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The Griz go for five in a row to stay in the thick of the conference race. The Cats try to pick up a game in the standings to pull even with the Griz. It's Montana, Montana State and all the Phil Buck you can handle. Awesome.

First Half

• I think the camera is out of focus. Or really poor quality. Maybe both. 2-0 Griz two minutes in. 
• First AJ mid-range hanging dagger of the game. Kind of want to see him back at the off-guard, or at least taking more shots. He could be a Steph Curry type of point guard.
• 8-7 now, 15 minutes left. Why the hell do they not have both Griz-Cat games while the students are back? It's pretty damn ridiculous.
• A lot of empty seats at the ends. Big Sky basketball or people not being allowed to sit there? I don't know.
• McGillis playing hard early. Good to see. Once the winning starts it seems as though everyone starts to find their roles/not compete for shots. Kind of a chicken and the egg type situation though. 11-9, 13:30 left. And he just blocked some kid hard. It didn't even leave is hand. Two blocks so far.
• CET checks in, AJ to the off guard. Misses a three. If he adds that to is game next year he may average 25+ in this conference.
• Why don't they have Mick just do both TV and radio? Is there some kind of conflict I'm missing? I know it happens in other sports.
• These games are much better on Big Sky TV. But I don't think it's working and I'd rather not listen to Montana State's broadcasters.
• Now 17-17 with 7:24 left. Phil Buck stressing almost every word. Let's see if the radio is synced. It's not. 
• Now it's at 24-18 after a three by Hasquet. Well, 24-21 after a Cat three. It'd be nice to push this to the 7-10 range. Now a three by Staudacher.
• Anthony Johnson kind of flops/gets fouled. Have you ever seen him get shaken up or upset over a call?
• 31-26 after AJ drives baseline and lays it in.
• CET also showing some offensive prowess as he picks up an old-school three pointer.
• 36-30 at half.

Second half

• Griz now up nine. Keep pushing it.
• Just discussed the whole possession arrow concept with a friend. Why is that still in college basketball?
• Lead still at nine. Same score actually. 17:22 left.
• McGillis makes a three and now it's a ten point lead. I know I missed a score. McGillis having a big game.
• Michael Taylor looks exactly like someone I despise. But he's cool though. Michael Taylor. Not the other kid.
• 43-37 after AJ jumps and makes an ill-advised pass that leads to a dunk.
• These games on TV always seems dull. It could be that every play is called like it was extremely important so nothing stands out.
• "SPLASH" Kyle Sharp nails a three at the end of the shot clock. 46-37.
• Griz need to pull away a little. We don't need to have this be in question coming down the stretch. I'm a little more confident in this team pulling out close wins but why do it if you don't need to? We need this win on the road bad.
• That may be the first time I've seen Byran Qvale dunk a basketball in a game.
• 50-46 now with 9:20 left. This is far too close. Kind of a sloppy game.
• Wow, Ceylon Elgin-Taylor showing some game. Watch out.
• Champ looks ridiculous.
• Anthony Johnson's mid range fadeaway is unbelievable. Why wasn't he starting earlier in the season. Not gonna lie, I kind of called this.
• Another one from AJ. Phil Buck says "string music."
• Staudacher fouled out. 58-51 Griz.
• Jesus. Anthony Johnson just made a circus reverse shot, after a bump. Yeah, give him all three.
• Ceylon to Anthony on a fast break and now the lead is 11 with 3:30 to play. Cats make a three but it's still uphill for them.
• Griz break the press on Hasquet's quarterback pass but Mcgillis gets fouled hard going up for a dunk. This is about over. Makes one, Griz get the rebound and now Anthony Johnson is going to the line after a block. These are almost automatic. Yep. 68-57.
• Well, Cats then dunk over McGillis.
• Back to 11 on Hasquet free throws. We've gotten pretty decent at icing games. Howard airballs a three. Let's wrap this up.
• Griz fans holding up keys signifying "warm up the bus." This is a home game for the Cats. There is no bus.
• The end of the game was far too long.
• Griz win 78-63. Another double digit victory over the Cats. Five in a row and still in second place.

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Follow the feed—which will have updates and pictures from the student section—here or at twitter.com/colinokeefe for live updates and pictures from the game.

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There should be a set of large quotation marks floating above Jerry Glanville at all times. In an Oregonian article on Montana's conference domination, the Portland State head coach had this to say about Rob Ash's first recruiting class at Montana State.

"Montana State did something that I think will change the conference," Glanville says. "They signed 14 kids out of Texas in one year. How does that change them? Well, everybody in Texas runs 'rapidamente.' There are no slow players in Texas. They're all fast. So that will change Montana State."

I hope it does so the Griz can learn something. Montana's lack of speed was apparent in the playoff losses to UMass and Wofford.

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That would be Cody Kempt. Today, Montana State head coach Rob Ash named the Oregon transfer as the Bobcats' starting QB.

Here's what Ash had to say on the matter, from The Cat-Griz Insider:

“This was an excruciating decision for our staff, because both quarterbacks played extremely well in the entire pre-season camp.

