Rob Ash on Saturday's game against Eastern Washington...

MSU safety Arnold Briggs after MSU's game against Eastern Washington on Saturday...

MSU quarterback Cody Kempt after the MSU-EWU game...

DeSean Thomas post-game interview after the MSU-Eastern Washington game...

http://www.robashfootball.com/audio/RA10-13-08.WMA

Bobcat coach Rob Ash discusses the open week just passed, as well as the nightmares caused by South Dakota and its versatile quarterback Noah Shepard.

We have not made the switch for the following reasons:

1.  Cody earned the starting job during pre-season camp and deserves a good solid chance to show us what he can do.

2.  Rotating the starting QB takes a huge emotional toll on both young men and should be done as infrequently as possible.

3.  It's possible that in the next game or two, the offensive game plan might work out to be very effective from the beginning of the game, and then the opposing defense might make some good adjustments.  In that situation, the starting QB would have inherited the better situation.  So we don't want to change too many variables all at the same time.

4.  We'd like to get into a 60-minute, competitive game and see how the QB's do when the game is tough and close, and we just have not had a game like that yet.

Thanks for posting your questions and supporting MSU Football.  Go Bobcats!

Rob Ash offers his opinion on last weekend's Kansas State game, and the upcoming contest at the University of Minnesota.

Rob Ash looks at last week's win over Adams State, and looks ahead to the trip to Manhattan, Kansas, in his weekly press conference.

MSU receivers coach Jonathan Beasley, a former standout at Kansas State, visits his alma mater this weekend.

How about that new Turf?  As advertised, it looks great, plays fast, and our players love it!  Thanks again to the 1984 National Championship Team for making the new turf possible -- it was fantastic to see Coach Arnold here this weekend and to see all the players from that great 1984 team with him.

My reaction to the game was very positive, especially regarding our defense.  Coach Marshall has these guys playing fast and aggressive football, and they provided the offense with super field position numerous times, which helped put the game away early.

I also was pleased with our improved special teams, although we have a couple of glitches to fix.  But Jason Cunningham was outstanding, Eric Fisher showed his leg strength, and our coverage units were excellent.  We also have the capabilities to put together very good return units as the season goes on.

The offense needs to eliminate the costly penalties, but otherwise I was fairly well satisfied.  We didn't have to drive the length of the field many times, but the good news is that we were very efficient in the Red Zone and converted on most of the opportunites we had in the game.

We are already busy preparing for Kansas State, which looked very impressive at home against North Texas State.  K-State is a talented and well-coached team, and we'll have our hands full.  But our guys will be well-prepared and motivated, and we'll be ready to play our best football next Saturday night.

Thanks again for your support and for your patience throught the lightning delay on Saturday -- we were very appreciative of all the great fans who came back after the delay to help us finish the deal!

Have a good week!  Go Bobcats!

Rob Ash discusses the season-opening win against Adams State, and next week's trip to Manhattan, Kansas, to face Kansas State.

Bobcat defensive end Dane Fletcher comments on the end of camp and the excitement of preparing for Montana State's first game of the season at Tuesday's interview session.

Bobcat running back Demetrius Crawford on getting ready for Montana State's season opener against Adams State.

(Tuesday, August 26 update):

A follow-up email asked if CJ Palmer was ready not only physically, but mentally, for the challenges of playing Division I FCS football.  CJ is unusually mature and has a great head for the game.  He understands blocking schemes and pad level and ball security, and he is not a prima donna type running back who is all about his own stats -- he just wants to win.  When he gets 100% healthy, he will be fun to watch and I'm sure he'll compete favorably during our season.

Jason McEndoo has experience molding young offensive lines, so when a pair of redshirt freshmen entered the starting lineup upon center Jim Verlanic's injury, it was nothing he hadn't faced before.

My preference is to have one starting quarterback instead of using a rotation.  I think the starter plays better if he knows the job is his alone and the team is counting on him.  Having said that, I think it is OK to bring in the second team QB from time to time in games, to give him snaps and experience, but not to replace the starter permanently.   And I think it is also good if the #2 QB gets some snaps when the game is still being contested, not just at the end if the game is out of hand.  But I really don't think we'll go with a pre-determined rotation (every two series or every quarter) or anything like that.

CJ Palmer will be an excellent short yardage runner in 3rd down and goalline situations, and he will be playing this year -- he will not redshirt.  He has had some leg problems here in camp and is not full speed yet, so we're not sure how ready he will be for those situations in the first game or two.  When he gets 100% healthy, I think he will be able to really help our running game.

Bobcat defensive coordinator Jamie Marshall looks at Montana State's linebackers enter the final days of the 2008 preseason camp.

Here is where we stand after Saturday's scrimmage:

1.  The quarterback position is still not decided.  Both Mark Iddins and Cody Kempt are playing well and either one of them would do a fine job leading our team.  Some people have asked if "we know but we're not saying" who the QB is, and I want to tell you this -- we don't know!  Both QB's are efficient, solid players who protect the ball and put us in the right calls, and we have not found enough difference between them to name one the starter -- yet.

