The Bobcat Nation

I’ve heard Colter say it, most gris fans believe it, and one of Sam Herders recent articles state it, but I believe it to be absolutely false. Where is the hardest place to win in the FCS? I agree that at one point it was wa-gris. It seems to me that teams no longer fear playing there and their home record suggests it. I believe Bobcat stadium has taken the title and it’s not even close. Only one loss since 2019 in a OT heart breaker.

Here is the first paragraph from that article.

A night game in Missoula could spell trouble for Tennessee State. While the Thanksgiving weekend crowd may be a bit lighter than normal, Washington-Grizzly Stadium is still the toughest place to play in the FCS.

I think Wa Griz is the toughest road environment. MSU’s home record is better because the football teams have been better.

2 home losses at WashedupGriz this year. Take out the Morehead St game and the average margin of their 4 other home games is 8.5. Not exactly overpowering. And lots of empty seats for the PSU game.

Because of the way that stadium is built, it’s going to be louder than MSU. Both schools have a great atmosphere, but I do think WaGriz is harder to play at.

Ok it’s loud. Is it much louder than MSU? I don’t think so. What got me thinking about this was a comment made by Colter on one of the gris podcasts where he thinks Missoula is worth 6-10 points where Bozeman is worth 3. My personal opinion is it’s not that big of a difference.

The toughest place to play is Walkup Skydome. 7,000+ elevation and loud. Fill that place up and it’s the toughest place to play. Nothing else is close.

The toughest place to play is whoever has the best team. That sure as hell isn't the Griz this year. Just ask Weber State.

MSU01 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:34 pm

The toughest place to play is whoever has the best team. That sure as hell isn't the Griz this year. Just ask Weber State.

But eliminate the team, the setting itself needs to be factor. Factors are crowd noise, altitude, weather. I’ll take high altitude over weather. Noise is great.

If you gave me the best players and coaches then gave me a choice of where I want to play my home games, I taking Walkup without hesitation.

The Fargo dome isn’t an easy place to play at when it’s rocking.

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:33 pm

The toughest place to play is Walkup Skydome. 7,000+ elevation and loud. Fill that place up and it’s the toughest place to play. Nothing else is close.

I’ve never had the chance to attend a game at NAU. Do they fill it? If you had to quantify the advantage is points how would you rank it then. Is it worth 7 points?

Catbacker_1 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:44 pm

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:33 pm

The toughest place to play is Walkup Skydome. 7,000+ elevation and loud. Fill that place up and it’s the toughest place to play. Nothing else is close.

I’ve never had the chance to attend a game at NAU. Do they fill it? If you had to quantify the advantage is points how would you rank it then. Is it worth 7 points?

Been to NAU games several times. Never seen it as full as Bobcat Stadium or wagris for that matter. Elevation is a bugger though. Do teams from California have issues playing in Missoula? Elevation change is similar when you compare SLO to Missoula as is Bozeman to Flagstaff. Not exact but close.

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:33 pm

The toughest place to play is Walkup Skydome. 7,000+ elevation and loud. Fill that place up and it’s the toughest place to play. Nothing else is close.

Are you talking just BSC? Wyoming is colder, windier and higher elevation.

Lord Vigo wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:05 pm

I think Wa Griz is the toughest road environment. MSU’s home record is better because the football teams have been better.

Isn’t the caliber of team you field part of the reason you’re tough to beat?

Griz have lost more at home this season than the Cats have in 5 years.

If we're judging how hard a place is to play in by how often the home team wins a game they deserve to lose or is in a game they have no business being competitive in, I'd rank the Skydome first and Wagriz second.

How often has NAU clearly been the worse team going into the game and either won or kept it close?

How often in the last few years have the griz won games they should have lost if the opponent could just not melt down from the noise?

Bobcat Stadium has to be a difficult place to play but it's hard to tell because we've been so much better than everyone that steps inside. We don't have the same homefield advantage lately compared to the other two because we have the team advantage so homefield doesn't come into play to the same degree. Since we lost to Sac in 2019 we've had a total of 3 home games where our margin of victory was single digits.

Prodigal Cat wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2024 6:51 am

Lord Vigo wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:05 pm

I think Wa Griz is the toughest road environment. MSU’s home record is better because the football teams have been better.

Isn’t the caliber of team you field part of the reason you’re tough to beat?

Griz have lost more at home this season than the Cats have in 5 years.

I thought we are talking about which environment is toughest independent of the team.

The original title of the thread is "tougher place to play", which to me has to take into account the quality of the home team. Not a single FCS coach would choose to play MSU in Bozeman over UM in Missoula this year if they needed to win one road game.

If the question is which FCS venue gives the home team the biggest advantage, then sure - NAU could be the biggest followed close behind by the Griz and Cats plus a few others.

MSU01 wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2024 8:34 am

The original title of the thread is "tougher place to play", which to me has to take into account the quality of the home team. Not a single FCS coach would choose to play MSU in Bozeman over UM in Missoula this year if they needed to win one road game.

If the question is which FCS venue gives the home team the biggest advantage, then sure - NAU could be the biggest followed close behind by the Griz and Cats plus a few others.

I mean, if we are including the quality of the home team itself this isn’t really a discussion.

These discussions are like the analogy of if your aunt had nuts.

MSU and um stadiums aren’t difficult places to play in the second half because the fans don’t return fast enough from the tailgates.


——quickly runs away——

Catbacker_1 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:44 pm

TomCat88 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2024 11:33 pm

The toughest place to play is Walkup Skydome. 7,000+ elevation and loud. Fill that place up and it’s the toughest place to play. Nothing else is close.

I’ve never had the chance to attend a game at NAU. Do they fill it? If you had to quantify the advantage is points how would you rank it then. Is it worth 7 points?

It wasn’t full when I was there but it was loud and annoying because the PA guy was obnoxious. I’d much prefer to play outdoors in the cold than indoors at 7,000 feet. At least outdoors both teams are cold, but only one team is affected by the elevation. The Cats and Griz have both lost lots of cold weather home games.

I don’t think you should factor in how good a home team is into this discussion.