2021 NCAA FCS Championship First Round - Monmouth vs Sam Houston State

signs of spring football over the years but this decidedly is different the fcs playoffs open up with number two sam houston hosting monmouth to kick things off the fcs playoffs start now [Music] the longest shortest football season of your life is finally reaching its climax at the fcs level the playoffs start today number two seed sam houston the southland conference champs hosting the big south winners from monmouth new jersey this is the top half of the bracket south dakota state gets the number one seed all these games will get going later today and then you flip down to the bottom and you have the heavyweights james madison north dakota state and sam houston all paired in this bottom half of the bracket all trying to make it to frisco texas and the may championship game we're in huntsville texas we're so glad to be with you and glad to be on site rini angolia and jonathan yardley looking forward to this one and rini monmouth we talked about a long short season monmouth's only played three games if they're gonna pull off the upset today they're gonna have to establish the run they are and i know you can't see it but i am smiling under this mass i'm just glad these kids at the fc level fcs level get a chance to play for a championship but you talked about monmouth big experience offensive line great running attack they're going to have to establish that run today against an explosive sam houston team well to do that for monmouth they're going to turn to a guy who wasn't able to play in the fall of 2019 this has been a couple years in the making for jawan fari you know he's motivated yeah i love fari i watched a lot of film on him he's a hard-nosed downhill runner between the tackles which i like he gets you three he gets you four he gets you five and then boom he gets you 50 because he's got that type of explosion so if that big experience offensive line can get some push up front against a very good defensive front of sam houston and give fari some space he can make plays and i think that's imperative today for monmouth to stay in this game get that push up front yeah and you said it it's a big question mark because this is a serious defensive line well this defensive front in particular defensive line has improved tremendously over the past couple of seasons and playing more discipline but they are athletic they're fast and they swarm to the football and the numbers support that improvement sam houston state was tired of flaming out early in the postseason 200 yards rushing aloud per game they made a conscious choice to change the way they play defense and boy the results have certainly paid off now that is an impressive defensive number for sam houston they're going to give you all kinds of offensive numbers too eric schmidt the quarterback and jaquez ezra the wide out two of the key man to watch i mean ezra is the big play maker a dynamic athlete probably the fastest player on the team you get him in space he causes problems he's a match-up nightmare he can stretch the field so that's what i'm going to be looking for today how does that man this secondary play ezra to keep him underneath them because he will stretch it he will beat you over the top and he can make all kinds of plays great hands and oh by the way he's in the return game as well so i got to believe monmouth will not even kick it to him so field position will play a role today as well but a dynamic playmaker looked for him to get the ball in space a lot today for sam houston well what a matchup it is terrific day for it starting in the morning here in texas sam houston and monmouth both unbeaten among the 97 fcs teams there's about six left unbeaten we get to see two of them today and of course the other seven games in this round of the playoffs kicking off all over the country as we go you're so glad you can follow with us and everybody this afternoon up into tonight on espn3 and jonathan i think that's the thing with this truncated season right i mean you talked about sam houston played six games monmouth only three so you know it's going to be tough because usually you're making adjustments as a head coach as a coaching staff when you get to that fourth game third or fourth game well this is just and today so it'll be interesting to watch so as these playoffs proceed i think you know if you look at the bracket and overall big picture you're gonna look at those teams that are experienced have been here before have done it look for them to be able to move through cameron hearn will kick off for sam houston to get things underway monmouth won the toss gets the ball first and it'll be a touch back and they'll bring it out to the 25 to start things this afternoon and rainy that means our first look at the true freshman quarterback tony musket again only three games to his credit career-wise and he starts a playoff contest yeah and the thing that sticks out to me about tony musket 62 completion ratio eight touchdowns no interceptions which is phenomenal for any quarterback let alone a true freshman that was playing high school last year at this time so uh but he's going against a defensive front today i think that he hasn't seen before so it'll be interesting to see how he handles it today [Applause] jawan fary gets the call and picks up about four yards falling forward for monmouth and this was the big question mark can they move the ball against this sam houston defensive front and will that open up room for musket to throw yeah great start if you get three or four yards on first down that's exactly what you want we're gonna talk a lot about their last playoff game the 2019 season when they lost to james madison on the road another high seed musket pressure got it away and it is hauled in on the near side by lonnie moore now he dropped it as he went to the ground the officials confer and it's on the sam houston sideline so you know what they're yelling let's take a look at here good poise by musket rolling to his left throws the right takes the hit but he's trying to drag that last foot and i'm with you if he didn't control it to the ground but they go quick when now i think replay is going to stop this one oh it was kc keeler he wants to make sure the replay booth can look at it he called one of his timeouts right here on the first possession and you saw it jonathan so there's two parts to that one he has to control it with that foot in bounds at least one foot and then as he goes out of bounds to the ground he has to he has to survive the ground so if that ball popped out it's incomplete as well i don't know what kind of looks replay will get but we're gonna get a look right here [Music] so you're gonna see the toe tap here boy that's just so so close i just don't know from this angle i think this part of it is a catch i think you think that you think that right toes in i think he catches before the left foot comes down let's see here great camera work so we're gonna have of course you slow it down it makes everything look like a catch but i'm with you that right foot is down so i would agree with you there that angle now did he survive the ground as he came down which he's got to survive a track it's not even the ground by that point and again i think the other important thing to note the ruling on the field was a completed catch so what we just saw there's nothing there for replay to overturn after further review rooney on the field is confirmed receiver secured firm possession of the ball and got one foot down and bounced first out and i like the quickness there from replay too takes a look at and this is a great angle here now you see that right foot in secures it yeah and he actually forgets surviving the ground he took about three or four steps before he went down so that's a good call by this crew so monmouth out to the 48 with a first down that's more in motion bobbled the hand off but is able to pick his way forward for a gain of five so we're going to talk about fari a lot the running back we talked about on the open but really i think lonnie moore is the x factor for monmouth they're going to get him a lot of touch that's a little speed sweep a little toss up that goes down as a pass for tony musket and i think lonnie moore is the player that they want to get into space and he can match up with sam houston speed taking a shot up top terence green the target there was a little bit of contact with jalen thomas and the flag flies yeah a lot of contact i think that's a good call right call and listen you gotta love the aggressiveness of monmouth right off the bat going lateral and now stretching the field number nine 15-yard penalty for the previous spot automatic first and last year against james madison it was 21-21 in the second quarter but most of those points were chunk plays they had a 94-yard run and they had a 91-yard kick return this is actually a sustained drive it's really encouraging that monmouth can have a different story from last year it was 66-21 that game finished in business at the sam houston 32 here [Applause] it's fari trying to avoid some tacklers in the backfield he couldn't avoid clumpton but there's a flag on the play [Applause] and it's gonna be a hold on monmouth holding offense number 53 10-yard pillar to the previous spot andrew speciale the referee letting us know aj ferris the uh center that the cog in there gets called without holding but he's very good from that center position but you know offensive coordinator jeff gallo has done a nice job and that's what you do to a physical defensive front you get lad roll you get side to side they've done a nice job with that thus far early on the gibb is locked up right away romeo holden had no running room you see that sam houston state front that is jahari k number 55 getting it done yeah buchanan finalist is jahari kane you see how quick and explosive he gets off the ball and that's what we were talking about this defensive front is athletic they're strong and that's where this game listen it's no you know mysterious thing in football i don't care how much of a spread offense here this game is one up front that defensive front versus that offensive line the second and 22. another big hit forward was one of the mccollum twins zion got into that tackle and he's a little shaken up from the way that contact went down yeah let's let's hold on to him for a defensive injury yeah quick throw underneath you said zion mccollum comes up nice you like to see those corners come up he did a good job he shot across stayed low you know trying to get that head up a little bit seeing what you hit all in all pretty good tackle hopefully he's okay but you love that when your corners can come up and make a tackle in space he and his twin brother tristan out of galveston ball high school and oh by the way zion comes six foot four corner you're starting to see more and more of that those taller guys usually you know they're five ten five eleven but six four comes up and makes a good tackle there hopefully he's okay and we see zion mccollum back in this ball game so that play was for no gain so all the optimism from that start for monmouth has them in third and really long here juan faria at the bottom of the screen in the trip look [Applause] well just rush four and it's a quick look for fari but no room out there as the sam houston's defensive backfield had that covered yeah you know quick little uh bubble screen out there safari trying to pick something up now normally monmouth is very aggressive at the 40 uh plus in but when it's fourth in 19 yeah you gotta punt that one away you're not really going to go for it here and they will punt it to jaquez ezra we'll see if they give him any chance at returning this i'm guessing ryan cost was given orders to avoid him you would think so there is ezra broke one earlier this year cost averages 40 yards a kick [Applause] a little too much air under that one and sam houston will come out to its own 25 for its first possession and our first look at the bearcats led by eric schmidt the redshirt junior from the woodlands just down i-45 yeah i love watching eric schmidt on on film he's a gunslinger listen 2 000 yard passing in six games 14 touchdowns does have seven interceptions but again i think that's a product of the system because he will throw it up to his talented wide receiving core and say go make a play so when you do that and you got those athletes you will throw some interceptions but something he probably needs to clean up a little bit he can run by the way too we're going to talk about that he runs a 4-4-40 and it's play action on first down wanting to go up top to quez ezzard the collected groan from bowers stadium told you the outcome you saw the safety come over to try to help and we talked about ezra's achilles being a little sore well he stretched it out there he looked pretty good had a step just couldn't hook up but sam houston is showing you they're going to be aggressive offensive coordinator ryan carty says we're going to take a shot right away to our speedster ezzard just can't hook up ramon jefferson the tailback gets the carry and is thrown back right away by eric massey the defensive end this is monmouth best defensive line by the way there are no slouches yeah and you know all week they heard how fast sam houston is you know how great athletes they are down here in texas so they're playing with a little chip on their shoulder as this mom the ball club make no mistake about that they'll spread five wide here on third and ten schmidt thrown to the ground first sack of the game and monmouth defense gets a stop they didn't do that the entire playoff game against james madison a year ago and it's massey again the senior out of bergen catholic just showing you he's got a little speed on that edge as well as he gets to schmidt coming off that right side the pocket's gonna collapse and schmidt really know where to go and you see massey shoot through there for the sack so an excellent defensive stand for monmouth eddie morales back deep to return the punt from the australian map mcrobert he's got a leg on him taken by morales at the 23 reverses field and won't find much room it'll be the 25 for monmouth as well these defenses came to play they were ready for the playoffs who's going to put the first points up of the fcs post opening game of the fcs postseason but familiar territory for k.c keeler oh yeah 27 all time 27-0 all time that includes division three games at rowan national champion at delaware and now he's been at sam houston since 2014. leading them back to the postseason kevin callahan third playoff appearance in four years for the only coach monmouth has ever had got the job august of 92 a full year before they started in 1993. farri avoided one tackler in the backfield as markell perry came in that's impressive just to get back to the line of scrimmage i mean that's huge because this sam houston defense has a lot of tfl's tackles for a loss should have been one there but far he's able to get to the outside and even getting it back to the line of scrimmage he lived for another down on second down here he'd rather be second and ten or eleven then second 15 and 16 obviously nice job by fari [Applause] musket was throwing without looking and jalen thomas was right there and had something to say about it as well in the face of lonnie moore yeah jaylen thomas a physical corner you know and just read that wide receiver bubble screen correctly and he's right there as musket throws in thomas says do that again i'm gonna take one of the house getting physical out there a little surprised he's the one they're trying to pick on earlier they moved lonnie moore to the near side to get a different match up tristan mccollum is on him though that's the bigger part that's isaiah downs on the bottom of your screen must get looking for more downs in coverage and lonnie moore's got to step on him first down and he's got uh a little something to say well and i think that's a match-up that offensive coordinator jeff gallo will take isaiah downs is the nickelback he's on lonnie moore we talked about moore being one of their best offensive players that's a match-up they will go after 30-yard pickup on that play musket swarmed under chris scott got to him first but he was far