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From Ostate.com: Montana State: An Early Look
Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 1:57 pm
by mslacat
As mentioned last night I get back from lunch and boom I am told this article is on Rivals:
Montana State: An Early Look
Joe Hering
OState.com
This is the first article in a series of articles that will cover OSU’s football Opponents in 2005. It is still very early, but this will help get Cowboy fans familiar with what the OSU Cowboys are up against in the up- coming season.
Click to learn more...
Team- Montana State Bobcats
Head Coach- Mike Kramer
Conference- Big Sky, (D1-AA)
04’ record- 6-5 Overall 4-3 Conference
Playing History vs. OSU- First ever meeting between the 2 schools
Key Losses-
Offense-- (WR) Eddie Sullivan, (TE) Blake Wolf
Defense--(DE) Ray Sebesteyn, (LB) Roger Cooper, (Deep Snapper) Dusty Daws
The Bobcats don’t lose much on the offensive side of the ball. Wide Receiver Eddie Sullivan put up good numbers, but the Receiver position is not an area of concern for the Bobcats in 05. However, defense is another story . They lost their best defensive player in Linebacker Roger Cooper. He was a D1-AA preseason All American last year and he will be missed. Ray Sebesteyn was a Team Caption and the star of the DL. The Bobcats and the Cowboys face a similar problem and that is the loss of their deep snappers.
Key Additions-
Offense-- (WR) Tremaine Murray 5‘10 178, (TE) Zach Teisher 6’3 235
Defense-- (DL) Chris Kolone 6’4 280, (DL) David Siataga 5’11 290, (DL) Jason Maccialo 6’3 240, (DB) Chris Davis 5’8 196
The focus for the Bobcats going into the recruiting period was defense (especially the d-line) and Coach Kramer felt as if they did a good job of meeting those needs as they signed a total of 5 d-linemen. DL Chris Kolone comes to them as a transfer from Arizona, and DL Jason Maccialo is already on campus and had a good spring. They didn’t sign much on the offensive side of the ball, but the Bobcats feel they did get a good one in Washington State transfer WR Tremaine Murray.
Returning Players- (Offense)- (QB) Travis Lulay 6’2 205, (RB) Justin Domineck 5’11 221, (WR) Rick GateWood 6’0 190, (WR) Chaz Guinn 6’2 215, as well as the majority of the Oline which averages about 6’4 285.
(Defense)- (DE) Ryan Cogley 6’3 211, (DT) Aaron Papich 6’2 261, (LB) Epikopo King 6’1 205, (LB) Nick Marudas 6’1 222, (CB) Kory Austin 5’10 179, (CB) Kahiam Hunter 5’10 170, (S) Toph Grenfall 5’11 195, (S) Ryan Force 6’1 196
The Bobcats strength next year will definitely be their offense. Quarterback Travis Lulay is a D1-AA preseason All American and he threw for 3485 yards and 15tds last year. He can also tuck the ball and run as he ran for 504 yards (371 after yards lost) and 8tds. He is the big man on campus and he is what makes their offense go. They also return their star running back Justin Domineck. He can do a little bit of everything for them as he rushed for 736 yards and 9tds and had 37 receptions for 260 yards last year (he also returns kicks). The Wide Receiver position is a very strong group for the Bobcats and is led by Rick Gatewood who had 64 receptions for 995 yards and 8tds last season.
The defense is a bit of an unknown for the Bobcats at this point. The d-line will have a lot of new faces and they will most likely rotate guys in and out to see what works best. They have an older group of Linebackers that are solid, but the star of the group, Roger Cooper, graduated. The secondary is much like the linebackers in that they are very solid but don’t really have a guy that is going to make headlines every week.
Analysis- The Bobcats will come to Boone Pickens Stadium with a very talented offense that will present a nice challenge for the Cowboys new 4-3 defense. They love to air it out, but are also very solid at running the ball so the Cowboys will have to be prepared for the run and the pass. The new OSU offense should not have that hard of a time with the Bobcat defense, but this will be the first time OSU’s offense will be in action in a live game situation and that could present a challenge in it’s own right. Like most match ups between a D1-A school and a D1-AA school this game will be won in the trenches as our big buffet eaters will just be to big and talented, and as the game wears on so will the Bobcat’s offensive and defensive lines. With this being the first game for the Cowboys, running a new offense and defense, and the Bobcat’s offense being loaded, look for the Bobcats to hang around for a while, but in the end OSU will wear them down and win going away.
Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 2:03 pm
by mquast53000
You don’t see the arrogance that you would expect. They did spell team captain wrong though.
Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 4:04 pm
by grizhatr
What a great article. I think its a breath of fresh air to see a real analysis of what the situation could end up being. Both teams were represented well. I definately think this will end up being a good match-up, and I really like the fact that the have defensive problems as well. By the way, love the ticker on the home page. Very nice.
Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 9:24 am
by Cat Grad
Thanks for posting this; I think our kids are going to be in better shape than their's, however and we're going to stick around longer than they think
Hope Bolton's Dad is working with the snapper, holder and kicker during the summer--probably see Brad helping some too.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 8:02 am
by WYCAT
Good post Mslacat. I agree with almost all of what they said. I really think if our Defense can step up and we get a break (or three), i.e. a fumble, big return, INT for a score, we can make a good game out of it. I think our offense will put up some points and do their part. Playing a top level program like a Big 12 school is a huge challenge but on a year where they are changing everything - coaching staffs, offensive and defensive schemes, etc. and it being the first game of the year is about as good a time as any.
I am as concerned as anything about not having Dusty snapping this season. We became pretty used to a perfect snap over his career - let's hope that continues on someone's else's watch.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 9:55 am
by 94VegasCat
WYCAT wrote:I am as concerned as anything about not having Dusty snapping this season. We became pretty used to a perfect snap over his career - let's hope that continues on someone's else's watch.
Who did the long snapping in spring ball? Maybe one of our RS Freshmen tight ends can pick it up?
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 10:06 am
by HelenaCat95
From all the Spring Scrimmages I witnessed (Great Falls, and two in Bozeman) it looked like the snapping on field goals/extra points and even a few punts were just fine. Probably not as crisp as Dusty's (he was the best), but I do not remember any mistakes.
I don't recall who was doing the snapping, but I think it was one of the RS Tight Ends - Bostick or Parker, etc.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 10:38 am
by Cat Grad
I'm pretty confident, given the genetics of Tyler, our kicking will be in good shape. Meant to imply that I don't think our kids are going to go away as the article implied and it'll come down to what else is new--a last second field goal
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 10:44 am
by HelenaCat95
Cat Grad,
I love it - we're already predicting games (with only 110 days left)
Now if only BAC will come in with his prediction that we will lose by 6, then it will guarantee a win for us
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 10:55 am
by Cat Grad
Hey, if everyone else is as excited as I am to see this group of kids our staff has assembled, I'm glad I've picked up our family pack season tickets
I can't wait because I know the workouts our kids are going through right now are pretty intense.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:16 am
by HelenaCat95
I too am very excited. I just renewed my tickets a couple of weeks ago.
Any idea on how many kids are sticking around for summer workouts? And what it is that they are doing?
I'm always curious to know who is working out, and what they are working on - sometimes it stinks to be in Helena.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:33 am
by Cat Grad
I'm even further away than you are--east of Glasgow during the week and in the Flathead on the weekends. After watching the kids during spring, I thought they were in pretty good shape then and I personally feel there's several on this roster with God given attributes affording them the opportunity to make a few bucks from this game. I think the want will kick in and and they'll realize the only way they'll get it is if they work for it.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:39 am
by hokeyfine
cat grad, you must be in bainville!
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:43 am
by Cat Grad
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 11:58 am
by wbtfg
Is anyone planning on going to the OSU game? If so where do you fly into?? Tulsa? Ok City?
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:00 pm
by WYCAT
wbtfg wrote:Is anyone planning on going to the OSU game? If so where do you fly into?? Tulsa? Ok City?
Either one really, Stillwater is about the same distance from both cities. If memory serves though, most flights to Tulsa have a stop in OK City so it is just as easy to go there. I am driving down - I have worked out a way for the company to pay for the trip and I can still take the family so it doesn't get much better than that. I think Cardiac was talking about driving down as well - I am hoping to see a turnout similar to what we had in Ft. Collins last season even though that is a whole lot closer to home that Stillwater.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:54 pm
by BobcatLionFan
wbtfg wrote:Is anyone planning on going to the OSU game? If so where do you fly into?? Tulsa? Ok City?
They are the same distance. Map'Quest says it is the same driving time from each airport. I would check on expedia or Orbitz and see what the cheapest/best/cheapest flight from where you are to Tulsa and then Oklahoma City. then to go the web site for the cheapest airline and you should be able to get it cheaper yet directly from the airport (unless you get air/hotel together from Expedia.
For non-Bozeman people, US Airways was fairly cheap, they had (and might still have) a companion fare from some cities to Tulsa. So the two together was a good deal cheaper than the other airlines.
From Tulsa, I got a Hertz car for $42 total for two full days (Friday thru Saturday).
A thought on your return flight. OSU seems to have late games early in the year (possibly a 6:30 pm start time looking at last year) because it is so hot there during the day in Aug/Sept. So I would not plan to get out that night because the game might end at 10 PM and an hour drive to the airport gets you to very late flights.
Good Luck
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 3:51 pm
by mquast53000
[quote="HelenaCat95"] Probably not as crisp as Dusty's (he was the best)...[quote]
I would have to disagree. Kenny Amato was better. He is the long snapper for the Texans. Dusty was also good, but not quite as good as Kenny.
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 4:20 pm
by Cat Grad
Just curious, how long was Amato away from the game before he came back at that level?
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 4:41 pm
by mquast53000
Cat Grad wrote:Just curious, how long was Amato away from the game before he came back at that level?
His last season with the Cats was ’98 I believe… I don’t know how long he has been in the NFL though. Shouldn’t have to look too hard to find out that answer.