Week 14: Montana State Bobcats beat Weber State again in second round of FCS playoffs

BOZEMAN — When the Montana State football team brings both Sean Chambers and Tommy Mellott on the field at the same time, big plays usually follow.

This time, MSU offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright called a double reverse to open the fourth quarter. Mellott handed it to wideout Clevan Thomas Jr., who then pitched it back to Chambers. The quarterback — standing on the MSU 44 — launched a pass to a wide open Willie Patterson, who had already beaten multiple defenders.

Patterson caught the ball at the Weber State 10-yard line and then carried a defender into the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown.

No. 4 seed MSU got off to a slower start than usual (16 first-half points), but the Bobcats still had enough to defeat Weber State 33-25 in the second round of the FCS playoffs Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcats (11-1) move on to the FCS quarterfinals for the third straight season, where they will host No. 5 seed William & Mary.

This was the second meeting in six weeks between MSU and WSU (10-3). The Bobcats won the first game, which featured four safeties, 43-38 on Oct. 22.

"They're good in all three phases and I think it was a completely different game than the first game," MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. "Good teams find ways to adjust. I think we probably both did that a little bit and ultimately to come out on top against them was a heck of an accomplishment.”

MSU welcomed All-American running back Isaiah Ifanse back to the starting lineup for the first time this season. Ifanse — who hadn’t played since the FCS title game in January — finished with 10 carries for 91 yards.

“He's so hard to bring down,” Vigen said. “He can play so low to the ground. And at the same time there's probably a little rust there, so I think him getting out there and having an impact today was big.”

The Bobcats finished with 388 total rushing yards. That was enough to set a new single season rushing record (3,971 yards), which is a product of MSU’s consistency running the ball all season, Vigen said.

Mellott added that he’s “extremely proud” of how MSU’s offensive line has performed despite some uncertainty heading into the season.

“We all knew that they were going to dominate this year and that's what they're doing,” Mellott said. “So a lot of credit to those guys. And then we have a lot of guys in the entire offense that know how to make plays and they do it every Saturday.”

Defensively, MSU had linebackers coach Bobby Daly filling in at defensive coordinator after Willie Mack Garza was suspended earlier in the week. Vigen said that defensive line coach Shawn Howe, assistant D-line coach Nic Jean-Baptiste and assistant defensive backs coach Bryan Shepherd also helped prepare the defense.

“We knew we'd be incredibly prepared, (Daly would) be incredibly prepared,” MSU nickelback Ty Okada said. “So it comes as no surprise, but I'm extremely happy for him.”

That defense made plays early in the game, forcing the Wildcats into a field goal attempt on the opening drive after MSU strong safety Rylan Ortt deflected a pass. Ortt almost came down with the acrobatic interception, too. WSU kicker Kyle Thompson connected from 39 yards out to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

MSU responded with an eight play, 75-yard drive led by the Bobcats’ highly touted ground game. Chambers capped off the drive with a 2-yard rushing score — his 18th rushing touchdown of the season.

Glessner added a 36-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter to extend the lead to 10-3.

Despite Okada sacking WSU quarterback Bronson Barron to set up third-and-15, Barron threw an absolute dime to second team All-Big Sky receiver Ty MacPherson for a 15-yard score on the next play. That was the Wildcats’ lone touchdown of the first half.

Glessner added two more field goals — from 33 and 31 yards, respectively — to send MSU into the break ahead 16-10. WSU head coach Jay Hill even tried to ice Glessner with three timeouts right before halftime, but much like the game-winning kick against Northern Arizona, that didn't faze Glessner.

MSU ate up clock on the next possession but was held to another field goal attempt. Glessner hit his fourth of the day, this time from 32 yards out.

Chambers later found tight end Derryk Snell for a walk-in 28-yard touchdown down the left sideline.

It didn’t help the Wildcats, either, that sure-handed returner Abraham Williams slipped and fell at the WSU 3-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. Kylan Weisser also took over at quarterback after Barron was shaken up on a previous drive.

The double reverse touchdown followed. And if that wasn’t enough, a pass intended for WSU wide receiver Hudson Schenck bounced off the shoulder of MSU free safety Jeffrey Manning Jr. and into the hands of linebacker Danny Uluilakepa. Much like his game-sealing pick against Eastern Washington, Uluilakepa was once again in the right place at the right time.

But MSU couldn’t capitalize, with Glessner kicking a 49-yard field goal attempt wide left. WSU responded with a 31-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jon Christensen. MacPherson caught the two-point conversion as well to cut the lead to 33-18.

The Wildcats also forced an MSU punt on the following possession. That marked MSU punter Bryce Leighton’s first action since the 7:09 mark in the third quarter against NAU on Nov. 5. WSU scored again as Weisser found tight end Hayden Meacham for the 8-yard score.