from the only bearcat in the backfield and you see that a lot with offense so monmouth gets a big play and what do they do they go temple they go hurry up they get to the line of scrimmage and sometimes i think you can almost be going too quick for yourself they snap it and you see chris scott there get through for the sack [Applause] alex bryant number 14 checks into the backfield for monmouth they like to find him on some unusual plays here backed up with second and long [Applause] it must get a little bit behind terrence green the accuracy has been a little shaky early i like the quickness of the release he's got a quick release as tony muska but you're right jonathan that was behind his intended receiver terence green there and good coverage in the secondary by sam houston and again you're asking a guy who was at west springfield high school a year and a half ago to produce at a very high level against the sam houston defense and you can't put your quarterback i don't care what year he is freshman sophomore junior senior and third and 18. it's just not a winning situation the numbers don't support them no unfortunately they don't and i watched moneyball last night i think it would tell you this doesn't support it [Music] this is green trying to create something and at least get into sam houston territory and that will help monmouth in terms of field position you would expect yeah and so you saw what sam houston did they said we're not gonna beat over the top on third and eight team we'll give you underneath we're gonna come up make the tackle exactly what they did [Applause] so nothing on the board yet for monmouth again this is a stark contrast to the james madison game where there was 14 14 by this point yeah and oh by the way these are two offenses both averaging close to 45 points a game so top five in the country defense uh early on halfway through this first has stood out for both these programs which is probably okay with both coaches to be honest high snap for cost and he's under pressure and down he goes special teams we knew could be a sam houston advantage the first big turnover to the bearcats you know when we talked to coach kevin callahan this week that is one of the issues you know they fought with is is poor special teams in a lot of different areas and so it rears its ugly head once again right there and i think that's a product of only playing three games and just kind of going through the things they've been through in this this covet season so that is a big play early on in this game irvin hawkins number 24 was the man who broke through first again he was not alone ramon jefferson downhill run he's out of the bronx and picks up about five on first down yeah jefferson as you said that bigger guy 210 pounds five ten it's like to me that's the perfect size for a running back good lower center of gravity strong legs this time it's play action and cody crest able to come up with it for the first down inside the 30. grad transfer from harvard originally from sci fare in the houston area and that's just great recognition by eric schmidt you know the son of a coach he's got one on one of the outside on the top he back shoulders it that's pretty much an indefensible play for a corner if it's thrown correctly and he actually led crest a little bit wanted to get it a little more back shoulder but again corner it's not turned around pitching catch back shoulder good play ezra the home run hitter is at the bottom of your screen schmidt has great speed he'll take off turn the corner and get close to the 20 before being pushed out and i love the little eye contact he gave to his running back ramon jefferson like i'm going to run this give me a little block he gave him just enough to turn the corner and pick up a few yards jefferson's originally out and he's gonna pick just enough a little bit of a shield i don't know if he got the memo yeah a little bit so sam houston on the move here trying to get into the red zone and get on the board first solid hit right there coming up was tyrese wright to limit the gain for ife adey yeah reed recognize and react and wright did a great job he read that play he recognized the underneath receiver and he shoots up there and reacts to the play and makes a great tackle in space and you have to do this against sam houston because they have so many weapons and they will spread you out so a really nice job by tyreese wright the strong safety the critical third down here facing sam houston as the clock winds in the first quarter first down yardage and it's cody crest again he had a big game against incarnate word in sam houston's last regular season game and that time defensive coordinator andy bobick decides i'm going to send a little blitz a little pressure up the middle eric schmidt very poised he sees that one on one again with crest crest runs the route smartly just past the yard to gain that first down marker schmidt puts it on him and sam houston moves to chains too tight end look for sam houston now they're very multiple whether it's offensively or defensively [Applause] going for ezra and he's denied by eddie morales good matchup between those two but there's a flag offense five-yard penalty for the previous spot first out prince pines the guard and when you're six five three forty and you drift downfield a little more than three yards everybody notices you're gonna see it yeah and you're saying you didn't have that problem no i i could hide but of course i was an eligible receiver so i'd go wherever i wanted jonathan noah smith trying to say i look like a lineman now speaking of eligible receivers noah smith into the game they like to throw to him number six out of the backfield instead it's short to the tight end isaac schlei and tyrese wright had to haul him down yeah and noah smith you just brought him up another player for sam houston that really stood out on film you know a former wide receiver that they now put in the backfield but they throw him the ball a lot you'll see a lot of wheels uh wheel routes out of him trying to get those matchups on those linebackers a lot of weapons sam houston can throw at you offensively donovan williams the touchdown maker is now in the backfield number 25 he's scored in eight straight games that goes back to 2019 and he gets the ball here not quite up for it this time daquan grimes number five met him first and he had help in the middle of the line that's a little stretch left you know and from donovan you want to keep that play side you see him cut it back but great pursuit by mama said you want to cut that back door we're going to come at you they make the tackle at the line of scrimmage sam houston one for two on third downs today you see the season total schmidt has wide open cody crest he has the corner the pylon no signal yet he's out of there it is touchdown sam houston to get the fcs playoffs started cody craig you know the field judge is looking at the line judge saying did he step out of bounds because if he didn't he definitely hit the pylon with the ball excellent job by crass and that that's the predicament they put you in because you talked about schmidt's athletic enough to run gets that linebacker corner kind of in a bind they start to step up he gets it to crash you see that left foot line judge is looking right there says he's in dives now did he hit that pylon with the football before that left hand went out of bounds that's what replay will look at again ruling on the field is a touchdown amanda bender the field judge is the one he was waiting on and they will review this ruling on the previous play was a touchdown that play is under further review so as we look at this jonathan i think his left foot stayed in okay but what you want to look at is that left hand because if that left hand touched out of bounds before the ball broke the plane i.e hit this pylon then he's down at the one yard line yeah and i think they're gonna boy that's so close but i think that hand hit out of bounds before the ball broke the plane i think they have enough to bring this back put it at the one yard line but we'll see i'm up here i'm not in the replay booth and as we said the first time the call on the field was correct eventually touchdown we just had to wait for it we should be used to that by now with some good shots there by the camera crew giving replay a lot to look at so yeah couple replays already in the first quarter a lot of action this will be another good look again i think the left no problem after further review the ruling of a touchdown stands yeah and that's just obviously the verbiage stands there's not enough there for them to overturn it and i can't disagree with that so cody crest the first points of the fcs postseason for 2020 is being played in the spring of 2021 again grad transfer from harvard his second score this year and seth morgan will try to add the extra point second drive yields fruit for sam houston it's a 7-0 bearcats lead media will they cruise or will monmouth get back in this a lot of football still to be played here in texas [Applause] number two seed sam houston leads monmouth seven nothing as we play in the opening game of the fcs championship monmouth last year really struggled to run the ball after the one brilliant carry by pete guerrero and so far today minus 16 on the ground eight of those yards were lost on the bobbled punt but everything else has been a struggle they are able though to get jawan fari out near a first down here on drive number three and they're gonna get the first one that's the best run in the game and you know you'll hear announcers say all the time staying ahead of the chains and people are like what does that mean this is what it means positive yards on first down now he moved the change he got a first down but when you get four or five yards on first down that stays ahead and that's what you need to do how about the way he was able to bounce off the initial penetration there and still get a two-yard pickup but you see that penetration from sam houston hitting fari in the backfield he's able to fight through to get a couple yards and so this is the chess match up front right who's gonna win the line of scrimmage we saw the play before monmouth gets 10 yards moves the chains try to go right back to fari that time and attacking sam houston defensive front holds him to one two yards zach treadway the man in motion [Applause] trying to set up the bubble screen and finds him and there's running room for treadway he's got a first down he almost had more big game against kennesaw state last year it's just the fifth catch though for treadwear and even those bubble screens or tunnel screens like that have to happen in a hurry because that sam houston defense is so quick but nice job by musket he looked to the right came back underneath the treadway little bubble screen back in through for a nice first down [Applause] looking deep treadway the target lot of air under it and that was more out of caution than anything else and yet a flag is thrown yeah he was definitely grabbed that's an easy call by the back judge and the side judge it's gonna be past interference and the thing that stands out to me there tony musket looked down the barrel of a gun because he knew he was gonna get hit there stood in the interference defense number 17. 15 yard penalty from the previous spot medic first down keyshawn murray flagged for it it's at least the second big hit he's taking him but just watch the toughness of musket he knows he's going to get hit takes a big shot gets driven to the ground and gets a lot of air under the ball and it's a good call as the receiver is grabbed there treadway and the dp knew it too they love tony muska they've raved about his composure kenji bahar was a three and a half year starter they knew every every part of the offense like the back of his hand they haven't changed anything for musket he's making checks and everything on his own [Applause] keeps that one on the ground with romeo holden and another good pickup you see what airing it out can open up well and it's kind of a double-edged sword with what went on with kobe here you know tony musket only three games is a true freshman but he was there all fall so he watched a lot of video he got to learn the offense a lot of zoom meetings i think that really helped the young quarterback treadway wide open musket floats it in there and zach treadway is down inside the 10. fly hawks indeed they're moving well you know they're finding something with zach fedway and i love the recognition by musket sees it right away quick release and he gets it just over the defenders hands treadway a big 6-3 receiver and they are moving here now when it's blown up in the backfield markel perry was all over it yeah and markell perry number 33 he's got one of those x factor guys a tweener six two two ten could put a hand on the ground play defensive end but he could stand up and play linebackers one you see how quick he is there as he gets to holding in the backfield for the tackle for the loss again monmouth behind the sticks proverbially second and goal from the 12. and this is gonna be an interesting decision if they don't get in here on second or third down [Music] the give is tafari musket actually kept it jahari k wasn't fooled stayed right with him well we talked about montmas woes in the kicking game and really haven't made a field goal this year and coach calhoun told us he was going to be aggressive so i'm with you jonathan it'll be really interesting here to see what they do on third down and then if they can't score here ultimately what they do on fourth time i think they're gonna go for it but i think you're gonna call a play here if you're jeff dale knowing you've got two downs to try to score this touchdown you don't have to get it all here obviously power look though only one true wide receiver [Applause] jack neary's the only target in the end zone [Applause] because gene scott got hung up and in the end it's wasted and it's intercepted that was strung out and instead of throwing it away monmouth turns it over that's a game [Applause] changer really on the field is interception by sam houston state jaylen thomas came up with the football the first interception monmouth has thrown this year and flags fly during the celebration yeah and on this play when they put on warnings sam houston state when they there's no yardage in motion there and he came around on that bubble there was no one there immediately i thought tony muskie should have thrown it to him immediately let him pick up half of it at least again you wait this defense is so quick then you try to dump it off to moore and you see the interception just great team speed by sam houston defensively i mean rini there weren't any receivers for him there were two there were two tight ends one of them was in the end zone covered by three guys the other one never got there and oh by the way looking back across the field which is never a good situation for any quarterback especially against a fast defense two turnovers already for what sam houston will count because they count turnovers on downs a messed up punt as a turnover that defense expects for a game they've got two and talking to clayton carl in the defensive coordinator he said he has the big four for his defense right 2.9 yards per carrier less is what he wants his defense to do third down conversion 75 get off the field red zone you're only giving up a field goal attempt or less no touchdowns and takeaways and we've already seen what they've done in special teams in the interception there i think they have all of those right yeah maybe not the third down percentage that's about it schmidt has time that's deflected but lands in empty pasture and it'll bring up third and long yeah a huge down here for that monmouth defense can they be stout here get him off the field after the takeaways the momentum was going to sam houston there for sure see if this defense can get a stop here get their offense back some good field position as we approach the start of the second quarter and not to belabor the point but against james madison a year and a half ago they got zero stops for the game they already have one today and as you mentioned this would be a big momentum grab schmidt pressured flag flies as it's deflected and