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Texas Tech football: What Red Raider fans need to know about Montana State

ByMatthew Conner|
PULLMAN, WA - SEPTEMBER 02: Gerard Wicks #23 of the Washington State Cougars is tackled by Kelu Leota #98 of the Montana State Bobcats in the second half at Martin Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Pullman, Washington. Washington State defeated Montana State 31-0. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
PULLMAN, WA - SEPTEMBER 02: Gerard Wicks #23 of the Washington State Cougars is tackled by Kelu Leota #98 of the Montana State Bobcats in the second half at Martin Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Pullman, Washington. Washington State defeated Montana State 31-0. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
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(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)

The MSU defense will have its hand’s full

Last year, MSU had the unusual stat of both giving up and scoring exactly 28.5 points per game.  That was good for No. 52 in the FCS on offense and No. 65 on defense.

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If the Bobcats have any hope of pulling off the upset on Saturday, the defense will have to come up big and slow down Alan Bowman and the Red Raider attack.  And given that Tech will be implementing a new scheme, MSU will be looking to create confusion and keep Tech from finding its rhythm.

With nine returning starters, this is a veteran group.  But the MSU defense is also undergoing a bit of transition.

Former Bobcat safety Shane Ioane is in his second stint as MSU defensive coordinator.  From 2004-16, he was an assistant in Bozeman (serving as DC in 2015) before spending the last two seasons as a quality control assistant at Washington.

He will be bringing with him a pair of dropdowns from Washington.  DE Amandré Williams and 6-foot-6, 300-pound interior lineman Jason Scrempos will give the Bobcats some serious beef along the front of the defensive line.

At the other defensive end will be Bryce Sterk who had 8.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in 2018.  In other words, this will be a defensive line capable of testing Tech’s veteran o-line, especially if senior left tackle Terence Steele is unable to play as his recovery from an offseason upper-body injury has taken longer than expected.

In all, ten Bobcats expected to play this weekend have started at least one game including all four members of the secondary.  And this is a defense that is rather accustomed to playing well.

Last fall, MSU gave up over 30 points just five times in 13 games.  But of course, this Red Raider team will be much more talented than any team MSU played last year, especially considering that the Bobcats did not play an FBS team in 2018.

Opponents averaged 194.7 yards per game on the ground and 231.8 through the air.  With no glaring weakness on that side of the ball for MSU, it will be fascinating to see whether the Red Raiders can achieve the type of balance on offense that new OC David Yost wants to see.

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