“When you get ahead by so much, thanks to these guys on offense, you start to try to keep everything in front of you,” Okada said. “But then (Weber starts) dinking and dunking and hitting a few shots here and there. It's kind of like, 'OK, now we've got to adjust, we've got to buckle down and play a little bit tighter defense.'”

It also helps having an O-line and rushing attack like MSU's that can close out games. The Bobcats relied on Chambers to move down the field, chew the clock and seal the victory.

Now MSU moves onto the next round of the playoffs, with preparation for William & Mary starting on Sunday, Vigen said.

“It's a great thing that you've got to be able to stack these weeks up because it ultimately brings out a true champion,” Vigen said. “I think this team has the right makeup and now we've got to go take on another challenge.”

BOZEMAN — Tucked into Brent Vigen’s passionate postgame press conference was a line that probably surprised some Montana State football fans.

After MSU’s 43-38 win over Weber State on Oct. 22, Vigen was asked how his team kept finding so many different ways to win this season. He brought up his 2021 squad — the one that reached the Football Championship Subdivision title game and featured four players who currently occupy NFL roster spots.

“Coming into the year, we knew offensively we could score points. I think we knew in the return game, that could be a factor. I think those are things we didn’t always have last year. We really had to lean on our defense for the greater part of the regular season,” Vigen said Oct. 22. “When you have that, you can win a game 43-38. They don’t have to be 13-7 like last year.

“We’re just a better team.”

That declaration doesn’t sound so surprising now.

On Saturday, MSU beat Weber State at Bobcat Stadium for the second time this season, this time 33-25 in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The margin of victory barely topped the Oct. 22 game or the 13-7 slugfest in Ogden, Utah, last year. But the fourth-seeded Bobcats played better Saturday than the final score indicates. It was arguably their most complete performance of the season.

“You’ve got to stack these weeks up because it ultimately brings out a true champion,” Vigen said Saturday. “I think this team has the right makeup.”

The Bobcats rushed for 388 yards on 7.3 yards per carry Saturday. Both are above their season averages but are their lowest since 280 on 5.7 ypc at Northern Arizona on Nov. 5. MSU ran for a program-record 554 yards the following week at Cal Poly and bludgeoned rival Montana for 439 the week after that.

The Bobcats now have 3,971 rushing yards on the season, breaking their previous single-season record of 3,871 set in 2019.

“That’s a good accomplishment, for sure. It’s a product of how we have to play, I guess, and the success that we’ve consistently had,” Vigen said. “That’s how you break records: you do things week in and week out. That’s what we’ve been able to find ways to do.”

One of the best players in that 2019 offense was running back Isaiah Ifanse, who earned All-American honors last year and put MSU past that 3,871 mark with a 24-yard run early in the fourth quarter Saturday. That was Ifanse’s first game of the season after a long recovery from offseason knee surgery.

“He’s a different guy,” Vigen said. “He’s so hard to bring down. He can play so low to the ground. At the same time, there’s probably a little rust there.”

Ifanse finished with 91 yards on 10 carries Saturday, while starting quarterback Tommy Mellott led all players 158 yards on 22 carries, and All-Big Sky Conference backup Sean Chambers had 92 yards on 13 attempts.

“They ran the ball even when everyone in the stadium knew they were going to run it,” said Weber head coach Jay Hill. “They’re very creative with their schemes. Their quarterbacks, they can both run and do a phenomenal job. Having Ifanse back was just a little bit of a shot in the arm. You could tell it gave them a little more juice.

“Give them credit. They played very well.”

Mellott finished 13 of 19 for 91 yards, and Chambers completed both of his passes for TDs, the second on a double reverse that began with a handoff from Mellott to Clevan Thomas Jr.

Despite all the success and the knowledge that Weber has one of the FCS’ best defenses, Mellott and Vigen were slightly disappointed with their offense on Saturday. The 33 points are MSU’s second-fewest in a game this season and its fewest against an FCS team. They settled for field goal attempts five times.

“In every football game, you want to count by 7s, not by 3s, so we’ve got to clear that up. We’ve got to take care of business,” Mellott said. “We got behind the sticks there early on in a lot of those possessions down towards the red zone.”

Ifanse’s 24-yard run came with the Bobcats ahead 33-10, a lead they built with Weber’s offense basically at full strength. All-American RB Josh Davis played after missing the Oct. 22 game. The Wildcats lost starting QB Bronson Barron in the third quarter to injury (it was a concussion, according to Hill), but that was after MSU went up 26-10.

No one with the Bobcats would excuse the two TDs they allowed in the fourth quarter, but those were last gasps from an offense that struggled to move the ball most of the afternoon. MSU allowed 317 total yards on Saturday. That’s two yards more than Montana gained in its 55-21 loss at MSU on Nov. 19. That’s 63 more than the lowest offensive output against the Bobcats all season (Idaho State in a 37-6 loss on Oct. 8). Weber’s offense has been solid all season, and MSU defensive coordinator Willie Mack Garza was serving a suspension Saturday. None of that seemed to faze MSU’s defense.