knocked away we will check the flag monmouth defense holds for now yeah it should be a holding call look like there's a hole or an illegal chop block in the middle and so yeah monmouth will decline this and get the ball back personal foul shot block offense number 57 and number four the pilly's decline result of the play the fourth down you'd kind of like to back him up but you don't want to give them another third down but you'd kind of like that yardage too and you're going to see in the middle of the screen you see the cut by jefferson and this is ethan hagler just come over and put a little hand on a little tweener uh but enough for the umpire to call [Applause] so a second punt for matt mcrobert who believe it or not has two 74-yard punts in his career that's a sam houston record but the first time he celebrated so much that he hurt himself and missed the rest of the season you can't make this stuff up that's like martin grammatica when he blew his knee out celebrating eddie morales on the return small gain for monmouth and that takes us to the end of the first quarter sam houston the number two seed unbeaten wanting to host all the way to the championship game cody crest has him in front after one well bowers stadium huntsville texas home of sam houston bearcats it holds 14 000. they're allowing up to 3 500 today as part of 25 capacity across all the fcs playoff sites today it's going to start building up in other sports as things get knock on wood closer to normal we are glad to be here we're glad to have you with us for playoff football monmouth its best field position of the day starting from its own 39. and they set up a screen for fari who finds absolutely no running room snowed under quickly isaiah downs was part of that as was joe wallace and another tfl for this sam houston defense that's their seventh of this game already just showing you how attacking they are and how fast they are to the line of scrimmage and really no breathing room for juwan fari empty backfield for the freshman tony musket through his first career interception on the deflected pass but still on the previous play previous series [Music] and he's not seeing this at all he got rid of it at the last second as the pressure came in in a hurry from javon leon again leon bottom of the screen you see him just doesn't get touched speed rush gets around justin zuba the right tackle to put the hit on musket [Applause] and just you know way too many third longs for monmouth today already we're only a minute into this second quarter one for four on third down so far and musket lost the ball and holds on to it as the snap fell to the ground and he just takes the eighth tfl and monmouth will have to punt so that momentum grab didn't materialize and you know now is for monmouth you're just putting the pressure on your defense right you're making them get back on the field a three and out and you're asking them to get another stop and we know how explosive the sam houston offenses and eventually you know that dam's gonna break and watch this punt remember the last one was a high snap that cost couldn't get off he had one blocked or tipped against james madison in last year's playoffs snap is true and he gets the kick away as well jacquez ezra will field it at the 21. opens up some space and finally taken down after a 20-yard return but just that 20 yard return you see how elusive he is and it's just it flips the field instead of being back by your 20 makes a couple guys miss officials towards midfield good starting field position for sam houston anthony budd the monmouth player who lost his helmet on the play oh by the way beautiful day today in huntsville texas a little better than yesterday thunderstorms don't like them you didn't like the monsoon oh it was a little rough yesterday but absolutely gorgeous thing you talked about the crowd capacity 25 the ncaa just said they're going to up that to 50 i believe starting next week so if sam houston can win this game we know what that bracket looks like they're going to get another good team in here next week if they can hold on and i think we'll get a few more fans in here the winner of this gets north dakota state or eastern washington that is a heck of a first round matchup for those two and a quarterfinal matchup next week north dakota state has lost twice this year but they are still the team that has won eight of the last nine as kurt allmer and that monmouth defensive line pick up a stop a tfl of their own hey give this monmouth defense defensive front credit because they're getting after they know they got to get stops and they're playing well there you see all game streaming on the espn app these are the other games on this side of the bracket how about vmi getting into the postseason first time since the 70s i wanted to ask casey keelers what did you do to the committee you're a second seed but if you win you get to stay home but you're going to play the winner in north dakota state eastern washington which is normal normally like an fc uh the semifinal game wow there was contact there we saw similar contact flagged earlier anthony budd was not flagged here and it'll be third and long i figured they're gonna let him play there i believe it was craig haley fcs stats who had the number that 15 of the past 20 finalists are on the bottom half of the bracket the top has two well and you look at jmu the third seed undefeated right all kinds of experience you just gave them a little chip on their shoulder right you caught you saw kurt signing the head coach saying thank you committee so you know 16 team playoff like the old days gonna happen quick and teams are gonna get after in a hurry schmidt under pressure and goes down daquan grimes got him in the end after the pocket had collapsed and the monmouth defense stands firm again yeah defensive corner andy bobick again sends pressure says we're going to get after schmidt and i love how they attack from the outside and the inside that pocket closes they don't let schmidt get out of it and they get them to make the tackle make that sack and again monmouth defense steps up matt mcrobert on to punt again eddie morales back to return morales early call for a fair catch he'll take it at the 23 34-yard punt with no return and monmouth will take over once again here in the second quarter with sam houston out in front but not exactly clicking on all cylinders yet [Music] welcome back to bowers stadium as sam houston leads at seven nothing and we talked about coming into this game true freshman quarterback tony musket had no interceptions and how would he react if he has a turnover well he had one early and then we see they give a little soft screen pass there and then he drops a snap and i think really the issue for tony musket is the pressure that this defensive front of sam houston is getting on him they're getting to him getting in some hits we've seen some big shots he's taken today and i think that's the biggest issue tony muskets dealing with today monmouth starts from its own 23 trailing seven nothing here juwan fari the carry picking his way forward and carrying it near another first down jawan fari starting to pick up some chunks and not enough of that today that's what they have to do you know we've seen it a few times get some type of establishment between the tackles and that will make tony muskets life a lot easier you know sam houston trying to make him one-dimensional and if you can stop the run and put it all on tony musket then that plays right into your hand so again get that big offensive line get some movement they did there i like the fact here jeff gell kind of slowing the pace down not speeding it up offensively more in motion all kinds of running room for him as he cuts up past a block from fari and has another first down so two outstanding runs back to back and i like it right you go downhill with fari and you come back with a little speed sweep with lonnie moore and again you want to control the tempo as an offense so they took their time now they're gonna go a little quicker here pressure must get eludes some of it but not all of it finally brought down quentin brown got in there [Applause] and that's the problem when you have an athletic front like that i mean you're gonna elude one you're gonna lose two it's tough to elude three and four because they're just gonna keep coming after you as musket tries to get out of the pocket quentin brown's there for the sack and again brings up second and 15. very behind schedules if you notice every time they've tried to go really fast it's kind of not worked for them i'm just kind of in the opinion maybe slow it down right try to change the pace where it's a slower type of game that didn't work wrapped up joe wallace the big man the senior from dallas skyline high school jahari k in the middle of it as well number 55. yeah and when you're when you're behind the chains then you know that's just real cliche that defense is going to pin their ears back and come and look at that graphic that's all you need to know and grant it minus one that includes sacks and the yardage lost on the on the punt but still you know showing you what sam houston is doing up front quick throw completed to treadway took a hit held onto the football flag flies coming in from the field judge and this could turn things around yeah it was tristan mccollum with the big hit we'll see if he lowered that lowered that head down he's gonna be called for targeting here sam houston had a targeting ejection against incarnate word that was wallace and again it was the field judge amanda bender who threw that flag from deep she converses with the referee andrew speciale at the moment and treadwe took the big hit held on we'll get the call here personal foul targeting defense number all targeting calls are reviewed tristan mccollum is on the line right now this is him for the game and not only review has to be confirmed by replay yeah you know it's it's really really into this this will debate this forever everyone debates especially if you're a defensive fan you say what what is the kid supposed to do and just you see him lower the head and he tried to turn ready try to get it to the side but unfortunately you know i think he made contact again it's to the head or neck area of a defenseless receiver so we have that element because treadway's in the act of catching the ball he is defenseless mccallum comes up drops that head tries to slide it to the side i just don't think he got it to the side enough and as i look out to be either confirmed or overturned there's no stance correct listen i was already wrong once today so we'll see what replay does i think they're going to confirm this [Applause] and again nothing malicious from tristan mccollum that's what you want your safeties to do after further review rolling of targeting has been overturned [Applause] there you go i mean the replay crew looked at it felt that he turned enough didn't really use the crown of the helmet got it to the side and listen i have no problem i wouldn't rather the kids stay in there because it wasn't egregious so it brings up fourth and four and this is critical here in the second quarter as monmouth goes for it musket gets it away quickly too high can't be pulled in by terence green sam's defense holds again cameron alexander the corner one on one on the outside that's where musket goes but excellent defense and as you said sam houston defense holds another big play and their strong safety justin mccollum gets to stay in this game which is huge by sam houston's defensive measure that's their third of turnovers they're looking for four on track and no points allowed just yet they got a lot of game left jonathan the offense hasn't opened it up yet though just the one score cody crest touchdown in the first quarter quick out to crest here and he's tripped up and you got to give credit to the monmouth defense i mean they're playing exceptional but eventually we talked about this sam houston offense is so explosive and it's like body blow body body blow the defense you got to get a stop you got to get a stop eventually it wears on you and then the big plays start coming [Music] just the third appearance in the fcs playoffs that's a personal foul behind the play as schmidt was thrown to the ground by nick shoemaker and that is a 15-yarder no question about it you just can't do that i mean the referee's looking right there personal foul unnecessary roughness defense number 99 15-yard penalty automatic first down you're going to see it after schmidt hands the ball off shoemaker just grabs it and just really unnecessary little body slamming you know if you just kind of flip them a little bit and let them go you wouldn't got the call but it was that slam at the end and you just can't do it especially when you're trying to get stops so sam houston in business at the monmouth 28. trying to take control of this one their 12th playoff appearance including six trips to the semifinals five of those since 2011. schmidt wants the double move ezra was well covered and schmidt tucks it and runs and another flag comes in good coverage by morales on ezra one on one holding office number 73 10 yard penalty for the previous spot first down and that's moses johnson out of fort bend austin high school southwest of houston yeah man defensive line has done a nice job keeping eric schmidt in the pocket talked about his athleticism as well and really we haven't seen much of it today outside the pocket with him running [Music] schmidt with the play action out of the hands of a daily that's been his his problem spot this year has been holding on to the football and it kind of shows you neither of these offenses is really clicking yet they're playing against great defenses but we're used to seeing points from these no and that's one where he knows he needs to make that catch he needs to hold on schmidt puts it right on him and we take a look you know in the top five scores in fcs per game and sam houston and monmouth both right there and as we get halfway through the second quarter only seven points on the board saying montana only played two games they didn't play a full schedule they're not in the postseason that's backward pass double throw jaquez ezra lets it go but way too far head in his hands for jacquez ezra because the space was there well the play call by ryan carty was spectacular perfect call he talked about trick plays with us and he loves him loves him and it's a perfect call and that's there right there ezra just gets too excited he knows his receiver is going to come open just take a deep breath one more second and just put air under the ball like you did because if you just wait one more count you got a touchdown there d bowen's the speedster he's gonna never let ezra forget about that one he's gonna he's gonna say he did it on purpose remember that time i had 10 yards on him and you overthrew me by another 10. third and very long it doesn't bother sam houston but schmidt way too much on that one and this is an interesting kind of tweener spot at the 38 you don't want to go for it on fourth and 20 but the punt doesn't gain you a whole lot either i know and their defense is playing so well but it looks like casey keeler will punt so i know the monmouth fans at home watching this are happy doug gillespie is one of their super fans a former defensive tackle for mamas gotta be really happy with how that defensive line is playing today are we gonna start shouting out guys now there's a few we can get to gotta give one no mentions of rice yet we're we're saving them okay someone's alma mater mcrobert waiting as long as possible before he lets that go fair caught at the 13. that's where monmouth will start field position tilting sam houston's way what will the scoreboard do hawks are up next back in the second quarter opening round of the fcs playoffs monmouth with the ball at its own 13 trailing sam houston seven nothing and a big welcome to the monmouth family marin gallow the new daughter of jeff gallo the monmouth oc wife kirsten running the ship because jeff is here so kudos to kirsten and the mvp for sure welcome to the family marin gala that was on wednesday he said we're in a four-minute offense we got to get through this game but time waits for no man well in the crazy thing as