2021 NCAA FCS Championship Second Round - UT Martin vs Montana State

[Music] one of the great elements of taking in a game at bobcat stadium the national championship rodeo team leads the team onto the field the bobcats and their crowd fired up to be hosting playoff football kickoff around the corner [Music] we welcome you to bozeman montana the ut martin skyhawks off of that upset win over missouri state last week and try to go to the elite eight for the first time in school history montana state national seed trying to get back to the elite eight just like they did in 2019 so start of the weekend 16 teams left we'll whittle it down to eight today incarnate word is trying to pull off the upset over the national champion sam houston state winner of this game gets the winner of that one next week in the quarterfinals we're so glad you're with us with the former michigan wolverine marcus ray connor onion on hands we mentioned that upset for ut martin a three-score underdog without their conference player of the year at quarterback keon howard and dresser win was fabulous in the win last week sometimes it takes two quarterbacks to win the championship last week win did a fine job throwing the ball down the field he managed the game took care of it he could make some better reads but he's going to have his hands full today against this montana state defense but him aired out a ton he's got two great backs next to him but threw it 43 times last week on the other side the story also quarterback you may have heard by now matt mckay the starting quarterback for montana state announced his transfer about 48 hours ago so to be a new starter behind center today yeah that's a big loss as you look look at the numbers but tommy malott he's a guy that can get in there and run the football expect to see a lot more quarterback runs not as many passes as they throw with mckay but he did a fine job against idaho a few weeks ago when that offense was sputtering three touchdowns for the guy from butte america local guy getting a start today freshman getting his first start in this environment with these stakes and he'll have the ball second ut martin dresser win with the winds in their face you can see from the kickoff that wind is howling left to right across your stream 20 to 30 mile per hour winds in the face of dresser win to begin it him and jason simpson teamed up great game plan last week win through the game-winning touchdown with three and a half to go yeah and that's what you have to do is score when needed take care of the football manage the game and just don't get outside of yourself see as he's completing almost 66 percent of his passes and we'll see how he starts off this first series played in front of about 5 000 last week triple that crowd today they have practiced all week ut martin has dealing with this noise the bobcat fans and the opening snap of the game is going nowhere peyton logan is swallowed up by the interior that defensive line the freshman sebastian valdez makes the play it's very imperative to have success on first down against a very stout defense they're gonna have to win up front i like the call trying to establish the run to take some pressure off a win montana state's defense one of the best in the country allowing just 13 points per game and this run versus run will be terrific to watch today ovc leader in rush yards on one side big sky leader in rush yards on the other side something's going to have to give and with this type of wind you see it's blowing hard expect to expect both teams to come out running the football because there could be some errant passes you don't want that ball to get the sailing on you and turn it over so there are those wins we were talking about dresser win into that wind in his face with a loud environment on third down to open up the second round and that pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage and a three and out to begin for the bobcats defense it was chase benson that made the deflection [Applause] it's a great deflection coming off the edge if you're taught as a pass rusher if you can't get to the quarterback in a quick game situation get your hands up that helps the defensive backs out and it also gets that hand in the throwing lane [Applause] so passing game will be interesting through the win so will the kicking game for tyler larko and ut martin in this first quarter and it's andrew patterson back to return it and a low kick through that wind is bobbled and ut martin benefited on two turnovers on special teams last week patterson does corello yeah they earned her money last week 10 points off of those two special teams quarter turnovers as well all right so what a moment tommy malott does get the start you know around the bobcat fan base this week externally around the nation a lot of people thought okay 48 hours our quarterback transfers what are we gonna do who's gonna start the plan was since last tuesday malot would be the first team guy and we'll see the type of offense that they run it'll be a little different not as much drop back as you saw with mckay look for quarterback run [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so the first snap as the starting quarterback for the local products tommy malott is to the old reliable up the middle isaiah and fonseca already over a thousand yards in the season he moves the chains well i like the play call they make you defend the entire field with the jet sweep action holds those linebackers and you hit them right down the middle that's a great play call on first down so fonte has benefited greatly from the bye week getting a national seed to help tim get fresh and he looks strong in his first two carries yeah first team all big sky running back likes to go north and south in between the tackles and when he gets six yards like he did right there puts a lot of pressure on that defense he falls forward he you know it's 5 10 200 pounds he's great center of gravity lower center of gravity yeah nice strong compact running back defonsey will mix it up a little bit with elijah elliott today a lot to throw for the first time and all three touches for a fonte but he's met by nicarius stevens the middle linebacker clinched the game last week with the interception you want to see a textbook tackle from the linebacker position playing in space that's what stevens did you put your face on the ball you hit and you rap this defense is athletic they're very active and they're disruptive him and john ford in the middle of the ut martin defense last week big part of the win against missouri state the second throw on the rollout from a lot incomplete looking for nate stewart and let's see what they'll do in this part of the field at the 36 with fourth down and medium coming up i like the call because when you have a quarterback that doesn't throw it as much you want to get them outside of the pocket or you want to get the ball out of his hands as quick as possible and that was just a quick stop route to stuart they're going to take a look at it and see if he came up with it but i think it's still four down territory all right so take a look at it nate stewart was there had a touchdown late in the montana loss for montana state a couple of weeks ago to close out the regular season so it'd be fourth down and four as they go to review and this was uh look number one here from that angle it looked like he got his hands underneath the football and he's lobbying for a catch and we'll see from this angle here [Music] that looks like a catch i mean it looks like even if the ball touches the ground oh oh oh oh i think the tip of it may have hit i was gonna say the nose yeah right there see the hand is the left hand is on the outside of the ball not underneath it but the right hand is be interesting to see what they come up with there was the the bobble two i don't think on the bobble it hit the ground again but i think you're right the nose of the football who's down there at the beginning [Music] the ruling on the field stands fourth down all right marcus so fourth and fourth freshman quarterback making his first start brent vegan kept the offense out there to begin on the initial call well when you look at the field position 36 yard line you can either try it for a long field goal with the wind at your back or you can come out go four down territory but when your defense got a three and out like that on their first series then your offense can take more risk check out the creativity to keep the ball stabilized with the wind right now 30 mile per hour wind at the back of montana state right now foot on the ball make sure it doesn't wiggle forward yeah you don't want to lose that spot either so a couple of first downs on this drive for montana state with the fiance and on fourth and fourth they do trust me lot and it's incomplete over the middle looking for willie patterson and after those first downs ut martin does get off the field on the lots opening drive well you'll see they came off the edge with some edge pressure looked like baker had a free release free run a lot i think he could have held on to that ball for a half a second longer and gave patterson a chance to get in that shallow cross route a little bit more it was a tough tough catch and he put a little bit too much on it too figured first start big crowd a lot of family here today for tommy malott maybe some quick decisions early for him yeah and and you know that was his first drive he's probably getting some of the jitters out and he doesn't throw the ball as much but they're going to need him to throw the ball today we'll see how this defense it was a responds three and out for dresser win and ut martin on their opening drive he's swinging out in the stream game and nothing doing there there's the all-american on two sides of the ball troy anderson the big fella player of the year on the defensive side in the conference got off the block right there he just plays well in space he's 6-4 235 i mean he's a special teams demon i mean he's just a guy that's played a lot of football and and he's going to need to make more plays like that just got invited to the shrine bowl this week he'll be headed to the nfl underneath that zoe roberts this is a guy that has to have a big game today robert's at wide receiver well that's one way you can get your run game going as a throw some short quick passes and they're usually and they're utilizing three receivers to one side trying to spread them out to widen those backers out of the box i i think he could have got a few more yards stepped out prematurely now the corners zambrano and woodard typically show press but gotta look out for number 11 top side for ut martin donnell williams will not get single coverage today almost 200 yards receiving last week yeah you're gonna have to keep a guy in front of him and don't let him get a free release looking opposite of williams to rodney williams and that's batted down that's the safety trey webb up to make the play that's a good read though by train he actually was playing quarters coverage in the cover four technique and he robbed the curl he was right there almost made a great grab right there but that's just a good break on the football i think dresser win kind of locked in on this guy to give webb a chance to break on that so you're going this direction to the field marcus it's going to be hard to throw to the field side with this type of win seen wind go to the boundary a couple times in the opening two drives [Applause] marco keeps it low again on his second punt and patterson is tracked down and walloped at the 20. [Music] back and healthy this week making the special teams tackle a lot montana state back after this you're watching the fcs championship second round from bozeman montana conor oni and marcus ray from bobcat stadium it's been a defensive start our opening three-plus minutes and ut martin has brought some people here long flight long drive for some from martin tennessee but packed in on this windy day and we've seen the wind already played big factor the opening couple of touches yeah it's definitely effective play calling in the decision to throw the ball down the field so the defensive backs would jump into short routes because that's all both sides are running this very easily could become two different games first quarter to second quarter it's montana state that has the wind advantage going this way and maybe a little bit too much wind for tommy a lot derrick snell the intended target i like the car because you get the play action run with isaiah and fonzay you still have the quarterback run element right there and you're hoping to catch the defense with their eyes in the backfield that's a good play call to keep that defense honest with a one-on-one matchup for snail he had devin sims beat at safety definitely and i'll tell you as a former safety it's tough to cover those tight ends especially when they out match you by three or four inches you don't want to let them get behind you so tommy malott the offense did drive it down inside ut martin territory on that opening drive but stalled on fourth down milot has been used as a wildcat quarterback as a wide receiver special teams player but now the signal caller for the first time this year with the transfer to matt mckay earlier this week here's what he does best running the ball but not much space there to carve anything out he stopped the line of scrimmage at stevens again yeah stevens is playing lights out he's playing fast he's actually reading his keys and as the edge rush it's just triple option football and you have to do a good job of playing with your eyes but they like to crowd that line of scrimmage and when you run that zone read that edge player if you can trick him then you got action off of another play fake form a lot he's got that one complete there's the top target by pretty wide margin for montana state could get to a thousand yards today lance mccutchen that's a good that's a good route good play call get behind those linebackers on a backside level route if you're at safety devin sims you're gonna have to hit that a lot sooner and the quarterback run element showing up on third down chain mover for tommy miloff it's a lot easier to run the football third and shorter as a defense you just have to survive the down and reset but if you want to get a lot going keep the ball in third short you mentioned what he did against idaho a couple of weeks ago three touchdowns to spur that win here at home touches have picked up from a lot quite a bit over the final month of the