“Their statistics for the three weeks of practice were almost exactly even, and they are both excellent leaders with an impressive understanding of the game. We have great confidence in both young men.”

I would like nothing more than an MSU student to comment and confirm my suspicion that this kid wears an atrocious amount of Hurley and Abercrombie. Second on the list of things I want to happen related to Cody Kempt: this.

Yessss.

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Don't give me all the nonsense on "The Ashtray", "Kitty Litter" and "The Streak." Try to look at this alone. Montana State's new field looks better than the new turf the University of Montana is putting down.


Photo courtesy of eGriz user FTGRIZ.


Photo courtesy of Bobcat Nation user TIrwin24.

The Washington-Grizzly turf does not look bad nor is it completely installed. I understand that. But it won't look as good as the turf in Bozeman. Please hold off on everything else, I know the rest of that stadium is mediocre and so is the team most years but on this topic alone, they have UM beat.

Montana State chose to go with FieldTurf, the industry leader for these artificial grass surfaces. FieldTurf is used by 22 NFL teams and countless Division I colleges.

The University of Montana went with Sprinturf. Washington-Grizzly stadium is the highest profile job they've done.

I do not know all the advantages and disadvantages of each. I do know one: Sprinturf is uglier.

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Montana State University's football stadium is terrible. It has heinous fairground-like metal bleachers and an old looking grandstand. The worst part: it's probably one of the best in our conference and is second only to UM in conference attendance. The Big Sky Conference: where D-1 ball at high school football stadiums happens.

Anyway, they're looking to make some major improvements. I have to say... not too shabby.


Going off the video, it looks great. Their goal is to have 22,000 seats in eight years. Two major problems: the money and whether or not they can even put fans in that many seats. If I recall correctly, there were even a few empty seats for last year's Griz-Cat game. Not good.

However, this video and these plans would get me legitimately pumped to be a Cat fan. I almost want to donate money myself.

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It wasn't just the wins. It was the way the Lady Griz played the game that drew outstanding support from the community.

The way the Griz played and the atmosphere this past weekend made those two games some of the best Griz sporting events I've ever attended. Honestly, they're up there with the Stanford upset, "The Zoo" night and Bagley's catch against EWU. The actual number of people was great—4,265 for the Portland State game and 5,016 for MSU—but it doesn't do an ounce of justice to what it was like in the D on Friday and Saturday night.

The Lady Griz were having fun and so were the fans. There were times when the Lady Griz would make a series of hustle plays—someone would dig out a rebound then kick it out for a dagger three from Cote, Mandy would give a little shimmy and knock one down right in someone's grill, Ena would bang her way to the rim before getting the hoop and the harm—and the whole crowd would stand and cheer in agreement that what they were seeing was amazing. That's how they played: filled to the brim with confidence and completely devoid of all selfishness. They supported one another and wore the Lady Griz uniform with pride.

The Lady Griz put on a show and gave the fans a good deal of entertainment, but when Lady Griz needed something themselves, the fans provided it. The fans didn't only respond to great plays, they helped cause them. When the Griz needed a stop or a run, they were there. They were there because they knew the Lady Griz would respond. When the Lady Griz were down, there was no doubt they'd make a run; whenever there was an opening, they'd stomp their collective foot on the chest of the opponent as they buried any doubt over the final outcome.

But it wasn't all like this. It wasn't all smooth. No one knows if they needed it but Coach Selvig kept them grounded. I'm damn-near 100% convinced that the reason he walks with a small limp is because he stomps so much.

There was a time in the MSU game when the Lady Griz were up comfortably by somewhere around 15 and Sonya Rogers made an ill-advised pass into the post on a fast break. It was picked off and as Sonya hustled back on defense, Robin stared into her back and screamed "SONYA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" It was terrifying. Sitting front row in the student section, his scream and stare were so intense I almost felt like I messed up. But these girls are tough. They don't get flustered, they don't think it's all a show. They know they screwed up and do not want to do it again.

There are so many things that went into this amazing season that's it's impossible to accurately describe even 1/8th of what it was like. For those of you who missed it, I'm sorry.

I'm also sorry for giving very little recognition to this great team here on The Grizzoulian. They should've gotten many more entries than the few written about them.

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Tonight, the Lady Griz face a dangerous Portland State team who beat them by 10 less than a week ago. Lady Griz will play the second game tonight at about 7:45 with Montana State and Northern Colorado playing in the first at 5:30.

Mandy Morales sprained an ankle in the last game so this should be interesting. I'll be there, hope everyone else can make it out.

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Up to this point, my coverage of the Griz-Cat basketball game has been nothing short of God-awfully wretched. One entry, that's it. It's been an interesting week and I hope to do as Lloyd did and TOTALLY redeem myself.

For those who get the reference, here's the 70 mpg moped that will be my Montana Grizzlies/Montana State Bobcats coverage: I will be providing live comments and images from the game.