“They did a good job stopping the run at times and getting us into longer situations where we had to get creative on third and long or third and medium,” said Weber wide receiver Ty MacPherson.

It was MSU’s third straight strong defensive performance after a bad one in a 41-38 win at NAU. Vigen emphasized that NAU quarterback RJ Martinez (who entered the transfer portal earlier this week) is “really good,” perhaps good enough to make MSU’s defense look worse than it truly is. Still, the Bobcats have improved on that side of the ball since Nov. 5.

“I think we’ve tackled better. I think we’ve played assignment football better,” Vigen said. “That’s how you have to play. You have to be disciplined. Guys have to be where they’re supposed to be, and when they’ve got an opportunity to make a play, they have to. I think we’ve done that better.

“It’s not a matter of effort. I think our effort’s been tremendous all year. Our execution I think has just been better.”

After allowing a kickoff and punt return for touchdowns on Oct. 22, MSU gave no daylight to Weber’s Abraham Williams, who leads the FCS with four kick return TDs. His five returns covered 93 yards with a long of 24 on Saturday. MSU’s Blake Glessner made four of his five field attempts, and Bryce Leighton booted a solid punt after going punt-less the previous two games.

This was not the “lean on our defense” win at Weber in 2021, nor was it the sloppy, four-safety victory from Oct. 22. This was a clean, methodical, almost boring win — the type of win championship contenders earn all the time.

Before claiming that the 2022 Bobcats are better than the 2021 squad, Vigen expressed some anger in his Oct. 22 presser. He was tired of talking about the players who were out. He wanted to focus on the players who were on the field, who were exemplifying MSU’s “won’t be beat” mantra.

Chambers and Ifanse were two of the players missing from that game. Thomas was another. Starting strong safety Rylan Ortt and first-string right guard Cole Sain were out that day as well. All five played Saturday.

The Bobcats are still missing some key players, but they’re as healthy as they’ve been all season. Arguably the best running back in the FCS is back and fresh.

The focus is squarely on the MSU players who are active. The remaining seven teams in the FCS playoffs might want to avert their eyes.

BOZEMAN — When UC Davis quarterback Miles Hastings received the snap on third-and-10, he had no chance.

The pocket collapsed almost immediately thanks to Montana State’s four-man rush. Defensive end Brody Grebe beat his man off the edge, forcing Hastings to step up. Fellow D-end Ben Seymour did the same and nose tackle Blake Schmidt took on a double team in the middle.

That left standout defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez with a direct path to Hastings. The result of the play: 3-yard loss, fourth down.

Valdez was credited for the sack and tackle for loss, but the play was the result of a collective effort. The group will look to continue that in the Bobcats’ second round Football Championship Subdivision playoff matchup with Weber State on Saturday.

For its play this season, the MSU D-line was recently recognized with Valdez and Grebe earning first team All-Big Sky selections.

“I mean, obviously we’ve played pretty well if we have two guys on first team all-conference,” Schmidt said. “We’ve been pretty good. We always look back at film and think we can do better.”

A brief glance at the numbers easily backs up the Valdez pick (7 1/2 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, three quarterback hits). Grebe — whom teammates have credited as the hardest worker in the room — earned the honor despite missing essentially 2 1/2 games.

“Brody does everything right,” Valdez said during fall camp. “He’s a coach to the young guys, and he’s motivated. Even the older guys look up to him — the things he does, how he plays, his work ethic.”

Grebe finished the regular season with three sacks, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and a forced fumble. Two of his sacks came against Northern Arizona, including a strip sack on the first play of the game.

One teammate that has aided Valdez and Grebe’s success is Schmidt. The nose tackle even jokingly said earlier this season that Valdez owes him a steak dinner for taking on so many double teams.

Schmidt’s impact doesn’t always show up in the box score and “a lot of people aren’t seeing exactly what he’s doing for the defense,” MSU D-line coach Shawn Howe said. It’s similar to the effect of former MSU nose tackle Chase Benson last season, who Schmidt said is the “golden standard.”

In 2021, Howe said there were times where Benson was the best player on the field. That was on a defense that included future NFL Draft picks Troy Andersen and Daniel Hardy. Benson was known for his prowess in stopping the run and taking on double teams, earning him third-team All-American status.

After losing Hardy, Benson and All-Big Sky D-lineman Amandre Williams, Howe challenged the 2022 D-line to not allow a step back in production. Schmidt especially took that to heart when replacing Benson.

“He’s worked really, really hard to make sure there’s not a drop-off there,” Howe said. “A lot of times that position gets unsung hero type of status.”

Added Schmidt: “Earlier this season when I got my first start, I was struggling a little bit. But as the season has gone on, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better. Definitely taking on double teams has gotten a lot easier.”

As a group, the MSU D-line has made standout plays all season. David Alston’s game-altering strip sack against Idaho State. Kenneth Eiden IV’s strip sack that resulted in a scoop-and-score for Seymour against Cal Poly. Grebe’s two sacks against NAU.