season and now picking up to the biggest that they'll be all season today another positive gain on first down through the run before landers can get to it well when you have a running back like isaiah it really opens up the quarterback run and right now this offensive line is playing extremely well i think they're winning the battle up front especially on that right side those guys are recreating the line of scrimmage and you see that now but second and three we've got a ton of experience from left tackle to right guard for montana state rush reimer is a new starter due to injury to tj session and off the left side this time it's malat carving out more space he's got another first down that was just all in my line i mean when you watch his second and third effort he just starts out athleting people he's used to running the football you can't let the ball outside the defense if you're carson evans as you see there no one else that's just a great individual effort he knows what to do with that football when it's in his hands marcus he had four guys there boxing him in yeah that's just poor run support angles trust me they'll hear about that one if if they don't get a stop on this series ut martin's defense it did allow yards last week four defensive turnovers out of the six that they forced but in field position like this this is where they did a lot of their work in getting the ball stripped out of there playing summoner on the carry there well they're well this this ut martin defense is long they're athletic they play fast i think you can trick them from time to time and then as you saw they'll they'll lose leverage on some perimeter runs but if they can keep the ball inside in front it'll give them a good chance of having a chance to stop the run whether it's the quarterback or the running back it is a unique look for ut martin sometimes in a true three down sometimes more of a five man front and back-to-back run stuffs this one with malot and it's corbin harmon making the play so third down this is the spot pretty much exactly that brent vegan who's in his first year most wins for a first year head coach in bobcats history coaching in his first fcs playoff game since the 2013 national title game when he was an assistant at north dakota state and let's see if this is two to get one time again this part of the field a lot thinking about getting all of it at once and there's nate stewart similar design to that play that was reviewed this time a clean catch and a first down well that time it was better ball placement stewart ran a good route stayed alive he's found a soft spot in the zone watch him a lot i like how he stopped and planted his feet because it was it was a design rollout but he was able to pull up square shoulders and deliver a good strike well that's been the big question heading into this game if it were to be malot starting what would he offer in the passing game and he's buzzed a couple of balls in there early got a flag down here i think you have to call certain plays too to get them going [Applause] what you were saying about the the play selection with molot back there has a lot to do with play selection whenever you know your quarterback's strengths and weaknesses i think play caller is imperative this drive started all the way back to the 20. they've driven it down on the arm of malot and on the legs got a first and five after the penalty and with the wind at his back my lot is chased down ut martin gets home it's pickett in there with jacquez aikens who's healthy had the concussion against southeast missouri state and what a turnaround in a couple of weeks for him to play they did a good job of disguising their their blitz i don't think the offensive line knew exactly which guy was going to blitz and come inside or outside so they caused some communication problems and that protection akins had to watch last week's game back home in mississippi he was carted off the field they ripped his jersey off it looked like a potentially long-term injury just had a concussion not just a concussion but looked like he was much worse at the time off the pitch is near another first down he's right at the marker [Music] i like the call because when you line up your formation to the wide side of the field it takes all the defensive backs over there and they came with the speed option you'll see they're just one man short if you pitch that ball right time it up so a little tempo and back to avon say with akins in there again and he didn't get it lost a yard or two yeah that's a big play by robert hicks number five who lost his helmet running off the field right here that was a big play getting in the backfield on third and short see he has to take that play off but that was a big time stop on third short i've seen skyhawks defense played to the crowd a couple of times it's great atmosphere in bozeman trying to quiet him down so a chance for the first points of this game blake lester with those 30 mile per hour wins at his back this one from 43 for glesner and that twist wide [Applause] so not a win straight at the back the wind that swirls and curves a bit and no points yet in this opening quarter of the second round [Music] [Applause] all defense in the opening 10 minutes conrady and marcus ray back in bozeman missed field goal from 43 for blake lesner gives ut martin the ball back and nowhere to go on the ground early in this game this is very similar to the start of the skyhawks game last week didn't have anything in the ground game in the opening half before they exploded jason simpson got a little creative with their splits their formations to get some more on the ground game late last week yeah ovc coach of the year getting that 100th win getting these guys going on a big road test again after nothing on the ground there's the star from last week donnell williams he's got a first down across the 40 for the skyhawks you got to locate number 11 williams that's how that's a good call off to play action and opening up that middle of the field they like the running from the short side because that's where a lot of the one-on-one matchups are so he got 15 on that first down play most of his plays last week on his way to 170 plus went for 25 or more so it could become another pass type game for dress to win with the way that the ground game has gone to begin yeah and they want to establish a lot of balance offensively run pass keep the defense guessing not going to see a lot of pressure from the bobcats they can get home with four they like to play coverage and martin doesn't want them to dictate the flow there's a very deep defensive line for montana state byron rollins had that last play went out to the edge with a lead block from the tight end peyton logan does get some positive yards oh that's that's just a good execution on that left side of that line you'll see shanahan 66 but watch the tight end too rodney williams right there that's not he could have got caught with a hold in his his pads his hands are outside of the shoulder pads at the top it wasn't caught that's a great block and that's why that play was able to go i think callahan o'reilly the quill linebacker would say yeah definitely a hole i'm telling you [Applause] rodney williams traditional wide receiver to begin his career in the spring and now into the fall playing more at that tight end spot let's thread it in to williams depends at the spot needed too it may have gotten just enough he did you got about two and a half i'll tell you what and that was awfully close he caught the ball and slid but he got right to the marker to move those sticks 15-yard catch a two-yard catch down that williams must be wondering what the short-yardaged stuff is after some top busters last week gwen has to dump off the first down play so that is the big key that is the big key for montana state they have one of the best pass defenses in the country and seeing one of the hottest wide receivers after last week and donald williams yeah you don't have to change anything that you do if you're the bomb catchers play coverage get to your spots keep the ball inside in front but definitely have to keep the quarterback in the pocket but they took that initial throw away as you see 6-3 205 williams big-time guy out of st louis you got to keep an eye on him you do single him up here but to the ground and logan's got nothing tai o up from that nickel spot in run support second down is a big screen and draw down and this bobcats defense is well coached they snuffed it out that was excellent run support though by three tackles last week you know he to play this nickelback position he's the perfect size 511 190 ish can move around you have to be able to cover play in space and be a good run support guy in a blitz [Applause] spread out he gets the assignment of rodney williams the tight end with heat in the face of wind he stands in and he loves the fades to donnell williams with the wind that knocked it down a little bit and it's fourth down looked like williams had a chance to catch that football he jumped prematurely and he had his man beat water that's good coverage by the true freshman but i think if williams kind of stops and goes up like a rebound catch the ball at his highest point but that pass has to go high and outside and i think the wind affected that throw that's the exact look that ut martin did burn missouri state on a ton last week one that montana state wanted to avoid and having him singled up the special teams has been strong for ut martin to begin this game rob hicks coming up to make the play and we go to break [Applause] marcus i know we were both checking the winds or the uh the weather early this week saw 60 degrees potentially for kickoff but it might be a nice offensive day but didn't factor in the wind gusts up to 43 miles an hour today it is hal lane i mean you saw those flags getting ready to come off the pole so defonsey on the ground to begin this drive and he gets hot by john ford nice pickup and afonsee has had space to run early in this game that shows you the greatness of the font saying he took a shot from the blind side here by four the textbook tackle handling that football luckily that that shows his strength and conditioning but that was a nice tackle by four fonte's 5-10-205 but is very good between the tackles doing just that running through arm tackles and driving it up to the 35. it's a good run there and when you can run the ball effectively two plays in a row start to wear on the defense a little bit watch him push the pile second ever ford's there again threw him off but those offensive linemen once they see a pile they'll start pushing in the back to get those extra twos and fuse twos and fuse after some initial contact for ifonce taylor house wright the offensive coordinator for the bobcats said that he thought if fonse would be a great wrestler because of how he breaks tackles definitely he's tough he's feisty he's going to take more than one guy to take him down most times he gets a breather and the other back sumner springing free and into ut martin territory ball came out after he's out to the 45. that zone blocking scheme is really working you'll see they'll let the edge guy go he has a decision to make if he gets too far up the field then there's no one there for run support and then if the quarterback pulls it you have a decision to make so elaine sumner this has been a banged up running back group if on say elijah elliott's dealt with some late season injuries and contact on the throw out to mccutcheon and the 15 000 bobcat fans wanted the flagging so did brent vegan his headset did not that was good coverage though by jay woods and you'll see it iso bump and run press coverage oh definitely yeah he definitely got away with one there as a former defensive backhand we don't never get any slack but right there i think he got away with one it was good coverage he didn't even have to hold to be honest thank you for your objectivity i appreciate that so out the back door off the fake to sumner milot is chomp down o'shea baker had that tackle on special teams and what a play that o'shea baker made to close out the game last week had the hit to charge the game-winning interception big-time play i mean baker's the guy that makes plays and you saw it right there but it's getting physical out here connor all defense could one score win this game you're watching the second round of the fcs playoffs from bozeman montana terrific atmosphere here connor onion marcus ray holds about eight thousand seventeen thousand seven hundred seventy seven to be exact pretty close today packed in and through one quarter of a defensive first quarter in round two on a third down tommy mallott makes a guy miss has the first down inside the 30 for the bobcats and as a defense you have to expect quarterback draw some type of screen especially coming off of the quarter switching that's a long time out that was a good call but a great run by malak making two guys miss already over 100 yards on the ground for montana state still looking for points though and into the wind that is nearly intercepted jay woods in coverage john mccutchen dropped the potential pick i'm not sure if you want to throw that ball right now with this wind is gusting i mean high and outside you saw the last time you two arc tried to throw it deep to the same spot it didn't work good coverage though by woods he's a fine looking corner 511 185 out of birmingham alabama he he can play that press coverage and stay with a lot of guys he's telling waving people off saying hey i got it but i think the bobcats could run the ball more effectively down here with a short field instead of trying to pass it especially with those gusts you're talking about just saw that knock one down for milan so he keeps it in the short passing game and nearly jumps looking for stewart out there and vincent guy let's watch it here see that technique it's called a bail technique and the reason you shuffle your feet click your heels is to check for short passes so you can break you don't want to fly out of there in the back pedal that was a great break by vincent guy and he almost picked it off now if you're going to be a riverboat gambler you either pick that one off because that's either feast or fan before a touchdown flag is out on the hard count shot play is intercepted carson evans has the pick for now but there is a flag down and this will likely come back from the offsides they went tempo we'll see if they got the defense to move here and anytime you do get a free play you might as well take a