Now, that won't be done right here on the Grizzoulian, but on other pages done by me. For live images taken from the student section go to flickr.com/grizzoulian. For my short comments on whatever's going on, go to twitter.com/colinokeefe.

Also, the game's on KPAX. Starts at seven.

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As I mentioned, there were two positives that emerged from last night, here's the other.

The Montana State Bobcats basketball team was livin' the good life. On top of already beating a WAC and Pac-10 team, they had recently outplayed and demoralized the rival Griz. With the worst team in the conference next on the schedule, it looked like the hot streak would run at least one more game. Nope.

The Sac State Hornets, who had not beat a Division I team all year, knocked off the Cats 78-77. The Cats battled back from being 9 down with less than six minutes to go and led with 1:15 left. Then Sac missed a shot, Cats got the ball and were fouled with 17.9 seconds left.  Phil Friesen missed both. Hornets got the ball and freshman guard Vinny McGhee Jr found senior forward Justin Williams for a 16-foot baseline winner with 4.7 seconds left.

Here are some quotes from the Bozeman Chronicle:

“Yeah, I'm frustrated,” MSU coach Brad Huse said, before quickly crediting Sacramento State with dictating the pace and flustering his team, which shot 38.0 percent an committed two technical fouls.

“We came back and had a chance to win it, and it would've been a good win on the road.”[...]

“We got beat up by a freshman guard tonight,” Huse said, adding: “We're not going to win a lot of games unless we get more balance in scoring.”

Agreed Taylor: “People who usually make shots didn't make shots.”

It's worth noting that Carlos Taylor scored 34. Again.

Now the Cats head to NAU, where'll they'll take a long bus ride up to 7000 feet and try to succeed where the Griz didn't. Needless to say, it wouldn't be surprising to see both the Griz and Cats sitting at 1-2 after Saturday. If the Griz are 0-3, I'm gonna lose it.

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I do not have a lot to say. This was the worst half of basketball the Griz have played all season.

Montana closed the first half and opened the second half with a flurry of made threes. It looked good at the time but couldn't have been more detrimental to the final outcome.

Throughout the entire second half, the Griz jacked up poor outside shot after poor outside shot. It was dreadful. Every time the Griz went inside, points were there for the taking. The inside-out game was there. The 25-foot treys and fadeaway jumpers were not.

When MSU made their run and grabbed the game, the Griz didn't put up an ounce of effort as they fell to the canvas. The Cats were the more disciplined and efficient team. Throughout the game, they stuck to their gameplan and ran a balanced offense. The Griz did not. They panicked, tried to be heroes, fell behind and tried to jack up threes.

The Griz have not won a D1 game in more than a month. It's been since the weekend following Thanksgiving. Depressing, huh? This 07-08 season doesn't feel like last year anymore. It's worse.

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Well, I'm sick of dealing with this TV stuff. I almost stroked out trying to explain my problem to a DirecTV automated receptionist. I've moved closer to the wireless router and am now going off of audio only,

I missed a lot of the first half trying ti figure the TV thing out so I don't have a ton to offer. It sounds like the Griz are running a solid, patient offense. There was at least one time where Rundles lofted up a trey early in the shot clock but that was all I heard. Once again, I didn't hear much.

Ceylong Elgin-Taylor made a positive impact in the first half. I like having him running the point. He did a great job in the Fulerton game and it sounds like he's doing the same here. If Rundles can regain last year's form these two should prove to be a very skilled tandem. We just need CET shooting thousands of FTs every day.

As for the bigs, I'm not really sure what's going on. I believe Jordo his being his usual self, just going off the few plays I've heard. Drew has six points at half. Not a ton for him, but it'll do right now. Hopefully he can get more in the next twenty minutes.

The Griz have led and trailed, had both positives and negatives on offense and defense. However, you'll always take a lead at half in a conference rivalry game on the road.

Well, there's some kind of biology or nature expert on at half. I'm getting a beer. Tonight's beverage: Newcastle.

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The live blog is off. It's blacked out or something. DirecTV offered zero help. Could not provide a reason for anything. Very very awful customer support. It included trying to explain my problem to an automated receptionist. Just really terrible.

For the Griz, this is the first step in erasing a disappointing non-conference season. It's also a chance to pick up an impressive road win and potentially re-establish themselves as the favorite to win the conference.

For the Cats, it's a chance to kick their rivals while they're down. They looked great in non-conference play and a win here establishes them as a Big Sky power.

For those still in Big Sky country, this game is on KPAX. For all of those wishing you were, it's on DirecTV channel 693. Just a reminder: it's free.

A live blog with complete with scores, analysis and rants is after the jump. Pregame

I just want to make note of this: if we lose, I'm going to be really upset. Every other Griz fan should be as well. No matter what happens, there are no moral victories. This is a rivalry game, and a big one at that. We haven't beat a D-1 team in more than a month. We need a 'W' fellas.

Also want to note that I'm going to try and go with less updates. I want to enjoy this. The last couple have gotten a little out of hand.