2.  We still need to work on the running game.  Jim Verlanic has been out of action, and freshman running back CJ Palmer has been nursing a sore leg, so we have not had the lineup out there that we want, especially in short yardage and goalline situations.  We will emphasize the run game today and tomorrow and we should have CJ back for these practices.

3.  The safety positions are also unsettled.  Kevin Retoriano and Jordan Craney have missed considerable practice time with injuries and Arnold Briggs is new at the position after moving over from corner.  Jeff Brown and Mike Rider are also in the mix.  So over the next two days we need to see who can do the best job of getting us in the right alignments and who can make the most plays, so we can finalize our lineup.

4.  Most of the other positions are shaping up well, and we're beginning to see some consistency as guys play next to each other day after day.

5.  We will be working on a lot of special situations for the rest of the week.  We won't have any more full-scale scrimmages -- this Saturday's drill will be a helmets-only "Mock Game" where we will review personnel changes and special teams.

Thanks for supporting the Blog site -- please send in any comments or suggestions -- we want the site to give you the information YOU want!

See you all at the Gold Rush game on August 30.  Go Bobcats!

Montana State coach Rob Ash saw good things from his offensive unit in Tuesday's full-pad practice.

http://www.robashfootball.com/audio/Rob8-18-08.WMA

Monday's practice begins a crucial three-day period in which many of the pending position battles will be decided, and which marks the last intensive full-contact work of the preseason. Ash previews this period, and looks back at Saturday's scrimmage...

Montana State defensive line coach Bo Beck has a deep and talented blend of veterans and youngsters. He examines MSU's defensive line...

Rob Ash looks at Montana State's major preseason scrimmage on Saturday, August 16.

Montana State prepared for its Saturday scrimmage with a full-contact practice Friday morning that pleased Rob Ash.

We had a good practice this morning, with some live goalline reps at the end, and this afternoon we will have a snappy helmets-only review.

Tomorrow we will conduct a live scrimmage in the Stadium starting at about 2:30 pm.  This practice is open to the public, so please stop by and take a look at your 2008 Bobcats!

Our fans will love watching games on the new surface!  We'll have excellent footing regardless of the weather conditions, and the field markings and jersey numbers will always be visible!  And on a day with perfect weather conditions, the beauty of the field design will be fantastic to see.

All of us in the Bobcat Football program want to thank Coach Dave Arnold and the 1984 National Championship Team for making this project possible.  The new turf was a perfect match for the 1984 Bobcats -- a chance to "give back" to the university with a football-specific project that would also benefit the fans and boosters of the program.  THANK YOU, 1984 BOBCATS!  Your logo is proudly displayed on the new field, and you deserve it!

Bobby Daly and his teammates practiced on MSU's new FieldTurf playing surface for the first time on Wednesday. Daly discusses the experience.

GREAT NEWS THIS WEEK -- all of our Season Tickets for the 2008 season are SOLD OUT!  Again, thank you very much for your support!  We love to play in front of a packed house at Bobcat Stadium and you are going to make that happen again!  (NOTE:  Single game tickets are still available for purchase, so you can still see the Bobcats at home this fall if you work quickly!)

The Field Turf surface is just about finished -- and we hope to get out there to practice on the new turf this week some time.  It looks GREAT and really dresses up the Stadium -- besides providing our players with a solid and consistent surface for practice and for games.

Thanks again to the 1984 National Championship team for spearheading the Field Turf project!   You have really "given back" to your school and program, and we appreciate it.

Kevin Retoriano and Jordan Craney, our starting safeties in the Spring Game, have both missed some practice time with minor injuries but should be back in action soon.

We have two practices today (Wednesday) -- full pads this morning and helmets only this afternoon.  We will have a group of officials here this morning to officiate our team session, and the emphasis will be on the Red Zone.

We will continue to put video interviews and behind the scenes vignettes on the site for your enjoyment.

MSU's co-offensive coordinator Dale Ploessl takes a look at Montana State's offense after the first week of fall camp.

Yesterday (August 7, 2008), we had over 600 hits on the site -- an amazing and exciting response for the first day or two on a new site like this!

Check in daily for audio and video highlights of pre-season camp -- we want our fans and friends to feel personally connected to Bobcat Football, as a way of thanking everyone for the tremendous support you give us!

Pre-season camp is going very well.  We are far, far ahead of last year and the guys are really working hard.  Today (August 8, Friday) is our first day in full pads and tomorrow afternoon we will have our first scrimmage out at the practice field.

We will update the site as often as we can.  If you have comments or suggestions, please feel free to send them to us.

Go Bobcats!

Coach Ash

Montana State's fifth practice of fall camp was interrupted ater just more than an hour by a lightning storm that moved through the Gallatin Valley. The team finished the individual portion of practice, which featured the first full tackling work of camp, but cost the Cats the entire team segment.

Thank you for stopping by. Check back often for updates to the blog.