FCS Semifinals Pit ‘Physical’ Montana State Offense Against ‘Sound’ South Dakota Defense

BOZEMAN — The South Dakota football team has never faced Tommy Mellott, but the Coyotes know him well. They know the Montana State senior quarterback is playing as well as he ever has.

“A couple years ago, people might have said that he was a running quarterback,” USD head coach Bob Nielson said Monday. “Now, he’s a quarterback.”

Mellott’s growth this season has launched an already elite offense into an unstoppable stratosphere — a level higher than USD has faced this season. The Coyotes, meanwhile, arguably have a better defense than any MSU has prepared for this fall.

The top-seeded Bobcats (14-0) and No. 4-seeded Coyotes (11-2) will face off in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. Each team is strong in every phase, but MSU’s offense versus USD’s defense will likely be the main event. Both sides are cautiously optimistic about how that bout will play out.

“They’re going to definitely try to change the math on the perimeter for our run game,” MSU offensive coordinator Tyler Walker told 406 MT Sports on Tuesday. “A lot of people try to do that, so I’m sure they’ll take some things from different places and try to fit it into what they do well. They’ve got good coaches, so they’ll have some answers.”

The Coyotes rank fourth among FCS teams in scoring defense (16.6 points allowed per game) and are 16th in total defense (312.5 yards allowed per game) this season, with the 10th-fewest rushing yards (107.9) and the 46th-fewest passing yards given up per game (204.5).

In the FCS grades from Pro Football Focus, USD is 11th in overall defense, third in rushing defense and first in tackling (UT Martin, which lost at MSU 49-17 in the second round, finished the season No. 10 in overall defense and No. 9 in rushing defense in PFF’s rankings).

“They play a bunch of guys. Really good linebacking crew, good safeties. They fly the ball,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said Monday. “They make it really hard to do what you want to do.”

USD’s defense primarily lines up with four down defensive linemen, who don’t move much after the snap from a stunt/twist/game perspective, according to Walker. The Coyotes aren’t a heavy blitz team, either. They generally use a two-high safety shell and call more quarters coverage than man-to-man, Walker said.

Walker compared USD to South Dakota State (which is playing at North Dakota State in Saturday’s other semifinal game). Both Missouri Valley Football Conference teams like to keep opposing offenses in front of them and eliminate big plays, Walker said.

“They want you to snap the ball again,” he added. “They are — I don’t want to say vanilla, because that’s not the right term — but they’re sound. They’re going to be four down. They’re going to be in their gap. They’re going to be where they’re supposed to be.”

USD defensive end Mi’Quise Grace is an All-American who was named MVFC defensive player of the year. The redshirt sophomore from Cincinnati has 59 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks this season.

Other All-MVFC players on USD’s defense: safety Dennis Shorter (also an All-American), D-lineman Blake Holden, linebacker Gary Bryant III and cornerback Mike Reid.

Vigen was impressed by the Coyotes in their 20-17 overtime loss at South Dakota State on Oct. 26. They held the two-time defending FCS champion to 329 total yards in that game and got into field goal range in the final minute of regulation, but the 46-yard go-ahead attempt failed.

About a month later, USD held North Dakota State to 340 total yards in a 29-28 victory at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota. The Coyotes trailed 28-17 late, but scored a touchdown with about three minutes left, forced a punt and scored the game-winning TD with 12 seconds on the clock.

Nielson credited his staff for preparing the players well every week.

“In our league, you see a lot of different types of run games. You see some run games with mobile quarterbacks,” he added. “Our front has played well. I think that’s maybe the biggest difference from the last couple of years.”

In USD’s second-round playoff game, 13th-seeded Tarleton State led by seven points both at halftime and through three quarters. The Coyotes trailed by three points until the 9:35 mark, then scored two straight touchdowns to pull away for a 42-31 win at the DakotaDome. They finished with season-highs in passing yards allowed (379) and total yards allowed (477).

USD forced six turnovers in a 35-21 quarterfinal victory over No. 5 UC Davis last week in Vermillion. The Aggies trailed by one score for most of that game, thanks in part to 345 yards passing and 433 total. Their All-American running back, Lan Larison, missed most of the game because of an injury.

Overall, the Coyotes have been strong enough defensively this year that they might “hang your hat on what got you here,” Walker said. But he’s preparing for the unexpected Saturday.

“I think they will try to switch something up. They’re going to try to change the numbers,” Walker said. “Where do they want that extra hat? Do they want to occupy the quarterback run game plus one? Do they want to stay in coverage? Do they want to play man coverage?”

The Cats rank first among FCS teams in scoring offense (42.1 points per game), total offense (493.7 yards per game), red zone offense (96.7% scoring rate) and third down conversion percentage (56.5%). PFF has MSU as the second-best overall FCS offense, behind USD.

“They have schemes that (say), ‘Hey, this is what we do, and we’re going to do it better than anybody else,’” Nielson said. “We’ve tried to create a run game that is based on somewhat of those same principles.”

A stable of talented ball carriers running behind top-tier blockers executing an outside zone blocking scheme has powered MSU to the FCS’ most yards per rush (6.76), the second-most rushing yards per game (307.1) and PFF’s second-best FCS rushing offense (behind USD).

“You’ve got to be good against their zone run game, understand that the quarterback has the ability to keep the football, and then (be prepared for) some of the things that they do with the designed quarterback runs off of their base run schemes,” Nielson said. “It’s going to force you defensively to be really good fundamentally, to go out and execute on every snap. The other thing is to play physically because they’re a very physical football team on both sides of the football.”

Nielson acknowledged that “you’re not going to stop their run game,” but making the Cats “work for every yard” could help USD minimize the points allowed Saturday. Preventing big rushing gains and creating “off-schedule” throws for Mellott will also be key, Nielson added. All-American left tackle Conner Moore will probably be the main Bobcat who blocks Grace on Saturday.

Mellott’s passing improvements make any game plan easier said than done.

“When you have the ability to run and pass the football effectively, it causes you to have to play defense from sideline to sideline,” Nielson said. “You’ve got to be mindful of committing too many people to the run, and in doing that, do you give up big plays on the perimeter? So it’ll be a balance.”