Know Thy Enemy – Montana State

Montana State record: 7-5 (5-3) – 2008
Record vs. MSU: 0-0 (wish we were keeping it that way)
Game Time: 12:00 PM
TV – Radio: Big Ten Network – WJR 760 AM
Weather: High 78 degrees, light winds, 69% humidity UV Index 7 (via weather.com)
Conference: Big Sky
Line: MSU -41 points (unverified)

Offensive Returning Starters: OG Conrad Burbank, OG Jeff Hansen, QB Cody Kempt, OT Mike Person, TE Joe Schreibeis, WR DeSean Thomas
Defensive Returning Starters: SS Arnold Briggs, DE Dan Fletcher, LB Chase Gazzerro, CB Cory Nicol, DT Dan Ogden, LB Jeff Price, SS Kevin Retoriano

Offensive/Defensive Line Comparisons:

Top Returning Players – Statistics:

What You Need to Know: Montana State represents the first time that the Michigan State Spartan football team will play a school from the Football Championship Subdivision (or, the division formerly known as I-AA).  The Enlightened Spartan notes that only four other schools have never played a I-AA team: Notre Dame, USC, UCLA and Washington.

The Bobcats played two FBS schools last year, Kansas State and the Big Ten’s own Minnesota.  They got rocked against Kansas State 69-10 before coming back the next week to hang around with Minnesota before losing 35-23.

Montana State has been in the midst of a quarterback battle of their own, between last year’s returning starter Cody Kempt and Mark Iddins.  Kempt, a junior, played nine games last year before going down with an injury.  Senior QB Mark Iddins also saw decent playing time, contributing in seven games last year.

Still, the Bobcats were more of a running team last year, but their star RB Demetrius Crawford who made up 62% of their rushing yards graduated and won’t be on the field in East Lansing this year.  Rushing duties this year should fall on either C.J. Palmer or Aaron Mason.  Palmer (6-0, 228 lbs.) ran for 312 yards and 7 TDs last year, while Mason (5-10, 186 lbs.) carried the ball for 226 yards and 1 TD.  Each back saw time in all 12 games last season, do despite limited carries they do a fair amount of situation game experience.

The top returning receiver is DeSean Thomas, a sophomore this season.  DeSean had 24 catches for 407 yards (16.9 ypc), while also seeing time as a punt returner.  The next five wide receivers in terms of yardage have all graduated, and receiver will probably be a point of weakness on a team that was last in passing yards per game in the Big Sky conference last year.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bobcats actually looked decent last season.  They were 1st in the conference with 314 yards allowed per game, and were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively in rushing yards and passing yards allowed.  Senior safety Kevin Retoriano grabbed four interceptions last year, brining two back for TDs.  But Retoriano was hurt in preseason practice and is expected to be out until close to the opening game, and may not play against Michigan State.

Turnovers were a problem last year for the Bobcats, ending the season with a -10 turnover margin.  Third downs were also an issue, with the Bobcats converting just 35% of third downs.

Rushing vs. Passing Comparisons:

There’s probably not a whole lot we can extrapolate out of these numbers since they are from last year. We know Michigan State lost 96% of the rushing yards from last year in Javon Ringer, and Montana State lost 62% of their rushing yards from last season.  But for conversations sake, below are the comparative rushing and passing stats from last season.  As the season goes on, I’ll use the stats from this current season.

Michigan State Passing Offense vs. Montana State Passing Defense:

Montana State was 3rd in the Big Sky in passing defense (96th in FCS).  Michigan State, meanwhile, was in the middle of the pack in the conference and in the nation (6th and 62nd, respectively) in passing offense.  Michigan State receivers will have a lot of size on the Montana State secondary and should be able to position well to ring up the yardage during the game.

Michigan State Rushing Offense vs. Montana State Rushing Defense:

This could very well be the most interesting battle of the game.  I doubt that Michigan State will struggle to run the ball against the Bobcats.  But I think what we need to be looking for is whether or not the Michigan State running game can dominate Montana State.  If the running game is just average, and the offensive line cannot impose its collective will on the D-line and open up holes for the backs, it will be an indication that the running game could be an area of concern all season.

Michigan State Passing Defense vs. Montana State Passing Offense:

Let’s talk size match-up.  The Michigan State defensive backs average an inch taller and nearly 10 lbs. bigger than the Montana State offensive backfield and wide receivers.  Michigan State has tons of depth at DB.  I mean, when was the last time we were able to say that about an MSU secondary?  Should get ugly here.

Michigan State Rushing Defense vs. Montana State Rushing Offense:

Montana State lead the Big Sky conference in rushing offense in 2008.  However, they lose 62% of their rushing yards from last year.  C.J. Palmer ran for 5.0 yards per carry in 63 carries, while Aaron Mason carried the ball 57 times for 3.9 yards per carry.  Palmer is the big back, the bruiser; Mason is the smaller, shifty back.  Michigan State has 45 games worth of experience on the defensive line from last year, pretty decent.  I can’t see Montana State having much success in the running game.

Start Talking Trash If: You see a Montana State fan in Spartan Stadium.  That’s a long way to travel to watch your team get throttled, no matter how big of a fan you are.  Actually, don’t talk trash, because there’s probably a 97% chance that if you see someone in the stands with a Montana State shirt, they’re probably a family member of a player on the team.

Scream In Horror If: The score is 34-32, Montana State with the lead.  MSU gets the ball back with 26 seconds left.  After Cousins throws a 46 yard pass to B.J Cunningham to put MSU at the Montana State 20 yard line.  With six seconds left, Swenson lines up to kick a field goal to take the lead, but the blocking assignment is blown and the kick gets blocked.  Hmm….seems eerily reminiscent of something I have seen before.

The Last Word: 38-10 MSU.  As Bobcats QB Mark Iddins said, MSU will be “a step faster and bigger.”  Apparently Mark Iddins is the grand master of understatement.  Montana State just won’t have the manpower to compete with the Spartans.  Cousins and Nichol will likely be able to play pitch-and-catch with the receivers as Montana State’s secondary is depleted.  The Bobcats will have difficulty getting the offense in a rhythm against a stout Spartans defense.

Related posts:

1. After the Chaos – Montana State
2. Know Thy Enemy – Wisconsin