George Ferguson Column: Ramblings from a shocking Cat-Griz game

MISSOULA — When I walked out of Washington-Grizzly Stadium Saturday night, I felt the same emotions that most fans of the Montana Grizzlies felt. I felt joy, elation and excitement.

After all, if you love the Griz, how could you not feel that way? Montana wasn’t supposed to beat arch rival Montana State in the 114th Brawl of the Wild like it did — 34-7 in smothering and dominant fashion.

In fact, I wonder, was Montana supposed to beat Montana State at all? Many thought not, even with MSU star quarterback Dakota Prukop and senior running back Shawn Johnson out of the game with injuries?

No, many fans on both sides of the Divide thought MSU would storm into Wash-Griz, regardless of who was playing, and storm back out with a win. After all, it was the Cats, not the Griz, who possessed the prolific and high-scoring offense. Yes, UM had the much better defense going in, but usually points trump all, and the Cats, whether with Prukop or Jake Bleskin, have been scoring points at an alarming rate this season.

But, as is the case in football, and sports, and especially in rivalries, you just never know what you’re going to get, and what Montana fans got Saturday evening was a Grizzly victory of epic proportions. The turnovers, the no-huddle fast-paced Griz attack on offense, the electricity from the players and coaches, it was as one-sided a Cat-Griz game as I have witnessed in a long time, and I’ve seen my share.

But all of you reading this probably saw the game. You don’t need a recap. Instead, here’s random thoughts and things I learned and decided following Saturday’s 114th Brawl of the Wild.

First, Root Sports, and the athletic directors as both UM and MSU must allow the late kickoff time of 3:10 p.m. to continue for this rivalry. In my mind, it was perfect. The lights already on, the sun going down, and the game ending as a night game, but ending early enough to offer fans plenty to do after the contest was over.

Not to mention, there’s nothing better than college football under the lights, and to those that were inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium Saturday, how electric and exciting was it to finally have a Cat-Griz game under the lights? I thought it was pretty darn cool, and I hope we get to see Bobcat Stadium in the same situation in 2015.

Next, a little levity and objectivity. To Montana State fans, you’re beloved Bobcats are not as bad as their last game, and deep down you know it. So please, stop calling for head coach Rob Ash’s head on a platter. I do get it. I do understand that one of the major goals for the Cats and the Griz is to win this rivalry. Believe me, I understand. And I do understand that Ash is 2-6 in games against the Grizzlies.

But, he’s also the winningest head coach MSU has ever had. He also recruits quality student-athletes, who play with class and honor and do things the right way, on and off the football field. And with those kids, he’s had eight straight winning seasons, and gotten MSU into the playoffs six times. Yes, I know the sting of the loss to the Griz doesn’t go away, not until the next time the Cats win the Brawl. But, coach Ash has been an amazing football coach, and like his players, he shows class and character, and let’s face it, that’s not so easy to come by these days.

And trust me, the Cats, and Dakota Prukop will have their day against the Grizzlies. I for one was truly hoping to see Prukop play in Wash-Griz Saturday, and was disappointed when he couldn’t go. Do I think the outcome would have been different? No, I think Montana was going to win Saturday no matter what, but I do think the score sure would have been different, and I think Prukop would have likely made sure the 114th Brawl came right down to the wire.

Now, that’s not a slam on Bleskin. Saturday was a nightmare for him, and I see no need to relive it in this column. But Prukop was, and is the starting QB at MSU for a reason, and I have no doubt that the game would have taken on a different look with him at the controls of the MSU offense. And honestly, I’m not looking forward to what he might do to the Griz Nov. 23, 2015. Never-the-less, I’ll be there.

Meanwhile, on the other side, congrats to the Grizzlies, and especially head coach Mick Delaney, who will retire when the season is over, and will turn the reins over to someone we don’t know yet. Delaney deserved the moment Saturday, and as it turned out, he called Saturday’s game “the most special moment of his coaching career.” Now that’s saying something considering he’s been in the business longer than I’ve been on this earth.

Delaney has taken a lot of heat from Griz’ fans in his three-year tenure. Fans have been critical of his offensive style, and of his coaching demeanor. Thankfully though, the UM players don’t care what anyone else thinks. Thankfully, they know exactly how special coach Delaney is, and they play their butts off for him, and believe in him. And it came to a head with Saturday’s performance in the Brawl. Montana’s game plan was flawless. Montana’s execution was flawless, and Montana, coached by Delaney, was simply the better team, and he deserves all the credit in the world for that.

But for me, it wasn’t all roses. I do have some petty gripes, even in the face of victory.

In one capacity or another, I’ve been attending football games at Wash-Griz for over 20 years. And while many, many things have changed over the years, I think a few things really need changing now. For example, many of Montana’s pre-game festivities have become so stale, that the crowd doesn’t even seem to care anymore, even on a Cat-Griz Saturday.

Monte, the famed UM mascot who has won the Capitol One Mascot of the Year twice needs a change. Specifically his entrance. They have been rolling Monte out in the same fashion for so long, it’s no longer entertaining, or interesting. And that’s disappointing, because Monte truly is a UM icon. Also, there’s the pregame video. I know there are many, many smart students and people who attend and work for the University of Montana. So would it be too much to ask to get one of those smart people to design pre-game videos that inspire the crowd and work them into a frenzy. They used to have some pretty clever ones at Montana, but that too has really become sort of boring.

And because it was Cat-Griz, I just can’t understand why the pre-game, tunnel run video wouldn’t be a hype video for that specific game. Other schools make a new tunnel-run video for every home game, but in Missoula, there was once a time when the tunnel-run video was the same for two seasons. Again, I know those are petty gripes, but fans pay a lot of money to come to Griz games, and especially Cat-Griz. So re-vamping the game day experience, without cutting loose any of the time-honored traditions wouldn’t hurt, now would it?

And that brings me to my last random observation from the most recent edition of the Brawl of the Wild. On Saturday, I knew of several different people, ranging from ages 12 to, well I won’t mention his age, that were attending their first Cat-Griz game. Now, as Montanan’s that’s what it’s all about.

Saturday was a day unlike any other in our great state. Yes, it’s a rivalry, yes, there’s anger and hatred and teasing and jokes and marriages divided, and all of that. Yes, the Brawl is also about football, about two really good college football teams trying to win the most important game of the year, and for the players, one of the most important games of their lives.

But for Montana, as a state, as a community, it’s about pride. Not pride in who you root for, but about showing off our state, showing off all of us, together, as Montanan’s. That’s what the Cat-Griz game does each and every year. It’s two great schools, two great communities, and one really big state coming together for a football game, but also coming together as one.

That’s something that should never get lost in the midst of this heated rivalry that has been played 114 different times. There are Bobcats and there are Grizzlies, but in the end, we’re all Montanan’s and for Montana, it doesn’t get much better than the Brawl of the Wild, and the latest edition, last Saturday in Missoula, showed that all too well. It was a great day for Montana.