It's 6:02 and no TV yet. Trying not to panic. Not only has the channel not switched over, but my satellite signal is going in and out. WONDERFUL.

1st Half

I'm switching to audio. Very upset.

I'm resetting my satellite receiver while listening to Mick. This blows.

17:00 6-3 Griz

We've supposedly been running the offense well. I wouldn't know because I can't see the damn game. Wow, this is wonderful. The Guide says it should be on. Right now I'm getting 'Searching for satellite signal.'

15:22 8-6 Griz

Well, it's good to see we're starting out in front. Something we really needed to do on the road. A 5-7 point lead would be nice coming out of this media timeout. I believe CET started over Martin but I could be wrong. I liked how that lineup worked against Fullerton. Only problem comes with CET's free-throw shooting down the stretch.

No Idea

DirecTV has terrible customer service. I cannot get ahold of them. My internet is going in and out so I can't listen. Great.

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For everyone who lives outside the 406, trying to follow your Montana Grizzlies can, well, blow. You can order all the DirecTV packages you want but you're still only going to get a few games a year. That is, unless you get your local bar to use some special satellite receiver to tune into the signal they're bouncing off Saturn or whatever.

Tonight though, is not one of those rough nights. The Montana/Montana State basketball game will be shown on ESPN FullCourt. Channel 693. It says the game starts at 8 ET on the guide but both team's web pages say 7:05 Mountain Time. Alright, now that everything's out of the way. Tonight's game will be on TV, for free. It's part of the package's free preview, which extends tonight through the twelfth. So, as long as you have DirecTV, you get the game. Enjoy.

Oh, and if you're really ADD and need multiple Griz things to look at, there'll be a live blog running here as well.

Also, all you lucky local people—well all of you not in Bozeman...any Bozone Griz fans should definitely be at the game—the game can be seen on KPAX at 7.

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The 2008 football schedule is out. As reported on here first, the Griz will open their season down San Luis Obispo against the Cal Poly Mustangs.

Here's the complete schedule:

Date ..... Opponent ..... Time
9.6 ..... at Cal Poly ..... TBA
9.13 ..... Southern Utah ..... 1:05 p.m.
9.20 ..... UC-Davis (Homecoming) ..... 1:05 p.m.
9.27 ..... Central Washington ..... 1:05 p.m.
10.4 ..... at Weber State * ..... TBA
10.11 ..... at Eastern Washington * ..... TBA
10.18 ..... Sacramento State * ..... 1:05 p.m.
10.25 ..... at Northern Colorado * ..... TBA
11.1 ..... Northern Arizona * ..... 12:05 p.m.
11.8 ..... at Portland State * ..... TBA
11.15 ..... Idaho State * ..... 12:05 p.m.
11.22 ..... Montana State * (108th meeting) ..... 12:05 p.m.

* Conference game

The OOC is alright. We probably shouldn't be playing a DII school but whatever. Here's O'Day's rationale on playing schools from a lower division. It's his response to playing Ft. Lewis last year but fits around the fact that we're playing Central Washington:

Last year, we played Fort Lewis (Don Read loved the Division II schools to let young kids get experience) and UM Athletics netted about $300,000 - not counting what the Adams Center received for ticket fees ($1 per ticket), or what dining services produced in sales, or the bookstore... not counting what the Missoula economy saw by another home game (estimated at between $5-$7 million per home weekend).  We admit that was a "money game," as do most teams at our level.   Still, it is no different than Oregon hosting Montana for $450,000 or Iowa hosting Montana for $650,000.  Their fans expected big wins at our expense, and they, too, need to produce funds to pay their bills.

After the non-conference slate, what should be two of our toughest BSC games are on the road: we have to go to Portland to play the Vikings and to the Cheney to play the Eagles. Those should be two very challenging games. Then we cap off the season with the Brawl in Missoula and hopefully another Big Sky Championship.

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In the video above, Lex scores his second of three touchdowns. At this point in the game, the Griz were only up 7 and needed another score to put the game out of reach. This was it.

After the jump are some pictures for the game. As usual, email me if you'd like some high resolution shots.
The field about a half hour before gametime.


The band getting ready before the game.


Griz take the field.


Cats run out.


The flyover.


The band at halftime.


Eric Allen's second touchdown.


Someone tossing out cookies after every TD.


Griz pick up huge 3rd down to set up touchdown in the video above.


Dan usually makes his extra points.


Griz take the field after the win.


The team thanks its fans.


Un-de-feated.

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The score, 41-20 Griz, doesn't reflect it but the game was close throughout. The two teams were separated by only one possession through most of the game.

In the fourth, the Griz were up 13 (after an EA catch 1:15 into the quarter) until the Cats scored with about ten minutes left. The Cats punched it in but the extra point was blocked and almost run back for two points. On an ensuing possession, the Griz drove down to the two. After a third down run from the two or three that got pretty much got stuffed, the scoreboard read 4th and 2. For some reason, a measurement was taken. Somehow, it led to a first down Montana. The Griz punched it in a play or two later on a leaping Lex Hilliard TD run. There'll be a video up tomorrow.

