John K wrote:Actually it goes back even further than that...way before my time even. MSU dominated UM from the mid 50's through the mid 80's, starting with our NC season in 1956 and running through 1985...the year before "the streak" began. The Griz had a couple of brief intermittent periods of success during that time, but the Cats had the better program for almost the entirety of that 30 year period. We never had a 16 game winning streak in Cat Griz, but we had a couple of 6 game streaks, while the Griz never won more than 2 in a row during that era. Overall, MSU had a 22-8 edge in Cat-Griz, with three NC. We had 10 conference championships, compared to only 3 for UM.Griznationalist wrote:Agree. I remember long stretches of the 1970s and 1980s when the Cats owned the Griz.WalkOn79 wrote:To me the past 50 years is all that really matters. You know, after they stopped wearing leather helmets? This rivalry is much more even than most Griz are willing to admit.Griznationalist wrote:I root for the Cats whenever they are not playing the Griz. I know many Cat fans who used to say the same about the Griz, but that fricking streak seemed to make things turn bitter. I wish the head-to-head historical record between the two teams was dead-even so all the vitriol could just end. Or maybe it would be worse. Go Griz. Go Cats. Here's to healthy players and clean, strong programs. The state of Montana is fortunate for this rivalry.
BTW, good post! At the start of the streak, (Dickenson years) I rooted for the Griz in the playoffs. I haven't for quite some time now due to the arrogance exhibited by many of your cohorts,
Beginning with the 2010 season, the year after UM's last NC game appearance in 2009, the two programs have been very close. I don't really subscribe to that whole "vacated wins" concept. However, if you did take that into account, then MSU would have a slight edge overall. We have 3 BSC titles compared to only 1 for them (which was subsequently vacated), We've been in the QF twice, while UM has only 1 QF appearance (which was also vacated). They have a 5-4 edge in playoff appearances (but 4 each officially since 1 was vacated), and a 4-3 edge in Cat-Griz. Even counting their 2 vacated wins, we still have a slight edge with a 37-19 record in BSC games to their 36-20. They have a better overall record by the slimmest of margins at 56-34 to MSU's 54-34, counting 5 vacated wins. Excluding their vacated wins,we have a razor thin edge, 54-34 to their 51-34. Really, you can't get much closer than that.
I don't dispute it. Great rivalry. I think it's fair to call it fairly even. I do believe it is accurate that the Cats have won 3 out of the last 10, and 6 out of the last 20, and 37 out of the last 114. But I do remember some stretches where it felt like the Cats owned the Griz.