2015 Record: 5-6 (3-5)
Key Returners: Ben Folsom, Chad Newell, Gunnar Brekke, Mitchell Herbert, Tyler Bruggman, Mac Bignell, JP Flynn
Key Losses: Dakota Prukop, Beau Sandland, Luke Daly, Trace Timmer
Montana State will enter the season with a new head coach, Jeff Choate, who comes to the Bobcats from Washington where he was an assistant under Chris Pedersen. The Bobcats, 5-6 last season, will look to rebound under a new coach. Rob Ash was let go after last season, despite being one of the more successful coaches in Bobcat history. The Bobcats had probably hit their ceiling under Ash and needed a change if the Bobcats were ever going to make a deeper run into the playoffs. Choate brings a new attitude to the team, a little more fire and passion, whereas Rob Ash was known to be a bit of a wet noodle in regards to his personality. Also coming over to the Bobcats is former Montana defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak, who resigned his position at Montana.
The Cats will also be without quarterback Dakota Prukop who took his talents to Oregon, following in the footsteps of Vernon Adams the previous year. The Cats will have a big question mark at quarterback going into the season, a position that has been a strength for the Cats over the last few years.
The Bobcats finished third in FCS last season in total offense. They averaged 519 yards per game and were averaging 6.82 yards per play. That’s an impressive statistic on paper and resulted in a lot of points on the scoreboard for the Cats. The Bobcats averaged 303 yards per game passing last season, which was good enough for seventh in the country. The undoing of the Bobcats last year, and most years under Rob Ash was the lack of defense to keep the games from becoming a weekly track meet. The Cats defense was ranked 115th, giving up 472 yards per game. The Cats finished +10 in the touchdown category and were -2 in the turnover margin, which isn’t real terrible but a number that will need improvement.
The Bobcats’ biggest question heading into the season is who is going to play quarterback. The Cats have a transfer from Scottsdale Community College in Tyler Bruggman, and two redshirt freshmen, Ben Folsom and Brady McChesney. You’d have to think the reigns will be handed to the transfer until proven otherwise not fit for the job. Bruggman threw for 1692 yards and 19 touchdowns last season for Scottsdale Community College. Previous to playing at SCC Bruggman was a quarterback at Washington State. The Cats return two of their three top rushers from last season, Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke, both seniors. Newell rushed for 831 yards and 12 touchdowns. Brekke rushed for 293 yards and one touchdown. Junior receiver Mitchell Herbert returns this season. Last season he caught 42 passes for 562 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Bobcats have a few weeks to get their feet under them before conference play starts. They’ll kickoff their season against Idaho, who is beginning the transition from FBS to FCS and will rejoin the Big Sky in 2017. You have to wonder what the state of the Idaho football team is knowing they are about to drop a subdivision in football. Will they be prepared to take on a young Bobcats team? From there the Cats have three in a row at home, with Bryant, Western Oregon, and North Dakota. They also have Northern Arizona at home, and Eastern Washington. Their schedule sets up nicely, but will they have the talent to win enough games for a playoff berth? Choate may be looking to do some roster overhauling, as well as trying to implement more of a defense-first type of team. This would be a change from the Rob Ash years. If the Cats can improve their defense and keep the offense functioning at a high level you have to think that the Bobcats would be a legit playoff contender in coming years.
9/1/2016 at Idaho
9/10/2016 Bryant
9/17/2016 Western Oregon
9/24/2016 North Dakota
10/1/2016 at Sacramento State
10/8/2016 Northern Arizona
10/15/2016 at Weber State
10/22/2016 Eastern Washington
11/5/2016 at Southern Utah
11/12/2016 UC Davis
11/19/2016 at Montana