GAME #5: Bobcats renew century-old rivalry, open Big Sky Play

Kelly Gorham

football
Sep 25, 2024 4:50 p.m

Bill Lamberty

Montana State visits Idaho State for the 85th time in Saturday's opener at 4 p.m

BOZEMAN, Montana – One of the Big Sky Conference's classic football rivalries will be renewed Saturday when the league's founding members, Montana State and Idaho State, meet at Holt Arena in Pocatello.

A century and a year after the two teams first met in Pocatello, the 2-2 Bengals host MSU 4-0 in the conference opener for both teams. The 85^Th The meeting – and Montana State's longest out-of-state streak – marks MSU's first visit to Idaho State since 2018 and represents a classic contrast in style. The Bobcats' powerful ground game and efficient defense are in keeping with the Idaho State's high-flying air offense and pressure defense.

Montana State coach Brent Vigen appreciates the progress his fourth team has made in the non-conference portion of its schedule. “It’s a good situation we’re in as we made it through the non-conference season and had four wins in Division I,” he said. “We're about a month away from this first game and I think we've made significant progress. There have been a lot of players in the last three games and this group has continued to improve and in both cases it is our top group. “The ball teams played quite well.

Second-year ISU coach Cody Hawkins has built an electric offensive attack that ranks ninth nationally in passing offense. Four players threw at least 10 passes for the Bengals, with starter Kobe Tracy throwing for 660 yards while completing 59.8% of his passes. He has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of six to two. Ian Duarte (25 catches), Jeff Weimer (16 catches) and Christian Fredericksen (14 catches) have emerged as the team's best weapons in the passing game.

“Offensively, they can be very explosive,” Vigen said. “They're averaging just under 280 passing (yards per game), and I know their rushing numbers went up last week, they're up to 140 (yards per game) now. around 32 points per game.”

The contrast in offensive styles is easy to see. While ISU's leading rusher, Dason Brooks, has 184 yards on the ground this season, three Bobcats have surpassed that mark and another is just 20 yards away. Montana State is averaging 19 more rushes per game than ISU this season, but the Bengals' 42 passes per game far exceed MSU's 24 throws per game.

Montana State's defense has improved over the course of the season. “If you think about what our defense has done since halftime of that New Mexico game, there hasn't been much given up,” he said. “We didn't take the ball away, which I hope will happen, but I think we played really solid defensively.” Vigen said New Mexico averaged 6.8 yards per game in the first half in Albuquerque play, however, in seven halves of football, Bobcat opponents averaged 4.9 yards per play.

While the Bobcats remain a team heavily focused on the run, quarterback Tommy Mellott's Passing efficiency has allowed the team to throw effectively. The lead signal caller is 10^Th in FCS in completion percentage (.706) and 11th^Th in passing efficiency. Still, the Bobcats are averaging 330.8 yards per game, a 2nd^nd in the FCS while throwing for 191.3 yards per game. One of the big differences this season has been Mellott's role in the running game. Last season he averaged nearly 10 carries per game, but this year he averaged just five per game.

“Offensively, we were a pretty balanced group than we intended to be,” Vigen said, “but we were still able to run the football effectively. We didn't have to put too much pressure on Tommy (Mellott). “I think he's under 25 runs at the moment, not that he's not carrying the ball, but that was intentional since we went through the non-conference season.

Vigen said the Bengals' defense presents a challenge to MSU's offense. “Defensively, they play a 3-3-5 system, which seems very principled to me,” he said. “I know in terms of numbers, the points per game is probably not what they want. The North Dakota game got away from them and there were a lot of reasons why, but up front with Horton and George in particular, that's the point. “It starts for them. When you look at their linebackers and safeties, it's a really aggressive group that approaches the football and moves really well.

While a handful of current Bobcats hail from southwest Idaho, no current Bobcats have played against Idaho State at Holt Arena. “It will be a big challenge,” said Vigen. “Aside from Coach Daly and Coach Owens playing there, it’s a new environment and a new team because we haven’t played an Idaho State team led by Cody Hawkins yet.”

Saturday's match starts at 4pm and will be broadcast on MTN channels nationwide. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. with the Scripps Sports Saturday Showdown pregame show. In addition to streaming on ESPN+, MTN is available on DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream, FUBO and Off-Air with an Antenna or TABLO. Find out more about the MTN channel and where to find it.

#GoCatsGo