'WHERE WAS THE BOB?' Four Bobcat Rodeo Athletes Help Usher in Football's Return to Bobcat Stadium and Enjoyed 'A Rush' Before Gold Rush

Women's rodeo leading football team (Paige Rasmussen, Shelby Rasmussen, Tayla Moekens, Lindsey

Photo by: Garrett Becker

'WHERE WAS THE BOB?' Four Bobcat Rodeo Athletes Help Usher in Football's Return to Bobcat Stadium and Enjoyed 'A Rush' Before Gold Rush

9/12/2021 8:43:00 AM | Football

Paige and Shelby Rasmussen, Tayla Moeykens and Lindsey Pulsipher revived a beloved tradition

By: Bill Lamberty

BOZEMAN, Montana – (September 12, 2021) – Before participating in The Ride for the first time, Montana State rodeo standout Paige Rasmussen had to endure an entirely different kind of ride.

"We were in Cody (Saturday) morning," Rasmussen said of her journey on the weekend of September 11, "and right after we got done competing we hopped in the pickup with the trailer and drove back to Bozeman. As soon as we got done riding on the field we drove back to Cody and were up (competing) again the next morning."

What happened in Bozeman, sandwiched by the drive to and from Cody, made the 400 mile round-trip "way worth it," Rasmussen said. The Montana State men's and women's team each captured top honors, and MSU senior Shelby Rasmussen, Paige's sister, won the Women's All-Around competition. Paige Rasmussen finished sixth in barrel racing at the Trapper Stampede hosted by Northwest College in Cody, Wyoming.

"My sister won the all-around and I got some points," Paige said, "so it was awesome."

But not as awesome as leading the MSU football team into Bobcat Stadium for last Saturday night's Gold Rush game, Montana State's first home football game in 630 days. "It was so much fun I couldn't help but smile, and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for about an hour," she said."

The Bobcat football team followed four members of MSU's women's rodeo 2021 national championship squad into Bobcat Stadium for the first time in more than 600 days. The exuberance of the moment engulfed the sellout crowd of 19,797 and lasted throughout the night, as the Bobcats whipped Drake 45-7 for the traditional season-opening Gold Rush game. The Bobcats dominated early, jumping out to a 24-0 lead before Drake scored just before halftime. Blake Glessner's 29-yard field goal opened the scoring, and two touchdown passes from Matthew McKay to Willie Patterson pushed the Bobcat lead to 16-0. Isaiah Ifanse's four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter eliminated all doubt in the outcome.

"It was a good performance," said Bobcat coach Brent Vigen, making his Bobcat Stadium debut. "I think we all felt that this was a special night."

Paige and Shelby Rasmussen, Tayla Moeykens, and Lindsey Pulsipher certainly made the night even more special by trekking from Bozeman to Cody and back – a 205-mile round trip – twice on the weekend. The four, and their teammates, arrived on campus Saturday at 5 pm for the 6:00 kickoff. With only the four rodeo athletes involved, the trademark 'B-O-B-C-A-T-S' flags were trimmed to 'C-A-T-S'.

The four rodeo athletes heard the evening's most common question, Paige Rasmussen laughed. "People wanted to know, 'Where's the Bob?'"

While Paige had never led the Bobcats into the stadium, surely one of college football's most fitting and exhilarating team run-outs, "My sister has done it multiple times." As a freshman during 2019, Paige was excluded from what has become a beloved tradition at a school that enthusiastically embraces its tradition of success in both rodeo and football.

Shelby "kind of walked me through how to get ready," Paige said. "We saddle up our horses and go on the grass and kind of lope them around a little bit just to get them used to the sights and get them rode down a little bit. We're pretty lucky to have horses that are pretty calm and handle everything pretty well, so it makes it easier (for the horses) to handle the crowd and the flames and the fireworks."

Were there butterflies? Not for Petey, Paige Rasmussen's ride Saturday, but Paige called the moments before taking off at full gallop into the revelry "nerve-wracking. I was nervous. I kind of wanted to just get out there, I was pretty impatient, but taking in the crowd and then finally getting to run out there I was like, That was too fast. That went too fast, I want to do it again. The nerves all went away once I was on the field and it was such a rush."

A self-described "huge football fan," there was a possible path that could have led Paige Rasmussen far from Bobcat Stadium last Saturday night in spite of her bloodlines. Both her paternal grandparents graduated from Montana State – "They're hard-core Bobcat alums,' she said – while her father is famed barrel man Flint Rasmussen and graduated from UM Western. Her mom, Katie, also attended MSU, and Shelby preceded her to Bozeman. But Paige had ideas that could have taken her a thousand miles away.

"I had always planned to go far away" to college, she said. "I had planned to go down to Texas and rodeo for a school down there, but I started leaning toward Montana State, they have a great program, and (choosing MSU) was definitely the right choice. I major in psychology and a minor in Spanish, and I really like it."

Montana State's football team entering its home stadium behind members of the championship rodeo squad was the brainchild of MSU President Dr. Waded Cruzado. Drew Ingraham, athletics marketing director at the time, implemented it in 2013.

Montana State's dominance bled into the second half Saturday. Immediately after a Coy Steel punt return, McKay hit Lance McCutcheon on a 45-yard third quarter strike to make the score 31-7. In the fourth quarter Ifanse was stopped at the goal line only to fumble, and as the ball bounced into the end zone tight end Ryan Davis alertly pounced on the loose ball for another MSU touchdown.

Defensive highlights came from the front line as Chase Benson, Amandre Williams and Daniel Hardy combined for three sacks. Ty Okada was in on eight tackles and Troy Andersen another seven. The game's final score occurred when backup quarterback Tucker Rovig hit a streaking Cam Gardner down the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown. It was the first score of Gardner's Bobcat career. MSU forced nine Drake punts while holding the Bulldogs to just 228 total yards. Meanwhile, the 13th-ranked Bobcats totaled 435 yards on 66 offensive plays. MSU is home again next week to play San Diego, another member of the Pioneer League. Drake travels to North Dakota.

"We got strong performances in all three phases of the game," Vigen said, "offense, defense, and special teams. And I thought we had several players contribute in each phase."

Paige Rasmussen said fatigue caused her no problems until her weekend was entirely finished. "I was pretty good for the rodeo, but (Sunday) when we got home I was really tired. It all started to catch up with me."

And looking back on it how does Rasmussen describe the ride that took her and her horse around Bobcat Stadium in front of 20,000 rabid football fans? "It was probably the coolest experience of my life." Reminded that she is the reigning CNFR National Champion in all-around, she laughed. "OK, it was a close second."

The Bobcats raised their record to 1-1 on the young season, while Drake fell to 0-2. MSU hosts San Diego next Saturday at 1 pm.

#GoCatsGo