Bobcat Commentary: 'Cats Believe
10/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
No one was humming a particular cheesy Journey tune around the Bobcat football offices on Sunday, but the theme was clear.
Don't stop believin'. Because the Bobcats never have.
Not when the team was 2-4, not when it lost back-to-back home games, not when it traveled to Weber State without three regular starters in the offensive line, and not when it faced the nearly-impossible task of overcoming a 10-point deficit with two minutes and some change to play.
"Strange as it sounds, we thought we had a chance," said Bobcat receiver Scott Turnquist after the game. "We never stopped believing," said quarterback Travis Lulay.
Those two players provided most of the 120 yards the Bobcats covered on the last two drives, and they, the warriors in MSU's offensive line, and linebacker Roger Cooper, who took several liters of IV fluid after to replenish fluids lost to the flu, set the emotional tone for the day.
But it's clear where it starts. It starts under center.
"Travis Lulay's play in the fourth quarter was special," said MSU coach Mike Kramer, and at least one NAU defender used that word to describe the true sophomore signal caller. When the game is on the line, Lulay has a special presence.
Since taking over the team against Idaho State in the season's sixth game last year, Lulay has faced this situation before. He has engineered four second-half come-from-behind wins in his 16 starts, a remarkable figure, and three of those wins came on Montana State's final drive of the game.
The Bobcats enter the heart of the Big Sky Conference schedule in position to make another real run at the Big Sky title. If they do so, they'll be riding the arm and legs of a quarterback that most people will admit is special.
"When we put the ball in Travis' hands with a chance to win a game, we really believe we'll find a way to do it," Kramer said.
Don't stop believin'. Because the Bobcats never have.
Not when the team was 2-4, not when it lost back-to-back home games, not when it traveled to Weber State without three regular starters in the offensive line, and not when it faced the nearly-impossible task of overcoming a 10-point deficit with two minutes and some change to play.
"Strange as it sounds, we thought we had a chance," said Bobcat receiver Scott Turnquist after the game. "We never stopped believing," said quarterback Travis Lulay.
Those two players provided most of the 120 yards the Bobcats covered on the last two drives, and they, the warriors in MSU's offensive line, and linebacker Roger Cooper, who took several liters of IV fluid after to replenish fluids lost to the flu, set the emotional tone for the day.
But it's clear where it starts. It starts under center.
"Travis Lulay's play in the fourth quarter was special," said MSU coach Mike Kramer, and at least one NAU defender used that word to describe the true sophomore signal caller. When the game is on the line, Lulay has a special presence.
Since taking over the team against Idaho State in the season's sixth game last year, Lulay has faced this situation before. He has engineered four second-half come-from-behind wins in his 16 starts, a remarkable figure, and three of those wins came on Montana State's final drive of the game.
The Bobcats enter the heart of the Big Sky Conference schedule in position to make another real run at the Big Sky title. If they do so, they'll be riding the arm and legs of a quarterback that most people will admit is special.
"When we put the ball in Travis' hands with a chance to win a game, we really believe we'll find a way to do it," Kramer said.
Monday, August 24
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