Montana State, with its unusual-for-the-league veer, has been the Big Sky Conference leader in rushing offense most of the season, but the average went down 20 yards a game last week.
Part of that was from playing Boise State, the league's best rush defense, and part of was because of injuries in the Bobcat backfield.Montana State plays host to Weber State Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sales Stadium in a battle of losing streaks.
The Bobcats first lost top runner Mark Rhinehart, who'd averaged nearly 100 yards a game, to a season-ending injury a month ago. Then, against Idaho two weeks ago, veteran tailback Steve Huageberg, who ranks ninth in the Big Sky, went down with a head injury. He didn't play last week and isn't listed on the two-deep chart for the Weber State game. That chart shows two freshmen at the tailback spot.
Quarterback John Tetrault is the top rusher in the option offense, averaging 35 yards a game. He ranks just behind Weber State's Ryan Schmidt in pass efficiency, seventh, which is where he also stands in total offense.
Montana State is dead last as a team in passing offense.
Weber Coach Dave Arslanian is wary of the running attack, despite its recent losses, because of the quality of linemen. "Up front, they have good, physical kids," he says. "And they're good, hard runners."
Still, with three straight Big Sky losses, "Their confidence level is about the same as ours; they're struggling," Arslanian says.
The Bobcats will likely rely on a defense nicknamed "the Kennel Club" that ranks fourth in the Big Sky overall and fourth in pass defense. It's led by linebacker Mark D'Agostino, an all-America candidate averaging 10 tackles a game with highs of 17 and 13. Defensive end Corey Widmer has nine quarterback sacks for -67 yards.