a coach right normally you try to plan to have your kids in the spring because you're playing in the fall and it just you know murphy's off figures right they they have it perfect but oh by the way it's a pandemic kovid and we're going to play in the spring it's not in the fall so i kind of backfired but not their fault give them an a plus for trying another big pick up on first down with the running game fari has good rushing numbers on the day 35 yards on the ground but they have lost so much nine tackles for loss that includes sacks there's a false start that'll be a different kind of loss and those are those unforged penalties especially when it's a wide receiver offense number 83 five yard penalty second down so for mohammed we've seen turnovers they never turn the ball over we're seeing penalties they are not a highly penalized team and we've seen the tackles for loss this is the step up in competition yeah and we've seen the special teams issue which they had coming into this game and listen coach callahan told us it's not that they have to play perfect but they have to play they have to play good in all phases and when you come on the road to a good program like sam houston you really can't have those deficiencies in any area and we're starting to see him and yes a lot of it is because of how good sam houston is i mean a three-game big south schedule kennesaw state the best team they've faced and that's a good program yeah they've beaten them the last two seasons as monmouth picks up the first down but when you face these power conference within the fcs programs it is a big step up monmouth still doesn't have all of its scholarships and oh by the way give monmouth a lot of credit kennesaw was ranked seventh in the nation uh everyone was talking about kennesaw making the playoff winning uh the conference they go up to monmouth and monmouth hands it to him i mean they were beating kennesaw 35-3 at halftime so that was a win and get in game and they did now they come on the road to texas here and listen they're not intimidated they've been on the road against jmu good teams before they're not intimidated but they just have to play a little better discipline football here a couple of fakes muskets gonna turn it up and run he's gonna take a hit as well quentin brown number eight saw a chance to get to the quarterback and he did quite legally and it is second and 10. and again you call the play and if it doesn't happen quickly they wanted to go underneath but again the defense read it was in good position musket keeps it as you said takes another big hit [Applause] gene scott number 84 the tight end was the target on that one i mean there's no doubt in today's game we're still in the first half tony musket has taken more big hits just in this first half than he did in the three previous games with monday movement again false start offense number 65 five yard penalty second down [Applause] and that offensive line we've talked about them five seniors across there which is really rare you don't normally see that so very experienced a lot of starts aj ferris 53 the center and all american i mean that's the the leading group of that offense they got to get on their shoulders they got to get going here and again easier said than done i mean i can sit up here and say you gotta win the line of scrimmage yeah it's a very talent very talented sam houston defensive front they're trying to win it against second and 15 after the fourth monmouth penalty of the day they give it to fari he's really patient in there stays with his blockers well looking for the scene and you have to be you know shabana 70 the big left tackle pulled on that play so you got to give him time to get through and they do and they get some positive yards the problem is they've just been too far behind the chains today so when you get those three four five yard runs um you say okay great then you look up and it's third and ten i mean just way too many third longs today for this offense yeah ferrari's eight carries 40 yards you're like oh five yards to carry great but then musket and the team are negative 28 because of the sacks the fumbles the drop snap on the punt or the high snap third and ten and the pressure got to musket he stepped up in the pocket that came out of his hammer though you could see well and they only rushed three and then the linebacker came late so they are only rushing four sam houston drops back again because his third long says we'll give you the underneath crossing routes we're going to come up and make the tackle it goes incomplete anyway so uh played exactly how defensive coordinator clayton carlin wanted his unit to play right there watch out for jaquez ezra on this one he almost broke the last one monmouth isn't sure how many players are on the field quick count tells me they've got 11. cost does get it away hazard backs up to the 22 but has room to run and monmouth able to bring him down on the tackle by jair thomas media timeout sam houston will try to close out the half with a score bearcats back here at sam houston where the bearcats lead monmouth seven nothing late second quarter kevin callahan the only coach monmouth has ever had and you'd imagine he and kc keeler on the other sideline have had some recruiting battles over the years when keeler was at division three rowan and then at fcs delaware met one time on the field before when monmouth played at delaware a pretty resounding blue hen victory kevin callahan had a pretty good pretty firm memory of that one well he told us he saw this guy about six four six five just got the 50 yard line to warm it's flinging the ball out of his wrist and he goes yeah that was my first introduction to a one joe flacco who went on to be a super bowl quarterback so but yeah kevin callahan a very experienced coach been around a long time and to be the only coach in monmouth history that that's a testament to how good he is coach from western new york and a coach from the lehigh valley meeting in uh south texas or thereabouts kevin callahan has been coaching so long in our conference call he said i remember recruiting you and watching you in high school in rochester new york's like a boy coach you are dating yourself there he's not shy no oh great and we had a great conversation with him one of those guys and told us about you know all the difficulties all the teams had because of cove oh by the way they dealt with a snow storm in new jersey during this spring season so i mean could you throw anything more at these kids in these programs it's a little harder to deal with the snowstorm in texas which they didn't deal with i know there was they each had one ramon jefferson gets the carry and he gets a lot of running room ramon jefferson breaks it to the house touchdown bearcats 56 yards for the score you know we talked about how well the monmouth defense was playing but again they're just they keep getting put on the field you know so much and eventually i talked about it earlier the dam will break and good blocking up front they get the right call and ramon jefferson more that bigger downhill back well guess what he's going to take this downhill right at you great blocking good hole and enough speed to get past the secondary and take it to the house how about that hole it wasn't even a monmouth player in the picture as ramon jefferson came busting through you know as a former running back john i think i could have gotten you drooling over here don't know if i would have got it to the house but i would have got a first down and again you're just you're putting your defense you know in bad situations time after time great block right there little kick out good job of that offensive line that's your love for the running back remote jefferson no wasted steps hit it downhill hit it hard and then use your speed in the secondary and that's just great blocking by sam houston at the point of attack and rini you can feel this here two minutes and 52 seconds left sam might get the ball again yeah if they use their timeouts you know and when that this is momentum right i was thinking in my head when that series started for sam here something mama can just get to halftime somehow absolutely down seven nothing that that was a win that's a win in and of itself for them they would have been so far ahead of last year to be only at seven nothing and they'd talked to us about that they knew one score game would be content with that and all to do right now it's a momentum issue with 252 left you know obviously it could be captain obvious here but if you're monmouth you would love to get the ball and go score but reality worst case scenario get to the locker room 14 nothing do not give the ball back to that sam houston offense get something going offensively get some momentum that you can build on in the locker room at halftime lonnie moore is going to try and grab some of it here not happening no siree taken down by cameron alexander and monmouth with under three minutes to go is gonna start in the shadow of its own goal line again and i completely understand why lonnie moore feels that play he's trying to make a play special teams they haven't really had any big plays he's trying to make a play but you know sam houston comes down and makes a tackle so now you're pinned back again well they started their own 13. this sounds familiar sam only has two timeouts remember they used one to get the challenge of the early call that didn't materialize and locked up in the backfield again no they're saying they were not charged for that timeout i beg your pardon and they will use their first now and joseph wallace i believe it was just nine houston state it is the first charge time out of the half 30 second time he gets under the block so quick at the point of attack by the monmouth offensive alignment i mean he's in the backfield immediately and i mean you can't coach that up when you have that kind of speed from a defensive tackle like joseph wallace that's six one three hundred pounds if he can beat the lineman at the point of attack i can't get to the backfield it's just a long day that's got to be i can't see the statistic for but that's going to be about the 10th tfl at least for sam houston today oh and there you go it's 10. you missed the sam houston chance yeah legendary in these parts well i was getting excited about big joseph wallace big defensive tackle making that play [Applause] i mean rini what what a turn of events this could be if sam can press it from seven nothing to potentially 21 nothing if they get the ball back here and again there was no timeout charged even though casey keeler was calling for it way back in the first quarter it was not charged that review was signaled from the booth in the end and so sam still has two more as monmouth hands off to juwan fari and he does stay in bounds to keep the clock running momentarily yeah i'm surprised sam houston didn't they seem to be i mean i would have taken it you're third and long [Applause] great job by far you stay in bounds you notice that jonathan usually don't think about that down 14 nothing but they they need to get to halftime here it's clear but obviously casey keeler stop him here because they're going to run the ball you're not going to throw the ball here run it here call timeout i've been wrong a bunch today so it is spring trying to knock the dust off you're setting yourself up for failure they're trying to set up a safe screen route and terence green can't break a great tackle it was tristan mccollum joe wallace is always involved so i'm half right there you know that time out sam houston state a pass like that is the ex extension of the run um and so now they get the timeout and now they're going to get the fall back and they're going to be able to keep a timeout in their back pocket that was joe wallace doing most of the work on that he covered that ground fast when you're 300 pounds and you can move your body like that it should be illegal texas tech transfer his second year at sam houston again he was ejected for targeting against incarnate words so he's got an extra he's got a little motivation going extra game of freshness in those legs too and that's the thing you know he's out of dallas texas and you know this john there's so much talent in this state you think and if sam houston you know you got a ton and we talked about this offer there's a ton of kids on this program that could easily be playing at multiple fbs programs across the country many of them have the transfer portal they come here they played a lot of them come back home and so yeah a lot of talent on this roster i will tell you about the dedication of texan football which you're quite familiar with but we're going to wait for jaques ezra to return this kick first little contact on the punter cost the flag did fly that's gonna give him a first down that's gonna be five yards i don't know if five will do it that's gonna be close right i'm looking at the marker well it's personal foul it's 15. that's not 24. 15-yard penalty from the previous spot automatic first down yeah you love it when the ref makes it a moot point just give him the personal foul and that was his best punt of the day yeah [Applause] not sure i mean listen i'm not commenting is it his best acting job too yeah but i'll tell you the dedication carthage is a 4a school in texas won the state championship three players on this team they went 14-0 the season went into january wall township high school won the shore conference in new jersey they played seven games yeah i mean the texans have their priorities yes they do that season finished in december i'm just telling you [Applause] [Music] yeah much like florida you know i'm from florida got their season in playing and what they do in western new york they're playing now oh there you go another chance for monmouth and another chance for jawan far he tries to hurdle his own man seems like there might have been other spaces available it'll be second and manageable and again he talked about it far he really hasn't had a bad first half he's really doesn't have too many negative runs good yardage it's those other big plays that have been negative for monmouth that have hurt them [Applause] they don't have great field goal range 42 is about as much as they would do now there was that contact downfield there was a flag that came in well you saw terence greene 23 the wide receiver throw his hands up so you don't you got to believe the headline judge is going to call offensive interference because the ball passed the line of scrimmage and if contact was made by a receiver than its offensive pass interference i think that's what they're going to call what they're probably talking about now did the ball cross the line of scrimmage on the pass sorting all that out pass interference offense number 23 blocking downfield 15 yard penalty from the previous spot second down he's a killer 15 yard yeah and he knew it too and it it's tough because that's one of those penalties where you know you want your receivers blocking for their their the other receivers and the running backs and just you know you you start blocking just before uh you know while the ball is in the air and then you know headline judge is looking right at him it's just it's an easy call for them but it is a backbreaker especially a little momentum a little movement they were just trying to get to midfield maybe throw one in the end zone and instead you have second in quite long and another zack 11th tackle for loss sam houston timeout to try and get the ball back again in the pocket just collapsed and you're gonna see it timeout sam houston marquel perry has been a busy man coming right at you it's just so much pressure really holding in the middle there as well on sean mustin 92 the dt he got in there as well and [Music] just so far just very strong too tough up front is that sam houston defensive line in particular so far against the monmouth offensive line so you'd have to say defensive lines winning that battle right now let's say that was our key number one match up if mom is going to do anything they have to win the line of scrimmage and they have it you see the quick underneath passes but you see how fast that sam houston defense is and and really if musket doesn't go to his first read he comes off it you