game day - southern utah

8/14/2019 Game Day - Southern Utah

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SATURDAY, NOV. 16VS. SOUTHERN UTAHGAME

DAY

FULL PAPERINSIDE

SOUTHERN UTAH VS. NO. 8 MONTANA STATE, BOBCAT STADIUM, 4 P.M.

ANOTHER CLOSEGAME ON TAP?Last years battlebetween Montana Stateand Southern Utah wasnot decided until thefourth quarter. Shouldwe expect more of thesame today? I 6

INSIDEMAKING SENSEOF THE MADNESS

The Chronicle talks withthe Sports NetworksCraig Haley to gainsome clarity on amuddled playoffpicture in the FCS I 2

BE IN THE KNOW For all of the latest updates

and analysis and to jointhe discussion on the

Bobcats battle withSouthern Utah, visit

dailychronicle.com/livestarting at 4 p.m. today.

Also be sure andfollow @jmaletz and

@bozchronsportson Twitter.

The brief email contained an updatedinjury report, coach and player inter- view protocols, some pertinent statisticsand nominations for players of the week.Senior wide receiver Tanner Bleskin was anobvious choice on offense after the GreatFalls native produced his fourth 100-yardreceiving game of the season and upped his

career reception total to 187 just 14 shyof cracking the Big Skys all-time top 10.So, too, was David Dash on special

teams; the junior filled in admirably for theinjured Jon Ellis, returning six kickoffs for131 yards.

Next to the header for defense, however,there was just one word.

None .There was little to laud after arguably the

most humbling experience of the season.Head coach Rob Ash admitted Tuesday

that the Bobcats didnt even bother watch-ing the tape of its 54-29 loss to the Eagles;theyre well aware of what they did wrong,and theyre eager to move ahead andquickly.

Honestly, we met for 10 minutes Sun-day and I talked about the Eastern game

for all of about 30 seconds, Ash said.We have a good attitude hereabout choosing how to respondto adversity and moving on.Thats what were going to do.

Added defensive line coachBo Beck, You cant lick yourwounds, you have to learn from

your scars.Those likely abound after alost weekend in which MontanaStates firm grasp on first placein the Big Sky and its seeminglyclear path to a fourth consecu-tive league title were momen-tously derailed.

The Bobcats defense hasappeared vulnerable at timesduring the seasons first fewmonths, but this one felt dif-ferent. They were completelyexposed, and they had noanswer for Eagles quarterbackVernon Adams and the Big Skystop offense.

More DEFENSE I 5

PHOTOS BY ADRIAN SANCHEZ GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Linebacker Feao Vunipola and the Montana State defense had no answers during last weeks deflating loss to Eastern Washington.

Southern Utah quarterbackAaron Cantu

Bobcats defense eager to show last weeks performance was an anomaly

STORY BY JON MALETZ CHRONICLE SPORTS EDITOR

M ontana State released its Sunday football notebookas usual last week, about 24 hours after the Bobcatsreturned from Eastern Washington.Brad Dalyhas 13sacks and18 tacklesfor loss.


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BOBCATS GAME DAYSouthern Utah at No. 8 Montana State

4 p.m., Bobcat Stadium

Sideline BriefingRecordsNo. 8 Montana State 7-3, 5-1 Big SkySouthern Utah 7-3, 4-2

SeriesFourth meeting, Montana State leads 3-0

Weather forecastCloudy, 34 degrees

CrowdBobcat Stadium (17,777)

TVMax Media (Chris Byers, Mike Callaghan, JeffEberle)

RadioKXLB-FM (100.7) (Tyler Wiltgen, Dan Davies, ColterNuanez)

Coaches

SchedulesSOUTHERN UTAH

Aug. 29 @ South Alabama W, 22-21Sept. 7 FORT LEWIS W, 49-0Sept. 14 @ Washington State L, 48-10Sept. 21 @ Sacramento State W, 24-21 OTSept. 28 @ Northern Colorado W, 27-21Oct. 5 UC DAVIS L, 21-3Oct. 12 PORTLAND STATE W, 17-7Oct. 19 @ Eastern Washington L, 34-10Oct. 26 IDAHO STATE W, 19 9Nov. 9 @ Weber State W, 27-21Nov. 16 @ Montana State 4 p.m.

Nov. 23 NORTHERN ARIZONA 1:05 p.m.