shot long as it's not on you it's a good play man that ball is moving through the wind cutting in five or ten years outside defense number four in the neutral zone at the snap five yard penalty from the previous spot remains third down that's a corner jay woods lined up offside yeah he's impressed coverage and just like any outside wide receiver you have to check with the official to make sure all you got to do is ask your hand and you'll see where the ball is he's all the way up if he puts his toes on that line yeah he's offside definitely just by alignment now third and more manageable for tommy montana state this is the third time that they've driven it down into ut martin territory looking for points for the first time and ifonsay got near the sticks needed five got four i like the call you want to get your best player going north and south running a football put you in a situation where you can run the quarterback or you can run a fonte again and get the defense on their heels i just don't know if you attempt the field goal and disgusting win maybe especially not for brent vegan in montana state after the wind just took that last one with the wind at their back and you saw the total yards advantage and a lot of it's on the ground more movement up front blow this one dead and a free first down likely david dubose was the initial one for her before a little ruckus in the backfield but as a defense that surprises me that you would fall for the hard count that's the number one rule for a defensive lineman is to watch the ball especially in forking on or short yardage situations then we may have had a little extra curricular activity in the backfield by onoma number one [Music] unnecessary roughness number one that penalty is happy this is to the goal first down so you're one play for ut martin from getting off the field now you're one play from maybe giving up a touchdown yeah now they're inside the 10-yard line that's just a costly costly penalty though by iyabi unema just getting a little a little unnecessarily rough after the play especially when the whistle blew he got into fonzay's face gave him a shot noma the alabama and houston transfer it's been a long winding route to get him into the fcs former number four player in the country five-star guy too i mean he's big-time though so first and goal for the first time today and that's drops snell came free from a lot sims had coverage i like the call trying to get the defense sleeping everyone up on the line of scrimmage you get a little play action here i like my lot's play action though he threw a good ball that's just good defense i mean sims got that inside hand up knocked it down that's a good that's just called good football yeah not dropped knocked down more accurately sims making the play had a couple of those last week in the win against missouri state so eight to get the touchdown sticks are down and patterson got nowhere to go if you're gonna run the ball on the on the perimeter against this defense you're gonna have to get a reach block especially on under i mean he got up the field and they really snuffed that one out and i think they've had more success running in between the tackles or even if you go quarterback run don't be surprised if tommy malott runs the ball here back-to-back plays for devin sims one on a knock down one in the tackle up at the line setting up third down and goal with montana state looking for the first points of this second round game [Music] they do throw it this can turn into quarterback run and milot gets close to the goal line and he is just short [Applause] we're marking him right at the goal line and the officials have come together on this spot john ford may have made the touchdown saving tackle was the knee down right there knee is down before now from yeah well short of the line [Music] that's a good stop good tackle and that's why you run to the ball you run to the ball good things happen but what an effort by tommy mulatto third down and goal to even get down to the one-yard line if he would have stretched that ball out touchdown the previous play so the initial spot they had him at the half yard line linesman line judge come together pretty cool touchdown and now we go to review yeah and i think it's review worthy but that first shot we saw it looked like the knee was down well before he even got close to the line and it looked like he rolled into the end zone but from the side tip your cabinet forward for making that tackle left knee goes down right there at the yard and a half ball is not even close to crossing the plane and right there he bounces into the end zone but it's good defense good effort by the lot as well never too early to look ahead right with what we think will be a call that comes back so potentially fourth and goal from the one and a half keep the offense out again i go for it if if i'm the bobcats playing at home you're having success running the football in this championship football season now if you want to take the three try and field goal after he already missed one already missed one going the other direction now they have the wind in their face but i i think you can go for it here you may score if you don't you really put this offense in a bad situation look at the textbook tackle though knee goes down clearly the left knees down before he gets across the line but we'll see what they come up with back to your point about potentially keeping the offense out in september you wouldn't but in december you would definitely it's championship football and your defense is having success or one of the best defenses in the country only giving back the runner's knee was down and the ball is short of the goal line it will be fourth down at the half yard line the clock will start and they're ready for play so half yard line so a little less space to get it in and yeah already a couple of fourth down conversions one on a penalty kept this drive alive and brent vegan said it doesn't have to be a sizable huge advantage in the line of scrimmage today but it does have to be an advantage biggest test coming right here you see i'm going for it on fourth and one i think that's the right call [Applause] all right so mulat ruled just short setting up this fourth down and goal [Music] and they keep it with malat and no doubt this time he's in first points for montana state in the playoffs [Music] you can tell by his body language the way his feet were staggered that was 100 percent quarterback sneak i like to call he found the crease right over that left side kept his feet moving he only needed half a yard to get in you see the celebration for the freshman filling in for matt mckay getting the first point to the game [Applause] early in the second quarter and with milan on the ground montana state over 100 yards on the day with this touchdown capping off that drive on fourth down montana state takes the first lead trying to get to the elite eight today [Music] got the bobcat fans going first score of this second round game with the winner getting sam houston state or incarnate word and it's time for push-ups for champ seven of them champ getting buffed look at that form already pretty bob oh didn't he get this the tony atlas on i aged myself right there that little moment of doubt there on the squip kick that's part of the wind-blown day here in bozeman so penalties were a big part of keeping that touchdown drive going yeah definitely in the fourth and short right there you get the off the offsides on the defense and then you get the unnecessary roughness tommy malott did the rest watch the move the effort they reviewed it then he got the sneak on the next next timeout that effort right there though got them down to scoring position after two plays of no yards before that a lot in his first career start today puts his team up first trying to get the winner of sam houston state incarnate word so dresser win first time with the wind at his back today and he's at about 80 health-wise he used to be a 4-7 4-6 guy in the 40-yard dash but ankle surgery in the spring doesn't have quite the capability to run as he did last time or last year so there you go some some balance you know most of it as we expected is through the ground from a lot so far but he has moved him down each time they've touched him and he's and he's gaining confidence with each series you can tell balls out fumble on the snap for dresser winning a negative play there to set up third down involved yeah it's it's it's getting tough for ut martin to move the football and they just haven't got into a river couldn't really run the ball effectively and this front four for the bobcats are really dominating but this secondary's playing lights out too they're just not giving up anything to jump into short routes double teaming the uphill routes and that win that wind has been howling and has had us played a big factor for both teams throwing the football 30-plus mile an hour wind at the back of wynn and ut martin after the bobcats scored against that win and that is well underthrown looking for zoe roberts who is behind the sticks but quick drive three and out yeah the wind is at his back right now it's really tough to or right hand quarterback especially the throw to outside of the numbers you see good pass rush there by grieving going up and under took a shot there dresser win in there for keon howard [Music] keon howard the ovc offensive player of the year win with his first start since 2018 last week no points yet for ut martin some space here for patterson in the return game got a lead block and into skyhawk territory and still rumbling inside the 30-yard line off their worst special teams game of the season montana state where the first big special teams can play in this playoff game coach vegan told us during their off week they had some competitive spirited practices and special teams definitely wasn't emphasis great job of fielding the punt first of all but when you get outside and set that wall up look at the wall that they set on the right side good blocking downfield great job of flipping the field getting essentially five first downs to start off your drive in a sudden change situation giving your offense a short field [Applause] so willie patterson's big return and now you don't have to drive it down to this area the spot that montana state spent every time that they've touched it today definitely and they really executed well down here the last time especially tommy malott running the football [Applause] so best field position for either team today montana state trying to go score a three-and-ounce score and the lot barely goes down on first contact and escape the man in the backfield to pick up a first down [Applause] i like the call there song read action and right here you got to stay on your feet if you're akins you cannot let the ball outside the defense he dove on the ground you want to keep your outside arm and leg free and make that ball cut back if you don't tommy mulatt will make you pay a little forearm shiver on an all ovc player right there aikens shed it in the backfield quarterback run back to traditional run afonse moving the pile ahead so this was why montana state wanted to go with milan whether mckay transferred her or not quarterback run as a threat everything gets easier on a fiancee too yeah if they make you defend the entire field because you don't know when malat is going to pull it or what he's going to give it fortunately as a defense to walk those safeties closer to the line of scrimmage puts a lot of pressure on the corners but they make you defend the entire field they keep you honest pressure on milad and stevens gets there he carries stevens from inside linebacker already three or four plays that he's popped on today yeah he's playing fast and and he actually walked closer to the line of scrimmage the lot pointed out the pressure and that offensive line just didn't get the communication on that left side lewis kidd zach red those guys are going to have to get the get the appropriate count the head count in the box if they're going to pass the ball what brent vegan was talking about this week will they plus one us in the run game meeting will they stack that box they got home on the lot in the passing situation there and contain is there on third down and long got a couple back to the initial line but anoma looking for a little redemption after his penalty makes a play that's that's a better job of keeping the ball inside you saw stevens get there too those guys you have to get up the field don't let tommy malot get outside the defense i think that's a big stop at at least keeping him out of the end zone starting in a sudden change situation on the short field to force a field goal attempt so miss with the wind at his back from 43 now into the wins at 33 for blake lesnar and he sneaks it in there for back-to-back scoring drives for the bobcats to go up 10-0 that time he was able to get his foot underneath the ball and got all of it concession stand coffee maybe flying away with the wind today they got that thing anchored down yeah trash can't get ready to tip over but look at the action though you got backing that thing up over there the concession stand having a good time when you're when you're winning 10-0 and having a good time in this great college football atmosphere man look at the mountain specter that setting is amazing backing that thing up that's exactly what i would have said i was narrating that picture that's what he was doing [Music] love that connor onion marcus ray back-to-back scores for montana state in the second quarter to go up lesnar from 33 yards up yards out the latest one and now it's dresser win and ut martin coming out for what feels like a very critical drive we'll see what they come out with here this next drive well hey espn's coverage of the fcs championship continues next weekend with complete quarterfinal coverage on the espn family of networks for more info go to ncaa.com the official online home for all 90 ncaa championships but yeah it feels like ut martin's got to do something here yeah at some point they're gonna have to get some momentum going and flip the field give the defense a chance [Applause] so three and out in the last drive and they take a shot joe roberts has been targeted by win a few times today that's the first time they've gone to him up top though it's good coverage though by simeon woodward out there at the corner playing zone reading the high shoulders the dresser win and getting underneath that football i mean you have to be careful throwing