see how quick defenders get to him and again the thing that impresses me most about the defensive line in particular sam houston is their athleticism with their big bodies do you run here to make sure the clock runs i do i'm old school again it's 14 nothing i mean you're still in this ball game romeo holden is thinking about some yardage able to hold on to the football that's seven straight third downs without picking up a first for monmouth that number will be discussed in the locker room and they would presumably run the clock down you'll get about a 22 second differential you can call timeout and punt it and but we know what kind of issues they've had in the punting game so i mean this is perfect for sam houston because you can say listen we can either go after it and try to make something happen we can set up a return because they've been kicking to ezra they're not kicking away from him which would you do i would go after him knowing that i believe the punter has a a slow kick just watching him he lets that ball come into his body when he catches in he just kind of takes a little too much time for my liking so i would go after [Music] timeout it's amazing how long the last four minutes of the half can take and again this was seven nothing sam houston monmouth is right in the game you're you're feeling like there's a chance for this upset mom is feeling good going into their white tent yeah for half time and this could be completely turned around if you're a monmouth fan though with what has happened offensively with all the 11 tackles for a loss and you've got three sacks given up you look up you're down 14 nothing i mean you look at those numbers and you're surprised it's not 21-28 other than that that's a testament to the defense of monmouth they really have played well they gave it the one you know long touchdown run to jefferson but really played pretty well again ryan costas had one block today his last punt bounced and went terrifically toward the corner ezra will catch this at the 18 spins away from one watch out showtime [Applause] well the show has been delayed yeah listen and eddie han eddie han said not on my wife i give kevin callahan credit he said we're gonna kick to him go make tackles they have not kicked away from him today whatsoever good job by the special teams there so all those timeouts used all the uh effort to get the ball back and sam houston has 12 seconds and is at its own 25. and you know usually more bad happens than good here so you're going to take a knee here if you're casey keeler and get to halftime you're happy you're up 14 nothing again in your monmouth you look up you say we're only down two scores let's regroup and see if we can do something in the second half so sam houston takes a knee and takes a trip to the locker room with a 14-0 lead the number two seed halfway there to another home playoff victory and booking a marquee quarterfinal matchup but a long way to go against the monmouth team that did give him some trouble of the second there numbers from the first half see that third down difference and the rush yards i'm amazed monmouth finished with 23 given all the tackles for loss and the total yards you know it's it's nuts so and again they're in this only down a couple scores so sam houston 14 and monmouth nothing through 30 minutes of football at bowers stadium and the sam houston head coach casey keeler joins us now casey thanks for your time what were your thoughts on how the first half played out well pretty much what we saw on tape all week was what we got they don't make mistakes they play really clean they're really smart there'll be some opportunities that we didn't take advantage of uh losing leads to anderson at tackle you know kind of hurts us we're a little down at the o line already they've done a great job getting pressure on us you know we had that double pass where we you know were wide open to make it a three score and we just didn't do it so we know it's a ball game that's there's only 16 teams left playing in the country so we know we have a great opponent here coach defensive front playing outstanding a lot of tackles for a loss really controlling the line of scrimmage but offensively what can you do maybe to open some stuff up you had the nice run by jefferson the big breaker but anything schematically you can do to spread them out and get some more points here in the second half yeah that's exactly what we have to do we have to kind of figure out schematically you know how they're hitting us and what our best runs are we got to get we got to get some run game going because um you know they've done a great job teeing off and getting some pressure on eric and typically you know when people have gotten pressure on eric he's done a great job pulling the ball down and making big plays but they've done a great job of sort of moshing you know just sort of coming in and and they always have someone that's going to break free for him so again they're very well coached and i think they've done a great job containing this casey thanks for your time good luck in the second half all right thank you sam houston 14 monmouth nothing good half time for you looking at fcs prospects in the nfl draft including one trey lance welcome to the cat cage it has not been a hospitable place for monmouth 14 nothing sam houston leads at halftime of our fcs championship first round game jonathan yardley rene and golia with you and rini sam houston leads it 14-0 it looks easy it wasn't cody crest got the first score yeah went to replay but they upheld it got that football onto the pylon before that left hand hit out of bounds first score of the game great job by crest great effort to just smell that end zone and get it in there that was late in the first quarter and then monmouth on the other side of the ball hadn't thrown an interception all year tony musket gets picked off and this is where the young quarterback just throw it away try to lift for another down he throws a fastball at lonnie moore he can't handle that it pops up and as you said the first interception of the young quarterback's career that really turned the momentum in sam houston's favor monmouth took so many losses green more than 40 yards in losses they gained almost 200 but got hit for big negative plays well that's been the difference in the game how many times tony musket's been hitting you talked about the negative plays 10 tfls for that sam houston defense to go along with three sacks and they just really been harassing the young quarterback this game and then ramon jefferson late in the second quarter after monmouth thought they could move the ball sam got it back and remote jefferson went to the house from 56 yards yeah monmouth defense had been playing well but great blocking at the point of attack by sam houston ramon jefferson shows you his speed as he gets it through that hole these are the targets for the sam houston defensive group and boy are they on track they want to be 75 on third down yeah they're eight for nine oh for one red zone and it's one official takeaway but they've got two turnover on downs so they are close to that target as well they count so yeah defense is really playing lights out for sam houston today sam houston's defense working on the shutout right now and they'll get the ball by the way to start the second half bearcats lead getting ready to start the second half fcs championship opener 6-0 sam houston the southland conference champions 3-0 monmouth the big south champs for the second year in a row sam houston with the lead will get the ball as well to start this second half and shout out to the southland conference as well in this spring season didn't miss a game no every team played they did what they needed to do and i think that you know for these teams in the playoffs here that's gonna play dividends right the poor games more things you can fix and i just i think that was tough for some of the schools like a monmouth only playing three holy cross only played a couple games it's tough trying to get through a playoff bracket with a smaller set like that how about andrew vera the linebacker with a monster booming touch back he's got the wind at his back but you don't see number 56 kick off through the end zone too often you didn't see lawrence taylor kicking off good boot by the linebacker i had to cut three recruiting tapes one on offense one on defense and one as a kicker and it worked gotta do what you got to do sam houston gets the ball what do you think some of those adjustments can be because as you and casey keeler discussed the running game and the consistency offensively was not always there talked a lot about the defensive line for sam houston the defensive line for monmouth really played well also so i think if you're sam houston you're trying to get eric schmidt spread out a little bit get him to move around and a lot of quicker plays and right here get it to your playmakers in space and get it to them quickly um and let them make plays that's the first catch for jacquez ezra which that's a problem in and of itself right there you got to get him the ball and i love that they come right out and they target him quickly [Music] schmidt in the first half eight out of 14. had the touchdown throw to crest and ramon jefferson is close to the first down it looks like third and one coming up patience there as he just kind of got behind his offensive line tried to push forward as you said a little short here so again big third down here for this monmouth defense donovan williams the junior from paris texas a little lesser-known paris in the backfield on third and short target a day it's out of reach coverage came from justin terry he put a little body into that as well but no flag and monmouth forces a punt yeah that's clean good job by by the monmouth defense and listen exactly how you wanted to start this half you get a three and out i mean sam houston had that momentum but again you make adjustments at halftime you come out it's a new ballgame again only down 14 nothing get that three and out now let's see if that offense can really get some continuity because that's really what they just cannot put back-to-back plays together in too many negative plays for that monmouth offense matt mcrobert gets the kick away eddie morales will field this one at the 18. gets a step gets up the sideline and has some yardage across the 30. just being across the 30th some of the best starting field position today for monmouth and for tony musket the freshman 13 of 19 for 135 the interception was on a tip but he was throwing a fastball at a guy from five yards away and the big thing we've talked about was the o-line was not holding correct he just was harassed more in this first half than really he had been in those other three games he took a lot of big hits uh you know sacked three times but besides that was made to feel uncomfortable with those hits he's taken jawan fari alongside him in the backfield it's fari getting the carry quentin brown and company have held him up and the outstanding linebacker trevor williams in there as well but again four yards that's what you want to do on first down now where they been their bugaboo in the first half they've gone backwards now after these positive gains and this is where you got to keep going forward here and if it goes to third down make it a manageable third down [Applause] green on the slant wrapped up right away by braden clopton who really limited the damage on that completion yeah quick quick little slant there again moving forward third down you don't want to be in third down at least third four much better than the third tens third and elevens that we've seen all game for monmouth one for nine on third downs in that first half and taking their time you know we saw different tempos out of jeff gallows offense this is a huge play for them to try to get a conversion here over the shoulder of moore who can't haul it in tremendous throw to get that into a window where only moore could catch it well you're right that was a great throw and that's a play lonnie moore usually makes and in a game like this and he knows it you got to make that play you got to make that play for your quarterback they get what they want one-on-one on the outside to get it to moore great pass drops it in the bucket and moore just cannot hold on let's see the defender i don't think he got a piece of it got his hand up there enough did isaiah downs it kind of distract more but again in a game like this that's a play you got to make [Applause] ezra never signaled fair catch it looks like he was just happy to catch the ball and then realized oh i better run with it as well and he's out of bounds at the 15. defense is ruling the day so far sam houston next up on offense second possession of the second half for sam houston that's moses johnson he's in it tackle because the starter eliezer anderson came out banged up in the first half casey keeler was actually the one to share that with us himself uh they're used though two changes on the offensive line this year yeah a lot of movement very good player i mean colby thomas 52 he's a captain he's played all five positions i mean that's how good that kid is option to start here jefferson found a lane found a crease and has a 20-yard plus pickup 25 yards in fact on the first play here and right on cue that offensive line a little reach blocking there to the right get a hat on a hat good job and you see big prince pine 76 who the coaches said was a huge surprise for them this year playing really well get out in front big body 340 pounds and get those big bodies out in front a good job by the receivers crest there in space blocking that's what springs the long runs and one of the other surprises the center ethan hagler out of barbers hill in the east side of houston he came from blinn junior college just came in january as this one is going up top wide open is a day he pulls it in ethe a day running away tripped up couldn't quite break it but it's good enough down to the five and that's where eric schmidt saw today break open and just put everything he could on that ball to get it to him but he was so wide open he could basically stop and catch this thing like it's a punt he makes the catch and then he shouldn't see the speed back and he was going in the end zone good job just to get enough of him to trip him up to keep from scoring there 52-yard pickup for a daily mike was reaching out to make the tackle we'll see if mama's defense can stiffen here and force a field goal [Applause] kyron jackson gets the carry spins away from one and is finally brought down by nick shoemaker eddie hahn and a couple others there's a daily great wheels out of mansfield legacy just talk about ethan hagler again 57 the center and you talked about him coming from berlin you know he comes here as you say he's never even played center before yeah the third series of the season he moves from guard to center and you make all the line calls i mean that is a tough position to play and they were pleasantly surprised with ethan haglin schmidt keeps it himself but couldn't get all the way through first really zone read we've seen today from schmidt as he puts it in the body and running back and pulls it out lorenzo hernandez out of cherry hill west in new jersey and asa brooklyn junior college with the tackle third and goal this is really a big play right here they keep getting bigger of course dalton meyer and isaac schley a couple tight ends in there for sam houston jefferson the tailback alongside schmidt it is ramon jefferson second effort touchdown and that time sam houston said we're going to go right at you a little 12 personnel two tight ends two wide receivers one back give it to jefferson downhill good job getting behind his pads lowering and then keep those legs moving you know big prince pine's looking around grab you run it back and pull him you can do that now give him a little help ruling on the field was a touchdown the ruling on the field is a touchdown that play is under further review i mean he's got daquan grimes monmouth's best or second best tackler wrapped around him and still pulled him forward and andrew speciality has to run the length of the field get a great look at it here jonathan let's see if a knee or an elbow goes down before