On the next Cat position, Rolovich was about to be sacked  then he hucked it up underhanded. It was picked off and Lex ran it in from 15-20 yards out on the ensuing possession. Twenty one point lead, back-to-back Brawl wins and an undefeated regular season.

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The Montana Grizzlies volleyball is currently on the outside looking in on the Big Sky playoff race. They're seventh. Six Teams make the playoffs. We need wins. And fans.

The volleyball team needs 2,085 to break the record so they're moving the game down to Dahlberg instead of playing up at the West Auxiliary Gym.

Here's some info and a quote from the coach from The Missoulian:

The Grizzlies are facing off against the last-place Bobcats (0-12, 1-23), while NAU hosts two of the top three teams in the league this weekend in Eastern Washington (9-3, 10-13) and Portland State (10-2, 17-6). Fifth-place Northern Colorado (6-5, 8-16) also hosts both EWU and PSU this weekend.

“We'll need the teams that are playing well at the top of the conference to continue to play well and help us get back into a position where we may have a chance at making the tournament,” second-year Griz coach Jerry Wagner said. “Certainly we need some help, but we also have a lot to play for in the upcoming three weeks.”

We better win. Not because we need it to make the playoffs, but because the Cats are 0-12 in conference and 1-23 overall. That's awful.

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This weekly feature is actually becoming weekly as it's back for consecutive weeks.

Griz get two game lead with victory over NAU. It's the Griz's most impressive win of the season and it almost guarantees them at least a share of the Big Sky championship. Lex carried for 130 yards in the second half and essentially carried the Griz to victory. Finally, we are starting to see the team everyone thought to compete for a National Championship.

Montana State embarrassed by Northern Colorado. Northern Colorado finally got its first win over a Big Sky team since joining the conference. It wasn't over a bottom-feeder like Sac State or Idaho State either. It was over 19th ranked Montana State. This will undoubtedly knock MSU out of the rankings, the BSC title chase and probably the playoffs.

Weber State 73, Portland State 68. Um, what the hell? It's the most points scored in an NCAA football game since these types of things were first recorded. Freshman quarterbacks—one a redshirt and one a true freshman—combined for 13 passing touchdowns. Portland State QB Drew Hubel, a true freshman making his first start, passed for nine touchdowns. I'm sure Mouse Davis likes to see that but I doubt this is what Glanville had in mind when he said PSU would have the hardest hitting defense on the West Coast.

Eastern Washington hands Sac State another close loss. Half the conference decided they weren't going to play defense this weekend. The Hornets and Eagles amassed more than 900 total yards in EWU's 31-24 win.

Idaho State thumped by Cal Poly, 48-28. Here's another team who felt defense really wasn't essential. Cal Poly quarterback Jonathan Dally threw for 453 yards and ran for 119 more. Idaho State is now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in conference.

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The Northern Colorado Bears finally have their first win over a Division I team since moving up. After losing 16 straight, the Bears beat the Bobcats 16-13.

For moments at the end of the game, it seemed as though the Bears were trying to lose. Well, the Bobcats tried to lose a little bit harder.

After a partially blocked Northern Colorado punt, MSU went down and scored with roughly 50 seconds on the clock. The Bears burned two timeouts trying to ice the kicker on the extra point. It didn't work. Neither did MSU's kickoff coverage. The Bears returned the ball to the MSU 40 and completed a long pass to the 20 on an ensuing play. They kicked a 37 yard field goal and with that, the Bears are on a winning streak for the first time in a season and half.

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Photo by Todd Goodrich for Montanagrizzlies.com

This weekly roundup on action in the Big Sky has been less than weekly but here it is for this weekend's games.

The Bears are who we thought they were, but are the Griz? The Griz racked up an impressive 627 yards and 52 points in their dominant win over Northern Colorado but who really knows what that means? Will the win set the Griz offense on a track that leads toward Chattanooga or is this simply a good win over a bad team? Griz fans can hope for the former but the next two games should be a better indicator than this win over a team that hasn't beat a Division I team since moving up.

Bobcats survive Sac State. As many Griz fans expected/hoped for, the MSU offense had a bit of trouble against the Hornet defense. The Cats were down 6-0 at the half but outscored the Hornets 20-3 in the final two quarters. They've now won eight straight in what has effectively been dubbed "The Ashtray."

Weber ends NAU's two game BSC win streak. Not a whole lot going on in this one. The Lumberjacks had a chance to tie it with about 9 minutes left in the game but a two point conversion was batted down. A few plays later, Weber scored and the game was out of reach.

Portland State falls to Idaho State, 38-20. Going into this season, Portland State had hopes for a Big Sky championship. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. Sorry Jer. The Viks were up 13-3 at halftime but the Bengals scored four third quarter touchdowns with two of them being on defense. The Vikings are 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Sky. The only thing that may salvage their season: an upset over UM. I'm not too frightened but it is on my mind.

