BOZEMAN – Much has changed in the year since Montana State last faced arch-rival Montana in the annual Brawl of the Wild. The Bobcats have fallen out of Big Sky title contention while dealing with a wave of late-season injuries on both sides of the ball that have tossed the two-deep into turmoil. Montana’s football program has changed coaches and quarterbacks, and replaced an array of talented players on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
But one thing, according to Tim Cramsey, has remained the same.
“Their defense, man,” says Montana State’s third-year offensive coordinator. “Their defense is really sound, really well-coached, and really good.”
That matchup, the Big Sky-leading Bobcat offense against an attacking Montana defense that leads the nation in sacks, is the starting point of most conversations about this year’s Cat-Griz game.
The Griz (6-4 overall) play Montana State (5-5) in Bozeman Saturday at 12:10 p.m.
Montana still has an outside chance of winning the Big Sky Conference title and clinching the automatic bid to the playoffs if a very specific set of occurrences takes place on Saturday.
The Grizzlies can clinch league title and automatic playoff bid with a win over Montana State, a Northern Arizona win over Southern Utah and an Eastern Washington win over Portland State. There would then be a four-way tie in the conference, with four teams at 6-2, and UM would then take the tiebreaker thanks to head-to-head wins over NAU and Eastern Washington.
However, the Griz must defeat the Bobcats in the 115th Brawl of the Wild to keep their playoff hopes alive. Without a win against MSU, UM would move to 6-5 on the season, and the chances of receiving one of 13 at-large bids from the NCAA Division I Playoff Committee on Nov. 22 would be slim.
Two of the FCS football’s most high-profile individuals – MSU signal caller Dakota Prukop, among the nation’s top five in total offense all year, and FCS sacks leader Tyrone Holmes of Montana – line up at the fulcrum of this weekend’s showdown.
So, too, do potential All-America offensive linemen John Weidenaar and J.P. Flynn for the Bobcats, and an assortment of talented Grizzly linebackers and defensive backs.
But ninth-year Bobcat head coach Rob Ash says games are often decided away from pre-game hype. “A lot of times, it’s the other matchup – in this case how our defense does against Montana’s offense – that is really important,” he said.
The Bobcat defense faces an enormous challenge, says MSU defensive coordinator Kane Ioane. “They really spread the field well and create one-on-one matchups,” said the man who has been involved in every Cat-Griz game since his freshman year as a Bobcat safety in 2000. “And they have the personnel to win one-on-ones. Their receivers are very good, and even though everyone thinks they throw it all over the place they’re 50-50 run-pass, and their run game is very good.”
The Grizzlies exploded for 57 points last weekend upon the return of starting quarterback Brady Gustafson. Ioane said his presence is noticeable.
“Their offense just operates smoothly (with Gustafson),” Ioane said. “He does a great job doing what Coach Stitt wants done, and he’s very smart.”
Montana’s prolific, up-tempo offense squares off against a Montana State defense that has made incremental improvements through the last half of the season. Much of the gains are triggered by an improved ability to pressure the quarterback and force turnovers. The Cats have four strip-sacks in the last three games and nine takeaways in the last four after forcing just four opponent turnovers in the season’s first six games.
“The defense has played better,” Ash said. “Part of it is personnel, and part of it is scheme. But the net result is that they have improved as the season’s gone on.” The emergence of defensive end Jessie Clark has triggered that resurgence. The junior has five sacks and three forced fumbles in the last three games.
Montana State enters Saturday’s game with a 5-5 record, looking to extend the program’s string of consecutive winning seasons to 14 with a victory. Montana, on the other hand, hopes to seal an FCS Playoff bid and if things break right in other games could snag a share of the Big Sky Championship.
But none of that matters when the Cats battle the Griz. Says Ioane, “It’s just a special, special day.”
The Brawl of the Wild
The rivalry began in 1897 and today it is the 31st oldest NCAA rivalry matchup in the nation. It is the oldest FCS rivalry west of the Mississippi.
First meeting: Nov. 25, 1897, Montana 18, Montana State 6
All-time series: Montana leads 71-37-5
Largest victory: 1904, Montana 79, Montana State 0
Longest streak: Montana 16 (1986-2001)
Current streak: Montana 2 (2013-2014)
Last year’s game: Montana 34, Montana State 7