Bobcats Return For Playoff Rematch With NDSU

It’s been 35 years since the Montana State Bobcats last went to the FCS Semi-Finals. The last time they did so, the Bobcats took home their first and only Division I National Championship. But this year will be different, especially with a playoff rematch against the number one team in the country: North Dakota State. Though last year’s game didn’t go quite as planned, over a year later, head coach Jeff Choate is using that experience to his advantage. “We don’t need to go to the Fargodome and get a feel for it, we know what we’re getting ourselves into. That does help us a little bit. I think last year we were that satisfied team that was happy to be there and we weren’t still hungry,” Choate said. “Hopefully we’ve got a little fire in our belly this year and we’re ready to go give these guys a little bit better game.” Though the environment is one thing, the team is another deal. The Bison hold a perfect record for this season, the number four rushing offense in the country and the offensive line has three first-team all Missouri-Conference players. “It doesn’t matter who’s coaching them. It doesn’t matter who is playing quarterback. as long as that O’line is what it is - they’re going to be pretty good. It’s kind of plug an play it seems like. A 35 game win streak. It’s really hard to wrap your head around that. How prolific this group is.” Behind the big guys up front will be a redshirt-freshman quarterback Trey Lance, who has attempted 257 straight passes without an interception. On the other side of the ball, they’re pretty phenomenal as well. “Defensively, they’re suffocating. That’s the word I would use. Suffocating. Number two in total defense, they’re giving up under 13 points a game,” Choate said. “Number 91 [Derrek Tuszka] is one of the better players that we will see all year and the [Jabril] Cox kid, number 42, he should have just gone to the draft so we didn’t have to play his again.” In the third phase of the game, that’s where the Bison are the most underrated. And combining that with everything else they bring to the table is a deadly combination. “I think 18 of their 50 punts are pinned inside the 10 yard line, so they do a great job of controlling field position. Their punt returner is one of the best in the country,” Choate said. “They’re just dangerous in every phase and they do the little things right. The don’t penalize themselves like we had a habit of doing last week. They’re not overly unpredictable, it’s not you’ll see a bunch of fake punts or fake field goals..they just play the field position game, lean on their defense and running game and they win a lot of games.” Coach Choate says tomorrow has nothing to do with revenge, nothing to do with the Bison, but everything to do about themselves. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. noon on ESPN 2.