the ball vertical especially with this win keep it on the ground with that wind in mind and peyton logan already over 1 000 on his season gets a first down first big positive running play for ut martin yeah and he got some good blocking on that right side and then he he did all of the rest i mean logan showed you his cut back ability watch the right side here then he gets that foot right there gets up the field makes people miss it's a good run ut martin staff said that if the play is blocked it's going for logan as callahan o'reilly nearly had the interception on the steamball well richie griglione he was wide open too that's a good read though by wind but he didn't see o'reilly in that passing window you'll see it right there he doesn't tap the ball right there you'll see 88 griglione he was wide open and possibly could have had a touchdown [Applause] o'reilly has the reputation of being a physical run stopper but also has a couple picks on the year roberts underneath and it is o'reilly that tracks them down so you see the backward and forward ability of callahan o'reilly coming up yeah he can play front to back he's a good zone cover guy dresser win made a good decision throwing a football short to roberts i like the catch and run by roberts trying to get what he can get but it's a critical third down here at midfield they can get this first down and continue to move the football they can possibly get some points out of this drive but this is where montana state makes their money in third down you don't get up 13 points a game by letting people driving down the field [Applause] opponents are at 32 percent on third down one of the top in the big sky and that's an inside ball from wind that nearly got picked and it was woodard with his second play on this drive yeah water he played good press coverage too man i mean that time he jammed him up it went zone but you'll see he's just draped all over the receiver and almost had a chance to intercept it roberts wasn't able to get any separation but that was a that's a good pass breakup i mean those guys been knocking balls down all season perfect technique too that stance he's a gunner on defense on the punt team but he plays corner just like that he's good body control footwork saw the up backs come up to the line of scrimmage different look for ut martin on special teams and no big return this time for willie patterson so after great field position led to a field goal for the bobcats they are backed up inside their own tent we'll try to score on three straight drives when we come back item number seven on the list of ways we can show you it's very windy in bozeman today saw the coffee there's uh your people backing it up that's right you see those flags you saw trash cans almost getting tipped over people hold on to their hats and the football flying all over the place interestingly montana state against the wind they've gotten all their points in the second quarter their worst starting field position but there's that wrestling type ability we were talking about with the fonts that's the third time they've run this play when you fake the jet sweep you got a fonte up the middle and did you always have the threat of malak keeping a football but i like fonte's ability to get up the field especially going north and south he's not very big but he's powerful he's explosive part of the reason that he's rushed for over a thousand yards for the second time in his career fourth in the fcs fourth in all the country and rushing yards heading into these playoffs and more powerful drive for a first down for rapunzel [Music] devin sims did a good job of making that tackle he could have went for more but they're really blocking look at the rush yards though tommy molot is out west ut martin by himself almost doubled him up as a matter of fact yeah with that that's why they haven't gone three and out today now first downs on all five of their drives and each of them have been inside ut martin territory at one point this would be the most impressive one for tommy malott isaiah fonse and this montana state offense started inside their tent they rolled out him a lot and he's got to complete out to patterson big special teams play for patterson earlier and he's close to another montana state first down it's good roll out played ever expecting pressure getting a lot out in space but watch the sweet feet tap dancing on the side he stepped out of bounds right on the 30-yard line that's a good job by the officials but you see patterson with the nifty moves after the catch it's great to see him healthy he's dealt with a couple of collarbone injuries early in his career and he's been in there for all of it this year he's having his first healthy season after 18 and 19 had those injuries a little bit slower games to end the season patterson making a big impact today and velotta the great spin another surge off that initial guy that touches him and he's got another first down that's all tommy and defensively for ut martin they're just really [Applause] they're losing their poise and the run gap in tech integrity and especially off the edge you have to be able to make that play the ball can't get outside of that defense but they have to tackle better too i mean they're they're struggling to tackle tommy mulatto akins and melody have matched up a couple times in the backfield milotz won it both times and his pass is batted down jamarius landers guy they use in a couple of different spots in the ut martin defense makes that play yeah that position is called the jack the jack linebacker and and they're an edge player but man that's it he batted that one down he easily could have caught that possibly took it to the house 6-3 245 out of deerfield beach florida big they've got a lot of different guys that they can rotate into that jack spot him the yabia noma giovanni davis has played quite a bit there this year and after the knock down my lot still will not be denied on that first contact somehow makes that a positive play got one jay rogers had an initial hand on him or my lock getting up the field but you got to get a lot of hats to the ball it's good play by ford ford's been very active 18 you see big fella he's just running he's hitting his plane in space he's communicating they're going to have to wrap tommy mallott up with two hands and and get him behind the line of scrimmage second leading tackler john ford waited a long time to get this opportunity he's a sixth year guy second season as a starter his defense has him in third down and that's incomplete with vince and guy out there and after another first down for montana state the next three plays only go for a yard and the punt's coming that's a good stop for the defense and i think that's why they punted the ball ut martin so that they can at least try to get some field position but watch vincent died to the left it's a good break good footwork may have got there a little early but that ball popped didn't look catchable to me and it was it was a little under thrown but that was great coverage and defensive backs is the hardest position to play to me honestly as it pertains to calls and playing in space and reacting to people there's the guy we know well before you're giving credit to the wide receiver punt rolls up takes a ut mart bounce at the 35 so three and a half to go in the half and ut martin has not been able to move the ball much no you know what connor i think both teams have struggled driving the length of the field [Music] even though the bobcats have more success getting first downs but the last field goal they started on a short field but when you make any team at this level drive 85 90 yards they may get a player too as a defense the percentages are in your favor right now ut martin has to come up with something offensively to try to get some points before the half got to midfield on their last drive before they did pin montana state deep with that field position in minds win underneath and through the hands of peyton logan where he got pops by troy anderson yeah they really tried to space out the defense putting the wide receivers both of them almost outside the numbers they tried to get logan matched up in the middle of the field wasn't a great ball but let's finish it up though big hit there could understand why you might hear footsteps with troy anderson moving that's troy baby he's been around defensive player here you better locate 15. but they were trying to get a one-on-one matchup with logan and anderson in space [Applause] that's zipped out to the sideline marquel odum involved for the first time nothing downfield yet for dress or win that's where they carved out so much of their offense last week but not against this pass defense so far no and they're facing a different animal too i mean these bobcats have 13 interceptions on the year and they will keep that ball in front of them it doesn't go over their head much they play a lot of zone coverage and they're good at it and they can get home rushing forward [Applause] so another third down and long for dresser win and he goes to the field side and mark well loaded with back-to-back catches and he is right there you talk about running your route right to the sticks that was right on the nose for a first down yeah and give dresser wins some credit for staying alive he was under duress as they sent the zone blitz after him to get some pressure in his face but you'll see this curl route here you got off man coverage he sits down right there at the sticks got a pretty good spot good catch marquel odum was injured the final couple of weeks of the regular season came back last week actually at negative yards on five catches pass incomplete this has been a banged up wide receiver group you mentioned griglione earlier the tight end who came back colton dowell their top target went out mid-season donna williams has had injures injuries of course at the quarterback spot dresser win filling in for keon howard too yeah you see his numbers not impressive seven for 16 38 yards some of it has to do with the weather he has to throw better balls but then this defense really has given him some different looks and it's been tough to complete the ball in those patch windows fake the pass go to the draw peyton logan out a couple of yards short of midfield so what are you thinking here if you're ut martin's offense are you thinking get a field goal before the half are you aggressive and take a shot try to get seven well with two minutes left and three timeouts at midfield i don't think there's any rush i mean but they they do need to get a first down here and then that conversation could change see coach simpson he calls the plays and he knows what his guys can do but i don't think this is four down territory unless you can get three possibly four close to the sticks time out for ut martin to mull it over before this third down i think i i think that's a good time out because this is a very important third down i want to talk to you guys you don't want to take those timeouts into the locker room if you don't have to but this game is still relatively close you have an opportunity it's the second time in a row they've been near the 50-yard line or beyond at the same time i i expect him to throw a curl route like he just threw a couple of plays to go like to odom or give a little bit of play action but you got to be careful because the bobcats have presented a lot of pressure on third down they are two for seven on third down hey it's uh v week at espn our partnership with the v foundation highlights the urgent need for cancer research and the elimination of racial disparities and cancer outcomes you can learn more and help support by visiting v.org donate 100 of your donation goes directly to cancer research always think about jim valvano during this week of course with his impact on basketball and the great speech that he gives i always try to i was trying to watch that once a year man i remember watching the game when they won the national title i mean i was a young fella it tells you how old i am but i saw that game and they got tipped in at the end and the way they stormed the field but such a great story a great movement v week gotta gotta love it all right so third down for dresser winning the skyhawks look for something to the wide side of the field they got trips into the boundary look for a slant route [Applause] look that way first then back the other way and right at the sideline zoe roberts secures it for the first down that was a good catch with his hands and it was in tight quarters too he really wanted that pass to the field good job by wind going to his other progression watch the catch though with the hands standing bounds understanding where to go now they got now they're in business 134 left on the clock right in front of a guy woodard who's made a couple of nice plays in coverage today too yeah simeon's been all over the field that time he got away from him all right so 1 30 to go until halftime and a retreating win he's got nowhere to go with him it's good pressure by the bobcats they know that they sit back in that zone a little too much wind will pick them apart that's how they forced him to hold on to the football they took away the short passes see coach simpson trying to get these guys going spacing wasn't really there for the wide receivers but these linebackers are starting to figure out where wind wants to go and it's in between the numbers and the hash mark the loudest environment ut martin has played in this year so roberts had the catch for first down but that's not getting past trey webb the all-conference safety coming up to make the play third team all big sky also a couple of all-conference selections at the fbs level timeout that was a great tackle by webb and youtube martin was expecting roberts to make him miss and he raised up and threw a now route where he just raised up and throw it to a guy he doesn't run any route and and he wasn't able to make him miss that's a good stop and we'll see what they come up with on third third seven here see right here watch this tackle by when he breaks down right there in space and makes a good open field tackle whenever you see a jitterbug receiver that got sweet feet that can make you miss you want to take the air out of the cushion that means take separate minimize the space in between get to come to balance as a defender and then whatever move he makes you take him to the ground that was a textbook tackle playing in space for young trey webb a big hit for them from san jose state this time a year ago is