The visiting and rebuilding Bobcats executed those ideas for the most part of the first three quarters Saturday night in Pullman. We just needed to get the ball out a little more. One forced turnover is not good enough in a game like that. Despite the innovation in the first game for new MSU offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong, Montana State mustered almost no offensive rhythm or production.
We know we have to work through some things. If we can continue to improve throughout this month, I think we are going to have a good football team down the stretch. It starts on defense. We are going to play great defense and figure some things out on offense. We have too good a group of players on that side of the ball.
When the playing field gets leveled a little bit, those guys will start to shine. Montana State managed yards on 44 plays , notching seven first downs and converting just 1-of third down tries. MSU ran the ball 32 times for yards.
With the exception of 17, 16 and 15 yard runs by sophomore quarterback Chris Murray, true freshman running back Troy Andersen and sophomore running back Edward Vander, MSU averaged 2. Usually, those times I break out, I would make them miss and score but it was really hard tonight. Different skill level. Andersen, a former Class A all-state quarterback and safety from Dillon, made his first Division I start against Wazzu.
He managed 33 yards on nine carries. He kept his legs churning and got us a few extra yards every time. After an off-season filled by a narrative of his massive improvement throwing the football, Murray completed 5-of passes for 28 yards. Murray, a 6-foot-2, pound true sophomore with length but not mass, incurred many big hits during his first outing against a Pac 12 opponent. Washington State entered the game touted as a high-powered, up-tempo offensive team led by a Heisman candidate.
