Troy Andersen gains yards against Montana in 2017
Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez
BOBCAT CALENDAR: Montana State Beat the Grizzlies at Home Today in 2017, Presented by Inland Northwest Toyota Dealers Association.
11/18/2020 9:00:00 AM | Football
Nick LaSane's lightning strike run and a Bignell hit highlighted the team's first win against UM at home since 2005
A day-by-day look at Bobcat football history...
November 18
SPOTLIGHT: Like a mournful blues ballad, Montana State's football fortunes against its ancient rivals from Missoula have been much more about gloom than glee. The Bobcats have won only 40 of the 118 meetings between the two, and through Blue and Gold eyes the series is defined by many regrettable streaks.
One of them ended today in 2017, when the Bobcats beat the Grizzlies 31-23. The Cats had won in Missoula one year earlier to snap a three-game losing streak, but a couple of ominous clouds lingered overhead even on a mostly clear day in 2017.
First, the Bobcats hadn't beaten UM in Bozeman since 2005 - Travis Lulay's last moments as the team's transformational quarterback. Second, this day marked the first Cat-Griz game in Bobby Hauck's second stint as UM's head football coach, and Hauck's feelings about Bobcat football and his resolve to win the rivalry game each year had never been ambiguous.The days leading up to this game felt weighted with extra meaning in a rivalry that almost defies the idea of 'extra' meaning.
The Grizzlies started fast, marching the opening kickoff to the Bobcat three before settling for a Brandon Purdy field goal. The teams traded punts until the Bobcats took over late in the first quarter. MSU logged a first down at the quarter's end, Troy Andersen snapped off an 18-yard run to open the second quarter to get MSU into a first-and-goal situation at the UM six, and on the second play after a defensive pass interference call Andersen plunged into the end zone for a touchdown.
The game was about to take a turn toward the home team, spurred by a couple of seniors capping their careers. With UM facing a fourth-and-two at the Bobcat 32, Samori Toure was tackled eight yards behind the line of scrimmage by all-conference linebacker Mac Bignell. On Montana State's next possession, facing a third-and-21, quarterback Chris Murray handed off to senior running back Nick LaSane. In a profound punctuation mark for a career defined by injuries and patience, LaSane dramatically dashed 71 yards for a touchdown.
The Grizzlies responded on their next drive to cut MSU's lead to 14-10, but back came the Bobcats. Murray ran for three, Kevin Kassis rushed for 17 yards, Andersen gained nine, Kassis added 14 more, LaSane rumbled for 18, and Andersen finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown. UM's field goal with 27 seconds remaining in the half sent the teams to their locker rooms with Montana State leading 21-13.
No lead in this series ever feels safe, but in the early moments of the second half the Bobcats began exerting their will. First, the team drove methodically from its own 18 to the Grizzly two before settling for a 20-yard Gabe Peppenger field goal and a 24-13 lead. Then senior Khari Garcia intercepted Gresch Jensen to end UM's first drive of the half.
After three punts the Grizzlies began moving again. Jensen followed a key third down conversion with six straight completions (sandwiched around a 14-yard Jeremy Calhoun rush) to move into the red zone. UM settled for a field goal, and MSU's lead was now 24-16 early in the fourth quarter.
The clock read 10:44 when MSU began its next possession - an eternity if you're playing keep-away, a sliver if you're playing catchup. Here, the Bobcats and head coach Jeff Choate laid their cards on the table. The message seemed pretty clear - we're going to run the ball. You stop us, you have a chance. You don't, we win.
The Grizzlies didn't.
Murray ran for six yards, then for one, then completed the only pass of the drive, a four-yarder to Kassis. Then LaSane carried for four, Murray for 10, Murray for 36, Logan Jones for 10, and Murray then finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.
Again, UM answered. Three plays, three Jensen completions, and UM had trimmed the lead to 31-23. Again, the Bobcats put the game in the hands of their run game. A three-and-out ensued, melting 1:44 off the clock and reducing UM's arsenal of time outs to two. On UM's second play after a Jered Padmos punt the Bobcats forced a fumble, recovered by Bignell, and the Cats again used a short drive to melt time off the clock.