MONTANA STATEAug. 29 MONMOUTH W, 42-24Sept. 7 @ Southern Methodist L, 31-30Sept. 14 COLORADO MESA W, 26-0Sept. 21 @ Stephen F. Austin L, 52-38Sept. 28 @ North Dakota W, 63-20Oct. 5 NORTHERN ARIZONA W, 36-7Oct. 19 @ Weber State W, 34-16Oct. 26 UC DAVIS W, 34-17Nov. 2 @ Northern Colorado W, 35-28Nov. 9 @ Eastern Washington L, 54-29Nov. 16 SOUTHERN UTAH 4 p.m.Nov. 23 MONTANA Noon

Players to watchSOUTHERN UTAHDE James Cowser: the talented sophomore ranksthird in the FCS and second in the Big Sky in tacklesfor loss at 1.7 per game, and is fth in the nation andsecond in the conference with .9 sacks per game.He had 4 1/2 tackles, an interception and a fumblerecovery Oct. 19 against Eastern Washington.MONTANA STATERB Cody Kirk: The senior workhorse is 6 yards shyof 1,000 on the season after his 100-yard, two-touchdown effort at Eastern Washington. He hasrushed for at least 100 and scored twice in threeconsecutive games, and his 3,328 yards are 318 fromRyan Johnsons program record and 401 from joiningthe conferences all-time top 10.

Injury reportSOUTHERN UTAHUndisclosedMONTANA STATE Out for season: LB Naa Moeakiola (shoulder), WR KurtDavis (knee), LB Wyatt Christensen (knee)Out indenitely: S/CB James Nelson (ankle), DL ZachHutchins (undisclosed), C Christian Williams (eye)Probable: WR Jon Ellis (Undisclosed), TE Tiai Salanoa(knee)

Quick hitsn Southern Utah allows 18.5 points per game,while Montana State averages 38.5 against league

opponents.n The Thunderbirds lead the Big Sky in rushingdefense, total defense and scoring defense, while theBobcats counter with the third-ranked rushing andscoring offense.n Senior tailback Cody Kirks 11.2 points per gameand 18 touchdowns each lead the Big Sky.n MSU is sixth in the FCS in average attendance at19,627.n The Cats average 427 yards and 37 points pergame on their six-year old turf eld. Theyve scored244 rst-half points, which is more than six Big Skyteams have scored all season.n MSU has logged at least 20 rst downs in each of itsgames this season.n Last weeks win over Weber State gave SUU headcoach Ed Lamb his rst seven-win season and assuredthe Thunderbirds of a winning campaign for the thirdtime in the past four seasons.n After intercepting nine passes in the rst sevengames, the Bobcats have just one in the past three Brad Dalys pick at Northern Colorado.

ROB ASHMSU, 7th year 34th year overall 57-24 at MSU233-123-5 overall

ED LAMBSUU, 6th year 6th year overall 33-32 overall

CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Shawn Johnson and Montana State ran wild against Northern Arizona earlier this season. The Sports Networks Craig Haley predictsthat both The Bobcats and Lumberjacks will secure postseason bids with wins today.

SEARCHING FOR CLARITY

By KYLE SAMPLEChronicle Sports Writer

With just two weeksremaining in the FCSregular season, the Big Skychampionship appears to bewrapped up.

With last weeks win overMontana State, EasternWashington is undefeated inthe league and enjoys a one-game lead. Certainly, thereis possibility for an upset:Eastern faces two run-ori-ented teams Cal Poly andPortland State that havethe capability of dominatingtime of possession and keep-ing the Eagles quick-strike,dynamic offense off the field.

Just behind Eastern Wash-ington, there is a race forsecond unfolding; MontanaState and Northern Arizonaare in second place at 4-1with the Bobcats holding thetiebreaker over the Jacks byway of their 36-7 defeat ofNAU on Oct. 5.

And just behind those twoare Montana, Cal Poly andthe team the Bobcats facetoday, Southern Utah, at 4-2.

With the logjam at thetop, many are wonderinghow the conference will fitinto the FCS playoff picture.This season marks the firsttime that 24 teams willqualify for the postseason;14 by way of automatic bidsgiven to conference cham-pions and 10 courtesy of at-

large bids. With four Big Skyteams in the top 12 of thelatest the Sports Networkpoll, three from the confer-ence almost certainly willmake it into the playoffs but what about the possibil-ity of four ?

To make sense of howthe Big Sky will fit into thepostseason picture, theChronicle talked with ToddHaley, Senior Editor and FCSExecutive Director at theSports Network.

