George Ferguson Column: Some ramblings to help you get ready for Cat-Griz season

It's been hot, really hot, but the thermometer doesn't have anything to do with the fact that something is coming into focus more and more every day - football season is almost here.

And in Montana, that means it's time to start talking Bobcats and Grizzlies.

No, I don't mean arguing about it either. I just mean, it's time to start talking and thinking about it, no matter which side of the Divide you're on.

I know I'm thinking about it, and for many reasons. First, I was just in Washington-Grizzly Stadium Monday night to see my favorite band in the entire world, Pearl Jam. It was a spectacular night, and quite frankly, I couldn't imagine a better place on earth for Pearl Jam to play. Yes, I'm biased, but what an incredible atmosphere, and of course, with the stadium having so much meaning to me, it was a special night indeed.

But it wasn't just Wash-Griz that held a huge concert this summer. No, Bobcat Stadium kicked things off by hosting Imagine Dragons late in July. I'm told that show too was amazing, and because I know plenty of Griz fans who went to Bozeman for the concert and plenty of Bobcat fans who went to Pearl Jam, it's probably the only time when each was in the other's stadiums and were actually there for something they had in common.

So to that I say, put more concerts in Montana's two biggest stadiums. I say that for many reasons, but one of them is it's something all Cat-Griz fans can do together and not be mad at each other.

But enough about music, it's time to talk football.

Both Montana and Montana State are deep into fall camp now, but only recently were game times and TV contracts finalized for both programs.

MSU opens its season under the lights of Bobcat Stadium Thursday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. against FCS powerhouse Western Illinois. That game will be televised on SWX Montana and is one of four games in which the Cats will appear on SWX. The others are Sept. 15 against Wagner College, Sept. 22 at Portland State and Nov. 3 against Cal Poly. MSU will also appear once on Eleven Sports, which is in its second year of covering the Big Sky Conference. That game is an Oct. 27 trip to Idaho State. The Cats are on Root Sports, which are games televised nationally, five times, starting with their huge Sept. 29 showdown with Eastern Washington in Bozeman. MSU also hosts Idaho, which is returning to the Big Sky, for homecoming Oct. 13, which will be on Root as well, as will the Cats' trip to Weber State Oct. 20 and their final home game against Northern Colorado Nov. 10. MSU's second game of the season, a road trip to powerhouse South Dakota State, has yet to be announce a television deal, but the game is set to be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Grizzlies open their season, which marks the return of Bobby Hauck, Sept. 1 against Northern Iowa, and that game will be under the lights of Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff. It will be televised on SWX Montana and is one of five games to be broadcast locally. The others include the Griz' home game against Drake Sept. 8, their home game against Portland State Oct. 6, which is also Homecoming, a road game at North Dakota and a home affair with UC Davis Oct. 26. Montana also appears once each on Eleven Sports and ESPN+. The Eleven game will be the Griz' night game at Cal Poly Sept. 29, and the ESPN game will be the Griz' first road game of the season, a Sept. 15 visit to Western Illinois.

Montana also has four Root Sports games this season, starting with their Sept. 22 Big Sky opener against Sacramento State. That game will also honor Dave Dickenson's election into the College Football Hall of Fame. Other Root games include Montana's back-to-back road trips to Southern Utah Nov. 3, and Idaho Nov. 10. That game is the renewal of the rivalry for the Little Brown Stein, as well, which the Griz currently possess.

Of course, the final Root game for both Montana and Montana State will come Nov. 17 when the Griz host the Cats in the 118th Brawl of the Wild. Kickoff in Missoula is set for noon but, we've got plenty of time to talk about that later.

So, the Cats and Griz seem to have a lot in common right now, with both programs holding major concerts in their stadium this summer, both playing on SWX and Root a lot this fall, and both being excited to bring back the tradition of the Idaho Vandals.

But they also have two more big things in common this summer, and that's what I'm going to leave you with for now.

First, both teams are in quarterback competition mode. The Griz lost last year's starter, Gresch Jensen, after he decided to transfer out of Missoula. They did bring in three QBs to compete for the job, including former UNLV standout Dalton Snead and Boise State transfer Cam Humphrey. Early word out of Missoula is, Snead is in the lead to be the starter when Northern Iowa comes to town.

Meanwhile, MSU announced the shocking news last month that two-year starter Chris Murray, one of the most electrifying players returning to the Big Sky, will sit this season due to academic reasons, and Murray is currently not a member of the Bobcat team at all. MSU does return red-shirt freshman Tucker Rovig, and the Cats signed a pair of high school quarterbacks. But the battle to be the starter in Bozeman is actually boiling to former Oregon Duck Travis Jonsen, who was highly recruited out of high school, and another shocker, sophomore Troy Andersen. Andersen was an All-State QB at Dillon, but he went to MSU to play linebacker. However, as last season went on, he played both ways for the Bobcats, and he was originally slated to play running back full-time this season. That all changed, though, with the Chris Murray situation. So it will no doubt be interesting to see how all of that QB drama shakes out in Bozeman.

Secondly, the Cats and Griz have one more thing in common as the season approaches, both head coaches need to win, and they need to do it now.

In Bozeman, Jeff Choate just is about to begin his third season, and he's already been given a contract extension. There's no question Choate has changed the culture and raised expectations to a new level at MSU. He's also proving to be a phenomenal recruiter of talent. But he also must realize, with all that talent and all the excitement around the program, he can't have his Bobcats in rebuilding mode anymore. No, another sub 500 season for the Bobcats, which would be their fourth straight, is just not an option at this point.

And while expectations at MSU are sky high, they likely won't compare to what they'll be in Missoula because Hauck's return invokes memories of the most dominant run in Big Sky and Montana football history. It also inspires Griz Nation to believe that that kind of success is possible again.

And while Hauck is not taking over a program that has endured multiple losing season, what the Griz have done in the last five or six years is simply not good enough, and the fan base certainly showed that last year when the Griz went 7-4, but also suffered through their lowest home attendance season in a long, long time.

Now, it stands to reason that because of the recent lean years in Missoula Hauck should be allowed time to have his own rebuilding process. But this is Griz Nation we're talking about, and it's Bobby Hauck, and rebuilding just isn't allowed. Griz fans, at least a lot of them, simply don't have the patience for that nonsense. Instead, they are going to expect the Griz to come out of the gates like it was 2004 or 2009 all over again, however unreasonable those expectations might be.

Yes, there's no doubt, as summer winds it's way to the finish line, the Cats and Griz are in the exact same boat once again - they're expected to win and win a lot, and when we get to Nov. 17, it will once again be a Brawl.

So buckle up fans, whether you're a Griz or a Bobcat, you're favorite time of year is almost here.