MSU earned the playoff's' fourth seed by winning the 110th Cat-Griz game
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Playoff Notebook: Young, Old Bobcats Earn Post-Season Awards
11/21/2010 4:20:44 PM | Football
Montana State heads to playoff for fourth time in nine seasons
A pair of productive freshmen and a long list of seniors claimed honors at Montana State's 2010 post-season football banquet on Sunday.
Freshman quarterback Denarius McGhee, who raised his season passing yardage total to 2,940 yards on Saturday, earned Sonny Holland Offensive MVP honors, while freshman linebacker Aleksei Grosulak, the team's leading tackler, was named Bill Kollar Defensive MVP. Special teams ace Blayde Becksted, who earned a plus grade from the coaching staff on 94% of his 220 special teams plays, was named Jan Stenerud Kick Teams MVP.
Senior captains Mike Person (Dennis Erickson Offensive Coaches Choice Award), Jordan Craney (Joe Tiller Defensive Coaches Choice Award) and Michael Rider (Don Hass Most Inspirational) each earned awards, as well.
Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year: Brian Flotkoetter
Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year: Cole Moore
Special Teams Scout Team Player of the Year: Matt Thibault
Ken Amato Special Teams Coaches Award: Cody Kirk
Joe Tiller Defensive Coaches Award: Jordan Craney
Dennis Erickson Offensive Coaches Award: Mike Person
Donny Hass Most Inspirational Award: Mike Rider
Jan Stenerud Outstanding Kick Teams Player: Blayde Becksted
Sonny Holland Outstanding Offensive Player: Denarius McGhee
Bill Kollar Outstanding Defensive Player: Aleksei Grosulak
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When the Washington-Grizzly Stadium clocks hit 0:00 and Montana State claimed its fourth Big Sky Championship in the last nine seasons Saturday, the Bobcats clinched the program's fifth playoff appearance.
MSU won the 1976 (Division II) and 1984 (I-AA) NCAA Championships by roaring to six straight playoff wins. MSU also won a share of the 1956 NAIA National Championship by tying St. Joseph's (Ind.) in the Aluminum Bowl. The Bobcats currently stand 6-3 in NCAA playoff games. Montana State advanced to the playoffs most recently in 2002 and '03 as Big Sky Champions and automatic qualifiers, losing first round games each time.
In 2006, the Bobcats earned an at-large playoff berth, and posted the team's first post-season victory since the 1984 National Championship game. MSU topped Furman in the first round at home, before losing to Appalachian State in Boone, N.C.
MSU won a share of the 2005 Big Sky title, but did not qualify for the playoffs.
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Saturday's win raised MSU's record to 9-2, tying the record for the team's most regular season victories ever. MSU finished the also won nine games in 1956, 1976, and 1984.
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Senior safety Michael Rider sealed MSU's championship-clinching win with an interception. It was his first of the season. “No,” he laughed when asked if he'd scripted the whole season that way. “I wish I could say I did, but no.”
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Two Big Sky teams qualified for the FCS Playoffs this season – MSU and Eastern Washington. The Colonial Athletic Association advanced four teams to the post-season, while the Missouri Valley and Southern each sent three teams. The Big Sky and MEAC each sent to teams to the playoffs.
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MSU has a long history with one of its possible second round opponents, and none with the other.
While the Bobcats have never faced Robert Morris, MSU owns an 11-9 record against North Dakota State. The Cats beat the Bison, then a transitional I-AA team, 20-17 in 2005.
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Bobcat coach Rob Ash won his 29th game as Bobcat coach on Saturday, eighth-most in school history and the most by any top Cat in his first four seasons. Like Tony Storti, MSU's all-time winningest coach by percentage, Ash beat Montana in his fourth try. Like Storti, Ash did it in Missoula. And like Storti, the win vaulted MSU into the post-season.
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Bobcat fans looking for another favorable historic parallel will find encouragement in the 1984 season, when MSU went on the road to defeat a long-time rival in the regular season finale to earn a first round bye. The Bobcats won two home games, then topped Louisiana Tech in Charleston, S.C., to claim MSU's third and most recent national crown.
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