The Griz took over with 2:08 to play and 88 yards to cover. Jensen was sharp, moving UM into Bobcat territory. Facing first-and-10 from the MSU 28, Jensen first spiked the ball to stop the clock and then threw incomplete. Third-and-10, 14 seconds left. Jensen threw for Calhoun, and on fourth down threw into the flat and the ball was knocked away by Tyrel Thomas.
The Bobcats assembled in victory formation, then Murray took a knee and pandemonium ensued.
The Cats hadn't exactly whipped the Grizzlies, but they hadn't exactly not. MSU gashed the UM defense for 322 rushing yards, and didn't turn the ball over while forcing two Grizzly turnovers.
It was a hell of a win, a truly satisfying victory for everyone in the Blue and Gold. And in the mass of revelry that engulfed the Bobcat Stadium field after the game's end there were no bigger smiles than those on the faces of MSU seniors, especially Bignell and LaSane and Mitch Herbert.
BONUS: Montana State beat Intermountain Union 68-0 today in 1924, a game marked by the lopsided score and several outstanding individual performances. Reporting that "(Frank) Hatfield, (Val) Glynn, and (Tracy) McGuin starred for the Bobcats," the Exponent added that Montana State spent the afternoon "outplaying their opponents in every department of the game" to earn the victory. The game's only intrigue came from Montana State's determination for "(g)etting full vengeance for the defeat at the hands of the Pathers two years ago (that loss to Montana Wesleyan actually occurred in 1921 rather than 1922)." But finding games in Montana State's year-by-year scores against schools that haven't existed in nearly a century also points out the complicated history of higher education in the Treasure State.
Intermountain Union formed in 1923, when Montana Wesleyan College in Helena and the College of Montana in Deer Lodge merged. The Methodist Church founded Montana Wesleyan College in the Prickly Pear area of the Helena Valley in 1889, but a decade later when the city closed the rail line to campus the school was forced to move downtown. In Helena, the school occupied buildings still used today, such as College Hall on the corner of Helena Avenue and North Warren which is currently an auto body shop.
On the other hand, the College of Montana was the state's first institution of higher education. It formed in 1878 and and was purchased by the Presbyterian Church in 1882. Once Montana State opened as the state's first public college in 1893, and when UM and the other campuses opened in the years that followed, the College of Montana lost support and eventually closed in 1900. It reopened in 1906 and operated until its assets merged with Montana Wesleyan to form Intermountain Union. In fact, Montana State's first two presidents, Augustus Ryon and James Reid, came to Bozeman from Deer Lodge.
Intermountain Union operated in Helena on a three building campus from 1923 until a strong earthquake in October, 1935, did severe damage. The school's enrollment was around 150 during this period. IUC played football and other sports while in Helena, and the Panthers compiled only two winning seasons on the gridiron in those years. Here are Montana State's all-time scores in varsity football against each of the Montana colleges that no longer exist:
Butte Business College - 0-23 in 1901, 11-0 in 1901.
College of Montana - 41-6 in 1904
Montana Wesleyan - 17-7 in 1920, 0-16 in 1921, 30-3 in 1923
Intermountain Union - 68-0 in 1924, 33-0 in 1925
After the 1935 earthquake left several buildings unsafe Intermountain moved to Great Falls for a short time before accepting an offer from Billings Polytechnic Institute to share campus space. From 1936-47 they operated as separate schools on the same campus, but in 1947 merged to become Rocky Mountain College. (The web site Lost Colleges provided most of this information.)
