"We'll be a championship-caliber team in November, no question," MSU coach Mike Kramer told the Great Falls Tribune. "The key is that defensively we have such a great legacy and great depth ... And offensively, we have always been a late finisher."
Despite the loss of All-America safety Kane Ioane, cornerback Joey Thomas - now with the Green Bay Packers - and linemen Adam Cordeiro and Jon Montoya, MSU has a chance to be the Big Sky's best statistical defense for the third straight year. MSU blocked two field-goal tries, returned an interception for a touchdown and allowed the visitors from Alamosa, Colo., just 11 first downs and 218 total yards. It was the Bobcats' first opening-game shutout since 1965.
"We adjusted well to what they were doing and had a good day," said standout linebacker Roger Cooper, who had five tackles, blocked a field-goal try, and caught a 15-yard pass from Travis Lulay in punt formation to set up the TD that made it 12-0 at halftime. "We played solid, fundamental defense. The game plan worked."
The Bobcat offense, which is breaking in new running backs and receivers, sputtered most of the day. Lulay, who led MSU to a share of the Big Sky title the past two seasons, was just 14 of 39 passing for 176 yards, and didn't complete a pass until six minutes before halftime. Junior halfback Justin Domineck rushed for 78 yards in his Bobcat debut.
"On offense, I'd give us about a D," Lulay said. "We're a lot better than we played today and we know that. This type of performance is going to fuel us to go out and get better."
Lulay wasn't the only veteran Big Sky quarterback to struggle on Saturday.
Senior Mark Hetherington had a nightmare game as Cal Poly prevailed 35-20 over Idaho State (0-2), snapping the Bengals' two-year, 12-game winning streak in Pocatello. Hetherington threw four interceptions and lost a pair of fumbles. Two of the interceptions were returned for TDs, and one of the fumbles was recovered in the end zone for a third score.
"No one wants to think about this game again, because it was a debacle," Hetherington told the Idaho State Journal. "We were flat out bad ... and it started with me."
Hetherington was picked off three times in ISU's opener, a 38-21 loss at San Diego State. The Bengals, however, were encouraged after scoring 21 second-half points, and hoped to keep that momentum going.
It never happened. Cal Poly blitzed successfully all day, sacking Hetherington six times.
"They key to the game was up front," said ISU coach Larry Lewis. "The kids knew what to expect. It wasn't a secret; it was execution."
Lewis said he expected to see open receivers when he watched film of the game.
"I felt they weren't sticking with our receivers," Lewis said. "But it's tough to throw with someone in your lap."
Cal Poly will try to keep the pressure turned on high this Saturday, when it travels to Montana State.
The best Big Sky game figured to be in Nacogdoches, Texas, where Northern Arizona and its No. 13 ranking squared off against No. 15 Stephen F. Austin.
It was close, as predicted, but NAU (0-2) couldn't overcome some key offensive breakdowns in a 24-17 overtime loss. Quarterback Jason Murrietta, in something of a sophomore slump, completed 18 of 39 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. He wasn't helped by his receivers, who dropped a number of catchable balls.
NAU had just 158 total yards through three quarters, finishing with 223.
"We just can't make plays on offense right now," Murrietta told the Arizona Daily Sun. "We are struggling. We can't produce. We've just got to make those plays when we need them. We haven't gotten them yet, from anybody."
SFA overcame five fumbles in regulation to score the winner on Derek Farmer's 12-yard touchdown run in overtime. Farmer finished with 144 yards rushing. NAU failed to score on its overtime possession, which ended with three straight Murrietta incompletions.
Laurel native Vince Henman recovered a fumbled punt late in the fourth quarter to set up NAU's tying TD, a 5-yard pass from Murrietta to tight end Aaron Walls with 1:33 remaining.
Texas-El Paso coach Mike Price came up a winner in his home debut. And he did it at the expense of Weber State (0-2), the school he coached from 1981-88.
"Weber State has a real tough team," Price told the Ogden Standard-Examiner after the 31-0 shutout. "They've got a bunch of tough kids, good kids. I give them credit. We played pretty damn good on defense."
The Division I-A Miners limited Weber to eight first downs and 112 total yards. UTEP held Big Sky rushing leader Nick Chournos to just 45 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Kyle Bauer struggled as well, finishing 6-of-18 for 41 yards with an interception.
Weber coach Jerry Graybeal said the Wildcats opened the game with a level of energy and effort that was missing in last week's loss to Southern Utah.
"In the second half, they just wore us down," Graybeal said.
"We've got to find our indentity," he added. "I think we need to go back as coaches and identify this team's strengths and weaknesses."
Eastern Washington could take some solace in its 42-20 loss at Air Force. The Eagles rolled up 413 total yards, including a 293-yard passing effort by junior quarterback Erik Meyer.
Meyer completed 23 of 34 for three touchdowns and one interception, on a tipped ball. Senior running back Darius Washington added a career-high 90 yards rushing.
"We thought we could throw the ball, and we thought we could run the ball," Wulff said. "We didn't execute well enough. We were inside the red zone three or four times and didn't score any points. We had a tremendous amount of opportunities to score more points."
Meyers' third TD pass pulled the Eagles within 28-20 five minutes into the third quarter, but Air Force reasserted control behind its option running attack. EWU (0-2) gave up 353 rushing yards (and 498 overall) after surrendering 246 in its opening-game loss at Nicholls State.
Quick kicks: After two weeks, the Big Sky's overall record is 4-9. Take away Montana, and the conference is 0-4 against I-AA competition. ... Northern Arizona is 0-2 for the first time since 1973. ... NAU senior linebacker Bruce Branch made 13 tackles in the loss. ... Sacramento State (0-2) surrendered 598 total yards in its 59-7 season-opening loss at Nevada. The Hornets have an eight-game losing streak. ... Eastern Washington's 20 points was the most for a I-AA team against Air Force since 1993. ... EWU junior receiver Eric Kimball equaled his career high, grabbing nine catches in each of the Eagles' first two games. ... After opening with two straight road games, EWU plays six of its final nine at home.
Reporter Rial Cummings can be reached at 523-5255 or rcummings@missoulian.com
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