It’s come from both starters and backups. The emergence of Eiden (5.0 sacks this season) has been crucial, especially when he moves inside on third downs. Paul Brott, Zack Black, Blake Hehl and the now-injured Alston have also provided valuable depth.

Howe said it was important that the group “answered the bell” this season. The D-line has accounted for 24 sacks, helped MSU become the third-best rush defense in the conference (128.7 yards per game) and played underrated roles in critical stops throughout the year.

That includes Valdez, Grebe and Seymour pressuring ISU quarterback Sagan Gronauer in the fourth quarter, a play that resulted in a miraculous interception by linebacker Callahan O’Reilly.

The rush defense has also been key, like on a third-and-1 in the second quarter against Davis. Schmidt and Brott plugged up the middle to force running back Matteo Perez to bounce outside. He was promptly tackled for a loss by O’Reilly and Danny Uluilakepa to force a field goal attempt.

Both are examples of the D-line living up to that “unsung hero” status.

It continued against Montana in the Brawl of the Wild on Nov. 19, where MSU head coach Brent Vigen said the defense played its best three quarters of football. MSU’s lead even ballooned to 48-7 early in the fourth quarter.

It was a dominant performance in all three phases and the defense stepped up when it needed to consistently. A notable example came in the second quarter with UM on the MSU 1-yard line.

UM quarterback Lucas Johnson kept the ball on a read-option, partly due to Eiden and Seymour blowing up the potential run. As Johnson moved to his right, the ball popped out and was recovered by O’Reilly at the MSU 3.

Still, the MSU defense — especially the D-line — holds itself to a high standard. Howe said it was far from a perfect performance, but he was proud of the intensity that his players brought.

“They played with a great mentality,” Howe said. “They played together, they played hard, they played with great passion — all the things you hope they’re going to do when they’re playing their rival and they did them.”

Howe added that this D-line is continuing to “get those inches off,” refining the details and working to get even more QB pressures, sacks and tackles for loss.

The pursuit of perfection is clearly working. Vigen said the starting four — Grebe, Seymour, Schmidt and Valdez — have all had “really good years,” even if no player has put up absurd numbers like Hardy last season (16 sacks and 24 tackles for loss).

The more important thing, Vigen said, is the collective consistency, depth and playmaking ability shown by the D-line.

“We’re in a place that we hoped to maybe get to eventually this year with that group where we can roll a bunch of guys out there, we can keep fresh and get after the quarterback,” Vigen said. “That’s definitely where our defense starts and we’ve got to play really well up front from here on out.”

BOZEMAN — Shawn Howe nearly choked up, and his defensive linemen erupted in celebration — all for a substitution after a forgettable play near the end of a blowout.

The Montana State football team led rival Montana 41-7 late in the third quarter on Nov. 19 at Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcats began to put backups in, and a jolt of emotion rippled through MSU’s sideline when D-lineman Kyle Rygg jogged onto the field.

“You would’ve thought that just him running into the game he had made the biggest play of his life,” Howe, MSU’s defensive line coach, said last week. “It just felt really good. That’s why we’re in this business.”

Before his entrance into the 121st Brawl of the Wild, Rygg had missed MSU’s previous 24 games. A total of 101 quarters had passed since he suffered a devastating knee injury early in the second quarter of MSU’s season opener at Wyoming on Sept. 4, 2021. It looked unlikely that he would ever return.

Rygg’s injury and redshirt senior status will prevent him from playing a full college season or regaining his first-string ability, and he’s made peace with that reality. After the Wyoming game, he simply wanted to go out on his own terms and be part of a team that fell tantalizingly short of its 2021 goals. On Nov. 19, he learned how much better late feels than never.

“I'm just grateful to be back,” Rygg said. “It was such a fun day, and being able to do it with all the guys was pretty sweet after having to watch for so long.”

Before last year’s injury, Rygg underwent three surgeries in his MSU career: two on his feet and one to fix a left hand issue that required him to wear a cast throughout 2021 fall camp and during the Wyoming game. The Eugene, Oregon, native redshirted in 2017, hardly played in 2018 and appeared in eight games the following year. MSU canceled its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Rygg went into 2021 with zero full seasons under his belt.

Rygg started the Wyoming game at defensive tackle and helped his team hold the host Cowboys scoreless through one quarter. Wyoming’s quarterback that day was Sean Chambers, who now plays for MSU. Brutal leg injuries ended Chambers’ first, second and third college seasons.

With about 12 minutes left in the second quarter, Chambers completed a short pass over the middle. Rygg lined up over the left guard on the play and stunted to the left right as Chambers released the ball. As Rygg turned toward the receiver, he fell to the ground and immediately grabbed his left knee.

“It was all kind of a blur,” he said.

Rygg said his left leg got caught in the turf, causing his knee to hyper-extend backwards and inward. He described it as “gross” when he saw it on replay (59:00 of this video).