BOBCAT GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2017 - MSU 31, UM 23
2006 - at UM 13, MSU 7
2000 - at UM 28, MSU 3
1995 - UM 42, MSU 33
1972 - MSU 10, at Fresno State 6
1967 - at San Diego State 14, MSU 3
1938 - Idaho State 16, MSU 0
1924 - MSU 68, at Intermountain Union 0
1916 - MSU 17, at Utah State 17
1914 - MSU 18, North Dakota State 0
1899 - MSU 11, at Helena High 0
November 18
SPOTLIGHT: Like a mournful blues ballad, Montana State's football fortunes against its ancient rivals from Missoula have been much more about gloom than glee. The Bobcats have won only 40 of the 118 meetings between the two, and through Blue and Gold eyes the series is defined by many regrettable streaks.
One of them ended today in 2017, when the Bobcats beat the Grizzlies 31-23. The Cats had won in Missoula one year earlier to snap a three-game losing streak, but a couple of ominous clouds lingered overhead even on a mostly clear day in 2017.
First, the Bobcats hadn't beaten UM in Bozeman since 2005 - Travis Lulay's last moments as the team's transformational quarterback. Second, this day marked the first Cat-Griz game in Bobby Hauck's second stint as UM's head football coach, and Hauck's feelings about Bobcat football and his resolve to win the rivalry game each year had never been ambiguous.The days leading up to this game felt weighted with extra meaning in a rivalry that almost defies the idea of 'extra' meaning.
The Grizzlies started fast, marching the opening kickoff to the Bobcat three before settling for a Brandon Purdy field goal. The teams traded punts until the Bobcats took over late in the first quarter. MSU logged a first down at the quarter's end, Troy Andersen snapped off an 18-yard run to open the second quarter to get MSU into a first-and-goal situation at the UM six, and on the second play after a defensive pass interference call Andersen plunged into the end zone for a touchdown.
The game was about to take a turn toward the home team, spurred by a couple of seniors capping their careers. With UM facing a fourth-and-two at the Bobcat 32, Samori Toure was tackled eight yards behind the line of scrimmage by all-conference linebacker Mac Bignell. On Montana State's next possession, facing a third-and-21, quarterback Chris Murray handed off to senior running back Nick LaSane. In a profound punctuation mark for a career defined by injuries and patience, LaSane dramatically dashed 71 yards for a touchdown.
The Grizzlies responded on their next drive to cut MSU's lead to 14-10, but back came the Bobcats. Murray ran for three, Kevin Kassis rushed for 17 yards, Andersen gained nine, Kassis added 14 more, LaSane rumbled for 18, and Andersen finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown. UM's field goal with 27 seconds remaining in the half sent the teams to their locker rooms with Montana State leading 21-13.
No lead in this series ever feels safe, but in the early moments of the second half the Bobcats began exerting their will. First, the team drove methodically from its own 18 to the Grizzly two before settling for a 20-yard Gabe Peppenger field goal and a 24-13 lead. Then senior Khari Garcia intercepted Gresch Jensen to end UM's first drive of the half.
After three punts the Grizzlies began moving again. Jensen followed a key third down conversion with six straight completions (sandwiched around a 14-yard Jeremy Calhoun rush) to move into the red zone. UM settled for a field goal, and MSU's lead was now 24-16 early in the fourth quarter.
The clock read 10:44 when MSU began its next possession - an eternity if you're playing keep-away, a sliver if you're playing catchup. Here, the Bobcats and head coach Jeff Choate laid their cards on the table. The message seemed pretty clear - we're going to run the ball. You stop us, you have a chance. You don't, we win.
The Grizzlies didn't.
Murray ran for six yards, then for one, then completed the only pass of the drive, a four-yarder to Kassis. Then LaSane carried for four, Murray for 10, Murray for 36, Logan Jones for 10, and Murray then finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run.
Again, UM answered. Three plays, three Jensen completions, and UM had trimmed the lead to 31-23. Again, the Bobcats put the game in the hands of their run game. A three-and-out ensued, melting 1:44 off the clock and reducing UM's arsenal of time outs to two. On UM's second play after a Jered Padmos punt the Bobcats forced a fumble, recovered by Bignell, and the Cats again used a short drive to melt time off the clock.