that ball breaks the goal line look at him just dragging what great strength i think he's in yeah the knees down now but the ball has clearly broken the plane and remember the plane is the front of that line a lot of people get confused i explain to people all the time just picture a sheet of water from the front of that line that goes straight up if the nose of the football touches that sheet of water where you would put a ripple in it you have broken the plane ramon jefferson three times on the field is confirmed touchdown three touchdowns on the season he's got two more today oh yes really see ramon jefferson's power there as you said dragon defenders through strong enough to get it in there he's got playoff experience at maine but then he went to junior college route at garden city and this is first year at sam houston [Music] venture to say you don't see many guys from the bronx end up playing college football in texas it's a little bit of an adjustment yeah [Music] i wonder if there's a yankees fan still you think from personal experience uh changing locations usually only reinforces the team you were originally rooting for so if he was to begin with probably he'll have fun with those astros man ramon jefferson carrying the load for sam houston has him out in front 21-0 monmouth trying to answer the bell [Music] next 21-0 sam houston as we start the third quarter this is where they hope to be playing the fall 2021 season the new field house that is in progress 15 million facility bobby williams the athletic director from rice university helping get that project going and it has been kind of a weird year really for casey keeler and company well i mean you gotta love it old school the kids no locker room they're carrying their equipment to practice and it really has made them closer as a team and so they've been through a lot but the facility's going to be beautiful when it's done the new locker rooms and it's tough enough to play here they're undefeated in playoffs and it's going to get a little better for the players as well with uh some new [Applause] receiving team signal four and made a fair catch by rule ball be placed in the 25-yard line first out all right rainey 21-0 monmouth has had moments today but the offense has been uh inconsistent to say the least as you look at what uh one end of the stadium looks like toward bowers boulevard there and this is where that white tent toward faircat boulevard is where monmouth spent its half time today not exactly what you hoped for in the first round of the playoffs but it's only for one year yeah and you know you had asked about mom the inconsistency is what's killing them they gotta try to string together a couple first downs and just get some positive play get some momentum going lonnie moore on the move one of their big play guys but he can't even get to the 30. it is positive yards on first down quentin brown and braden clapton on the tackle and again lonnie moore was one of those players that the coaches talked to us about about getting multiple touches they felt he could make some plays in space thus far sam houston doing a nice job corralling him he's got six catches for 81 yards that is first carry i guess i guess it goes down as a pass must get to throw this time looking for green one on one contact again and there's the flag that was not much question about it jalen thomas is furious saying that it was both ways but uh the advantage goes to the attacking player on that side i mean they're hand checking but we know they're going to call it because they were calling it like that from the first possession in the game so as a db it is what it is you know they're not going to let you hand jockey yes interference defense number nine 15-yard penalty from the previous spot automatic first down and we were told at halftime that they had not had any pass interference calls in the six games that's their third now today and i think at least second on jalen thomas right [Applause] yep can see a receiver's trying to catch the ball and his hands are being held yeah that one was pretty clear they did by the way zion mccollum who went out early injured has not come back into the game he won't be able to and so they're a little uh testing their depth shall we say in the secondary it's held up so far thomas is normally in there and juwan faring wrestled to the ground in the middle nice play by trace mascoro utep transfer last year's newcomer of the year in the southland conference he's one of the quiet leaders on that defensive line and it's really that defensive line and we've talked a lot about the that's the strength of that defensive unit they rotate seven eight guys through there all very good keep it fresh second and a long seven as monmouth tries to find some momentum in a way back into this one [Applause] both options well covered on that one isaiah downs and keyshawn murray really locked in and again tony muska took another big hit on that and he's rolling to the left he needs to have this play develop it's slow developing and again a linebacker comes up and you're going to see him take a big hit at the end of this play and those wear on you if you look downfield both got both targets on that play were really well covered and i believe it was tristan mccullum the strong safety that put that hit on musket and we know he can bring the oh what a play defensively reaching back at just the right time it was downs getting his hand up even while he wasn't looking at the ball and that's what you have to do on a play like that they try to go back shoulder to loni moore musket puts it there but you know downs able to get that left hand up just timed it perfectly as you said jonathan otherwise i think it's a catch for more but look he's perfect timing doesn't interfere with him gets a and that that is a case where as a safety or a db you're just kind of watching the eyes of the receiver you time it perfect you get that left hand in there well done how about the sam houston secondary that series hazard calls for a fair catch and makes it at the 17. as sam houston tries to stamp its authority on this one with a three touchdown lead already now the ncaa fcs championship continues next weekend with quarterfinal coverage on espn3 espn2 and in the espn app for more information visit ncaa.com the home for all 90 ncaa championships winner of this game gets the winner of north dakota state and eastern washington in what seems among the marquee matchups you expect really good ones in the quarterfinals not as much play between conferences this year due to the reduced schedules most teams have only played conference games and so it wasn't a lot for the seating committee to go on in matching people up with a lot of reputation factoring into it a lot of eye tests so we'll see how it's decided on the field and again you know and they were taking they always do but travel considerations into concern as well with everything going on so listen it's always tough for a committee of any sport at any level you're always going to have your critics so second and ten pocket breaks on schmidt a little bit but he has cody crest wide open for a first down say he's our best route runner and he does always seem to find a good pocket nice experience and and what i love about cody cress here is he just sits there at the at the line to gain for the first down and just you know schmidt rolls out and just finds him puts it on crest a couple steps more you move the chains deep owens the man who was in motion takes the handoff they love his speed he's from that carthage program that has won eight state titles in the last 13 years has a gain of three nice tackle by eddie hahn though haven't called his name out a bunch today transfer from uconn has been a great addition to that monmouth defense that sam linebacker position makes a nice play right there a little bit of the tension has leaked out of the building yeah with the 21-0 [Applause] lead schmidt going down field looking for ezra eddie morales is there almost came up with the interception it is incomplete though third down coming up and that's the one thing that mammoth needs right that that spark play that big play whether it's offense whether it's a 40-50 yard reception or a run or a big defensive play a take away a return they need something to get sparked here to get them going the only official turnover in the game was jalen thomas's interception again there have been twice the ball turned over on downs once with monmouth trying to punt so third and seven here for sam houston schmidt has two options uses his legs and gets out of bounds short of the first down so mama's defense does force a punt here nice job just keeping schmidt contained really nothing to do but put his head down in the run picks up a few yards but literally three yards short so i'll punt this away [Applause] morales will return from the 15. struck past one but a flag flies it's going to push monmouth even farther back more than likely be the sixth monmouth penalty and at least the third time i can think of they've started inside their own 15. during the return illegal block in the back number 27 return game half the distance to the goal first down media timeout monmouth will be backed up once again but still not dead yet 21-0 bearcats here we are the number two seed sam houston hosting monmouth winner of this gets north dakota state or eastern washington james madison vmi north dakota and missouri state all in this bottom half of the bracket all these teams fighting for one of the two spots in the fcs championship game in frisco texas in may monmouth its worst field position of the day starting from its own 10 already trailing 21-0 and again it's fari the kerry not a whole lot of room there but it is a game how do you approach this irini if your monmouth do you open it up and try and get back in a hurry can you do that i i think when they've gone tempo and they've tried to speed it up it's kind of been detrimental to them so i think what they're doing here taking your time and just trying to get something positive i mean got to string together some first downs and then you gotta break through and get on the scoreboard and then you can kind of dictate what happens after that oh complete pressure breakdown and musket is snowed under jalen phillips came right in untouched in 97 i believe chris scott was in there as well i mean that's an issue right there in and of itself look how many different names we've called out from the sam houston defensive line and their linebackers i mean everybody's making plays up that just goes to show you they're hungry they're talented and they want to get after it parents green the target spinning forward holding on to the football he juggled it but he has the first down sean mustin coming back to get the tackle for sam man i like those quick bubble and tunnel screens to the receiver good job good job of the offensive line getting out in front and good fight by terence green get that first out now they need to string something together a little consistency romeo holden spinning past one before he's surrounded by orange shirts he has a nice tough run by holding there trey fields number 43 among those wrapping him up really good pick up there on first down now you're second and sure it kind of opens your playbook up here yeah they've had a couple runs where far he's gotten exactly 10 yards and got in the first and i kind of thought he'd be better off stopping at nine not not that he can do that but it would have been better off if they had a play like this where you have some breathing room doesn't mean you're going to take a shot but it's a possibility green the target again hand fighting with cameron alexander no flag this time and i was waiting for the flag because they've been calling the hand jockey in that time and i don't think there should have been a flag i thought there was excellent uh coverage by cam alexander there 21. that's where you got to let him play extra tight end in the game for monmouth now on third and short jack neary is in the backfield on this right side behind the regular tight end gene scott the carry and he has the first down tripped up by trevor williams the linebacker and wrapped up by alexander a couple first downs now already starting this drive on your 10. this is no momentum you need now you're looking for that that chunk play right really get some momentum get some excitement try to get on the board and get back in this ball game [Applause] setting up the screen for gene scott and just in time trevor williams shed his block to blow the play up because there was 20 yards of space for gene scott i mean he's on the ground is trevor williams number one it's a middle screen uh to the tight end gene scott it's perfect but trevor williams makes an unbelievable play on his back i mean you've got nothing but green grass in front of you if you're gene scott if trevor williams doesn't make that play that's a 15 20 yard gain easily we thought the screen game might be an area monmouth could have success with how aggressive the sam houston defensive line is aj ferris threw himself at trevor williams and it wasn't enough and musket snowed under again marquel perry and that's just that the breakdown's too quick right side of the screen you see perry come down he's got his shoulder getting ready to spill it but the offensive lineman who pulls around gets caught in traffic is actually the tight end gene scott never even gets a pad on him markelle perry says okay i'll just come off and tackle the quarterback and again they've only played three games and you get this step up in competition you've seen some of the holes in the blocking schemes and the consistency exposed musket has to scramble there's room to run and he has the first down and if we can see more of that here in this second half i think that'll help monmouth as well tony musket making plays with his feet just getting what he can had offers from coastal carolina from penn he had said his dream was an ivy league school but picked monmouth they offered what two mays ago wasn't that long ago it all blends into one yeah as you said earlier in the open this has honestly been the longest shortest season of anyone's life sam houston has been here since june without a break monmouth had to send its players home in july before welcoming them back in september johnny moore couldn't find any room and that was trevor williams again the junior from a m consolidated high school over in college station he says i can make plays laying on my back and i can make plays on my feet as well running sideline to sideline [Music] he will cover ground in the middle williams and quentin brown the [Applause] linebackers [Applause] again a screen terence green with room to run he's looking for the big play on the opposite side of the field and he has a first down [Applause] and they're definitely having some success in those quick bubble screens terence greenman excellent job by that offensive line of mammoth get out in front throw some blocks and this is really you know the best series we've seen from the monmouth offense here and it started at the 10-yard line is sam backing off are they giving him more room like you said it earlier i just think it's the aggressive nature of the defense of sam houston that allows the screen game to get some yardage in there double reverse coming made one man miss [Applause] daimier miller ran out of bounds before he could really turn it up into anything true freshman they'll turn the corner picked up eight and the way it's been going offensively you'll you'll take that let's see tony musket 11 get out in front he's been getting hit all day he's like i'm gonna try to get a little hit of myself a little push and that should take us to the fourth quarter monmouth finally with something going the only other time they drove this deep they turned it over that's the end of the third quarter media they'll try and capitalize when the fourth quarter begins sam houston on a roll right now [Music] [Music] playoff football weather in texas in april sure why not we'll take it jonathan yardley arena and golia with you in huntsville texas a little over an hour north of houston where sam houston hopes they're headed to a quarterfinal home game hopes they're headed to frisco for the championship