The Bobcat Nation

Kent Schmidt, I-AA.org West Columnist

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I-AA West Game of the Week

Montana State (6-3, 4-1 BSC) at Eastern Washington (5-4, 4-2 BSC)
Earlier in the season, this “Governor’s Cup” game looked like it would determine the Big Sky Conference winner. However, Eastern Washington has had a couple of losses both in the conference (Idaho State & Weber State) and out of the conference (Cal Poly last week) to take away their own ticket to the playoffs. With four losses, the Eagles will most likely not be selected as an at-large team. The Eagles could still gain the Big Sky automatic bid, however, if they defeat the Bobcats this week and see Montana State beat Montana the week after or see Montana lose to Sacramento State this week. Any tie scenario for the title with Montana or Montana State would give EWU the automatic bid since the Eagles would have defeated both Montana and Montana State.

Montana State, on the other hand, is in a must-win scenario as well. With three losses already, the Bobcats likely need to win out to be assured of a playoff spot. If MSU did win out, they would become this year’s Big Sky champions as well. The Bobcats could clinch at least a tie for the title with a win this week and a Montana loss at Sacramento State. However, the Bobcats would need to defeat Montana next week to win the Big Sky automatic bid.

This game features a pair of top quarterbacks not only in the Big Sky Conference but nationally. Eagle quarterback Erik Meyer has passed for 3,276 yards and 22 touchdowns, and is averaging 371.8 yards of total offense per game to rank first this week in I-AA. He has passed for 898 yards in the last two games alone. Montana State's Travis Lulay has passed for 2,221 yards and 16 touchdowns, and is averaging 300.9 yards of offense to rank eighth nationally.

This quarterback duo is so prolific that they have combined for 1,786 yards of total offense in the last three MSU-EWU games. Meyer has played in the last two, and has completed 43-of-74 passes (58 percent) for 644 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions, and has rushed for another 32 yards. Lulay has played in the last three, and has completed 79-of-127 passes (62 percent) for 978 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, and has rushed for another 134 yards and three touchdowns.

The game a year ago was a classic battle between Meyer and Lulay as the Eagles rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to shock the Bobcats 51-44 in overtime in Bozeman.

The winner of this game likely will be the one with the better quarterback play and the game likely will be just as close as it was last year.

Montana State has won and lost most games close and I think Lulay will give the Bobcats a better team than the Eagles have right now. I will take Montana State by three on the road.

I like the way this man thinks.

BleedsBlue&Gold wrote:I like the way this man thinks.

Then you also ought to like the rest of his article:

http://i-aa.org/section_front.asp?arttypeid=740

As anyone associated with the I-AA world knows, the team from the West that gets the most attention is the University of Montana Grizzlies.

Montana has been the most consistent I-AA team over the past 12 years, having seen post-season action in each of those seasons.

This year, the Grizzlies sit tied for the Big Sky Conference lead with a 4-1 conference mark and are 7-2 overall to go along with their #2 national ranking and looked poised to make their 13th straight trip to the playoffs.

How did Montana get so magnificent?
Before the team’s run of consecutive playoff appearances that started in 1993, the team was not anywhere near where the team is today. In fact, before 1993, the Grizzlies made the playoffs just three seasons (1982, 1988, 1989). The Grizzlies were College Division Bowl participants in the 1969 and 1970 seasons prior to that and were the teams’ only other post-season action.

Indisputably, one reason for the Montana magnificence came when Don Read became the Grizzlies’ head coach in 1986. He led the Grizzlies to the playoffs in his third season after turning around a dismal program that saw just one winning season (1981) in the previous ten. Read came to Missoula from Portland State and turned around Montana’s losing ways. He later led the Grizzlies to their first national title in his last season in 1995.

Another reason Montana has such grandeur about it is the stadium in which it plays. Washington-Grizzly Stadium became the Montana home field in Don Read’s first year of 1986. The stadium has gone through a number of upgrades throughout this timeline and has become the best I-AA venue in the country.

Yet another reason Montana has its splendor is their fans. Montana is a large state in terms of land area. Missoula sits almost on the western border. There are fans that travel four or five hours from points east of Missoula to see their favorite team. Each week the home standing Grizzlies have over 23,000 screaming fans to watch their games. Having been to Washington-Grizzly two years ago, I can attest that fans are some of the loudest fans in the country at really any division.

How are the Grizzlies doing this season?
After a rocky start in September and early October that included close games against South Dakota State (7-0 victory), Weber State (23-20 victory), and a loss to Eastern Washington at home (34-20), Head Coach Bobby Hauck’s young team has won their last three games including games against ranked teams at the time of their meetings; Portland State (37-16) and Cal Poly (36-27).

Montana seems to be in a similar pattern as last year which saw the team make it to the I-AA national title game—a game the Grizzlies lost to James Madison 31-21. Last year, the team also started off slow that included losses to Sam Houston State and Portland State but gained momentum at the end of the season to win the Big Sky automatic bid to the playoffs. Luck gave the unseeded Grizzlies home games all the way to the championship game after a couple of upsets to the seeded teams in the Grizzlies side of the bracket (Georgia Southern and Southern Illinois).

This year, the Grizzlies likely will not need luck to get home field advantage in the postseason as long as the team continues to win. They are ranked #3 in the latest Sports Network poll and sit at the #2 spot in the I-AA.org Gridiron Power Index. The Grizzlies will undoubtedly gain one of the four top seeds if they win out.