Eastern gets crushed by BYU. Fans of FCS, or at least Big Sky teams, hoped EWU's impressive offense would at least put a little fear into BYU, maybe make a game out of it. That did not happen. While the Eagles suffered a 42-7 defeat, they did get $325,000 for making the trip.

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I don't think so, but Greg Rachac of the Cat-Griz Insider does.

The Grizzlies? After they struggled in an 18-10 victory over winless Weber State, they have some questions to answer. Sure, they’re (still) the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, but UM has been bolstered by a weak schedule (their four opponents are a combined 2-14) and they still won’t play a road game until midway through October. Plus, who knows the status of Lex Hilliard’s shoulder injury? Bobby Hauck mentioned that he just hopes that Hilliard can come back at some point this season. That is certainly not good news for UM. The Griz will have to play much better this week against Eastern Washington.

The Bobcats, on the other hand, have been cruising thus far. A loss in their season opener at Texas A&M was expected, but since then they’ve been rolling. Granted, they, too, struggled against Weber State, but for the most part the Bobcats have been clicking on both offense and (especially) defense, making coach Rob Ash’s first tenure at the helm a success thus far.

All I’m saying is this: If Montana and Montana State were to play right now, the Bobcats would win. That may not be the case on Nov. 17, but it is certainly the case now.

Right now, we're going off the Weber games because the Griz and Cats don't have any other comparable opponents until the Cats play Southern Utah next week.

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It wasn't here last week, but this weekly recap of Big Sky games is back for week 5.

Montana very unimpressive against WSU. It was a lot like the USC-Washington game. Both the Trojans and Griz were ranked number one but put up less than inspiring performances against decent yet unranked teams who wore purple and had school names starting with a W. I don't think the Trojans committed nearly as many penalties though.

Portland State beats Eastern Washington, 28-21. The Viking offense looked very strong in the win as they racked up 520 yards of total offense. Even so, it was a close game. The game ended when Portland State picked off a desperation pass in the end zone.

Sac State rolls over Northern Arizona, 38-9. NAU head coach Jerome Souers didn't give the Hornets much credit, saying "it was one of those games that whatever could go wrong, did go wrong." You know what, you got stomped. It wasn't just things going wrong. Sac State obviously played well.

Montana State rallies from 10-0 deficit to beat Idaho State. The Bobcats had a strong third quarter and Demetrius Crawford ran for 173 yards on 23 carries as the Bobcats' 40-20 win put the Bengals 0-2 in the conference.

Northern Colorado loses to Cal Poly, 56-21. What can I say? They got this losing thing down.

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The Griz sit in their usual spot while Montana State moved from 20th to 18th. Eastern Washington debuts in the poll at #25 and Portland State is working on climbing its way back in.

Team (First-place votes)	Record	Points	Previous Rank
1. Appalachian State Mountaineers (90)	3-0	2,250	1
2. Montana Grizzlies	2-0	2,055	2
3. Massachusetts Minutemen	3-0	1,985	3
4. Northern Iowa Panthers	3-0	1,943	4
5. North Dakota State Bison	2-0	1,843	5
6. McNeese State Cowboys	2-0	1,763	8
7. Southern Illinois Salukis	3-0	1,662	7
8. James Madison Dukes	2-1	1,641	9
9. Youngstown State Penguins	2-1	1,626	6
10. New Hampshire Wildcats	1-1	1,426	12
11. Delaware Blue Hens	3-0	1,344	10
12. Hampton Pirates	2-0	1,122	13
13. Wofford Terriers	2-1	1,053	11
14. Illinois State Redbirds	2-1	971	17
15. Hofstra Pride	2-0	794	19
16. Furman Paladins	1-2	728	15
17. Sam Houston State Bearkats	2-1	693	16
18. Montana State Bobcats	1-1	564	20
19. Western Illinois Leathernecks	2-1	505	22
20. Eastern Illinois Panthers	1-2	468	14
21. Yale Bulldogs	1-0	417	21
22. Lafayette Leopards	3-0	324	25
23. Alabama A&M Bulldogs	3-0	184	NR
24. Cal Poly Mustangs	1-2	160	NR
25. Eastern Washington Eagles	2-0	155	NR

Others receiving votes: Delaware State 154, Nicholls State 150, Drake 99, Georgia Southern 98, The Citadel 87, Towson 85, Richmond 59, San Diego 58, Northern Arizona 57, Alabama State 40, Villanova 34, Portland State 33, South Carolina State 30, Jackson State 26, Missouri State 22, Tennessee State 21, North Carolina Central 18, Holy Cross 17, Dayton 13, South Dakota State 13, Southern 13, Lehigh 12, Grambling 11, Texas State 11, Albany 8, Prairie View 8, Gardner-Webb 6, Princeton 6, Stony Brook 4, Harvard 2, Liberty 2, Northeastern 2, William & Mary 2, Coastal Carolina 1, Cornell 1, Iona 1, UC Davis 1.

