Montana State (10-2)
at Sam Houston State (12-0)
Saturday, Dec. 10, 10 a.m. MST, Huntsville, Texas
Bowers Stadium (14,000 Real Grass Pro Surface)
TV: ESPN, ESPNHD
Internet: ESPN3
The Records: Montana State enters the quarterfinals with a 10-2 record. The Bobcats beat New Hampshire 26-25 in the second round last Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. Montana State’s 10 victories are the most for the program since 1984 when the Bobcats finished 12-2 and won the national championship. The Bobcats went 7-1 in conference play and were co-champions of the Big Sky along with Montana. Montana State received an at-large bid to the playoffs. Montana State opened the season with a 27-10 loss at Utah and won nine straight. Montana State was ranked No. 1 in the nation prior to a 36-10 loss to Montana to close out the regular season...Sam Houston State brings a 12-0 record into the quarterfinals. The Bearkats are the only undefeated team in the FCS, and have won 14 straight games dating back to last season. Sam Houston State beat New Mexico of the WAC 48-45 in overtime on Sept. 24. The Bearkats won their other 10 regular-season games by at least 13 points. Sam Houston State beat Stony Brook 34-27 in the second round of the playoffs last week at home.
The Series: Montana State and Sam Houston State have never met in the playoffs, but have met four times during the regular season. The series is tied 2-2. Sam Houston State beat Montana State 23-6 in 1986 in Huntsville. Montana State won 52-48 in 1987 in Bozeman. Montana State won 15-10 in 1989 in Huntsville. Sam Houston won 26-23 in Bozeman in 1991.
Last meeting: Sam Houston State beat Montana State 26-23 at Bobcat Stadium in 1991. Montana State finished the 1991 season 2-9. The loss to the Bearkats, on Sept. 7, started a six-game Bobcat losing streak. Coach Earl Solomonson was fired after five seasons at the end of the 1991 season.
The Coaches: Montana State’s Rob Ash is 39-19 in his fifth season. Ash is 215-118-5 in his 32nd season as a collegiate head coach. He compiled a 125-63-2 record from 1989-2006 as head coach at Drake University. And a 51-36-3 record as head coach at Juniata from 1980-88. Ash was an assistant coach from 1975-79 at his alma mater Cornell University. Ash is 1-1 in the playoffs...Willie Fritz is 18-5 in his second season at Sam Houston State. He is 1-0 in the playoffs. Fritz compiled a 97-47 record as the head coach at Central Missouri from 1997-2009. He went 39-5-1 in four seasons’ at Blinn College, winning JC national championships in 1995 and 1996. He was a GA at Sam Houston State in 1984-85, and the Bearkats’ secondary/special teams coach in 1991-92. Fritz is 1-0 in the playoffs.
Big Sky vs. Southland: The Big Sky is 25-10 against the Southland Conference in the playoffs. Southland teams, however, hold a 4-3 edge in Southland stadiums. Just one previous time has a Big Sky team played on the road against a Southland team in a quarterfinal game. McNeese State beat Montana 24-20 in a 2002 quarterfinal. Overall, Big Sky teams are 6-2 against Southland teams in the quarterfinals. The most recent win was Montana’s 51-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin in 2009. In 2004, Sam Houston State beat Eastern Washington in Cheney 35-34. Montana State is 2-1 vs. Southland teams in the playoffs. The Bobcats beat Arkansas State 31-14 in a 1984 quarterfinal game, and topped Louisiana Tech 19-6 in the 1984 National Championship Game in Charleston, South Carolina. Montana State lost 21-14 in a first-round game in 2002 at McNeese State. Sam Houston State is 2-2 against Big Sky teams in the playoffs. The Bearkats beat Northern Arizona in a 2001 first-round game, and topped Eastern Washington in a 2004 quarterfinal. Both years, Sam Houston lost at Montana the next week...The Big Sky has placed a team in the semifinals each of the past three seasons. A Southland team hasn’t advanced to the semifinals since Texas State in 2005.
Montana State in the quarterfinals: Montana State is making its third appearance in the quarterfinals. The Bobcats are 1-1 in the quarters, beating Arkansas State in 1984, and falling at Appalachian State in 2006.
Up Next: Saturday’s winner advances to the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 16 or Saturday, Dec. 17. The winner will play the winner of the Montana-Northern Iowa quarterfinal. Sam Houston would host the semifinal if it wins. If Montana State beats Sam Houston State, the UNI-Montana winner would host a semifinal.
National Championship: The 2012 Division I Championship will be played on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. Eastern at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
Notes: Montana State has 20 players from Texas on its roster, including QB DeNarius McGhee and running back Tray Robinson, kicker Jason Cunningham, linebacker Jody Owens, and cornerback Darius Jones...Montana State is 4-1 on the road this season. The Bobcats’ lone road loss came in the opener, 27-10 at Utah of the Pac-12...Montana State WR Elvis Akpla has caught a pass all 34 games he’d played for the Bobcats. Akpla has 11 receiving touchdowns this season, just one shy of the single-season school record. Akpla is the Bobcats’ all-time leading receiver in terms of yardage with 2,107 yards...Sam Houston State leads the nation in scoring offense, rushing defense, scoring defense, and is second in total defense and turnover margin...Sam Houston State RB Tim Flanders has rushed for 1,296 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has seven 100-yard rushing games....MSU RB Cody Kirk has rushed for 1,329 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has six 100-yard rushing games...Sam Houston State QB Brian Bell has thrown for 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Sam Houston State has not thrown for more than 214 yards in a game this season...Sam Houston junior DB Daxton Swanson has seven of the Bearkats’ 20 interceptions...MSU QB DeNarius McGhee completes 61.4 percent of his passes for 2,527 yards with 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions...MSU kicker Jason Cunningham has 352 career points, which ranks fifth on the Big Sky’s all-time kick scoring list and eighth on the all-time scoring list...This is Montana State’s first game in Texas since opening the 2007 season with a 38-7 loss at Texas A&M in Rob Ash’s first game as the Bobcats’ coach...Montana State has seven come-from-behind wins this season...Dave Neal, Andre Ware and Cara Capuano will call the game for ESPN.
Team Breakdown
National Rank in Parentheses
MSU Category SHSU
223.5 (12) Rushing Offense 244.42 (8)
125.4 (22) Rushing Defense 66.58 (1)
213.42 (55) Passing Offense 164.42 (96)
190.42 (29) Passing Defense 203.0 (51)
436.92 (12) Total Offense 408.83 (27)
315.83 (19) Total Defense 269.58 (2)
33.5 (18) Scoring Offense 39.0 (1)
22.42 (32) Scoring Defense 13.83 (1)
-.17 (64) Turnover Margin 2.08 (2)
33.40 (73) Net Punting 36.74 (19)
5.46 (102) Punt Returns 8.85 (52)
22.36 (29) Kick Returns 19.28 (84)
3.67 (4) Sacks 2.25 (41)
6.58 (48) Tackles for Loss 6.75 (44)
1.17 (19) Sacks Allowed .75 (8)