BOZEMAN — Make no doubt about it, Montana State offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright knows his offense came out and laid an egg at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in their 29-10 loss to the Montana Grizzlies.
“I’m sure people think we should have done other things and we should’ve at times, but ultimately we went into the game and had everything on the line, but as an offense and as a program we’re not ready for that moment,” he said.
Housewright said many times in his press conference on Wednesday that the failure of the offense falls on him. However, that’s the past and the team is looking forward and not back.
“You try to just look forward, you put it behind us and we have," said the first year offensive coordinator. "We’ve had two great practices here Tuesday and Wednesday. Sometimes when you have a game like that on offense, hopefully it wakes you up. It wakes the whole program up.”
Quarterback Matthew McKay has struggled mightily. In their last five games he’s only thrown for over 136 yards one time. Here’s what the offensive coordinator had to say about his McKay's struggles.
“I don’t really want to answer that, to be honest with you," said Housewright. "We’ll get better at that position.
As for if fans could see more Tommy Mellott or even Tucker Rovig at quarterback, here was Housewright’s response:
“Guys are always competing at every position, it’s week to week," he said. "I think as long as guys show up and compete and keep getting better, I think whoever we put out there is the best product.”
The offense hasn’t always struggled. Three players made the all-Big Sky first team. Junior running back Isaiah Ifanse was the leading rusher in the conference.
“He just keeps battling and he keeps battling," Housewright said about the Walter Payton award finalist. "He’s a special talent. I’m glad we have him, you know what I mean. I’m excited to see what his future holds as a running back."
After not seeing the field much for his entire career at Montana State, Bozeman native Lance McCutcheon has done nothing but impress the coaches and now the conference, being named to the first-team in his first year as a starter.
“He is just obsessed with getting better every week and still even in that (Cat-Griz) game, we didn’t get it to him enough and he’s still mad," Housewright said. "He feels like he could have done something more and that’s why he is where he is. That’s what he’s done every week, which has been unbelievable. He’s been a great leader and I think some guys need to follow him more.”
Offensive lineman Lewis Kidd was third to make the first team and we’ll see if the offense can get back on track in two weeks against whoever wins out of Missouri State vs. UT Martin this Saturday, or else the Bobcats could meet their end.