“I still don't understand it. It was weird. Nobody really had an explanation,” he said. “Just kind of a freak deal.”

The pain was so severe, Rygg assumed his season was over. Trainers initially hoped it would only keep him out a couple weeks, but the MRI results crushed all optimism. He had torn his ACL, LCL, posterolateral corner and part of his PCL, and his femur had fractured. Only his PCL didn’t require repairs.

“I was just upset. I had already waited two years to play,” Rygg said. “The fact that it was the beginning of the second quarter in the first game, that was the most frustrating part.”

Rygg didn’t get a direct timeline from his surgeon, largely because not many people have torn all those ligaments and fractured their femur simultaneously. Some football players returned from similar injuries in a little over a year, the surgeon told Rygg. Some took two years. Some never played again.

Being a redshirt junior didn’t brighten Rygg’s outlook. His surgeon told him he should probably move on from football.

“I obviously didn't listen to him,” Rygg said with a laugh.

Rygg spent six weeks post-surgery with his left leg locked in a brace. Once he could move it, he worked on regaining his quad strength, and he did upper body workouts.

Rygg is roommates with Coy Steel, a wide receiver with a painfully similar story to Rygg’s. Steel ruptured his patellar tendon on Sept. 25, 2021, at Portland State, and he didn't return until about a month ago. Both Rygg and Steel, who was also a redshirt junior at the time, decided to walk during MSU’s senior day last year. Neither assumed their careers were over, they just didn’t know how the next year would unfold and wanted to ensure they’d get a senior day moment.

Rygg studied mechanical engineering and graduated last winter. He’s currently interning for a tech company in Bozeman, and he hopes to become a full-time worker soon. Many people in that situation would’ve focused on their careers. Thanks to internal motivation, football love and dedication to his team, Rygg barely considered quitting the sport.

“This program matters a lot to a lot of people,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said Monday. “Coy and Kyle, in particular, exemplify that their opportunity to be a part of it is so dang important.”

MSU lost the 2021 Brawl of the Wild and finished one game shy of a co-Big Sky Conference championship as a result. The Cats marched to the Football Championship Subdivision title game but lost to North Dakota State.

“Our big three goals are winning the conference, beating the Griz and winning the national championship. We were so close to all three, but didn't get all three,” Rygg said. “I didn’t want to go out on that.”

Moments of doubt crept in, but Rygg felt driven to rehabilitate, and football wasn’t his only impetus.

“I tried to just stay optimistic as much as possible. I knew that even if I never got to play football again, if I was taking that mentality into my rehab, it'd be better for just my general health in the long run, getting back to an active lifestyle,” he said. “Obviously in the weeks after it happened I was pretty down, but you only have so much time to be down before you just focus on the reality of the situation.”

A potential return to the field hinged on Rygg’s rehab this past spring. Once it went smoothly, he began mentally preparing to play again. First, he thought he could return for the start of conference play. Then he set his sights on November. His frustration mounted as each target date got pushed back.

The Monday before the Brawl, Rygg ran some drills with Howe. They were non-contact, but Rygg moved well enough to make Howe feel comfortable playing him against the Grizzlies. Rygg got cleared later that week.

He only participated in individual drills the entire week of practice, so his first 11-on-11 rep since Sept. 4, 2021, happened in the third quarter of this year’s Brawl.

It took Rygg some time to shake off the rust and feel confident in his leg, but he eventually got close to how he felt 14 months earlier in Laramie, Wyoming. He didn’t make any big highlight plays against the Griz, nor did he get embarrassed. Most importantly, he didn’t get hurt.

“I told him I loved him and I was proud of him, and I thanked him,” Howe said. “I said, ‘Thank you for doing that. That meant a lot to me to see you have that happen for you. It meant a lot to our room.’”

Rygg and Steel both participated in senior day activities before the Cat-Griz game. They wore pads this time, and they played in the 55-21 win that gave MSU a share of the Big Sky title for the first time since 2012. The fourth-seeded Cats still have a chance to accomplish team goal No. 3. They’ll host Weber State on Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

After all he’s been through, Rygg will accept whichever role he gets this postseason.

“I'm still fairly out of shape. Mainly, my knee’s out of shape. I just get so tired out there pretty quickly,” he said, adding, “I'm trying to do more and more, but also trying not to overdo it. I don't want to miss any days of practice. That's my main goal, to find that healthy balance.

“I'll be happy with whatever. Obviously I don't expect to take a starter amount of reps, taking 50-60 reps. That's just not even feasible. But whatever I can contribute, I'll be happy with. I'm just happy to be out there.”

BOZEMAN — Weber State head football coach Jay Hill didn’t avoid the elephant in the room.

On Tuesday, Hill approached Grant Sands, the Weber long snapper who airmailed four snaps into the end zone for safeties in a 43-38 loss at Montana State on Oct. 22. Sands and his teammates will return to Bobcat Stadium on Saturday for a Football Championship Subdivision second-round playoff game.

