Caleb Schreibeis leads MSU's defensive front into action Saturday
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
FIRST LOOK: Bobcats Host Nationally-Ranked Stephen F. Austin Saturday
9/13/2012 7:27:00 AM | Football
MSU, Lumberjacks wage intersectional battle in Bobcat Stadium
If Stephen F. Austin has played like two different teams through that many games of the 2012 season, Rob Ash knows which one he expects to see Saturday in Bobcat Stadium.
"I know we'll see the team that scored 49 points (in a season-opening win against Southwest Oklahoma)," Ash said. "Their score last week (a 52-0 loss to FBS member SMU) looks a lot different than the game did. The score was 14-0 right at the end of the first half, when Stephen F. Austin had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown. That game was a lot different to that point than it was after that."
The Lumberjacks carry a 1-1 record and #23 national ranking into Saturday's game, but the numbers the team has compiled are eye-popping. SFA is second in the nation among FCS teams in passing offense, ninth in total offense. SFA has thrown 130 passes in two games.
"They spread you out and throw the ball, and throw it well," Ash said. "Then when they get you on your heels they run it downhill. They are very good on offense."
The status of starting quarterback Brady Attaway is up in the air, but Bobcat safety Steven Bethley says it shouldn't impact the game significantly. "Their backup quarterback looks really good on film," said Bethley, whose pass breakups in back-to-back fourth quarter plays at Drake last week set up a sack by Caleb Schreibeis, one of the game's key sequences.
Regardless of who squeezes the trigger, Ash knows some things about SFA's offense. "They have some good, big receivers," he says of Cordel Roberson, who has 18 catches, and DJ Ward, who has 11. "They are good up front, and they have productive running backs."
Defensively, the challenge SFA presents may be even greater. The Jacks led the FCs in sacks a year ago, and this season already have nine. Ends Willie Jefferson and Darren Robinson form a daunting duo, and cornerback Josh Aubrey's three tackles-for-loss and two sacks help paint a portrait of an aggressive unit.
Ash said he's looking forward to the challenge of facing a powerful Southland squad for reasons beyond the occasional rivalry - this is the fifth meeting between the teams in a series that started in 1992, and which continues next fall in Nacogdoches - between MSU and SFA.
"This will be a fun game to watch, but it's also important," Ash said. "It feels like a playoff game, because it is a game between two playoff-caliber teams and two leagues that traditionally produce strong playoff teams. This is a game that will be discussed by the (NCAA FCS) selection panel in November."
"I know we'll see the team that scored 49 points (in a season-opening win against Southwest Oklahoma)," Ash said. "Their score last week (a 52-0 loss to FBS member SMU) looks a lot different than the game did. The score was 14-0 right at the end of the first half, when Stephen F. Austin had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown. That game was a lot different to that point than it was after that."
The Lumberjacks carry a 1-1 record and #23 national ranking into Saturday's game, but the numbers the team has compiled are eye-popping. SFA is second in the nation among FCS teams in passing offense, ninth in total offense. SFA has thrown 130 passes in two games.
"They spread you out and throw the ball, and throw it well," Ash said. "Then when they get you on your heels they run it downhill. They are very good on offense."
The status of starting quarterback Brady Attaway is up in the air, but Bobcat safety Steven Bethley says it shouldn't impact the game significantly. "Their backup quarterback looks really good on film," said Bethley, whose pass breakups in back-to-back fourth quarter plays at Drake last week set up a sack by Caleb Schreibeis, one of the game's key sequences.
Regardless of who squeezes the trigger, Ash knows some things about SFA's offense. "They have some good, big receivers," he says of Cordel Roberson, who has 18 catches, and DJ Ward, who has 11. "They are good up front, and they have productive running backs."
Defensively, the challenge SFA presents may be even greater. The Jacks led the FCs in sacks a year ago, and this season already have nine. Ends Willie Jefferson and Darren Robinson form a daunting duo, and cornerback Josh Aubrey's three tackles-for-loss and two sacks help paint a portrait of an aggressive unit.
Ash said he's looking forward to the challenge of facing a powerful Southland squad for reasons beyond the occasional rivalry - this is the fifth meeting between the teams in a series that started in 1992, and which continues next fall in Nacogdoches - between MSU and SFA.
"This will be a fun game to watch, but it's also important," Ash said. "It feels like a playoff game, because it is a game between two playoff-caliber teams and two leagues that traditionally produce strong playoff teams. This is a game that will be discussed by the (NCAA FCS) selection panel in November."
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