If you were applying for a job and the position description said you'd be "in the trenches" and you'll "only be noticed when you do something wrong" and you "never get credit for the success of your company" chances are you'd be "looking elsewhere."

That's not the case for Montana State University's Brant Birkeland and thousands of young men around the country who crouch down to play offensive line. They take those jobs without batting an eye.

"We're just trying to earn the respect of our teammates," Birkeland says of his fellow linemen. "That's why you play. You're not out trying to make headlines for yourself. When the running backs, quarterback and receivers do good that's all you need as an offensive lineman."

Yes, whenever Birkeland and his ilk blow a hole wide enough to drive a grain truck through fans across this great nation of ours 'ooh-and-ah' for -- the running back. Same goes when a quarterback has seemingly an eternity to find an open receiver. "Good catch," they say or "nice throw."

Jump offsides, however, and brace yourself for some of the spiciest language this side of Hap's Beer Parlor.

Then along comes the head coach to set the world straight.

"You can only measure players like Brant with an autopsy, because he plays the game with heart," says MSU coach Mike Kramer a star lineman during his playing days at the University of Idaho. "When he's done, someone should get in there and see what makes him tick.

"He plays his best in the biggest games. His best two games this year were against Colorado, when no one thought we would win, and at Northern Arizona, when we had to win."

If big games are what get Birkeland going, then expect a good one from him this week when Montana State travels to Missoula to take on Montana with the Big Sky Conference automatic bid on the line.

"There's always plenty of motivation for the Cat-Griz, but with it being the conference championship game, it's something else," he says. "If we win we don't have to worry about that at-large bid."

Birkeland found his way to MSU offensive line in a roundabout fashion.

"I was recruited to play center, but they moved to the defensive line right away," he explained. "Then in a game against Weber State we ran out of offensive lineman, so they stuck me in there. The next week they asked me if I wanted to move back to offense. I was pretty skeptical at first, but after a week under coach (Jason) McEndoo I knew it would work. I just improved from there and coach Mac is deserves the credit for that."

Kramer says he discovered Birkeland's skills during a practice in his freshman season.

"We were running bootlegs in practice and you could see he would become a great lineman. He dominates with his foot speed and is able to find ways to get into other people's bodies."

One of Birkeland's perceived skills has been thrown by the wayside in recent weeks. MSU had him at center for a few games last year and he's been the short snapper up until a couple weeks ago. Trouble seemed to follow him at that position and he doesn't miss it.

"At first the coaches gave me the benefit of the doubt, but there was no magic to make it better," Birkeland said as he laughed about his foibles at the position. "When they said they were going to give someone else a try I thought to myself, 'that'd be fine with me.' I was the most excited person on the team when they took that job away. I was the backup snapper at Helena High and there was a reason for that."

Birkeland played his younger years in Fort Benton before moving to Helena where he played both ways for Helena High. He claimed AA defensive player of the year honors with an astounding 30 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.

"I think of Brant as a representative of two communities," Kramer added. "He gets support from Helena and Fort Benton and both take pride in saying he's one of theirs. He has great parents and both Pam and Mike have nurtured all three of their children to be assets."

Being close to family and friends isn't lost on Birkeland.

"That's the best aspect of playing here," he said. "My family comes to almost all our games -- home or away. It was especially nice when my cousin (receiver Scott Turnquist) was here. But it's not just my family, I've had so much support from the Helena community. It's really been nice."

Cat-Griz start moved back

MISSOULA (AP) -- The start time for Saturday's Cat-Griz football game has been moved back to 12:37 p.m. to allow ESPN's GamePlan pay-per-view package to broadcast as much of the game as possible, the Big Sky Conference announced Tuesday.

The Montana-Montana State game is to be televised on the same GamePlan channel as the Western Carolina-Florida game, which begins at 10 a.m. MST. There will be a ''crawler'' on the bottom of the screen in the second half of that game, to alert viewers that the Cat-Griz game will be joined in progress.

The game will be televised live in Montana on Montana's News Station channels.