Montana State beat Idaho in Van Winkle Stadium at Bozeman High in 1972
BOBCAT HISTORY LESSON: The Bobcat and Vandal Programs Share Ties that Bind
10/12/2018 9:00:00 AM | Football
Two of the top coaches in each school's history played at the other
A look at the history of Bobcat football viewed through its series with this week's opponent... this week we look at Montana State and the Vandals.
All-Time Series: Idaho leads 25-17-1
In Bozeman: 8-8
At Opponent: Idaho leads 15-8-1
At Great Falls: 1-0
At Boise: 0-2
Streaks and Stuff
Montana State lost two of its first three contests against Idaho, failing to score in the first two (the second ending in a 0-0 tie). Idaho's longest win streak in the series was five games (1985-89), while Montana State's is three games (twice).
Here's a Good Story
The two men most responsible for reviving their programs' football fortunes, oddly, trace their roots to the other. In the early 1980s, Idaho's football program was spinning its wheels, struggling for traction in the two decades since joining the Big Sky as a charter member in 1963 (although UI didn't begin playing a league football schedule until 1965). Idaho posted winning records in 1971, 1976 and 1980 – that's it. And then former Bobcat quarterback Dennis Erickson cruised into town and his teams started throwing the ball all over the place. His first squad finished 9-4, the most wins in school history. His four Vandals teams compiled a 31-15 record, and when he handed the baton to Keith Gilbertson the program didn't skip a beat. Gilbertson's three UI teams won 28 games, then John L. Smith won fewer than nine games only once in six seasons. In all, from Erickson's arrival in 1982 until the Vandals left the Big Sky Conference after the 1995 season, Idaho didn't lose more than it won one time and won fewer than eight games only three times in 14 years.
Five years after four seasons after Idaho left the Big Sky, a former Vandal arrived in Bozeman to revive the Bobcats. Mike Kramer doesn't enter into a situation, he barrels into it full-force, and he jolted the Bobcat program. In his fourth game, he led the Cats to Pullman, Washington, where his new squad faced his alma mater. First-year Idaho coach Tom Cable – a short-time MSU assistant eight years earlier who was on his way to a long NFL coaching career – showed no mercy. Idaho tore the Bobcats apart, 56-7, and when Kramer arrived in the press box for his post-game radio interview the emotion of seeing family and friends (including Vandals radio man Bob Curtis) was too much. But Kramer pulled himself together, and then he pulled the Bobcat program together. Eventually. After the program's only 0-11 season, Montana State won five games in 2001, and won the Big Sky in 2002. And 2003. And made the playoffs again in 2006. Cliff Hysell had stabilized Bobcat in the 1990s, but Kramer revived it. He animated it. And the program's success ever since is a testimony to the work of that former Vandal.
Memory
Montana State's first-ever out-of-state football opponent – and its first out-of-state road trip – was to the University of Idaho in 1905. That game, on October 9, came two days before the Cats played at Washington State. The Monday afternoon affair in Moscow was "the first game of the season for our team and probably the hardest one," The Exponent reported in its November edition. "Our boys fought hard individually but they could not get together and Idaho tore through for steady gains. Scott, our plucky little quarter back deserves special praise for the way he played the game." M.A.C., as Montana State was then called, dropped a 50-0 decision, 34 of those points coming after halftime.
All-Time Series: Idaho leads 25-17-1
In Bozeman: 8-8
At Opponent: Idaho leads 15-8-1
At Great Falls: 1-0
At Boise: 0-2
Streaks and Stuff
Montana State lost two of its first three contests against Idaho, failing to score in the first two (the second ending in a 0-0 tie). Idaho's longest win streak in the series was five games (1985-89), while Montana State's is three games (twice).
Here's a Good Story
The two men most responsible for reviving their programs' football fortunes, oddly, trace their roots to the other. In the early 1980s, Idaho's football program was spinning its wheels, struggling for traction in the two decades since joining the Big Sky as a charter member in 1963 (although UI didn't begin playing a league football schedule until 1965). Idaho posted winning records in 1971, 1976 and 1980 – that's it. And then former Bobcat quarterback Dennis Erickson cruised into town and his teams started throwing the ball all over the place. His first squad finished 9-4, the most wins in school history. His four Vandals teams compiled a 31-15 record, and when he handed the baton to Keith Gilbertson the program didn't skip a beat. Gilbertson's three UI teams won 28 games, then John L. Smith won fewer than nine games only once in six seasons. In all, from Erickson's arrival in 1982 until the Vandals left the Big Sky Conference after the 1995 season, Idaho didn't lose more than it won one time and won fewer than eight games only three times in 14 years.
Five years after four seasons after Idaho left the Big Sky, a former Vandal arrived in Bozeman to revive the Bobcats. Mike Kramer doesn't enter into a situation, he barrels into it full-force, and he jolted the Bobcat program. In his fourth game, he led the Cats to Pullman, Washington, where his new squad faced his alma mater. First-year Idaho coach Tom Cable – a short-time MSU assistant eight years earlier who was on his way to a long NFL coaching career – showed no mercy. Idaho tore the Bobcats apart, 56-7, and when Kramer arrived in the press box for his post-game radio interview the emotion of seeing family and friends (including Vandals radio man Bob Curtis) was too much. But Kramer pulled himself together, and then he pulled the Bobcat program together. Eventually. After the program's only 0-11 season, Montana State won five games in 2001, and won the Big Sky in 2002. And 2003. And made the playoffs again in 2006. Cliff Hysell had stabilized Bobcat in the 1990s, but Kramer revived it. He animated it. And the program's success ever since is a testimony to the work of that former Vandal.
Memory
Montana State's first-ever out-of-state football opponent – and its first out-of-state road trip – was to the University of Idaho in 1905. That game, on October 9, came two days before the Cats played at Washington State. The Monday afternoon affair in Moscow was "the first game of the season for our team and probably the hardest one," The Exponent reported in its November edition. "Our boys fought hard individually but they could not get together and Idaho tore through for steady gains. Scott, our plucky little quarter back deserves special praise for the way he played the game." M.A.C., as Montana State was then called, dropped a 50-0 decision, 34 of those points coming after halftime.
Leon Costello Press Conference: Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center
Thursday, July 31
A Conversation with President Dr. Waded Cruzado | Montana State Athletics
Monday, May 19
Big Cats, Little Trucks - Willie Patterson
Wednesday, May 03
Matt Houk Introductory Press Conference
Wednesday, May 03