playing in a bowl game for the spartans now in their first game of the fcs playoffs the bobcats trying to take a two score lead into halftime look for some action to the wide side of the field dude they got spread out pretty good it might try to dink it to the running back went to roberts that last time they do go to the field and that is gloved away okada the nickel that's a good play in space by connor being able to break on the football there was a lot of a lot of real estate to that left side and that ball kind of sailed [Music] dresser win a little bit but that's a good pass breakup and a crucial moment of this game they get a very first down there they probably could have got some points on this drive but that was an excellent job because they were going to try a long field goal here all right so this is the interesting thing wind at the back for tyler larcode in the altitude he's trying from 58 before halftime and does the wind give it enough it does not accurate but short for tyler larco [Applause] [Music] 58 yards that's a tough one even with the wind he was about four yards short there got all of the ball that he could put his leg right to the tip with his foot followed through now let's see he's just shy he's dead down the middle that ball fell short but that was that was a good effort though i'm not mad at the call trying to get some points with the wind at your back you gotta take advantage of it sometimes that would have been a career long by a lot previously 42 was his career long [Music] so shutout stays in attack for the bobcats defense and 112 to try to extend the two-score lead for tommy and they do let them throw tucks it down big first half of the ground from a lot carries on into ut martin territory with a first down that's what you can't let happen forced him to throw that football but once you get out of your pass rush lanes you're at his mercy and he's making people miss he got out of bounds and the bobcats are trying to get some more points on the board both him and afonse well on their way to over 100 yards it is a fonte on first down montana state takes that first time out of the half with inside a minute to go that's how you keep a defense on it's just to run the football mix it up running back quarterback but if i'm ug martin i'm really not expecting a lot to throw the ball down the field especially into the wind i would send some more pressure after him and try to force him to throw it you play zone he's going to tuck and run [Music] so by the end of the day we'll have just eight teams left in our bracket sam houston incarnate word started an hour before our game the winner of this game gets the winner of that game in the quarterfinals villanova did beat holy cross last night and sacramento state and south dakota state it's another big sky team sacramento state won the big sky championship i saw south dakota state by some people actually favored on the road in sacramento today you know where anybody can win at this stage i mean i know the number by your name comes with respect where you're seated but once you get in the true tournament phase it's all about how teams match up weather plays a factor you saw last week for ut mark six turnovers in their favor played a factor and and so these coaches know i mean they understand the stakes and when you prepare montana states had two weeks to prepare for this game lick their wounds from their last loss they look much much improved offensively and defensively can't slip past decarius stevens he's been impressive this first half yeah he's he's been productive and disruptive and he's living in in that backfield he's actually reading the offensive linemen and flying around this young man's trying not to go home he wants to play another week they're used to playing in big games won two tennessee state titles with the golden tornadoes at union city high school in tennessee there's the threat on the ground for milan he's got another first down but the ball is out and ut martin's on top of it jay woods looking for six what a big turn before the half [Applause] and that's the risk you run you take when you run your quarterback that was a good run by the lot too he just didn't protect the football this is what ut martin thrives off of his turnovers points game-changing moments and that was a moment that was something they needed to give them a spark especially to get some points defense have been reeling the lot got them rolling and then they knocked the ball loose great job of scooping and scoring was his knee down ball looked like he came out before hit the ground but that's called a stupid score that's a textbook scoop by the young man jay woods wow yeah wow so they will review it john ford forced it out and then jay woods took at the distance and that looks pretty clearly out and when you run to the ball good things happen i mean the lot have been making people miss he even had two hands on the ball in traffic and the ball just got knocked out it's just a bang bang play you'll see it right here boom ball comes out before he hits the ground and there's that man again mr ford he's been making tackles down the field after review the ruling on the field is confirmed touchdown tennessee martin ut martin's offense has had nowhere to go it's been the bobcats driving the ball down the field could have maybe headed into halftime 13 up maybe 17 up now maybe a three-point game well you saw the split screen both coaches still even keel they understand that plays like that will happen [Music] so jay woods with the scoop and score 16 seconds left and jason simpson and ut martin feeling a lot better about where they're at now definitely i mean anytime you get a score on defense i mean it has to ignite your team and see brent vegan just standing there he's been in a lot of big games he understands that his offense turned the ball over something that they really haven't done very much of this year i mean they're right at the tops of the conference and protecting the football not only the conference but in the country so you see time for fewest turnovers lost but that one right there number eight it's very costly we'll see how they respond but that type of momentum going into the halftime erases anything that happened as we take another look john mr ford knocks that ball out on how fitting for ut martin they won a game last week forcing six turnovers that's how they get their first points today and it seems like that's what they live off of if they don't force turnovers then they're just an average defense and and as you saw the bobcats have been running the ball moving it possibly about to get some more points but when they turn that ball over they're a different football team well the other thing for montana state is they'll get the ball coming out of halftime too but now a three-point game this was last week couple on special teams yeah the the long snap are running down brock powers recovering one then one on a kickoff and then the great play that o'shea baker made to close it out getting stevens the pick yeah when you win the turnover battle it really increases your chances of winning and you see those guys there they're around that football tremendously so and to think that you just saw that entire package of turnovers those were only half the turnovers that they forced last week three interceptions three fumbles right there you got a scoop and a score to end the half you've got to be feeling good about yourself if you're coach simpson so the bobcats are potentially looking at the full belichick score going into halftime and then getting the ball back to start the second half but the scoop and score for jay woods shocking the crowd some uh explicit fingers flying too i think i saw uncle uncle moe in the stands uncle momentum he has no loyalty to anybody i smell them [Laughter] all right we hit halftime it's a three-point game in the second round as tommy milan in his first start a couple of big moments with the fumble changed things before halftime jay woods to the house to make it a three-point game good one rolling in bozeman [Music] never been to montana do it pictures tv screen the cliche is right don't do it justice come out here see it for yourself good one rolling in the second round of the fcs playoffs scoop and score by jay woods made this a three-point game for ut martin at the end of the half back with the wolverine formerly marcus ray connor onion and uh you look at the stats break breakdown in the first half it was pretty much all bobcats but it's only a three point spread right now yeah all three phases offense defense and special teams all matter ut martin couldn't get anything going did you see those numbers right there the rush the rush yards for montana state really make the difference but that turnover right before the half and look at the time of possession yeah the rush yards really popped too almost 200. befonce and milot did a lot of that at quarterback and running back and it was malata got it rolling yeah and one of the things he was able to do was get outside the defense fight with some design quarterback runs but you see the effort there and he really moved the chains and hurt that ut martin defense and right here he was able to spread out past the ball on a big completion but he's thrown the ball fairly well too yeah he has and it was his running ability that got them out of trouble he got them a touchdown on a fourth down and goal after review took his initial touchdown off of it but it was him extending plays that later got him into trouble on the scoop and score for jay woods yeah and give credit to the defense john ford running to the football making plays all in his first half textbook tackle ripping that football out you have to be disruptive and this defense lives off of turnovers something that helped them last week they're more efficient with just the one turnover in this half and it's a three-point game montana state will get the ball coming out of half second round of the fcs playoffs winner gets the winner of sam houston state incarnate word and tight one through the first half thanks to jay woods scooping score maybe some tommy malott relatives out here today from mute seeing him make his first start for the bobcats he's slinging it around at halftime yeah doing a fine job look at the energy in the atmosphere here with the second round playoff game in bozeman weather was very favorable i mean this is this turned out to be a pretty good first half with pretty good weather 57 wins but the win did play a factor early though when they montana state missed the field goal came back made made one and i think it's really affected the long ball both teams struggled throwing the ball vertically so half number two begins with tommy malott and montana state getting the ball first and this is facing that win with the kickoff for larco elijah elliott back to return it and across the 25 to set up shop for the bobcats offense yeah the the huge advantage yardage-wise offense defense special team like you said was in montana state's favorite a lot yeah two-headed monster other than the fumble i thought they played a pretty good game and methodically ran the ball picked and chose whenever they went quarterback run give to the fiance they got to get back to get positive yards on first down sorry about that here's a fiance to open up the second half on the ground pushing toward that 100-yard mark and devin sims eventually stopped him to get out to the 35 so really no secret to it with milot starting they want to run it and they've run it well today yeah he really just had to one bad play it cost him seven point six points but at the same time what you just saw on first down is what they had all kinds of success doing is running the ball in between the tackles on first down so a gain of nine for a fonte on first down and off of the fake it's a lot straight up the gut move the chain with the run so each time they touched it those opening five drives first downs every single drive moving on the ground moving on the ground got into scoring position a few times but did leave points out there yeah that was a design quarterback lead off to play action to a fonzay he went blocked the linebacker and it was a short yardage situation and i think getting malach going north and south will prevent some of those turnovers too so three straight runs to begin the half that's the crazy thing about that not only does montana state not turn it over but had two hands on the ball and ford's still stripping yeah it was it was textbook ball security i was surprised that ball even came out but ford got his left left arm in there and ripped it out and it just happened sometimes but for the most part i think for a freshman tommy malott has played an outstanding football game making his first career start after matt mckay the starter all year transferred announced it on thursday and four straight runs two first downs and this is the play before the half that john ford made jay woods took it to the house yeah he had two hands on the football but ford got that right arm in there big play jay johnny on the spot he was able to take it to the house but the ball security was there it's not like he didn't protect the football carrying it like a loaf of bread you know that's going to get back to jay woods you calling him big play jake so ground and pound for montana state to begin it against a very good run defense ut martin was first in the ovc and stopping the run but it's five six yards of carry right now elaine sumner the third different ball carrier well i think what montana state is saying let's get in the phone booth let's go toe-to-toe and they're gonna run it right at you this offensive line perkins and red and those guys are doing a great job pushing the defense the running backs not even getting touched for the first five yards you got all those bodies in there too for ut martin brent vegan and montana state running right through it so they stay with sumner and the first look at a pass in the second half from a lot out to patterson complete along the sideline two yards shy of the first down it's a good call on second down second down is a good sprint draw roll out and for tommy malott rolling out to his right just a quick out simple throw forces the defense to react a little sooner but it gives them a third and manageable in the way they've been running the football for coach vegan i think he feels good about his chances especially in this area of the field patterson who just caught it it's been an emphasis for montana state to get him the ball down