One bad play forecast failure for Bobcats

It may an exaggeration to say that Montana State's loss to Sacramento State hinged on one play on the Hornets' first drive of the game, but just like a positive development can set the tone for good things to come, a negative can forecast failure.

Such was the case on fourth-and-five from the Sacramento State 19. MSU had seemingly forced a three-and-out from the Hornets after the Bobcats had scored on just three plays to start the game.

But a penalty for lining up in the neutral zone on Montana State gave the Hornets a first down, and they went on to tie the game 7-7.

Uh oh.

"It was not a good sign," MSU coach Mike Kramer said Tuesday. "I didn't feel it slipping away, but we didn't like it.

"That's what the coaches were saying to each other on the headsets - 'I don't like this, this isn't good.'"

Then the wheels fell off for the Bobcats - turnovers on offense, an inability to stop Sac State on defense, penalties on special teams that gave MSU poor field position, it was all there.

"When we scored in three plays … too easy," Kramer said. "We obviously let down on defense to allow all those yards rushing. Offensively we turned the ball over in the second quarter too many times to give ourselves a chance to win. On kick returns we had three disastrous holding penalties to negate big gains.

"You combine all those, you're going to give a team a chance to win."

The Hornets took that chance and MSU fell into what Kramer had called the "trap game" a week earlier.

"Unfortunately, our guys never realized how hard it was going to be to come from behind," he said. "With our four comeback wins, we developed too much of a reliance on our fourth quarter effort."

COACHING CAROUSEL: The firing of former Montana coach Mick Dennehy on Monday by Utah State was felt in Bozeman, too.

"Mick Dennehy is one of the great coaches I've ever been around," Kramer said. "He's just a tremendous person and tremendous friend and I'm greatly saddened by it."

Kramer coached under Dennehy at Colton High School in Washington in 1976, and experienced the sting of being fired himself as an assistant when Dave Arnold's MSU staff was shown the door in 1986.

"In today's world, so much of recruiting and fundraisng comes at the whims of the person with the keyboard," he said. "It all comes down to your ability to win or lose. Everything else is irrelevant."

"It's just the nature of the sport right now."

Kramer said the shakeup in Logan is a terse reminder to him and current UM coach Bobby Hauck, both of whom work under one-year contracts.

"The firing of Mick Dennehy makes me want to be a farmer," Kramer said.