This year’s team has done their winning more with their defense then their offense. The Montana defense is giving up just 17 points per game and has a +10 in the turnover edge over their opponents. The defense has also pitched three shutouts on the season (55-0 over DII Fort Lewis (CO), 7-0 over South Dakota State and 23-0 over Northern Arizona last week).

The Montana defense and special teams scored the teams’ touchdowns last week over Northern Arizona. Cornerback Jimmy Wilson returned a blocked field goal 67 yards for a score. Linebacker Alex Hawthorne returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Dan Carpenter made all three of his field goal attempts to cement the final score at 23-0.

Who is left on the schedule for the Grizzlies and how do I think they will finish?
Montana has two road games left with trips to Sacramento State this week and then to their “Brawl in the Wild” combatants, Montana State the week after.

While winning road games is never easy in the Big Sky Conference, this week’s opponent, Sacramento State is one of the worst squads in the league so the Grizzlies should have little trouble taking care of business against the Hornets.

The Montana State game, however, has to alarm a number of Grizzly fans. Montana State has won two of the last three meetings and this year is currently tied with Montana for the conference lead. Montana did conversely win 38-22 last year in Missoula over the Bobcats.

This year, like most of the rest of the I-AA division, Montana has seen its share of ups and downs. However, the Grizzlies are currently playing above par just in time for the I-AA playoffs. With that fact and Montana’s magnificence, it does not bode well for any opponent coming into Missoula in the postseason.

Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans. This thread started out as how one impartial observer picks the MSU-EWU game to go this weekend, and within two posts has devolved into yet another idiotic friz posting a completely irrelevent and unrelated article about how wonderful the friz are.

Hey catsblow - I DON'T CARE!!! Go stick it over on efriz, where you all can sit around and talk about how great you are and how bad everyone else is. After you're done sticking it over there, you can stick it right up your ass.

Could not have been said better!

catsblow wrote:

BleedsBlue&Gold wrote:I like the way this man thinks.

Then you also ought to like the rest of his article:

http://i-aa.org/section_front.asp?arttypeid=740

[snip]

hey moron we do have a smackboard

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

Since you asked, the answer is "No." And it's not an epidemic, it's a PANDEMIC extending far beyond Griz fans. EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

GFGriz wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

Since you asked, the answer is "No." And it's not an eplidemic, it's a PANDEMIC extending far beyond Griz fans. EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

It's funny how the mighty Griz progam is now marketing UM gear with an M on it They are probably finding out how well MSU sales are going since the new logo change. As far as I know though, MSU is the one with an M on their helmets. Oh well, if you can't beat them join them eh? TOO FUNNY!

Anyone seen the new Montana 'M' hitches/shirts. Wow, it took them 100+ years to learn that there is an M in Montana

I personally like UMMMM ... should be on their helmets and their uniforms

CARDIAC_CATS wrote:

GFGriz wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

Since you asked, the answer is "No." And it's not an eplidemic, it's a PANDEMIC extending far beyond Griz fans. EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

It's funny how the mighty Griz progam is now marketing UM gear with an M on it They are probably finding out how well MSU sales are going since the new logo change. As far as I know though, MSU is the one with an M on their helmets. Oh well, if you can't beat them join them eh? TOO FUNNY!

Anyone seen the new Montana 'M' hitches/shirts. Wow, it took them 100+ years to learn that there is an M in Montana

I personally like UMMMM ... should be on their helmets and their uniforms

But there is no "M" is "State". Seriously, the Griz have been putting out gear with a single "M" on it for years. I have a sweatshirt and two different caps with a single "M" on each of them, the oldest of which I purchased at the University Bookstore in Missoula at least 8 years ago.

You might be able to get some big bucks for those on EBAY

GFGriz wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

Except 'Cat fans and a good percentage of the rest of the I-AA contingency.

CARDIAC_CATS wrote:You might be able to get some big bucks for those on EBAY

C'mon! Make me an offer! We've been using this design for so long they are antiques from the last century!

GFGriz wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

Since you asked, the answer is "No." And it's not an eplidemic, it's a PANDEMIC extending far beyond Griz fans. EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

OK, we're part of everybody. Come to Bozeman in 10 days and we'll show you our love. Hopefully you're not one of those frightened fans that won't come back because we're so rude and such big bullies. Tell me you're not staying in Livingston. Then at the end of the game, when we're celebrating a Bobcat win, we'll all share a toast.

GFGriz wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

Since you asked, the answer is "No." And it's not an epidemic, it's a PANDEMIC extending far beyond Griz fans. EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

Not everyone. Sorry to say.

I have been sorely dissapointed since moving back how much of this state is on the bandwagon, several stores I was in last summer in Kalispell didn't even have anything MSU and three racks of UM clothing. I told them since they didn't recoginze there are two universities in the state, I didn't need to shop there. I'm sure it really hurt them

They do seem to get pissed when I remind them all football aside, MSU has the quality education!

PDXKat wrote:

GFGriz wrote:

BozoneCat wrote:Can we ever get through a thread without some obnoxious newbie friz fan telling us how great they are? Seriously, this condition is epidemic among friz fans.

Since you asked, the answer is "No." And it's not an eplidemic, it's a PANDEMIC extending far beyond Griz fans. EVERYBODY loves the Griz.

OK, we're part of everybody. Come to Bozeman in 10 days and we'll show you our love. Hopefully you're not one of those frightened fans that won't come back because we're so rude and such big bullies. Tell me you're not staying in Livingston. Then at the end of the game, when we're celebrating a Bobcat win, we'll all share a toast.

FEEL THE LOVE!