“I said, ‘Grant, you're going to go in there and the players are going to be talking smack, and the fans are going to be on you,” Hill told reporters on Tuesday. “He smiled at me. He's like, ‘Coach, I know that.’

“This is not something we hide from.”

There are few things Weber (10-2) or fourth-seeded MSU (10-1) can hide from each other going into their second meeting of the season. Schemes will matter, but execution is the biggest thing both Big Sky Conference teams are emphasizing going into their high stakes rematch.

“We understand that we made some costly mistakes last time, but we also understand with all those crazy mistakes and everything that went against us in that game, we still had a chance,” Hill said, adding, “We’re going to have to go in there and make a few more plays than we did last time. We’ve got to play clean.”

Weber and MSU played in wet conditions on Oct. 22, and no precipitation is forecast to hit Bozeman on Saturday. Sands did send a snap through the end zone for a safety in a 33-30 home loss to Sacramento State on Nov. 5, but conditions were wet that day too, and he’s been on target otherwise.

There’s also no guarantee that Sands will attempt a snap against MSU this go-round.

In last week’s 38-31 playoff-opening win over North Dakota, Weber punted on its opening drive and didn’t punt again until the fourth quarter. The Wildcats rushed for 330 yards in the win, thanks largely to former All-American running back Josh Davis, who finished with 129 yards and two touchdowns. Their passing offense has been solid all season and looked better against MSU than the 14-for-30, 151-yard output indicated. Dropped passes cost Weber nearly as much as Sands’ snaps that afternoon.

MSU’s defense has looked better since a last-second win at Northern Arizona on Nov. 5, but it’s tough to predict how the Bobcats will play on that side of the ball Saturday, especially without defensive coordinator Willie Mack Garza, who was suspended after being cited for a DUI.

Abraham Williams scored one of his four kick return TDs this season in the first quarter of that Oct. 22 game, and Hudson Schenck returned a punt for a score four minutes later. The longest return MSU has allowed since then went 31 yards.

“The last 15 quarters, we’ve really covered kicks and punts well,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said Monday. “That first quarter, giving them two scores, probably opened our eyes as much as anything.”

For all the abnormal things that happened at Bobcat Stadium on Oct. 22, one thing stayed true to form: MSU’s ground game dominated. Quarterback Tommy Mellott was responsible for 273 of MSU’s 347 rushing yards that day.

“Tommy Mellott got out on the edges too many times. He had three or four real big runs that were just devastating to what we were trying to do,” Hill said. “We were not very assignment sound in some of the things we were doing with the secondary and how we were managing him. … We don't need to reinvent the wheel, we just need to do our job better than we did last time.”

Weber linebacker Winston Reid echoed his coach. The Wildcats knew MSU wanted to spread them out on run plays, they just didn’t execute well enough.

“Everything was just on us, guys not doing the job,” Reid said Tuesday. “Poor tackling was one big thing.”

Lane Sumner, arguably MSU’s best running back this season when healthy, played in the first Weber game, but he suffered an injury in the fourth quarter and will miss the rest of the season, per Vigen. The Bobcats haven’t merely stayed afloat without Sumner, they’ve run even more effectively.

Elijah Elliott has steadily improved throughout the season, and fellow running back Marqui Johnson is a big play threat whenever he touches the ball. Mellott and backup QB Sean Chambers, who returned from injury in Cat-Griz on Nov. 19, have been effective when the other has been sidelined, but they’ve made the offense especially difficult to defend when they’ve run option plays together.

“They do a great job of misdirection stuff, trying to get eyes going one way but the direction of the play going the other,” Hill said. “They make you be assignment sound. You can't just be out there floating and thinking you're going to run to the football and make a play, you've got to be very assignment sound, you’ve got to be technically sound. They're very creative in where they find their mismatches and how they use their personnel.”

MSU’s offense — which has averaged 325.7 rushing yards per game this season and 496.5 over its last two contests — will add RB Isaiah Ifanse to the mix against Weber, and “he's got a chance to be better” than before, Vigen said. Ifanse set MSU’s single-season rushing record last season.

The Wildcats have the Big Sky’s best defense, according to several metrics, but trying to stop all of MSU’s playmakers running behind an excellent offensive line and elite perimeter blockers like Derryk Snell and Ravi Alston might take more than execution. Luck and prayer might need to get involved.

That’s true for both teams. MSU is No. 3 and Weber is No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. They’re each elite on one side of the ball, and they’re good in all three phases.

“I really believe this: if you can beat Montana State, you can beat anybody,” Hill said. “We left so much on the field that first time we played that I want to go in there and play a clean game and see how it falls.”

BOZEMAN — Montana State defensive coordinator Willie Mack Garza was cited for driving under the influence earlier this month, court documents show.

Head football coach Brent Vigen announced Monday morning he had suspended Garza for one game, but he offered no additional details at the time. 