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Portland State saves their season with a 35-24 win over Sac State. The Vikings probably went into this game the same way Michigan will go into their conference schedule. PSU will not get great playoff seeding but they can still win the conference and make the playoffs. Unlike the Wolverines, the Viks can still win a National Championship. It's not likely, but as a Cubs fan, I like to think anyone can win once they get in the playoffs.

Montana State kills Dixie State, 61-7. Nice job guys, nice job. Some people mark this as some sort of sign that MSU is fine and will be something of a contender. The win is what it is. If you're proud of a D-II shilacking, that's not good. I'm not saying the Cats will or will not be a factor in the 'Sky but the only message this sends is that they can blow out a team from a lower division. Good to know.

NAU falls to Appalachian State, 34-21. It would've been nice to see a Big Sky team get mentioned on SC for beating the giant-killers from Boone, but it didn't happen as the Mountaineers won their 17th straight game. It could've been worse. If NAU can keep it within two possessions, maybe the Griz can pull off a win.

Weber State blown out by Cal Poly, 47-19. The Weber State secondary allowed Mustangs quarterback Jonathan Dally to rack up Colt Brennan-esque numbers in the loss. The kid tossed 6 TDs on 328 yards.

Northern Colorado loses to San Diego, 49-13. This type of score was expected with the Bears coming off a huge loss to D-II Chadron State. On a positive note, they did find a running back. David Woods finished with 180 all-purpose yards.

Eastern beats UC Davis, 41-31. It wasn't Bengals-Browns but the Eagles and Aggies combined for almost 1,000 total yards. The Aggies had more yards and the Eagles had more points.

Idaho State trounced by Oregon State, 61-10. You know the deal. Big Sky team plays FBS opponent, Big Sky team loses by 30+ while the FBS team puts up huge numbers. Whatever pays the bills.

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Until some major news services, I'm going to try make this the last post on the Mike Kramer fiasco. In an article in today's article Bozeman Chronicle, Bozeman-area attorneys were painting Mike Kramer as the "fall guy" for all the problems at Montana State. It's hard to argue against the idea that someone had to take the fall for all of this. Things were just too bad to plod down the path without some serious changes. The question I have is, why shouldn't Kramer be the "fall guy?"

Take a look at three of the most prominent football-related arrests: Rick Gatewood, Andre Fuller and Eddie Sullivan. All three of these guys were brought in by Mike Kramer during as part of the '03 recruiting class. Here is a incredible quote from Mike Kramer on that '03 class.

"We added some big kids, we addressed some needs, but most importantly this is a very high-quality recruiting class," Kramer said of his fourth class as MSU’s head football coach. "There are no hidden hopefuls, no maybes, in this class. This isn’t the biggest class we’ve had in terms of numbers, but that allowed us to get strong reads on every single kid we signed in terms of character. There aren’t any partial scholarships or any reaches in this class. This is the kind of class, up and down the list, that I envisioned being able to attract to Montana State when I took this job."

Hah, really?

It is entirely possible that all of this crime -- the cocaine, the busts, the murder -- is connected to the cocaine-dealing ring Gatewood helped bring into Bozeman. Hell, I'd go far as to say it's probable. However, without Kramer bringing in a shady character like Rick Gatewood, who's to say none of this ever happens? Maybe Kramer was just giving a kid a chance, but even so. He brought Gatewood to Bozeman. Gatewood brought cocaine and a wave of crime to Bozeman. Someone at MSU had to take the fall for this. I'm not saying only Kramer should be blamed, but if anyone at MSU is going to take a fall, why wouldn't it be him? Once again, I do have sympathy for Kramer and his family but the more I like at the firing, the more it looks like it had to be done.

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I'm having a tough time trying to figure out what my opinion is on the whole Mike Kramer firing. Obviously, something had to be done to straighten out the program. Maybe Gatewoord & Co were no longer athletes when they were arrested, or maybe Kramer had no idea what was going on or maybe he was just trying to give a guy a break. Even so, something had to be done. But then, this whole thing could've been handled much better.

An article in today's Great Falls Tribune by Scott Mansch compares perception to reality. He says through all this MSU is still serving its function as an academic institution and the perception is not reality in Bozeman.

Certainly drug use and academic lapses are not confined to the campus in Bozeman. Anyone who thinks the problems occur only at MSU is kidding himself. But the headlines indicate otherwise these days.

So the administration at Montana State is in the process of hiring a football coach to replace Kramer and, by all accounts, has a list of fine finalists. The slate will be wiped clean and we can only hope that forevermore the problems are over.

A pipe dream, to be sure.
...
The perception? Montana State has turned into Animal House. Or worse.

The reality? An exceptional institution of higher learning.

However, does it really matter what's perception and what is reality? At this point in time, outsiders' perception must be horrible. When you're trying to bring in solid students and recruits, isn't how they perceive the school extremely important?

