Bobcats Open Renovated Stadium in Grand Style

Saturday, September 10

Bozeman, MT

1:05 PM

Montana State University

UC DAVIS (GOLD RUSH)

Cody Kirk scores as a record crowd of 18,457 roars in approval

Photo by: Kelly Gorham

9/10/2011 6:41:00 PM | Football

MSU earns impressive win over future league rival

By: Bill Lamberty

When UC Davis marched 77 yards for a touchdown after receiving the opening kickoff, Montana State quarterback DeNarius McGhee knew the challenge had been issued.

MSU vs UC Davis game stats

"If the other team scores points (first), you have to counter that," MSU's talented sophomore quarterback said after leading Montana State to a 38-14 win over the Aggies in expanded Bobcat Stadium on Saturday. McGhee threw 257 yards and two touchowns, rushing for 39 yards and a touchdown, in accounting for 296 yards of total offense.

After the Aggies' opening score the teams traded punts, with the Bobcat offense scuffling. Facing a third-and-19 situation from the Bobcat 19, McGhee found John Ellis in a seam over the middl for 25 yards and a first down. Using that play as a spark, the Bobcat offense rode Cody Kirk's legs much the rest of the way, as the sophomore tailback rambled 23 yards to the five then scored a play later.

After that series, Montana State's defense held UC Davis to a missed field goal, and on the ensuing drive McGhee engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive that gave Montana State the lead. That drive, MSU coach Ash said, changed the momentum of the game.

"I thought once the offense got going the defense fed off that," he said. "The offense got the crowd excited and the defense realized we'd be able to put some points on the board. That's the bottom line. It's not yards, it's not stats. You have to be able to put points up, and today we did that."

After the missed Aggies field goal and McGhee's 21-yard pass to Elvis Akpla gave the Bobcats that 14-7 lead, the Bobcats forced a three-and-out possession. McGhee followed with another terrific drive. He found Akpla for 19 yards on the first play, rambled 19 yards himself on a third-and-eight to extend the drive, then eluded a pass rush, rolled to his right, and found Kruiz Siewing for a 36-yard score, the first touchdown for the junior from Saco.

"That play was meant to go outside," McGhee said with a smile. "I knew they were blitzing and we had Casey (Dennehy, offensive guard) coming around on a pull. I hesitated to let him get over there, then I got to the outside and looked downfield and saw Kruiz."

That 21-7 Bobcat lead set up the game's crucial point on the ensuing possession. UC Davis moved to the Bobcat 48, and facing a fourth-and-eight Aggies coach Bob Biggs, who led his team to a 45-0 victory over MSU in 2006, elected to go for it. Darius Jones broke up a Randy Wright pass intended for Anthony Soto.

That gave the Bobcats a drive starting near midfield with 58 seconds remaining in the half. After connecting with Akpla on passes of 21 and four yards, McGhee handled the rest of the scoring drive himself. He rushed 17 yards to get to the 10-yard line, then after an incomplete pass he dashed 10 yards for the touchdown to give MSU the 28-7 lead before the half.

Much of the second half featured Kirk's battering of the Aggies defense. The sophomore from Frenchtown rushed for 155 yards - more than in his entire freshman season - and two touchdowns. Akpla finished with 90 yards and a touchdown.

Junior linebacker Jody Owens led MSU's staunch defense, registering nine tackles, including one for a loss, with a quarterback hurry. Darius Jones had four tackles and a pass breakup. For the second straight game the Bobcats held an opponent under 300 total yards, with the Aggies rushing for just 81 yards and gaining just 296 on the day.