Bozeman Daily Chroni-cle: How long have you beencovering the FCS?

Craig Haley: Ive been atthe Sports Network since2010.

BDC: Can you expand onhow the Big Sky fits into thepostseason and how do yousee it playing out?

CH: I would say the BigSky is pretty safe for fourteams; Eastern Washington,Montana State, Montana(and) Northern Arizona.Obviously, a lot factors inwith the next two weekendsand what happens nation-ally and not just in the BigSky. Knowing the strength ofthose teams, they seem liketheyre all going to have the

right resume come SelectionSunday. Obviously, SouthernUtah hopes to be in the con- versation and theyre goingto have to win those last twogames at Montana State andagainst Northern Arizona.Thats going to be tough todo, but hey, thats why theyplay the game.

I think the first four teams

are really in good shape here.

BDC: Obviously, thereare other good conferences,but have you seen a similarscenario to this play outsince youve been followingthe FCS?

CH: Yeah, every year thereis going to be a small handfulof teams that are going to be

up in arms when they dontget an at-large bid. Its nevergoing to change whether youhave 16 teams, 20 teams or24 this year because there isalways going to be teams onthe bubble and the bubbleis going to burst on them.There is just too many teamswith resumes that are prettyworthy, but sometimes atough decision is going tokeep a certain team out. I

think this is similar to justabout any other year.

BDC: Say the next fourweeks goes how its supposedto go and whoever wins theUM-MSU matchup, can yousee a scenario where fourteams dont make it in? If so,which is the team least likelyto be the third at-large team?

CH: Thats a good ques-tion. I would have to thinkEastern Washington hasplayed its way in and North-ern Arizona certainly hasthe easiest schedule here

they should beat NorthernColorado at home. If theydo that, I cant see them notgetting in. Then it comesto Montana and MontanaState. I think if they bothwin on Saturday this com-ing week, theyre both in.Obviously, one of them hasto lose the last weekend.I think this is sort of thekey for all four of them: ifall four win this weekend,I dont think there is anydoubt theyre all in. If oneof them trips up, well thenmaybe that last weekend,when theyre a little toughermatchups, maybe that fac-tors in then.

TSNs Haley tries to make sense of muddled FCS postseason picture

S K Y L I G H T S

ADRIAN SANCHEZ GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Wide receiver Shaq Hill and Eastern Washington are the Big Skys lone unbeaten after last weeks

54-29 rout against Montana State.The third-ranked Eagles can clinch at least a share of the regular-season title with a win today over the Cal Poly Mustangs. The game will be televised live on ROOTSPORTS. EWU is seeking its third league title in the past four years.

BIG SKY IN THE RANKINGS: Four Big Sky teams areranked in the top 12 in thisweeks Sports NetworkPoll. Eastern Washingtonremained third. Montanamoved to No. 7, whileMontana State dropped toeighth. Northern Arizonais 12th. Southern Utahreceived the fourth-mostvotes of teams not in thepoll. In the Coaches Poll,Eastern Washington is third,Montana is eighth, MontanaState is 10th, and NAU is13th. NDSU tops both polls,followed by Eastern Illinois. KUPPS STREAK LIVES:Eastern Washington widereceiver Cooper Kupphauled in a 36-yard TD passfrom Anthony Vitto with 6minutes, 10 seconds in thewin over Montana State.Kupp has now caught a TDpass in 10 straight games,which is one shy of the FCSrecord. Marshalls RandyMoss (1996), Cal PolysRamses Barden (2008)and Eastern WashingtonsBrandon Kaufman (2010)all caught TD passes in 11

straight. Kupp has caught 60passes for 1,092 yards and14 touchdowns and needs104 receiving yards to tie theFCS record for the receivingyards by a freshman.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME:Montana sophomore widereceiver/return specialistEllis Henderson has had thegame-winning touchdownin the Grizzlies last threewins. Last Saturday,Henderson returneda kickoff 98 yards for atouchdown with just 1:36to play to give UM a 31-27 win. The week before,Henderson caught a 25-yard TD in overtime to liftingMontana to a 51-48 winover Sacramento State. OnOct. 19, Henderson caughta 23-yard TD in overtimeas the Griz beat Cal Poly21-14. Henderson alsohad four catches for 188yards and two touchdownsagainst South Dakota and isaveraging 155.4 all-purposeyards per game, which ranksthird in the Big Sky.

More BIG SKY I 5

More PLAYOFFS I 5


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