Cody Kirk's physical style of running has helped MSU's prolific red zone offense
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Bobcats Red-Hot in Red Zone
9/16/2012 7:15:00 PM | Football
Montana State's offense has been its best when it's mattered the most
Montana State hasn't been red-hot on offense this year compared to recent seasons - unless you're talking about the MSU offense in the red zone.
The 2012 Bobcat offense has averaged 5.0 yards per play, numbers that are solid, but which pale in comparison to last season's 6.2 and 2010's 6.3. On the other hand those teams converted red zone possessions into touchdowns at 64 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Decent numbers, but they're nowhere near this year's squad, which is putting the ball in the end zone a whopping (14 of 18) 77 percent of the time. It should be noted that MSU has gone into victory formation twice, so it may be more realistic to say it's getting ball in the red zone, end zone at a 88 percent clip.
Either way it's those numbers that have MSU sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 1978.
Does it make a big difference? Just ask Stephen F. Austin head coach J.C. Harper.
“(The Bobcats) do a really good job of when they get down there in the red zone they get physical... when they got down they scored,” Harper said. “We got down there a few times and we settled for field goals, instead of scoring. Since they scored and we didn't that's the difference.”
Or ask MSU running back Cody Kirk, who hammered the ball across the goal line three times (from the one twice and from the five once) against SFA. “It's just the heart of our team,” Kirk said. “We come out and we're gonna win (the red zone). That's our philosophy. It's a winner's mentality and that's what we have as a unit and as a team.”
Kirk added that seeing the defense get stops in the red zone just gives the offense that much more incentive to punch the ball across the line when it gets close to the end zone.
“Cody's tough,” MSU head coach Rob Ash said in deflecting some of the credit back to Kirk. “He knows the situation. He knows where the goal line is, he knows where the first down is and he protects the football when he runs.”
The Bobcats have tallied 14 touchdowns – four more than the second best team in the Big Sky Conference – in their 18 visits. One other visit ended in Rory Perez's 44-yard field goal Saturday, two ended in the aforementioned victory formation, and one ended in a fumble. Of the 14 touchdowns eight have been rushing scores and six have come via the pass.
MSU's 2011 season ended against Sam Houston State in part due to its own ineffectiveness in the red zone. The Bobcats had the ball inside the 10-yard line twice in the first quarter of their FCS playoff quarterfinal only to settle for field goals. Turning what could've been a 21-14 halftime deficit into 21-6 and instead of an early third quarter touchdown tying the game, MSU was still down by eight points.
Saturday they turned the tables and got a first hand taste of how it works at SFA's expense.
The 2012 Bobcat offense has averaged 5.0 yards per play, numbers that are solid, but which pale in comparison to last season's 6.2 and 2010's 6.3. On the other hand those teams converted red zone possessions into touchdowns at 64 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Decent numbers, but they're nowhere near this year's squad, which is putting the ball in the end zone a whopping (14 of 18) 77 percent of the time. It should be noted that MSU has gone into victory formation twice, so it may be more realistic to say it's getting ball in the red zone, end zone at a 88 percent clip.
Either way it's those numbers that have MSU sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 1978.
Does it make a big difference? Just ask Stephen F. Austin head coach J.C. Harper.
“(The Bobcats) do a really good job of when they get down there in the red zone they get physical... when they got down they scored,” Harper said. “We got down there a few times and we settled for field goals, instead of scoring. Since they scored and we didn't that's the difference.”
Or ask MSU running back Cody Kirk, who hammered the ball across the goal line three times (from the one twice and from the five once) against SFA. “It's just the heart of our team,” Kirk said. “We come out and we're gonna win (the red zone). That's our philosophy. It's a winner's mentality and that's what we have as a unit and as a team.”
Kirk added that seeing the defense get stops in the red zone just gives the offense that much more incentive to punch the ball across the line when it gets close to the end zone.
“Cody's tough,” MSU head coach Rob Ash said in deflecting some of the credit back to Kirk. “He knows the situation. He knows where the goal line is, he knows where the first down is and he protects the football when he runs.”
The Bobcats have tallied 14 touchdowns – four more than the second best team in the Big Sky Conference – in their 18 visits. One other visit ended in Rory Perez's 44-yard field goal Saturday, two ended in the aforementioned victory formation, and one ended in a fumble. Of the 14 touchdowns eight have been rushing scores and six have come via the pass.
MSU's 2011 season ended against Sam Houston State in part due to its own ineffectiveness in the red zone. The Bobcats had the ball inside the 10-yard line twice in the first quarter of their FCS playoff quarterfinal only to settle for field goals. Turning what could've been a 21-14 halftime deficit into 21-6 and instead of an early third quarter touchdown tying the game, MSU was still down by eight points.
Saturday they turned the tables and got a first hand taste of how it works at SFA's expense.
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