field a little bit more that one underneath but it's a piece they'll look too likely to complement this great running game in the second half as a fiance running with a purpose for a first down [Applause] using that zone blocking there they've really created a wall see that wall they're all in concert and when you block that edge rusher it forces those linebackers to step with the with the action of the runner he'll cut it back that was a good run by fonseca dairy's had a lot of them coming off a season low in rushing against montana had just 50 yards but got there and then some and just one half alone already over 100 yards they faked the flip to him with and he's inside the red zone close to the sticks again you get a little speed option action and you got a quarterback who can move and groove in space and a very good running back in the fiance i really like the speed option right there quarterback keeps it and that defender has to make a decision you make that edge rusher wrong every time which 100-yard rusher do you choose that's the the bind the defense is in there and ifonze going backwards right now in this rush offense well for ut martin defensively you have to play assignment football with great eye discipline you have to do your job one guy is a quarterback someone else has the pitch you see fancy 17 rushes 118 yards longest has been 18. he's been very productive this entire game very steady a first drive of the second half that's already chewed off five minutes of the clock doing it on the ground with three different ball carriers one play through the air that was the pitch out to patterson mostly on the ground to get inside the red zone there's that option look the other way and this time ut martin does make the play with john quiz akins coming up nice job playing the option better that time tough to run it with old john ford over there everyone you'll see someone on the quarterback aikens on the pitch it's good assignment football that time they took it away it's a big stop though inside that red zone area it's all about numbers though conor if you can get the numbers over there you can stop the option if they catch you one man short it's gonna be a problem got eight in the box on second down so they do go over the top and snell nearly had the touchdown he ran that play earlier a little bit differently he ran it with the tight end by himself john ford right now he is playing football and it's tough to play the run first and then turn and try to chase a tight end down the field that's a well-coached linebacker right there and it makes a tough throw he got his body in the throwing lane forced a lot to put too much air on it that's a play a lot of teams score on at this level in in the nfl it felt like this drive for ut mark or for uh montana state was destined for a touchdown and that's backwards that ball is free and ut martin's on top of it but now they're saying incomplete so incomplete pass o'shea baker got on top of it so there is a clear recovery if it were to go to review but the screen pass gone wrong for montana state at best is incomplete and fourth down at worst it's ut martin ball well he throws it see where he throws it from the 12 or 13 yard line ball gets batted by dubose but it's hard to tell because the ball got batted so quickly i mean the ball is eight yards six yards from where he threw it it has to be determined when he throws the ball when it gets bad it was was it going backwards and that's going to be a tough one to call because the ball never got a chance to hit the ground first to show us if it was a lateral or not zach read the left guard that was injured on that play two and a half year starter for the bobcats yeah big red's been playing well he's a reason that they're they're running the ball so well effectively with a font saying andy malott very fortunate there that was an incomplete pass and not a turnover so the miss in the first half for glesner was deflected by corbin harmon miss came from 43. redemptive down the other way into the winds this is again with the wind at his back [Music] lesnar from 30 yards out to try to make it a six-point game and he splits them [Applause] oh duffel ball just went inside the upright you can tell that win wasn't factual tim wakefield would have liked that one the knuckler to make it a six-point game [Music] 30-yard field goal for blake lesner gives the bobcats points out of halftime montana state building on their lead they have not trailed since going up 10-0 and the uh guys down in the end zone getting push-ups in show champ earlier got to get it in man you got to get that workout in when you get points on the board [Applause] and that kick from glessner no doubt for a touch back with the win so it will be dress or win and ut martin coming out for the first time in the second half hey espn's coverage of the fcs championship continues next weekend with complete quarterfinal round coverage on the espn family of networks and espn plus more info at ncaa.com the official home for all 90 ncaa championships the winner of this game feeds into the winner the sam houston state incarnate word game montana state looking for a third straight season going to the playoffs where they win at least one game went to the final four in 2019 and there wasn't much doing for ut martin on the ground in the first half but a good start with peyton logan shedding a tackle yeah logan showed some good footwork with the jump cut making a blitzen linebacker miss and and if they're going to have a chance to take the lead they have to be able to run the football but when you got o'reilly and anderson in that middle it makes it really tough they sent some pressure on first down because bobcats know if you get martin backed up ut martin backed up they struggled a little bit on second and third and long but a positive start after the run play fake for win running away from trouble and daniel hardy couldn't quite get there and that's out complete a first down to greg leone who's back from injury this week after not playing in the first round that's a great job by win extending the play and you'll see greg leone he breaks his route off right at the sideline he understands the situation it's hard to stay with a guy in the scramble situation good catch for a first down eighth catch on the year for greg leon not used a ton in the passing game but things look to be opening up a little bit zach wallace chews out positive yards it's a good run another first down win for ut martin they're starting to get in that rhythm inside run using that patient zone blocking and these running backs are finding creases now that they couldn't find in that first half and it's partly because the bobcats are blitzing one linebacker and they only have one guy remaining on the inside they have a six-man box back-to-back carries for wallace and this time hardy does get there after he was chasing wind down in the backfield one of the best in the country certainly one of the best in the big sky daniel hardy definitely gonna get a look on sundays i wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get drafted he's an exceptional pass rusher good special teams guy works hard sets the example for all the young players right there that's a good job 6-3 223 so he he has the body type to play a lot of different positions in the dirt this year for daniel hardy hand in the dirt on third down and five for hardy and that bobcats front and win to williams who's had a quiet day so far after the big first round and he had woodard matched up with him again yeah they might want to leave number nine alone oh simeon woodard he's locked down that corner especially in third and short he's taking away that five yard stop route i know wind wish he could have got that one back but the fact that he can't scramble and run and hurt like my lot if the defense isn't worried about him tucking and running so they're just playing coverage forcing him to throw the football now wynn was very honest when we talked to him yesterday most guys going to a playoff game would say yeah i'm at 100 but he said no i'm at 80 percent after the ankle surgery the shoulder surgery earlier in his career and him and the skyhawks give it back to malat and the bobcats offense going away to break here in bozeman mid third quarter six-point game you're watching the fcs championship second round with all leads leading to frisco texas conradian marcus ray and bozeman that's the m trail out there talking to some people here locally that's a spot you got to check out before the flight tomorrow yeah you won't catch me on that trail buddy uh trying to try to finish the game and call trying to have a career here buddy i thought you were tougher than that no but i heard it was a good trail though a lot of people who visit here go there and they said it's not too bad it's a good experience you got to go to the back side of it go up the front side the uh the cavs will start burning oh yeah good workout good experience too it's a great atmosphere we gotta get an injured player for ut martin down on the opening play this drive the big fella jay rogers that's who it looked like yeah rogers the wretched sophomore out of memphis being checked on right now a guy that they need badly to slow down this bobcat rushing attack right now yeah and they played a three-man front so it's not always easy to stop the run but a three-man front you have to send your fourth and fifth rusher from somewhere exotically try to confuse the offense and i think when when you see the bobcats lining up with a seven-man surface with tight ends and h-packs they kind of outnumber you a little bit big fella had something going on one of those lower extremities good to see him walking off on his own so rogers anchors that three-man defensive front like you're talking about with austin pickett david dubose you know they like everybody across the country they sub in a lot of different personnel up front but they don't give especially pickett in the middle a ton of breathers up there on the front line they they play a high percentage of snaps throughout the year for ut martin yeah ut martin came into the game only giving up 128 yards average rushing i mean that's that's extremely at the top of the food charts when it comes to fcs football defense so that three-man front they've been very effective they got athletes on the perimeter standing up too the replacement for jay rogers is corbin harmon who has started before started four games this year for the skyhawks and back to the ground with the fiance and it was you know five six yards of carry to begin that last drive and it's been two or three to begin this drive setting up third down yeah and the bobcats are doing a fine job of staying in third and short two and it's you have a higher percentage of executing and moving to change when you're on third and short as a defense you're going to have to force the issue and getting that backfield send more people on that third and short defense squeaks through toward the line again he's got it needed one got two first down the name of the game is to move the chains and if you're montana state you want to shorten the game move the chains flip the field and play field position and you don't want to beat yourself the only time martin got on the board is when montana state fumbled the football play fake to a fonte and a bullet into patterson he's been the top target of milan today and he's right at the marker near another first down for the bobcats and what you saw in that play is used a run to set up the pass and he forced the one-on-one patterson ran a comeback route so you fake the run malat sets his feet gives a quick throw and that's a tough comeback route to stop especially when you're a corner playing by yourself on an island because those safeties now have to get in the box to help stop the run that's a good executed play by the bobcats got 45 attempts on the grounds six balls com completed for the offense for the bobcats today and staying with their strength with tommy malott across the 45. tommy malott is a downhill runner he's sneaky fast too i mean once he gets his shoulders going him he's he's put together you see those guns right there i mean he's he's tough to tackle former gatorade player of the year in this state coming out of butte have a feeling that today with that run that's his first 100-yard rushing game of his career have a feeling that this is the first of many to come from a lot i think so too and and i like how they mix it up with option and zone read and quick passes he's handing off to a fiancee drags a couple of skyhawks with him to move the chains one more time on the ground so is over 100 yards a lot's over 100 yards so the goal of having a more quarterback run oriented offense has helped defonsey it's helped the offense as a whole for montana state you're definitely in they didn't run the quarterback very often with uh matt mckay sometimes when it's falling apart it might be falling into place and this is exactly what they want to be able to do with their quarterback offensively is use him in the run game final week of the regular season they had under 100 yards rushing late third quarter they're already there with just two guys alone sumner kept his balance for a minute before getting dropped by stevens don't be surprised though if they come back to this play because watch right there malat did a good job of handing that football off and reading it he had a guy in the backfield see landers back there and forcing malot to give it up but if landers goes inside a lot he pulls that when it goes around the edge see right now they're in no rush they're in control they're running the football or even clock and protecting their defense [Music] fast moving third quarter with all the ground game for montana state that's right into the heart of that three-man front john ford in the area so is and it's third down and long defense was expecting quarterback draw as we mentioned second downs are huge draw and screen rollout package see malats numbers should have russian right there 239 combined so it's an excellent two-headed monster but when they get into third and long they can still run it but i think as a defense you know that they're probably going to pass it look at that ut martin had nobody with their hand down the ground and a shot play is just out of the reach of lance mccutchen he's their big play guy nearly struggling for his first big one today you see jay woods the man with the scoop and score to get those seven points let's watch his technique when you're in press