Game No. 3

  AT   

Western Oregon (1-1, 0-1 GNAC) at Montana State (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
Sept. 17, 2016 • Bobcat Stadium (17,777) – Bozeman, Mont. / 2:05 p.m. MT
 
Television: None
Radio: None
Live Video: Montana State Webcast ($)
Live Audio: Montana State Radio
Social Media: Facebook: Western Oregon Athletics | Twitter: @WOUWolves @WOU_Football | Instagram: @WOUWolves @WOU_Football
Live Stats: MSU StatBroadcast
 
 
Series: First meeting
Last Meeting: N/A

Coaches:
Arne Ferguson (Western Oregon, 1991)
Western Oregon Record: 72-49 (12th Season)
Career Record: Same
Career vs. Montana State: 0-0
Jeff Choate (Montana Western, 1993)
Record: 1-1 (1st Season)
Career Record: Same
Career vs. Western Oregon: 0-0
 
 
• Western Oregon faces its second FCS opponent of the year traveling to Montana State this Saturday at 2:05 p.m. Mountain (1:05 p.m. Pacific). It will be the second road game of the season for the Wolves and the second of three straight home games for the Bobcats to close out the month of September.
• The second-longest road trip of the year at 811 miles from McArthur Field to Bobcat Stadium, Saturday's contest will be the first all-time meeting between the schools. For Montana State, it will be the first time facing a Division II opponent since hosting Fort Lewis (Colo.) during the opening week of the 2015 season.
• Arne Ferguson's teams since 2010 have gone 1-5 against Division-I FCS teams"

• 2010: L, 17-31 at Sacramento State
• 2011: L, 7-32 at Montana
• 2013: L, 14-43 at Eastern Washington
• 2014: L, 38-45 at Portland State
• 2015: L, 0-31 at Portland State
• 2016: W, 38-30 at Sacramento State
   

TICKETS – Limited tickets for Saturday's game at Montana State available for sale at WOUWolves.com/WOUtickets or in the WOU Ticket Office from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in New PE 115. Fans may also purchase tickets for the three remaining home games (10/1 vs. APU, 10/8 vs. SFU, 10/22 vs. HSU) online or by calling the WOU Ticket Office (503-838-8917).
 
 
1^st Down: The Western Oregon defense featured three players with double-digit tackles. Bo Highburger led the Wolves for the second straight week totaling 15 tackles including five of them for loss (14 yards). Tyler Johnson followed with 12 stops (with a sack) and Tafatolu Tafai had three tackles for loss as part of his 11 total tackles. Defensive lineman Kui Williams had a pair of sacks while Michael Kluge and Hunter Copley also brought down the quarterback for losses.
2^nd Down: Paul Revis notched his 10^th career game with over 100 yards receiving on Saturday. His 132 yards on 11 grabs inched him closer to the 200-yard mark for the season. The single-game career high for Revis is 171 yards against Humboldt State during his freshman campaign in 2014.
3^rd Down: The battle last Saturday may have been won on third and fourth down. WOU was 1-of-12 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down against CWU. The week prior, the Wolves were 5-of-14 on third down in the victory over Sacramento State.
4^th Down: Last Saturday, three true freshmen saw significant playing time for Western Oregon. Running back Torreahno Sweet carried the ball four times for four yards. Defensive back Malik Abdul-Haqq made seven tackles, three solo. Defensive lineman Hunter Copley had two solo tackles including his first collegiate sack.
 
 
Offense: Paul Revis, Keoni Piceno, Bryson Dizon
Defense: Danny Hankins, Bo Highburger, Jeremy Moore
Special Teams: Nathan Osborn
 
 
Montana State bounced back after an opening week road loss at Idaho by holding off Bryant in their home opener last Saturday, 27-24. Despite allowing 452 yards to the visiting Bulldogs, Montana State forced five turnovers that turned into 20 points. Quarterback Tyler Brugman threw for 126 yards and two scores while Gunner Brekke and Nick LaSane each ran for a score. Two defenders – Mac Bignell and Fletcher Collins – each had 10 tackles for the Bobcats.
 
Brugman has three passing touchdowns on the year while amassing 317 yards. Chad Newell leads the running backs with 104 yards with Brekke, who miss the opener, following with 80 yards. John D'Agostino is the only receiver with 10 catches while Mitchell Herbert paces the Bobcats with 97 receiving yards. Bignell had 20 tackles to lead all Montana State defenders while the team has picked off four passes.
 
Montana State was selected in a tie for seventh in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll and eighth in the media poll after a 5-6 campaign in 2015.
 
 
WOLVES DOWN D-1 HORNETS: Paul Revis' two first quarter touchdowns provided all the momentum that Western Oregon needed to score a 38-30 upset of Division I-FCS Sacramento State at Hornet Stadium. Revis opened scoring on a trick play, catching a 19-yard pass from Malik Braxton with 4:41 left in the first quarter. A minute later, Revis returned a punt 74 yards for the touchdown, putting the Wolves up 14-0. The Hornets added a pair of touchdowns and a field goal, but Braxton's 10-yard touchdown reception from Phillip Fenumiai allowed the Wolves a 21-16 halftime lead. Sacramento State was within two, 24-22, thanks to a 18-yard touchdown pass from Nate Ketteringham to Jaelin Ratliff with 14:03 left in the game, but the Wolves responded with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Nick Duckworth to Wesley Gray with 10:31 left and a Torreahno Sweet 30-yard scoring run with 5:11 left. Sacramento State scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion on their next possession and had a chance to tie the game late before Danny Hankins intercepted Ketteringham in the end zone with 19 seconds left to win it. Revis finished the night with 175 all-purpose yards, making seven catches for 64 yards and a touchdown and returning two punts for 111 yards and a score. Fenumiai completed 8 of 15 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown while Duckworth completed 6 of 9 for 73 yards and a score. Ketteringham completed 34 of 58 for 370 yards and three touchdowns for Sacramento State, but was also intercepted twice. Western Oregon won the game despite being outgained by the Hornets 465 to 341. Bo Highburger led the Western Oregon defense with 14 tackles, including one for loss, a sack and a forced fumble.
 
WOLVES DROP HOME OPENER TO CWU: Senior tight end Andy Avgi had two touchdown grabs and junior receiver Paul Revis caught 11 passes for 132 yards, but Central Washington scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to pick up a 41-20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win on Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field. Avgi hauled in a 29-yard pass from junior quarterback Phillip Fenumiai in the first quarter and the duo synced up again late in the fourth quarter for a five-yard score. Fenumiai was 13-of-25 for 169 yards in a starting role and fellow junior Nick Duckworth amassed 177 passing yards for the Wolves (1-1, 0-1 GNAC) going 13-for-19 during action beginning late in the first half. Central Washington (1-1, 1-0 GNAC) quarterback Justin Lane threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats outgained WOU 45-1 353 for the game. Three WOU played paced the defensive effort with 10 or more tackles. Bo Highburger led the team for the second consecutive game posting a game-high 15 tackles with five stops coming for loss. Tyler Johnson had 12 stops including a sack while Tafatolu Tafai had three stops for loss in his 11 total tackles. Kui Williams had a pair of sacks and Nathan Jones had a pick and two breakups in the secondary.