in a few weeks but they have to take care of business in the fourth quarter against new jersey's monmouth to do it best drive of the day for monmouth 13th play of the drive sees juwan fari pick up the first down and this rini is how you feel monitors going to look back and say this is what we should have done all day i just thought they were going too quick early and it was hurting themselves like shooting themselves in the foot just slow the tempo down and get positive plays and they've looked great on this drive now they got to finish it off with a touchdown here we'll see straight drop for the quarterback tony musket looking for treadway catch made inside the five they used him a lot on that successful drive in the first half as well to be first and goal for the hawks yeah good route by treadway looks like he ran a little post corner [Applause] got the db turned a little bit good patience by musket puts enough air under the ball gets it there to treadway and it's first and goal for monmouth they do go tempo jawan fari pulled down by quentin brown before he could find paydirt second trip to the red zone for monmouth again the first ended in a very frustrating play and [Music] interception after the briefly going tempo this is as much as monmouth will huddle it's going to go wildcat here musket spreads out and jawan fari will take the direct snap keeps it himself looking for a crease and he's just short he had some help from the tight end scott it'll be third and goal at the one and the one thing watching afar when they're in wildcat he's not a threat that we've seen to throw the ball so sam houston knows that if barry's gonna go back there he's gonna run and that's he just tried to pick his spot almost got in here but just short they're gonna do it again i don't know if i like this rini nine-man box juwan fari trying to climb on top of the pile he's in monmouth gets on the board here in the fourth quarter [Applause] and just good push up front and again they go wildcat we know they're gonna run it with fari the snap and just gets right behind the offensive line then just gets back into the middle of that pile right there he's just going he's going submarine and underneath and breaks the plane and you know replay can look at that all they want there's not enough to see anything there [Applause] that's a touchdown and they're going to go for two right off the bat trying to cut down this lead in a hurry little shovel for scott he's in for the two-point conversion [Applause] and i gotta believe they had some two-point conversion plays called that they liked that they thought were gonna be successful that was a good one and they go with it and it works a great job by monmouth to answer can the defense get him the ball back sam houston leads it 21-8 [Music] welcome back to huntsville texas monmouth with a big score cutting this lead 21-8 that was a 90 play or excuse me 17 play 90 yard drive for monmouth excellent job you know what i like is they took their time they didn't rush they spread the ball around and tony muskie did a nice job finding zach treadway right there fell straight away a couple time and then they say we're going wildcat with juwan fari we're gonna stick with it and on the second time he gets it in and then he go two-point conversion a little shuffle pass underneath to gene scott and they got eight on the board [Applause] some good room on the kickoff return from cameron alexander out across the 35. and we've been scratching out math equations here trying to figure out why monmouth went for two there it gives you flexibility later now two touchdowns in an extra point and you win the game well and again we didn't talk about you know the the gorilla in the room i feel their kicking game has not been good so it could just be that they don't have confidence in kicking the p-a-t and hey we're just gonna we got some two-point conversions drawn up we're gonna run them high school team lost a state championship game to a team once that would not kick an extra point they just they didn't have a kicker they beat us with two-point conversion sam houston the ball back at their own 35 they try to set up a screen that falls in the air and it drops to the turf almost the turnover monmouth craves you can see their defensive players so frustrated it's second and ten yeah that's a huge play defensively that boy they need and are looking for that would have turned the game for sure excellent job by kurt armour get his hands up there to deflect that they just can't come down with it but good pressure by the defensive line for monmouth so if you're sam houston are you conservative at all here in the fourth quarter are you full playbook well it almost looks like they're getting a little complacent dare i say it so you just gotta go back to what you did in the third quarter because you moved the ball excellent schmidt quarterback run game dives forward it'll bring up third and three in a critical one man i like that call that's a good call getting schmidt involved offensively there with his feet but we've seen this monmouth defense get three and outs in this game so none bigger than right here if they can get a stop and get their offense back the ball noah smith number six checks into the backfield often used as a receiver [Applause] [Music] under pressure that's caught by crest but he's short of the first down justin terry came over the top to haul him down and sam houston might have to punt and very good coverage from terry i mean he's on crest hit he's running a shallow cross what was sho so shallow he couldn't even get to the first down marker he makes the catch but terry makes the tackle excellent defense from monmouth and now you look at the monmouth sideline a little momentum going after that 17 play 90 yard drive for the touchdown you get a three and out offense the ball back so some good vibes for monmouth right now matt mcrobert to punt it away he'll take his time and put plenty of air under it for eddie morales to fair catch at the 14. long way for monmouth to go but now they've done it before and i'll be curious what jeff geller the offensive coordinator does here on this possession in terms of tempo and pace because listen [Applause] again fourth time monmouth has started inside its own 15. again they turn the last one into a 90-yard scoring drive [Applause] [Music] on that last possession i would eventually say we're going to see a few more here [Applause] avari the carry out near the 20. and again it was braden clopton there their leading tackler redshirt junior from gunter texas [Applause] daryl hawkins williams in as a safety for sam houston we haven't seen a whole lot of him earlier in the game but again one of the mccollum twins out due to injury that's behind gene scott he wasn't ready for it and clopton hit him before he could come up with it quite quickly monmouth faces its own third down yeah clopton's been playing really well the coaches talked about him being a nice surprise in the secondary couple plays back to back now on its last drive monmouth had been one for 11 on third down they were four for four on the last drive we say critical plays there's a whole lot of them in every game but add this to the list [Music] everything to the right musket wants to cut it back there's running room over there if he can find it has the first down as he takes a hit from a couple players ball came out but of course he was already out of bounds and he already had the first down it was marquel perry finally running him down i wouldn't want to be in a foot race with him well he knew he needed to get to the 24 to tony muska that's why he reached that ball out gets hit the ball gets fumbled out of bounds but this is just all tony mussett musk and athleticism he knew when he bounced it back side like that he had to outrun them to the first down and he did barely by the hair on his chinny chin chin but it's a fresh set of downs for the hawks the carry and it was hawkins williams who came up to make the tackle [Applause] and it almost looks like and fart really didn't have a bad first half but it even looks like he has got a little more of a pep in his step here in this fourth quarter running the ball he's got 20 carries right now we expected him to go over 30 today [Music] [Applause] nobody's more motivated for this one than juwan fari academically ineligible for the 2019 season they said that crushed him and then when they canceled the fall of 2020 that crushed him and he couldn't do anything about musket falling to a sack there as sam houston continues to ratchet up the pressure yeah and just good coverage in the back end must get nowhere to go and then the pocket collapses which it's done multiple times today fifth sack of the game for sam houston and markell perry had the biggest blow of that one and just like that you just had a third down conversion with muskets feet but now you're back third nine five in a row they've got [Music] there's the screen again make it six in a row for green falling across the 35. great call it you know and sam houston didn't blitz they only rushed three so they had multiple defenders but they're all dropping back because it was third and long you go underneath with the screen to terence green get a nice block at the onset of that play and then green lowers those shoulders and gets the first down asante kearney number 83 in at wide receiver for monmouth romeo holden is the back with fari getting a breather here holding on the carry hurdles won almost broke that had another three feet of uh field to run in but it is a good game and they're getting more movement now in the run game and although the tempo isn't super fast they are moving with a sense of urgency so i like what they're doing right now just trying to capitalize on their success they had that last possession [Applause] [Music] let's get ahead to let go of that a little early no flag jalen thomas was there he wasn't really thinking about the ball too much but that's all right you know you'll hear a lot of people yell he's face guarding his face guarding the defender doesn't have to turn around as long as he doesn't contact the receiver there's no such thing as face guarding uh in college football and pro football for that matter does he not contact him but with that said he does contact him there so could have easily been a black throw just throwing it out there he was a little shaken up has to limp off but does so in time another third down they picked up six in a row not this time trevor williams said no and blew it up from the start he has been a beast in the second half and it's almost like they've gone to that well so many times with the bubble screen and it was just like sam houston said forget it i'm just going right there you're gonna throw it again and trevor williams says not this time fourth down they're going for it play of the day right here so far empty backfield and a timeout taken by sam houston on the defensive side they were moving around in the secondary same we'll take the break with them and come back with monmouth facing monmouth trails 21-8 but they have been on the move they've been eating up clock and they have a fourth and six at their own 40 to stay in contention here picked up six of their last seven third downs this is fourth musket pressure got the throw away and completes it ezra archie his first catch of the day across midfield what poise by the young quarterback i mean he's just in the pocket it's starting to collapse on him they're coming after him and he knows he needs to make a play it's fourth down he puts it on his receiver archie for the first down ran into his own guide looking to set up a screen and winds up losing a yard that's the 14th tfl of the day you know monmouth was oh and two on fourth down coming into this now look at just the pressure it's collapsing just the poise the young quarterback stand in there archie comes across the middle he puts it on him and keeps the drive alive ezra archie transferred from james madison where he beat monmouth a year and a half ago [Music] clock running under seven minutes here it is a concern for monmouth but every time they've gone super fast the breakdowns have started he threw it before the intended target lonnie moore was ready for it otherwise the space was there yeah it was a good play call it just it didn't sync up just like that you're back to third long third and eleven i think we uh a lot of 12. and we know it is four down territory and so that's a good point so knowing that you know as an offensive coordinator and jeff gallo you don't got to get all 11 right here just get something right the main thing is to eventually pick it up and keep this drive alive now if you get it go ahead and take it move three receivers to this side they throw for gene scott he hauls it in wall townships own gene scott with a first down catch and good body tight end there six four 245 with gene scott just a little corner route musket puts it on on the big tight end goes up makes that catch and they do pick it up and convert so much more consistent here in the second half converting and moving the chains gene scott had two catches all year he's got a couple today and juwan fari fresh off a little bit of a breather picks up seven on first down yeah good burst there by fari and they go a little quicker here they feel like they have to taking a shot wide open monmouth is back in it the touchdown strike to terence green he's played three career playoff games he's scored in all of him and monmouth is alive and well [Music] and one of the notes i have for terence greene is must win one-on-one battles he's that good as a receiver well found himself wide open there down the seam musket puts it on him and it's an easy pass and catch he's mounting this on the board again keon torres field goals have been an adventure but extra points he's clinical 18 of 19. and now monmouth is down six can their defense produce one more time [Applause] six minutes left monmouth down six thrilling finish coming your way [Music] [Applause] y'all there's some life in this place we're hearing it from the monmouth fans the few who have made the trip the sam houston fans were responding to the monmouth sideline during that time out starting to feel like fourth quarter playoff football he was a little quiet in here well you know 21 unanswered by sam houston and just like that mama says we're not going away 15 unanswered of their own and you know we knew this team wouldn't be intimidated because they've gone on the road to hostile places before like jmu and hey it's going down to the wire there is kick into the wind returned from the six and he lost his footing and monmouth is feeling it right now they're pumped up they didn't do it a whole lot there but they'll take it yeah and so you know sam you should just kind of [Applause] quick break coming your way sam hughes go way back at sam houston 2001 josh mccown the quarterback northern arizona in the playoffs they come up with the w and rini they have never been beaten in a playoff game at bauer stadium 13-0 here it started the streak i mean they are so good here but now mohammed kind of threatening that streak [Music] 34-31 back 20 years ago 19 and a half and uh oh yeah the head coach has done it too 27-0 at division three rowan and at the fcs level delaware and sam houston when playing at home in the postseason sam houston the ball at its own 21. ife a day into some space and there's a lot of it closed down at the last second by anthony budd and that's a key when you get to end of the games you hear people talk about four-minute offense jonathan and i tell people all the time you throw the ball to score points but you run the ball to win football games and so in a time like this when you're up six under six minutes left you need to grind it out get that clock running get first downs and that's a great start with the dave with a nice run 19 yards on that pickup they'll fake it to a daily now throwback for him and he's locked up right away eddie han knocked the ball loose they're calling it incomplete monmouth clearly fell on it but the call on the field is incomplete pass and to me that's just a dangerous play call throwing it back like that the ruling on the field is an incomplete pass sideline warning monmouth there's no yardage associated with that