coverage you want to it's called feet open hands at that time he just opened the gate and let mccutchen run by him there but you want to shuffle your feet get that inside hand on the hip and turn and run young man was fortunate that that ball wasn't complete and it's truly hard to start from the 20 and 25 30 and go to length of the field that's a good job by the defense [Music] o'shea baker back to return the punt then makes the right decision on the reed too much behind it on the pinewood from bryce leighton so this is still a one-point game despite the success on the ground for montana state ut martin back out next because you can't make them rematch well jason simpson and ut martin trying to come back in this game got gotta give a big congrats to his son ty who said it to alabama they just won the 2a state championship within the last hour they're playing in chattanooga tennessee today so mind a little bit split throughout the week coach simpson obviously couldn't be there but congrats to ty and westview uh their to a championship as this drive begins with dress or win going backwards and jason simpson uh will celebrate later with his sun tide not happy about that yeah he's got some business attend to as we see lack of ball security there we don't know if that ball is wet or if it's cold but congratulations to the simpson family big big week you saw the graphic with the 100th win that tie going to bama bama and georgia right now going at it in the sec title game this is no better time of the year than right now to win after the ball was insecure goes down with a herd of players there of andre williams in and so was byron rollins leading the charge [Applause] this bobcats defense understands the situation they're playing with more urgency you see they're on third and two sticks they're running a defensive stunt tackles crossing a lot of confusion on that offensive line you see guys you see guys standing around and that means something bad happened that means you didn't block and that was a good defensive call there by the bobcats you could slice that three different ways in the sack daniel hardy got home too and the four fingers are going up here in bozeman one score game just like you liked it in playoff football heading to the fourth quarter definitely and when you you turn the ball over get some points here's the deal one quarter left one score is going to determine who goes home and who stays we'll be back here in bozeman get him champ [Applause] welcoming back to bozeman a careful call on a third down opens up the fourth quarter third down and 14 and peyton logan on the inside run gets forward and set up a punt to begin the fourth yeah both teams are playing to the defense it's really tough to get a first down and third and two sticks you don't want to make any mistakes in this area of the field you want to play field position play defense and and give your offense a chance to score more points but you don't want to make a mistake especially in this area keeps it away from patterson who had the big return earlier and patterson is tripped up o'shea baker got down for another special teams tackle and with how montana state has moved the ball on the ground you wonder how long it might be before they pop a big one well the thing is i think both teams have done a good job of not allowing the big play defensively and they wouldn't be playing in the second round if they were those type of defenses but when you look at how montana state got their points they got it off a big return they got it off decent field position and a couple of penalties early on and that means ut martin was beating himself so i think both defenses are playing well i don't expect to see any big runs but at the same time both teams have the capability to do so the guy just pictured dicario stevens him and john ford have had a big part in what you're talking about with no big plays well right up the gut for tommy there is a big play into skyhawks territory and touchdown tommy springs a big one let me tell you what you do connor you take everything i just said and you delete it from this telecorrect this telecast because he just did exactly what we that i didn't think could happen as well as both defensively playing but when we show you this replay you see this play design the way they sold that jet sweep that's a big play for 16 and i bet you at halftime he told his guys after that fumble i owe you one maybe phil he owed him one then he goes 73 yards to the house to make it a two-score game again and the chance at tommy are out and the extra point is missed like lesnar so it's a 12-point game not insignificant one thing we do know [Music] is he ran a 74-yarder against cal poly but look at the athleticism the freaky speed the young freshman in his first start to the house [Music] tommy balot 73 yards out some do it against idaho and against cal poly with the big run and he got one in from short yardage before but now we see him leg one out for a big play for brent vegan to put him up two scores well you know what that offense needed something they needed a big play and they got it in the run game right when just as you asked when do you think it's going to happen if ever and the very next play takes it to the house but i think the play call and design was perfectly executed sometimes you run into one castleberry brings that out across the 25. so this was that big explosive play for tommy off of that great fake you're talking about everyone went with peterson on the jet sweep those linebackers vacated the middle of the field and a lot did the rest i mean he's essentially a running back once he gets in space and you can use him a lot of different ways got a little taste of hill similarities jumping off here you see the numbers mulat 180 by himself he's gotten that quite a bit this year when he's lined up at wide receiver and beaver and played on special teams but now the starting quarterback trying to lead his team at the quarterfinals now you wonder when that big play might be coming for ut martin and a positive start to this drive out to peyton logan yeah a lot of it's been quarterback driven and you know dresser win doesn't run the football so they're going to have to get theirs conventionally executing maybe logan squirting through the middle or getting a one-on-one with the linebackers in space but they're gonna have to get some points touchdown here soon back-to-back touches for logan both positive this for a first down troy anderson eventually made the stop so that's why it's so hard to penetrate the middle of this montana defense for peyton logan and ut martin you got anderson and o'reilly waiting for you on the run game look how wide the wide receivers are lining up they're outside the numbers that means they're trying to play six-man football in between the hash fake it then go outside to those wide splits rodney williams with a first down he's a big time seam threat for ut mart that was a good catch good throw a lot of spacing there dresser win look at that see that clapping is part of their cadence when he stops clapping is when he gives the protection but that clapping lets him know hold on a second right so not applauding rodney williams play now speed on the edge for trey webb and o'reilly and they cut down zach wallace for a gain of a couple good tough run by zach wallace on the outside zone it looks like it's about to be a tackle for loss pretty strong guy he just kept us going six foot 220 red shirt freshman he's put together two pretty nice a bruiser with some breakaway speed he can run away from you at 220. fake it to him on second down wins gotta get rid of it and he's going down sebastian valdez in his first playoff game [Applause] that was that a lot to do with the coverage man that was a good move though by sebastian [Music] you'll see they're running all kind of twists and turns and that was a good job he actually came from the right defensive tackle position to the left defensive end to get outside make that play i thought lynn could have had a chance to get rid of that football and throw it out of bounds outside the pocket he had a man in the area and now they're on third and forever it's going to be tough they're gonna have to go out in the field eventually promising start to the drive with a couple of first downs for logan and williams there's a flag down as they take a shot and it's broken up with two bobcats there eric zambrano with the coverage underneath flags on the far sideline see if the defense may have lined up offsides too outside defense over 10 and the neutron with the snap five-yard penalty from the previous spot will replay third down it's on creepy so [Applause] doesn't do a ton for you if you're ut martin gives you five yards and another chance at it but still third and yeah and really i think if you can try to get 10 to 12 and then make a decision once you see what happens on this third down you don't have to force it you don't have to get all 17 yards here work the middle of the field make those linebackers play in space try to get a third receiver to one side possibly but these linebackers are going to drop to the sticks and try to tackle the catch if they check it check the ball down to logan [Applause] it is a quick strikeout marquel odom wraps around and gets inside that initial line of scrimmage so there you go you got about half of it right here i think you you have to go for it i mean the offense across the 40 you have nothing to lose at this point you're down 12 points at some point you know you only need seven eight yards you gotta have something in that playbook don't be surprised if the bobcat sends some pressure to try to get win on his heels but definitely pay attention to the defensive line as they're going to run some games and cross and stunt to try to confuse the offensive line last week they showed a bunch of blitzes against montana but do bail out those linebackers and zambrano nearly picked it off that is a field position gainer by him not catching it for the turnover on downs you can't be mad at the attempt though rodney williams was there wind just overshot him good stop by the bobcats but you have to go for it so the defense montana state has given up nothing the only score for ut martin on defense today turnover on downs gives it back to montana state after a sack by williams and valdez had ut martin pinned back bobcats do get off the field now trying to build on a 12-point lead thanks to tommy malott's 73-yard touchdown run and the pile moving forward [Applause] you just take your time here run the football you don't want to force anything your defense played lights out and now you force these ut martin defenders to send more people and get after you but if but if you're a montana state you just milk as much clock as possible and you just take your time two first downs and flip the field it's a different situation with the clock in mind they do let a lot throw it and it's incomplete so the clock will stop i think maybe they saw something there they called that play from the sideline which is just called scanning whenever you see a quarterback and those receivers look to the sideline coordinators guys on the field guys up in the booth they're communicating that they saw something it's a very pensive look at brent vegan yeah he's like man why'd i let him change my mind we should have ran the ball he's he said he's he's let his coordinators do their thing he's a long time coordinator at wyoming north dakota state obviously involved in the prep but tries to let him do it and a good call to go back to the air and get a first down out to patterson who's having a nice afternoon that's what they tried to do the first time and it didn't add up but they called the play this time they get it out of a bunch look it's really tough to defend that he's one always want to go outside one inside good catch though patterson's been tapped dancing on that sideline all all day from the punt return to a couple other catches movement i'll tell you tommy malone's shown that he's really good at that early in his career oh justice perkins but he got some personality he got pushed in the chest outside defense number 47 with contact five-year penalty remains first down you see uh austin picking right over the ball but watch the aftermath oh he's flopped we haven't seen him flopping acting like he pulled a hammy too yeah oh man wrestling guys off of him first down after the penalty for a fancy already over 100 yards montana state of course has missions going deep into the playoffs like they did in 2019 afonse could break the career rushing record in these playoffs came in about 500 yards away yeah i mean depending on how many games they play but another week or two like this definitely probably break that record and one of the things they've done with the run game is they use them like body blows in a heavyweight bout and just wear you down where you down regardless if they score or not those yards add up ut martin all over him a lot no they lost akins on top of it but here's the personality you're talking about oh he might be here he's like red fox he's like oh elizabeth this is the big one [Laughter] you got to have fun sometimes but he might just fell down too you know they just go ahead they're going they're going to give him some some some static about that one in the film room grabbing his chest and his hamstring how do you enter both of those things on the same play [Music] so letting that play clock get all the way down to three before they swing it out to snell showing the athleticism usually that's what you see from mccutcheon and patterson the tight end showing it off i like my lots ability to get rid of that ball he threw it first of all the one hand grab was amazing but with the ability from a lot to get rid of that ball with pressure well if he doesn't fall down he may still be running ends up being a gain of four so third down and six and a play that ut martin almost has to have right here down two scores with half the clock gone here in this fourth quarter when it's afonse whirling his way toward the 30 and he's a couple yards short as aikens got in there again back healthy again guy that they missed last week now it's fourth and two what do you do if you're brent vegan oh i think you go for it i think you ride the hot hand and you keep your offense out on the field protect your defense you've got you have two scores with seven minutes to go where they don't get it or not you don't want to give them a chance to block a field goal or turn it over 350 rush yards as a team today