George Ferguson: MSU, UM offenses look nothing alike right now

Talk about a tale of two teams in completely different situations heading into the weekend.

Take the Montana State Bobcats for example. Under first-year head coach Brett Vigen, and first-year starting quarterback Matt McKay the Bobcats have ripped off four straight wins after opening the season with a narrow loss to Wyoming. And yet, it seems like no-one is really paying much attention. Even the Cats’ No. 10 ranking in the FCS Stats Poll seems a bit too low.

But while the Bobcats might not be getting enough credit as of yet, pay attention to this big reason why MSU’s offense is thriving. The Cats have one of the best running backs in the FCS, they have depth at the position, and they have a stout offensive line.

Add all that up, Isaiah Ifanse, depth and a big offensive line, and it’s a recipe for helping McKay transition to being a starting quarterback. That’s right, the MSU offense, under Vigen, who was Wyoming’s offensive coord9nator, and was once the architect of the famous North Dakota State national champions offenses, is, for the first time in years, dynamic. Vigen certainly has a lot to do with that, and so does McKay, but, it’s also made possible by Ifanse, who is almost a sure thing for 100 yards and two touchdowns every time he steps on the field.

In contrast, despite a No. 6 ranking in the FCS, and a win over the Washington Huskies to start the season, the Grizzlies do not, in any way mirror what their rivals to the south have going on offense.

Montana did have its own version of Ifanse in returning All-American Marcus Knight at running back, but Knight was lost to an injury all the way last spring, and his backup, veteran Nick Ostmo, has also yet to play this season because of an injured ankle. Losing Knight and Ostmo immediately put a lot of pressure on first-year starter Cam Humphrey, and at times, it showed, as Montana’s offense, as talented as it is, with perhaps the best group of wide receivers in the FCS, struggled to move the ball.

Now, however, things are even worse. Humphrey appears to have been lost to a serious leg injury, which happened last Saturday night in UM’s close loss to Eastern Washington. So in comes red-shirt freshman Kris Brown, a former Bozeman High star who, while appearing to be groomed to take over UM’s QB1 duties someday, is being thrust into the fire earlier than probably anybody wanted. And like Humphrey, Brown doesn’t have the luxury of a veteran running game at his disposal. Instead, Montana has been rolling with freshman Xavier Harris, freshman Isaiah Childs and true freshman Junior Bergen, who was recruited to play wide receiver, at running back this fall.

So again, Brown, who will start Saturday against Dixie State, not only has little game experience, but neither do the guys he’s handing the ball of to. And while UM has one of the best defenses in all of the FCS, it remains to be seen if that will be enough to offset the offensive struggles the Grizzlies are up against as they head towards the middle of their season.

And in years when Montana and Montana State are really good at the same time, normally, the Cats and Griz mirror each other in lots of ways, but while they’re both really good this fall, the current state of their offenses is nothing alike. And it will be interesting to see how that unfolds as October continues.

Note: The Grizzlies are home to face Dixie State this Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be televised statewide on SWX Montana. The Bobcats host Cal Poly for homecoming Saturday at 2 p.m. the game will be televised nationally on Root Sports.