BOBCAT CALENDAR: The Coach Who Now Holds Each School's All-Time Wins Record, Rob Ash was on Center Stage Today in 2010
9/18/2020 2:00:00 PM | Football
Montana State toppled Drake 10 years ago today
A look at September 18 in Bobcat football history...
September 18
SPOTLIGHT: From a decade's distance, Montana State's 48-21 win over Drake in game three of the 2010 season fits comfortably as a nice win early in the long arc of excellence that defines Rob Ash's brilliant career as Bobcat head coach. In the moment, though, it was something a little different.
The Cats had progressed during Ash's first three seasons at MSU, and had an infrastructure for success in place by the time they entered game three of the 2010 season that day in Bobcat Stadium. A key part of that infrastructure started his third game at quarterback that day, DeNarius McGhee, and his talent even then was obvious. Part of that day's narrative was McGhee's mixed performance a week earlier, when his efficiency gave the team a chance to win in a Pac 12 stadium but an interception in the waning moments sunk its upset hopes at Washington State.
Orenzo Davis scampered for 160 yards and two touchdowns that afternoon against Drake, while Jason Cunningham nailed a school-record five field goals. The first three of those included a 55-yarder, and gave MSU a 9-0 lead. McGhee threw for 250 yards that day. The Bulldogs cut the MSU lead to 9-7 midway through the second quarter, but a 15-yard touchdown run by Davis gave MSU a 16-7 lead at the intermission and in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter the Cats scored 24 unanswered points to blow the game open. Zach Minter recovered a fumble for a touchdown in that stretch, and he and Aleksei Grosulak each forced fumbles on the day. Arnold Briggs picked off a pass. Each team turned the ball over three times.
But the main story that day was Rob Ash's convincing win over his former school, unquestionably one of the most special in a career that ended with him as the winningest Bobcat head football coach. But it was also an important victory in the 2010 season that put the Bobcat program on a road to sensational success. It set the stage for a truly significant win one week later, a 30-7 thrashing of Eastern Washington that Ash had essentially circled on the team's calendar. In fact, that Drake game launched a four-game win streak and a run of eight games in nine games that culminated with that special, special day in Missoula.
That win over Drake was a single win, but a significant one that boosted the Bobcat football program on its three-year run of league titles. It was an announcement of arrival for Orenzo Davis, and a further establishment of DeNarius McGhee as a star for the Bobcats. But on that day it was a moment of enjoyment, and perhaps vindication, for Rob Ash.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2010 - MSU 48, Drake 21
2004 - Cal Poly 27, MSU 14
1999 - Cal Poly 40, MSU 37
1993 - MSU 58, Fort Lewis 20
1982 - MSU 24, Eastern Washington 20
1976 - MSU 34, North Dakota State 7
1971 - at North Dakota State 28, MSU 12
1954 - MSU 25, at Lewis & Clark 6
September 18
SPOTLIGHT: From a decade's distance, Montana State's 48-21 win over Drake in game three of the 2010 season fits comfortably as a nice win early in the long arc of excellence that defines Rob Ash's brilliant career as Bobcat head coach. In the moment, though, it was something a little different.
The Cats had progressed during Ash's first three seasons at MSU, and had an infrastructure for success in place by the time they entered game three of the 2010 season that day in Bobcat Stadium. A key part of that infrastructure started his third game at quarterback that day, DeNarius McGhee, and his talent even then was obvious. Part of that day's narrative was McGhee's mixed performance a week earlier, when his efficiency gave the team a chance to win in a Pac 12 stadium but an interception in the waning moments sunk its upset hopes at Washington State.
Orenzo Davis scampered for 160 yards and two touchdowns that afternoon against Drake, while Jason Cunningham nailed a school-record five field goals. The first three of those included a 55-yarder, and gave MSU a 9-0 lead. McGhee threw for 250 yards that day. The Bulldogs cut the MSU lead to 9-7 midway through the second quarter, but a 15-yard touchdown run by Davis gave MSU a 16-7 lead at the intermission and in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the third quarter the Cats scored 24 unanswered points to blow the game open. Zach Minter recovered a fumble for a touchdown in that stretch, and he and Aleksei Grosulak each forced fumbles on the day. Arnold Briggs picked off a pass. Each team turned the ball over three times.
But the main story that day was Rob Ash's convincing win over his former school, unquestionably one of the most special in a career that ended with him as the winningest Bobcat head football coach. But it was also an important victory in the 2010 season that put the Bobcat program on a road to sensational success. It set the stage for a truly significant win one week later, a 30-7 thrashing of Eastern Washington that Ash had essentially circled on the team's calendar. In fact, that Drake game launched a four-game win streak and a run of eight games in nine games that culminated with that special, special day in Missoula.
That win over Drake was a single win, but a significant one that boosted the Bobcat football program on its three-year run of league titles. It was an announcement of arrival for Orenzo Davis, and a further establishment of DeNarius McGhee as a star for the Bobcats. But on that day it was a moment of enjoyment, and perhaps vindication, for Rob Ash.
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2010 - MSU 48, Drake 21
2004 - Cal Poly 27, MSU 14
1999 - Cal Poly 40, MSU 37
1993 - MSU 58, Fort Lewis 20
1982 - MSU 24, Eastern Washington 20
1976 - MSU 34, North Dakota State 7
1971 - at North Dakota State 28, MSU 12
1954 - MSU 25, at Lewis & Clark 6
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