i think that's part of the decision montana state feels that certainly they can get two here keep the drive going and there's a fiancee and he's right at the line to gain and he got there good football inside but there's some cracking going on tough run i think it's a good call run the ball first team all big sky running back he's having a big day so far 145 yards yeah good offensive line man they're just they're balling people we saw a big 76 lewis kid with that block opening up the run lane [Music] go away from the motion of snell coming across the formation and afonso turning it out again he's capitalized a little bit on the new rules with name image and likeness seen him in a couple of commercials here locally oh yeah car dealer signed him up one local sports bar signed him up him and willie patterson starring in that maybe youtube it during our break it's good stuff from fonseca injury on the field bobcats leading it the number eight national seed playing in their home venue here in bozeman and jason simpson and ut martin without offensive points so far all the offense has gone through the ground game so far for montana state over 360 on the grounds adding up to 400 total i mean when you can run the ball it really gives your team a chance to win man because you protect your defense you milk the clock you get a few scores and then it just wears the defense down you know coach coach vegan he understands that he's been around this league he's coming from wyoming if you can run the ball and wear people down especially using the quarterback run it's tough on the defense this is something we saw a lot in the montana game for montana state that motion with the running backs never lining up in the same spot that they start and it's very effective here with the straight ahead give for info and a first down so winner of this game gets the winner of sam houston state incarnate word sam houston just went up a score two minutes to go in that shootout game with the winner of this one getting the winner that one next week hey you better hold on to your pants there it's it's a different type ball game cardinal word showed up and they're getting the ball back here a 12-point game bobcats trying to put it away over 150 yards of the day into the house [Applause] the battle of attrition kicked in right there did you see ut mark just not playing with the same energy and enthusiasm but that vision right there by isaiah and fonte we'll show it to you but the ability to jump cut get out of there caught the defense in a pressure situation good job switching up the play calling and moving him around [Applause] 387 yards on the ground for montana state rushing today maybe a game sealer right there back in beautiful bozeman bobcats may have just iced it we'll see 5 16 to go isaiah and fonte out from 17 yards out with a touchdown and it's been the ground game that's ignited the students here at bobcat stadium today almost 400 yards for montana state when you can run the ball and possess it and push people around it adds up on the scoreboard later so the short kick will lead the ut martin offense back onto the field with decent field position here's another look at the fonte touchdown there was nothing up the middle pressure off the edge defonsey had enough vision in understanding where present danger was located virtually went untouched and it should have been a tackle for lawson he's ran the ball long enough to know exactly where to go and how to hit it that's an excellent jump cut man and you don't see that in college and an awful lot as you look at the two rush two-headed monster almost 180 a piece doing all the scoring for the most part and with no points on offense today for ut martin dresser wins out of there and powell is into the game stuart howell started the last regular season game for ut martin and they keep the pressure off him get the ball to logan he gets nine on first down so this is something that montana spade state actually expected to see earlier in the game freddie banks the defensive coordinator said that thought they might use howell in the wildcat game at some point yeah six one 200 pounds he can move a little bit he can flick it young fella getting some action and you want to see what you have i mean since your game's not completely over but you want to give someone else an opportunity his first throws to donnell williams first down for ut martin so you need a lot more chain moving plays than that if you're the skyhawks with uh 4 30 to go dresser win looking on now and let's not forget offensive player of the year keon howard is the starter and he's injured he's not in there and in his production it's really hard to make up for it and substitute it offensively especially a versus a defense like this [Applause] back to logan with a medium gain on first down you have howard in there if you're ut martin you have a similar dimension to what tommy milan and montana state have used to go ahead in this game that's a dual threat definitely you got a dual threat i mean it makes you know offenses two-dimensional instead of just one and but lot's even thrown the ball well even though 180 yards rushing he's but when we talk about having keon howard or the lack thereof it makes a difference in your play calling and you always got to go next man up but it's hard to replace the player of the year howell in there and has ut martin moving forward robert's across the 45-yard line so this is what keon howard did he he missed the final regular season game missed the first round game then out again today with that foot injury two ligaments in his foot are torn and they didn't want to risk potential surgery with a third one getting torn he's hoping to make a pro camp and and he actually has almost 500 yards rushing and 10 russian touchdowns to go along with the numbers you just saw so that's a lot of offensive production that's missing at a critical point of the year but you still have to play the game at the same token understand this this team isn't fully loaded zach wallace down to the 35 with the first down for ut martin and that was the message for jason simpson when we talked with him having their game last week his words were i know i'm kind of singing the blues we have a ton of injuries on offense still feel like we can win but we know we're big underdogs because of those injuries colton dowell is out their top wide receiver and keon howard their quarterback and they made hay with it they felt like they were playing with house money they won a game people thought they weren't supposed to win they went on the road and did it they were competitive for the most part and they're still fighting here and logan grinds it out yeah so coming into today every win from this point forward would be the furthest that ut martin had been ever 2006 the only other time they've been in the fcs playoffs lost to heartbreaker won a classic last week and would have to miraculously pull this one off with two minutes to go to move on to the quarterfinals well they're trying to end this game on a high note and get in the end zone get some offensive points here and i think you can take a shot eventually too with these press corners one on one here's the maryland transfer jordan castleberry getting the carries the third running back and a timeout with 142 to go with an injured player down for montana state so at this point if you're the the bobcats you just want to get the next week potentially playing sam houston state or incarnate word healthy looks like that game's coming down to the final play incarnate word down seven has it first and goal at the 10 yard line with eight seconds left ooey let's call it the nitty-gritty let's re-earn your money if you're montana state that's chase benson 41. so that's how it shapes up you know you got five big sky teams into the field he had big sky against big sky last night montana and eastern washington another big sky team sacramento state playing tonight against south dakota state jack rabbits trying to return to the quarterfinals and we're just talking about sam houston state defending national champs getting a great game from incarnate word coming down to the final play winner this one gets the winner of that one in the round of eight next week for cena on the espn family of networks so howell in his first drive of the game replacing dresser win has led ut martin down we've got a third and two powell handing off on the outside run play to zach wallace got enough first down that's a good call third into it i would have liked to see stuart howe a little earlier maybe like about midway through the third i mean the game still was relatively you know in hand you know right right here they're just trying to finish the game on a high note get some points not trying to necessarily come back and win but at the same time it'd be interesting to see what he would have looked like against this defense you wonder if the scooping score didn't happen yeah maybe they think about it earlier here's how to throw and down he goes hardy's all right there goes that man again first teamer all-american all-conference watch the inside move they've been having a lot of success with that same defensive stunt where the defensive ends are crashing inside and the far side defensive tackles wrapping around you see those linemen coming from everywhere ut martin hasn't figured out just pass it off don't chase anybody just pass it off but as soon as you open up and chase and turn put your butt inside the hole next thing you know you're going to open up for a sack they use that same defensive scheme about seven times so far especially against a guy like that hardy with his 12th sack second in the big sky so that game did go final incarnate word got it inside the 10 yard line but time runs out on their season and sam houston state survives keeps their long winning streak alive as well you're going to get your chin tested you know it's heavyweight boxing time and if you get in the ring you get in there you're going to punch and get punched and you have to be able to win close games and i and i think it's it takes tnt something i was trying to get into at the top of the show was you got tnt you win close games and you win on the road that's what sam houston state's been doing gave up 481 yards passing today but still won the game in a shootout howell after he was sacked gets it to peyton logan but everything is in front of that montana state defense today and this this montana state defense has tnt and i'll tell you what it stands for toughness and talent and you have toughness and talent you went on the road you win close games you find a way to separate yourself by two or three scores when it matters and that's a happy man right there he never flinched not one time not even before the half when he gave up the scoop and score he knew one thing let's get in the phone booth and knuckle up maybe the smile to come later for the happy head coach still got the serious lookout first fcs playoff game that brent vegans coaching in since 2013 with north dakota state finishing off at three-peat and that's picked off with all this great coverage today ran into his own man and landed right in his chest montana states moving on to the second round the quarterfinals and why not him simeon woodard played a great football game coverage tackling and stewart howe you see his reaction to the interception but his target fell down you'll see it on the outside through a nice ball but when target falls down you look up williams over there got pushed out of bounds and incidental contact it looked like right there he trips and forgets push down go up high get it sometimes it's better to be good than lucky that ball fell right in that man's hands and he earned it all four quarters a day [Applause] so [Music] is out there in victory formation he was the quarterback the last time montana state was in this spot marching down the playoff tree in the bracket and they're headed on to get a crack at the defending national champs sam houston state next week let's tell you what james state gave up 42 the incarnate one valiant effort championship state better strap it on this team to run the football and they play tough defense it'd be an interesting one to see so brent vegan in his first game as a head coach in the fcs playoffs wins it behind his defense and his running game almost 400 yards of rushing no points allowed by the defense that's just an excellent job and coming back from losing two weeks ago to the rival montana they looked a lot different scored points played better on defensive special teams had a big return this team benefited from that week off and he celebrated on thanksgiving too but a lot of people around the country wondered what type of distraction would it be with tommy malone filling in for matt mckay who transferred on thursday how would that news impact him and apparently not at all they didn't flinch i mean you wouldn't have never known that that news even dropped but but when you have great coaching a great program those guys understand you see the brackets starting to fill in right there looking for one more and then that bottom four is ready to go the number one seed is there the number eighth seed is there so is the number five will it be number four sacramento state or south dakota state that's to come later tonight on espn plus [Music] so we told you we were getting it down to eight ton of great games across our bracket in this round of 16. and it was tight at halftime but it was all bobcats second out yeah it really was and from start to finish they were in control of the football game and they were able to run the ball with tommy malott fiance those guys were just getting it going but i took my cap to the defense man i really think they did a fine job of slowing this offense down and giving that offense more opportunities so with that a moment with the students ut martin will put this one in the archives great season for them their first playoff win in the fcs ever last week they come up shy on the road in bozeman today for marcus ray conradian saying so long from bozeman the final is a winner for the bobcats 26-7 montana state wins it over the skyhawks all games airing on the espn networks are streaming live and archived on the espn app thanks for watching round two of the fcs championship on espn

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 3,765

Keywords: 2021 NCAA FCS Championship Second Round, UT Martin, Montana State

Id: E5gCR714Uqw

Length: 135min 28sec (8128 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 07 2021