George Ferguson Column: Choate staying means excitement in Bozeman, consternation in Missoula

I don’t know if there’s going to be a Big Sky spring football season or not. Somewhere deep down, I kind of have my doubts. But I do know that when the Montana State Bobcats do take the field again, they’ll still have their beloved head coach.

And for the Cat-Griz rivalry, on at least one side, there’s jubilation. Yes, MSU fans don’t want Choate to leave because, let’s face it, MSU fans really, really care about sticking it to the Griz. And no head coach in MSU history is doing that at a better clip than Choate. How could that be you say? MSU has had some legendary head coaches you say?

Yeah, well, none of ’em can boast that they’ve never lost to the Griz. Only Jeff Choate can, and that’s why, while Montana State fans were flattered by the idea that their guy was being courted by a big time Boise State program, that flattery has turned to relief as Choate was, in the end, not chosen to lead the Broncos.

Instead, Choate is staying in Bozeman, at a time when momentum in the MSU program couldn’t be higher. Yes, the Cats are 4-0 against the Griz, but there’s so much more to it than the rivalry. A closer look would tell you, no matter how hyped up the rivalry wins get in Bozeman, and all over Bobcat country, the more glaring fact is MSU’s trajectory, which in the most recent time was a trip to the 2019 FCS semifinals.

That’s right, in just four years, Choate has taken the program from a complete rebuild to an FCS contender. Of course, there’s still much to do in Bozeman. The Cats haven’t won a Big Sky championship yet, and MSU hasn’t seen a national title game since that historic 1984 1-AA championship season.

Those two goals, along with a continued streak against the Griz, are now what Bobcat fans thirst for. With facilities being built and enrollment continuing to climb at MSU, there’s no reason to think that, under Choate, MSU can’t reach all of those goals.

And that’s why MSU fans were partying the other night when Boise State hired Oregon’s Andy Avolos instead of Choate. And it’s for those same reasons why, while many won’t admit it, Griz fans, deep down, were crushed when they heard of the Bronco’s decision to pass on Choate.

The Griz, of course, have been on a good trajectory of their own. The Bob Stitt experiment just didn’t work out, and Bobby Hauck has already delivered on his promise to bring Montana back to Big Sky relevance. Like MSU, the Griz haven’t won a Big Sky title yet in Hauck’s return, but they’re contending for one, and — going into the pandemic-canceled season of 2020 — many thought the Griz were possibly the favorite to win the Big Sky.

Also, Hauck, in just two seasons, got the Griz back into the playoffs, and they came within a final-second interception at Weber State of joining the Bobcats in the FCS semifinals back in 2019.

So, there’s no denying, Hauck has the Griz pointed in the right direction again — except in the rivalry.

In that regard, Montana has for the first time in decades truly fallen behind MSU. I know, Griz fans don’t want to hear it. They want to say they care more about championships than they do about the Brawl of the Wild Trophy. And that may have been true in 1995, 2000 and as recently as 2009. But, it’s 2021, and Montana hasn’t beaten the Bobcats since the Stitt-led Griz romped to a 2015 win in Bozeman.

Worse yet, the Griz haven’t beaten the Cats in Washington-Grizzly Stadium since 2014, and if there is no spring season, they won’t get an opportunity to beat the Cats in Missoula until November of 2022.

No, while the Griz are back, and Hauck won’t let them slip again, the fact of the matter is, when it comes to the rivalry, the Cats have the upper hand, and Choate is one of the biggest reasons why, and that’s why so many Griz fans wanted him to be a Boise State Bronco.

But he’s not. Instead, Choate immediately said how much he loves Bozeman, how much he still loves MSU and that he and his Cats have unfinished business. While that unfinished business has to do with rings, Big Sky and FCS champions rings to be specific, you know Choate loves beating the Griz just as much. He loves this rivalry and he loves sticking it to Montana and their fans.

And whether it’s March 27 in Missoula, or next November in Bozeman or both, Choate will do all he can to have the Bobcats ready to extend their winning streak and to continue to be known as, the biggest Griz killer of them all.