suck it down and that's one of those plays jonathan and i think they got it correct i think it was incomplete but you got to be careful and it's one of those tweener plays right they they call that complete in a fumble and then it's disastrous i mean it was so close i don't isn't he putting it away to run i think he'd started to but i think it came out right away but it's one of those bang bang plays that whatever way it's called it could have easily gone mom this way there i just i just think it's a that's a tough play to make throw back like that against the defense it's now pumped up because they're they're in this ball game second and ten passing again they're not shy schmidt steps away from two and he's dragged down but boy did he do well to pick up five on the play he sure did and that monmouth defense is relentless not letting him get away and now a big third down conversion here again for sam houston and another lineman limping off that's thierry patton the right tackle [Applause] walter harris the third will come in it was not even a prime two deep guy yeah so now you got inexperience in there with a defensive line that's starting to feel it getting after it slide the tight end in motion on third and five in and out of the hands are through the hands and it'll be fourth down monmouth's defense holds again it was ezzard yeah just try to slip pass in there and just a little bit in front of them and good defense and they can't come up with it again i think that throwback pass is really what hurt sam houston i would just went with a nice downhill run get that clock run in now holy cow mama's gonna get the ball back didn't have to use any timeouts still four and a half minutes left in this game i mean there's an eternity left in this game and they're only down six by the way jaquez ezra won six yards mcrobert will just stand there if you don't make him punt the ball but that drifted out of bounds early let's see where it's spotted monmouth is going to have four minutes 20 seconds and 75 yards to go to pull off one of the big upsets in fcs football you see what they've done the last two times long clock eating drives lots of plays they don't have quite as much time but they do have three timeouts you dream about this and again they don't have to rush there's a ton of time they can keep that same tempo and pace they did the last two touchdown possessions good gain on first down seven yards the sam houston students are eschewing all social distancing on the far side and getting into this one i mean good job just beat barry get some positive yards and then again the bubble screen you know we're gonna see it we saw a bunch of them the last couple possessions it's all about sequencing when will we see it a low throw scooped up on one hop by moore so a third down coming here third and three [Applause] [Music] you're tony muskett you've been dreaming about this as a kid right four minutes to go with your own 25 and you talked about it would be a huge upset and arguably the biggest win in monmouth history definitely the long way away though third and three we know it's four down territory more than likely unless there's a big loss single coverage to the bottom of the screen he's looking for more terrific coverage by isaiah downs did just enough to throw off lonnie moore and now kevin callahan has a decision to make i think you punt it because you have all three timeouts and your defenses played exceptional but another good pass by musket and a ball that lonnie moore just can't come down with but boy it almost falls in the bread basket and that's why i'm up here and i don't get paid the big bucks to be a head coach because he's gonna go for it so right here for all intensive purposes it's your ball game folks one for one on fourth down today when truly going for it muskets going to change it play clock is running down and he didn't in time did they get the timeout called they did monmouth their first charge time out of the half will be a 32nd timeout i mean that's a big decision too because it's huge now you're burning now you have to get it yeah you know you have to get it exactly which it was probably already true anyway i just thought their defense was playing well enough and kind of sam houston offensively the last couple possessions just kind of going through the motions and i would have punted that thing away three timeouts just trying to play field position but you know everybody's got different philosophies and different thoughts and how you feel the game is going and they're gonna go for here can you run one of your two-point conversion plays here that you like so much if you have a three or four yard play that you just love and you know the offensive quarters have their sheet better call it now because if you don't get it season's probably over hold in the back rather than faring motions out single coverage everywhere musket one on one with pushing and shoving a flag flies the catch is made anyway and monmouth converts again terence green the target yeah they can decline that pass interference because terence green went up and man made a man type of catch right there jalen thomas they've picked on him [Applause] pass interference defense number nine pele's decline the resultant play the completed pass for a first down and it's just one on one on the outside musket puts it up there terrance green great utilization of his hands good control the body makes a great catch [Applause] with the pocket breaking down they're targeting him again thomas is flagged again did that four on thomas today it sure is and and so now thomas is just his wheels are kind of spinning because when the receiver gets by him he's grabbing interference 15-yard penalty from the previous spot automatic first down terence green is having himself a day and they're they're taking jalen thomas out and he's one of their best defensive players by all accounts coming in picked up four pi calls today and he was in a good position he just kind of fell off balance which i think caused him to contact him marmot at the 34. watch treadway has single coverage at the bottom of your screen [Music] musket looks that way throws that way treadway has the first down and now he's wrestled out of bounds can they pull this off rini this would be a houdini the last two possessions and third counting this one it's a different offensive theme they look different and they have momentum which means so much the last 22 yards may be the hardest fari tripped up at the line of scrimmage looked like joe wallace got him well and i tell you jonathan for the first time today as dominant as the defensive line for sam houston has been they look like they're on their heels now and they weren't like that at all uh coming up to this point in the game and now they're just kind of second-guessing themselves if wallace hadn't gotten a hand on him far he had room there but those are the big hips he did get a hand on him it's second and nine musket wants to extend gets it away lonnie moore the safety blanket stretches forward third and three coming yeah good job by musket just to get it out get something sam houston collapses makes the tackle fari the carry skips past one has the first down is inside the 10. monmouth is first and goal to potentially take the lead an injured bearcat will stop the clock officials time out for a defensive injury how pout monmouth though that sideline is alive this will be the upset of the year i mean there's no doubt about it i don't even think there's a question and again the momentum is just it's like a light switch was turned on monmouth a different team particularly offensive and again they've had patience the last couple possessions and they're methodically going down the field they're trying to win this ball game remember that two-point conversion that confused us it makes them breathe a little easier if they score it's a big if still here is our part of the bracket north dakota state eastern washington looking on with considerable interest james madison vmi north dakota missouri state as well wins this game and that this bracket's upside down now james madison who was kind of chip on their shoulder kind of disrespected they're back in the driver's seat for home field advantage and then north dakota state or eastern washington gets a home game i mean this is [Applause] unbelievable just handed the note the sam houston wind probability has gone down from 99 percent to 53 you can understand yeah sure can under two minutes to go first and goal [Applause] holding the carry he's locked up behind the line of scrimmage it's another big loss and it's jahari k responsible for it yeah there's the speed off that defensive end spot for 55 to harry kay good push up front couldn't give holden any room to go kay tracks him down for the another tfl for that defense still three chances yeah 13. to win the game potentially 10 on the play clock as musket checks off he's looking and zone in and out of the hands of green the coverage came from cameron alexander and it was almost picked by clopton but that was a ball that could have been caught i mean musket puts some heat on it the terran screen but you have to in there it's on the hands but really a nice job by the defender alexander to break that up but you know i was just thinking jonathan if you're a monmouth fan and you said yourself i got three chances to win the game with a minute left inside the 15. you'll take it yeah more and treadway to the bottom of your screen green to the top the receivers well they slip a run in here on third and goal trying to set up a screen he got it tafari the defense flying in and fari will drive inside the 10 but it's going to be fourth and goal at the 9 yard line for the win barring a penalty this next play will be it timeout sam houston referee beat me to it sam houston takes a time out there they're going to talk about it so one play for this ball game here unbelievable and we talked about listen even though it was all sam houston in the first half really only only up 14 nothing you knew if mama could just go regroup and that's how you know they're a good coaching staff kevin callahan so experienced they didn't panic they come out at halftime and they get it going offensively they don't really rush they take their time put two big possessions together two big touchdowns and now a third one here potentially to have the upset of the year sam houston led 21-0 when they scored with 13 minutes left very early in the third quarter they still led 21-0 when we flipped the field for the fourth quarter monmouth scored got the two-point conversion defense got a stop they came down and scored again after another defensive stop they are trying to go three for three and pull off a stunner [Applause] four wide juwan fari in the backfield [Applause] picked off in the end zone sam houston gonna win it the streak lives and the bearcats are headed to the quarterfinals isaiah downs with the play of the year for sam houston and you can't fault tony musket there you know they go they go three wise there to the left they try to spread out the secondary sam houston musket thinks he's got a receiver that he can get it to in the back of the end zone spins it in there just a defender underneath and isaiah downs makes that interception treadway was the target but you could see downes was the help junior from california and tony musket's going to think about those plays for a long time he should think about well what a game he and that young man is going to have a great career again a true freshman only upside for him in this monmouth program and kudos for the department program no give up whatsoever regrouped at halftime and boy to be first and goal at the line away from upsetting the number two seed in the tournament uh considering where monmouth football was even 10 years ago is pretty incredible and the growth we've seen back-to-back big south titles it means big things for them well and people i think you know just assumed oh mama's going to come down here sam houston's a power program southland coming to texas they're going to get blown out it happens all the time and it wasn't the case whatsoever and really and you look how dominant the defensive front was for sam houston with all 15 tfl six sacks and you look up and mom still had a chance to win the ball game if you're sam houston or somebody looking at sam houston where are their weaknesses now as a contender well i just think offensively i don't think they ran the ball as well as they needed to and get those first down and i don't really care what the number said it's funny because you look at the numbers and you got to do it at the right times and so i just think offensively they they kind of took their foot off the gas pedal just weren't really you know didn't play clean if you will in the second half five yard penalty second down the yardage pretty much academic at this point sam houston barring something a miracle at the meadowlands ish will advance to host the quarterfinal against north dakota state or eastern washington monmouth has one timeout left to stop the clock eric schmidt's gonna wait and make everybody from monmouth come flying in and that of course leads two more pushing but if you're eric schmidt you go back and you don't take the knee immediately then mom is still in this game they're trying to get a fumble so they're going to hit you yeah so i know it's getting a little testy here but it's not no fault of monmouth you're still playing until there's zeros on the clock so if you're sam houston you have to protect dejuan cooper was the man who was breaking in on the quarterback there was some pushing and shoving behind that as you saw north dakota state has been the team tonight there you go after the play time out monmouth their third and final charge time out of the half game clock operator please reset the game clock to 38 seconds 38 seconds please the game's over yeah 38 38 seconds is not enough take an immediate knee the game's over and you get look north dakota state has been every every team's nemesis in the postseason what 34 and one i believe is the number winning eight out of nine fcs titles eastern washington is no slouch so we're not we're not assuming anything correct if north dakota state comes in here what are the keys for sam houston in that you know it's so tough with such a short season obviously no trey lance in the spring for north dakota state and uh you know ents the new coach there in his second year and just everything that's gone on i just think it's so hard to predict and look because you think north dakota state of old i just think they're a different team than they were so i think sam houston has the advantage being that it's a home game and they play so well here but it'll be a good one if they can get through eastern washington well this was a good one sam houston up 21-0 going to the fourth quarter monmouth made him sweat it out and then some but isaiah downs interception in the final minute moves sam houston to the quarterfinals of the fcs playoffs 28-0 and home playoff games for casey keeler 14-0 for his program sam houston this was a fun one well and if you're sam houston too listen a win's a win right you're moving on and you had a little adversity for your team right you had to fight through the end not playing well hold on make a play make an interception in the end zone get through it so i think that kind of helps you as a team as well as you move through this playoff bracket or attempt to so sam houston the first to advance seven more games underway and getting underway over on espn3 and in the espn app so we hope you will check those out and check out coverage of the fcs playoffs on the espn app throughout april and may thanks so much for joining us this afternoon for our terrific crew everybody up in the booth down in the truck my partner reedy and golia i'm jonathan yardley what an effort for both these teams to get the season in and play this one monmouth threatens but sam houston survives to reach the quarterfinals just barely bearcats 21 hawks 15 the final

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 6,691

Keywords: 2021 NCAA FCS Championship First Round, Monmouth, Sam Houston State

Id: 5xBXrBfTZEg

Length: 148min 54sec (8934 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 25 2021