The Griz took over with 2:08 to play and 88 yards to cover. Jensen was sharp, moving UM into Bobcat territory. Facing first-and-10 from the MSU 28, Jensen first spiked the ball to stop the clock and then threw incomplete. Third-and-10, 14 seconds left. Jensen threw for Calhoun, and on fourth down threw into the flat and the ball was knocked away by Tyrel Thomas.
The Bobcats assembled in victory formation, then Murray took a knee and pandemonium ensued.
The Cats hadn't exactly whipped the Grizzlies, but they hadn't exactly not. MSU gashed the UM defense for 322 rushing yards, and didn't turn the ball over while forcing two Grizzly turnovers.
It was a hell of a win, a truly satisfying victory for everyone in the Blue and Gold. And in the mass of revelry that engulfed the Bobcat Stadium field after the game's end there were no bigger smiles than those on the faces of MSU seniors, especially Bignell and LaSane and Mitch Herbert.
BONUS: Montana State beat Intermountain Union 68-0 today in 1924, a game marked by the lopsided score and several outstanding individual performances. Reporting that "(Frank) Hatfield, (Val) Glynn, and (Tracy) McGuin starred for the Bobcats," the Exponent added that Montana State spent the afternoon "outplaying their opponents in every department of the game" to earn the victory. The game's only intrigue came from Montana State's determination for "(g)etting full vengeance for the defeat at the hands of the Pathers two years ago (that loss to Montana Wesleyan actually occurred in 1921 rather than 1922)." But finding games in Montana State's year-by-year scores against schools that haven't existed in nearly a century also points out the complicated history of higher education in the Treasure State.
Intermountain Union formed in 1923, when Montana Wesleyan College in Helena and the College of Montana in Deer Lodge merged. The Methodist Church founded Montana Wesleyan College in the Prickly Pear area of the Helena Valley in 1889, but a decade later when the city closed the rail line to campus the school was forced to move downtown. In Helena, the school occupied buildings still used today, such as College Hall on the corner of Helena Avenue and North Warren which is currently an auto body shop.
On the other hand, the College of Montana was the state's first institution of higher education. It formed in 1878 and and was purchased by the Presbyterian Church in 1882. Once Montana State opened as the state's first public college in 1893, and when UM and the other campuses opened in the years that followed, the College of Montana lost support and eventually closed in 1900. It reopened in 1906 and operated until its assets merged with Montana Wesleyan to form Intermountain Union. In fact, Montana State's first two presidents, Augustus Ryon and James Reid, came to Bozeman from Deer Lodge.
Intermountain Union operated in Helena on a three building campus from 1923 until a strong earthquake in October, 1935, did severe damage. The school's enrollment was around 150 during this period. IUC played football and other sports while in Helena, and the Panthers compiled only two winning seasons on the gridiron in those years. Here are Montana State's all-time scores in varsity football against each of the Montana colleges that no longer exist:
Butte Business College - 0-23 in 1901, 11-0 in 1901.
College of Montana - 41-6 in 1904
Montana Wesleyan - 17-7 in 1920, 0-16 in 1921, 30-3 in 1923
Intermountain Union - 68-0 in 1924, 33-0 in 1925
After the 1935 earthquake left several buildings unsafe Intermountain moved to Great Falls for a short time before accepting an offer from Billings Polytechnic Institute to share campus space. From 1936-47 they operated as separate schools on the same campus, but in 1947 merged to become Rocky Mountain College. (The web site Lost Colleges provided most of this information.)
BOBCAT GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2017 - MSU 31, UM 23
2006 - at UM 13, MSU 7
2000 - at UM 28, MSU 3
1995 - UM 42, MSU 33
1972 - MSU 10, at Fresno State 6
1967 - at San Diego State 14, MSU 3
1938 - Idaho State 16, MSU 0
1924 - MSU 68, at Intermountain Union 0
1916 - MSU 17, at Utah State 17
1914 - MSU 18, North Dakota State 0
1899 - MSU 11, at Helena High 0
Players Mentioned
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P
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K
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CB
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