By Danny Waldo
Forgive the Montana State Bobcats football team if they appeared a little rusty in the 2015 Gold Rush game against lowly Fort Lewis College on September 3rd. Chalk it up to first game jitters or even the dreadful “playing down to your opponent” stigma that catches so many favored teams early in the season. Whatever the reason, it took the Bobcats the better part of 25 minutes of game action to get their act together and finally dispose of their Division II opponent before a raucous crowd of 19,000-plus fans at Bobcat Stadium. But the Bobcats’ game two opponent won’t be so forgiving when the MSU takes the field again on September 19th in Cheney, WA versus the Eastern Washington Eagles. In Eastern, Montana State will be taking on an opponent with no shortage of firepower, as evidenced by their competitive 61-42 loss to 2015 FBS national runner-up, Oregon. In the Eagles’ season-opener in Eugene, Eastern put up 549 yards of offense and gained 31 first downs, in giving the heavily favored Ducks all they could handle.
Junior receiver, Cooper Kupp, had a particularly strong showing for Eastern, nabbing 15 catches for an Autzen Stadium record 246 yards and three scores. The Eagles offense is frightening enough to give any defensive coordinator nightmares, and MSU will certainly have its hands full, but the Eastern contest will be a good litmus test to see if the changes the ‘Cats made on the defensive side of the ball this offseason is going to pay dividends. Head coach Rob Ash named longtime Bobcat assistant, Kane Ioane, as co-defensive coordinator with Jamie Marshall, seemingly giving the keys to Ioane and moving Marshall upstairs to the booth. After getting knocked around by the ‘Cats explosive offense in Fall Camp, and having mixed results versus Fort Lewis College, the verdict is still out on the change. MSU only gave up 277 yards to Fort Lewis, but the Skyhawks were able to convert on several big plays, and it’s those types of plays that hurt that ‘Cats most last season.
Case in point, in last year’s Eastern vs. MSU game, Montana State was one 4th down away from knocking off the No. 2 ranked Eagles. Instead, Eastern completed a 40-yard pass, earning a subsequent first down, and two plays later were in the end zone. Montana State had one last chance to salvage a victory, but the Eagles then converted a two-point conversion to sneak out of Bozeman with a 52-51 victory. So, the story lines will be a plenty for this one. Can the ‘Cats stop the vaunted Eagle offense? Will the Bobcats be able to exact some revenge for last season’s heartbreaker? And, although the matchup with Eastern will count as a non-conference game, is MSU a legitimate threat to recapture the league title for the first time since 2012? Be sure to tune in September 19th to find out.
Danny Waldo is a local freelance writer covering Bozeman Hawk and Montana State Bobcat athletics. Contact Danny with questions or comments @ bozemansports@gmail.com. •
