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No. 24 Washington State aims to clear FCS hurdle (Sep 02, 2017)
No. 24 Washington State has a potential Heisman Trophy candidate in senior quarterback Luke Falk as the Cougars open their sixth season under coach Mike Leach against FCS opponent Montana State in Pullman, Wash., on Saturday.
The Bobcats, coming off a 4-7 season in coach Jeff Choate's first year in Billings, Mont., can be viewed as fodder for the Cougars, one of the expected challengers to Washington in the Pac-12 North Division.
FCS teams have defeated ranked FBS opponents only four times. But it's also worth noting that Washington State has lost its past two openers to lower-division teams, although the Cougars were unranked both times.
"It's definitely a mental thing," fifth-year senior linebacker Peyton Pelluer said of the opening losses.
This matchup doesn't appear to be overly dangerous for Washington State, as Montana State has 37 new players after 26 underclassmen left the program during the offseason. The school will collect a $400,000 paycheck to play the game at Martin Stadium.
"It's nothing revolutionary. We've got to be calculated," Choate said Monday during his weekly news conference. "We're not going to go light our hair on fire and run around Martin Stadium and beat Washington State. We're going to have to be very calculated in our approach.
"This is a demanding, challenging opener, and we're going to be tested in a lot of ways. But the most important test that we have to pass is our ability to continue to keep fighting and keep playing hard regardless of the circumstances."
Choate was part of Leach's initial staff at Washington State in 2012 as the linebackers coach. He left for UTEP the next season to be the defensive coordinator but eventually wound up at Florida as the linebacker and special teams coach in 2013.
After two seasons as Washington's defensive line and special teams coach, Choate was hired as Montana State's head coach before last season.
"(Choate) has been in high demand by the places he's gone," Leach said. "When I brought him here (from Boise State, where Choate was an assistant for six years), it was because he was successful at a high level and brought in a lot of passion for Washington State."
Choate indicated that Leach's program, which has 18 returning starters, does not resemble the team he helped coach five years ago when the Cougars went 3-9.
"I think they have the best across-the-board talent in the six years Coach Leach has been there," Choate said. "I was there for his first year. It's amazing to look back and see the progress of that program over that time.
"Top to bottom, you can see the development of these young men. Their offensive line is big and physical. It looks like a Pac-12 offensive line. I think there's a lot of really good talent on the offensive side of the ball. The numbers speak for themselves."
Falk, a three-year starter, completed 70 percent of his passes (443 of 633) last season for nearly 4,468 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Montana State quarterback Chris Murray beat out former Washington State quarterback Tyler Bruggman for the starting job midway through last season.
Murray emerged as the Big Sky Freshman of the Year with 1,638 total yards of offense. Bruggman transferred to Texas A&M, leaving the job entirely to Murray, who will challenge Washington State with his athleticism.
He had 12 rushing touchdowns last season, but he passed for only six touchdowns with eight interceptions while competing 44.8 percent of his passes.
Murray should find it difficult to operate on the ground against a Washington State defensive front that returns key experience and helped the Cougars allow only 134.2 rushing yards a game last season. The leader is junior defensive end Hercules Mata'afa, who compiled 13.5 tackles for loss in 2016.
Montana State is led defensively by fifth-year senior linebacker Mac Bignell. He led the Bobcats with 14.5 tackles for loss last season. He tops Montana State's career list with eight fumbles forced. This is from a player who did not play 11-on-11 football in high school. He played eight-man football. He also reads lips to understand assignments from coaches because of a mild hearing impediment.
Leach is in search of his first season-opening victory at Washington State. He is 0-5 in that regard, including home losses in the past two years to Portland State and Eastern Washington -- both of the Big Sky Conference, like Montana State.