A statement from Bobcat Athletics on Tuesday read: "The university does not comment on personnel matters and won't have additional information about this matter beyond what we released previously." 

Per the documents, Garza, 53, was pulled over at 10:33 p.m. on Nov. 19 near the intersection of Main Street and Rouse Avenue in downtown Bozeman. Not only was it Garza’s birthday, according to his driver's license, but the traffic offense occurred hours after MSU’s win over rival Montana to end the regular season.

In addition to driving under the influence, the documents show Garza was cited for driving 45 mph in a 25 mph zone and being a Montana resident operating a vehicle with an out-of-state driver’s license beyond 60 days of living in the state. 

Garza's suspension is for the second round FCS playoff game against Weber State, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. Garza took part in MSU’s practice on Monday.

“We all have a responsibility — to each other, to our team, to our university, to our community — to make decisions with all those entities in mind,” Vigen said Monday. “Coach Garza failed to do so and because of that will be serving a one-game suspension this Saturday.”

In his stead on Saturday, linebackers coach Bobby Daly will call defensive plays.

According to the court documents, on which his full name is shown as Willie McKinney Garza, his address is listed as being in Lancaster, Texas, which is south of Dallas. That license expired on Nov. 16.

During the traffic stop, according to court documents, Garza had a “strong odor” and refused a preliminary breathalyzer test and a blood test. It was documented that Garza vomited at the hospital and was “placed in their care.”

Garza’s attorney, Elisabeth Montoya, offered no comment when reached at her office Tuesday afternoon.

In Montana, a refusal of a breathalyzer test results in an automatic suspension of one’s driver’s license. Montoya and Garza have filed a request for a hearing regarding that suspension, arguing that the Montana Highway Patrol officer failed “to properly and timely inform (Garza) of all the consequences of a refusal” and called the sequence a violation of Garza’s due process rights.

In that same request, Montoya and Garza hope for the hearing to determine “whether the peace officer had particularized suspicion to stop (Garza) and reasonable grounds upon which to believe (Garza) had been driving or was in actual control of a motor vehicle … while under the influence of alcohol.”

Garza was hired at Montana State in January to be the defensive coordinator and coach defensive backs.

At that time, Vigen touted Garza’s “personable” and “authentic” nature, as well as his “really excellent defensive mind” and his ability to develop strong football players. Vigen and Garza worked together at Wyoming for part of 2019 while Vigen was the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator.

Garza’s tenure at Wyoming lasted less than four months. In October 2019, he was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence and speeding, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. He pleaded not guilty to both charges but resigned less than two weeks after the incident.

Garza was also charged with driving while intoxicated in September 2003 when he was an assistant coach at TCU. He resigned from that position the next month. 

On the day that Vigen announced Garza’s hiring at MSU, Vigen said: “Coach Garza has made some mistakes in his past, mistakes that he would own up to, he does own up to. I have the ability to move on from that because I know the type of man he is and I know the type of coach that he is.”

At an introductory press conference, Garza acknowledged he had made mistakes in his past and spoke of how he’s trying to move past them.

“You make mistakes, you try to learn from those mistakes and you move forward,” he said. “I tell my guys, ‘Fight the good fight. Every day, you get up and try to do the best you can to not make mistakes.’ … You keep the faith, you never stop believing in yourself. That’s the way I was brought up. I was brought up in a church. … I’m fighting the good fight. I keep the faith and I’m in the process of finishing.” 

On this week's episode of the Cat-Griz Insider Podcast, 406mtsports.com's Victor Flores and Lucas Semb look back at the eventful Thanksgiving weeks for the Montana and Montana State football teams and look ahead to their second-round playoff games.

Flores and Semb break down UM's comeback win over Southeast Missouri State in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs (1:00), preview the Grizzlies' second-round game this Saturday at defending national champion North Dakota State (9:55) and get into several topics surrounding the Bobcats, including their rematch with Weber State this Saturday in the second round (22:26). The Prediction of the Week focuses on the College Football Playoff (34:20).

BOZEMAN — After missing the entire regular season, All-American running back Isaiah Ifanse will return to Montana State’s starting lineup for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Ifanse is listed as the starter against Weber State this Saturday, his first action since the FCS national championship game against North Dakota State in January. MSU head coach Brent Vigen initially announced Ifanse’s return for the postseason — along with his return for 2023 — on the Bobcat Insider show last week.

The return of Ifanse from offseason knee surgery has been one of the top storylines for the Bobcats all season. The injury stemmed back to the 2019 season, Vigen said, and left an uncertain recovery timeline throughout the fall. It finally became clear near the end of October, Vigen said, that Ifanse would be able to go for the playoffs.

“We've built him up physically, endurance-wise over the last several weeks,” Vigen said Monday. “What is he compared to what he was last year physically? I think he's got a chance to be better.”

