented frosh QB Denarius McGhee, and he more than seized the moment. McGhee was fantastic, completing 20 of 25 pass attempts for 273 yards and two TD’s, with zero INT’s, leading his team to a 31-0 win.
2) HOW GOOD WILL THE DEFENSE REALLY BE? It’s easy to get pumped-n-jacked over the volume of returning starters. And hey, it’s spring time, where hope is everywhere. But while it’s true that eight starters are back, they do have a big hole to fill in defensive end Dane Fletcher’s departure. Fletcher was big-time, all-everything on the D-line, and was one of those defensive players that opposing teams had to gameplan for on a weekly basis. And while they are hopeful for MLB Bignell’s return in the fall, it isn’t exactly a guarantee that he’ll be there when things get going. But it isn’t like Montana State’s successful defense is a fluke or anything. They have been the Big Sky’s top defense the last two years overall, so, with eight total starters back, the odds are strong that they will be pretty tough on the defensive side of the football. But just how good remains to be seen.
3) AND THE SCHEDULE? WSU is the only BCS team on the 2010 slate, and they get a warm-up with something called Fort Lewis on 9/4 before traveling to Pullman the following Saturday. In fact, WSU is the only FBS team on the schedule, as all other opponents will be of the FCS variety. They get six home games, with the WSU game the only road game in September as they open with three of their first four at home. They do have to go to Mizzoula to close the season, where those Griz will be waiting!
WSU FOOTBALL BLOG SEZ, DOT-DOT-DOT STYLE…..It’s interesting to look at Montana State. While they haven’t had much success against BCS foes lately, losing their last three by huge margins, they did score a major upset for the FCS by beating Colorado back in 2006. Anyone remember that one? That was a huge shocker at the time, and it happened to be the coaching debut of none other than new head coach Dan Hawkins! What a way to ring in the new era in Colorado football…..The head coach of Montana State for that big upset over Colorado? Mike Kramer, the same Mike Kramer who was hired by Paul Wulff and WSU in February of this year as a football operations assistant. Kramer had an unspectacular career in Bozeman, with a 40-43 record at MSU, and he was fired after the 2007 season. As you may already know, Kramer and Wulff go way, way back. Kramer was the head coach at EWU from ’94-’98, and Wulff was his offensive coordinator……Getting WR Everett Gilbert out of Texas was a big score, and MSU has gone back there in this year’s recruiting class. Overall, MSU signed six recruits from the great state of Texas, out of 18 total new signees in February…..Rob Ash now has a 20-14 record at MSU, and overall is closing in on 200 coaching victories. He has 196 total wins, but a bulk of them coming at Drake, where he won 125 games. MSU plays Drake the week after WSU, on 9/18…..In sort of an unusual move, MSU didn’t release true depth charts for their spring practice sessions. Coach Ash was quoted as saying that spring depth charts are “completely meaningless” and their goal for the spring was to just spread the reps around among the one’s, two’s and three’s, then start to put it all together…..Among the eight offensive starters set to return in ’10, four of them are on the offensive line. They are a veteran group up front, and that could make things easier for whoever wins the playing time at QB in the fall. And for what it’s worth, the MSU offensive line coach? Former Coug Jason McEndoo, who at one point was considered a candidate for the WSU offensive line coaching job before Steve Morton landed the gig…..For more MSU Bobcat info on the web, check out MSUBobcats.com, the official site of the athletic department; The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has a lot of news, including a Bobcat Blog; The Billings Gazette has a “Cat-Griz Insider”, where they cover both Montana and Montana State; Finally, BobcatNation.com is the best message board I could find for Montana State football.
That’s it for now. For previous 2010 Fish Wraps, check them here:
2010 Spring Fish Wrap – OK State Edition.
GO COUGS!
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