Washington State football shuts down Montana State at home

2. Washington State defense is probably at championship level…

… but it might be silly to think that their effort against the Bobcats says much about that fact. First of all, when evaluating this team it is pointless to spend much time on Montana State’s passing game. Last year the Bobcats averaged just 156 passing yards per outing.

As a run-first team that ranked 17th in the FCS with 212 rushing yards per game, we can learn something about how the Cougars performed against MSU’s ground attack. Last year as a freshman, Chris Murray helped lead the Bobcats rushing attack with 860 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Washington State held Murray to just 55 yards on 17 carries. He failed to reach the endzone. And he completed only two of his eight passing attempts, throwing for 28 yards with an interception to boot. And yet he led the team in rushing as per usual. Montana State’s four other running backs combined for 60 yards on 15 carries in the defeat.

The Bobcats were held two yards per carry below last year’s averages by a Washington State defense that figures to be a strong balance for the high-powered offense. If the Cougars can keep up that level of play when they are on defense, they will once again be in the Pac-12 hunt late in the year.