Last season, Ifanse was named a second-team All-American after rushing for 1,623 yards (an MSU single-season record) and 10 touchdowns. He ranks second on the MSU all-time list with 3,461 career rushing yards.

Vigen also said that, while it’s no discredit to the efforts of MSU running backs Elijah Elliott, Lane Sumner or Garrett Coon this season, Ifanse will “certainly give us something we haven’t had” this season.

“He's different between the tackles, for sure,” Vigen said. “He's one of the hardest guys to tackle that I've ever had the fortune of being around. So we're really excited and I know he is as well.”

MSU will also have defensive linemen Brody Grebe and Kyle Rygg available Saturday. The duo returned against Montana on Nov. 19. Grebe is “on the mend,” Vigen said, after previously going down against Northern Arizona. Rygg hadn’t played since suffering a knee injury in the 2021 season opener against Wyoming.

Linebacker Danny Uluilakepa will also start at “Mike” linebacker and fullback Jaharie Martin is “close to full strength,” Vigen said.

Meanwhile, Sumner and linebacker Nolan Askelson will miss the remainder of the season. Sumner had been dealing with a lower leg injury for the majority of the season and Askelson suffered a non-contact knee injury against UM.

Garza suspended for playoff game

MSU defensive coordinator Willie Mack Garza will be suspended for the upcoming second round playoff game against Weber State this Saturday, MSU announced Monday. Linebackers coach Bobby Daly will call defensive plays in his absence.

No further details of what occurred to warrant the suspension were provided by MSU.

“We all have a responsibility — to each other, to our team, to our university, to our community — to make decisions with all those entities in mind,” Vigen said. “Coach Garza failed to do so and because of that will be serving a one-game suspension this Saturday.”

A look ahead to the Montana State-Weber State rematch

There is some added benefit to playing a team twice in one season, Vigen said, even if both teams have grown significantly since the first matchup.

In this case, MSU and WSU will play for the second time in six weeks in the second round of the FCS playoffs Saturday. The Bobcats won the first matchup at home 43-38 on Oct. 22, a game that featured four safeties by WSU’s special teams.

“If you look at just any other opponents, you try to look at things that we did well, the things that we allowed them to do well,” Vigen said. “And then understand they're a good team, we're a good team and we've still got to go and put our guys in the best position to play well this coming Saturday.”

While MSU certainly benefited on special teams last time, Vigen said that is still one “main concern” for Saturday. That mostly stems from the 100-yard kickoff return touchdown and the 91-yard punt return touchdown surrendered by the Bobcats in the first quarter.

In the final three games of the regular season, MSU allowed 198 total return yards.

“That first quarter (against WSU), giving them two scores probably opened our eyes as much as anything,” Vigen said. “So we have to find a way in special teams to gain an edge and then offensively continue to build upon what we've been doing really all season.”

Vigen added that the Bobcats’ defense played “our best three quarters” to end the Brawl of the Wild on Nov. 19. MSU will need to continue that Saturday, especially if WSU continues its potent rushing attack.

The Wildcats’ running back triumvirate — Dontae McMillan, Damon Bankston and All-American Josh Davis — is back at full strength, putting up a combined 315 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 38-31 win over North Dakota on Saturday.

Davis — who didn’t play in the first game against MSU — led the way with 129 yards and two touchdowns. Vigen said the Wildcats “ran the ball like crazy” against UND — an offensive strategy that could've been dictated by game plan, weather or the Wildcats' first-half 24-0 lead. 

Defensively, the Wildcats are led by 2022 All-Big Sky honorees linebacker Winston Reid, defensive tackle Kalisi Moli and defensive backs Eddie Heckard, Maxwell Anderson and Desmond Williams. Those are just some of the “really good players” on WSU’s defense, Vigen said, a unit that also excels in man coverage.

That will be a challenge for MSU’s offense once again. Vigen said he hopes for the Bobcats to execute at a higher clip in the rematch after failing to extend the lead further in the second half of the first game.

What will help, Vigen said, is MSU being “more settled in” in all three phases coming into the 2022 postseason. Before the run to the FCS title game last season, MSU was coming off a lopsided 29-10 loss to UM. The offense underwent a switch at quarterback — then-freshman Tommy Mellott replacing Matthew McKay — and the offense centered on wideout Lance McCutcheon and Ifanse.

This season’s postseason preparation is “considerably different,” Vigen said, especially when facing a familiar opponent in Weber State as opposed to the Ohio Valley’s UT-Martin to open the 2021 FCS playoffs.

It’s also different given MSU’s offense, which features one of the nation’s top running attacks, can stretch the field with more weapons. That was on display in the 55-21 victory over UM on Nov. 19.

But even with that result and a share of the Big Sky title, Vigen said his team can’t rest too much on regular season accomplishments. Especially against a team like Weber State.

“We have to be able to come back down to earth, which we have, and go back to work,” Vigen said. “Understand it's about continuing to replicate the efforts that we've been putting in each week, as opposed to thinking we have it all made.”