Montana Game First look at final score and one thinks defensive didn’t get it done. But looking at offense:
First 8 Aggie drives:
2- 3 and outs -1 first down negated by penalty
1-4 play drive ended by fumble, also offensive PI
2 -5 play drives
1-6 play drives ended by fumble
1-7 play drive ended by int.
1-14 play drive TD but assisted by roughing punter. also an off. PI
4.33 yards per play (1.9 yd/rush) vs 6.85 Montana.
Also field position not good.
So pretty clearly lack of offense, turnovers, and 9 penalties sealed the deal. I also noted 3 penalties at NDSU for blocks in back- at least 2 on fair catches. There is a lot to work on. As another noted - mostly the same offense as last year but not performing as last year. I think folks got overconfident about offense after last year - last year was special - got to enjoy those seasons without speculating/assuming automatic equal or better performance the subsequent season.