Unless you're at a phenomenally gifted school where science research is making all the big headlines, athletics are going to get the most exposure. In a way, they are the face of the school. When Montana State beat CU and made headlines, that was phenomenal. However, when news came out that MSU athletes brought cocaine into Bozeman, that didn't look so hot. How are parents going to justify sending there kids to MSU when the latest headlines out of Bozeman is that there is a major cocaine problem.

The reality, most likely, is that there are drug problems at many universities. The perception is that it's much worse at Montana State. If MSU continues on its way and didn't do anything in reaction to the problems, what would parents of recruits and prospective students think? With so much riding on the perception of the school, I don't have any qualms with a fix that changes the perception of the school even though it's not guaranteed to fix the reality. I understand one man's career is on the line, but the perception needed to be fixed and this termination had the best chance of doing so. More to come on that in a bit.

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After his recent firing from the Montana State head coaching position, Mike Kramer has decided  it really wasn't fair and hired Montana Attorney Cliff Edwards to represent him. Kramer and Edwards said they're not ready to sue Montana State but they do want some money.

From the Cat-Griz Insider:

Edwards said the following: “The way this was handled has indelibly stained Mike’s coaching career, and it may well have ruined it at 52-years-old. With no notice or no opportunity to do anything about this, when coach was working to correct problems, I think it’s absolutely intolerable. We will work with Montana State University, and they need to recognize they have substantial monetary and legal exposure, and that needs to be addressed. But this is the start of giving Mike a chance to redeem himself publicly.”

Kramer said: “It is with a very sad and heavy heart that we have to have this occurrence here today. What has happened is that our university has connected a legal transgression to the efforts of a very fine coaching staff, a very fine football team and an outstanding university. What the university, through its own comments to the media, has done is damage its own reputation, our athletic teams’ standing, and tarred and sullied the tremendous accomplishments of an outstanding football program.”To be fired on the 18th of May, after spring ball, at the end of the semester, beyond the scope of the guys in the program, that’s not right.”

I have no doubt Kramer will end up getting some money. But let's look at this, who is more at fault for tarnishing Mr. Kramer's reputation, MSU or Kramer himself? Let's say all this stuff came out in November and Kramer was fired in December, at the end of his contract, would he have a better chance at a future job? No. It's his former players who are making him look bad, not MSU. Kramer took a chance on questionable recruits and now it's coming back to bite him. Risks are not always rewarded.

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When all these shenanigans started, I predicted the Bobcat coaching would be filled by Mike Van Diest if he chose to take it. Well, turns out the job is not his for the taking as former Michigan State, Louisville and Idaho head coach John L. Smith is a fellow front-runner for the position.

From the Cat-Griz Insider:

Montana State’s search for a new football coach has been narrowed down to 11 candidates.

Whle no names have officially surfaced, a couple of the front-runners appear to be Carroll coach Mike Van Diest and former Louisville and Michigan State coach John L. Smith.

John L. Smith has proven he can coach in the Big Sky. He went 53-21 in his six seasons at Idaho in the early '90s. His 53 wins are the most by a coach at that school -- that's kind of like having the home run record for a minor league baseball team -- where he led the Vandals to the FBS playoffs in five of his six seasons.

After Idaho, he coached at Utah State and Louisville, where he took the Cardinals to five straight bowl appearances and back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2000 and 2001.

I'm not going to go out on a limb and say the job is his for the taking because I've made statements like that twice before, and been wrong both times but Smith is definitely an extremely qualified candidate. Yes, his tenure at Michigan State was rough but he's shown he can be a great coach in a non-major conference.

On a side not, Smith's interest makes me wonder if Jerry Glanville has brought some sense of legitimacy to the Big Sky Conference. You'd figure that with his track record he'd have a better job, assistant or head coach, available elsewhere.

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Grab your Carhardts and watch out for the cocaine dealers as this College Sporting News FCS Game of the Week and Game of the Year Surveys are in and this year's Griz-Cat matchup was voted the game of the year.

Yep, that's right, the very best regular season FCS game of the year will be played at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. Man, we really need to get out of this division.

Yes, the results were generated from a user survey and Montana fans have shown they kick ass at these type of things but how seriously does the FCS expect to be taken when this is the game of the year? Imagine if ESPN televised this and touted it as the best FCS game of the year. People would come across it on ESPN 2 or ESPNU, take a look at the stadium -- "F-C-S...that's high school football, right?"

This is honestly not intended to bash this great rivalry but come on, game of the year? Really?

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I am not trying to say the Montana State football program is awful and hasn't experienced it's own run of success recently, what I meant in an earlier post is that it's almost as if this team sold its soul for wins. Mike Kramer and other coaches at MSU sacrificed the integrity of the program to win some ball-games and now it's catching up to them like steroids caught up to the great homerun hitters of the late 90s. They took a risky and easier rout to success and it ended coming back to punch them in the gut.

The Angry T makes an interesting and inevitable comparison to the Cincinnati Bengals:

The Bobcats don’t mess around with the petty stuff, like domestic violence, or giving alcohol to minors like those pussy Bengals.  The latest arrest of a Montata State player involves former wide receiver Rick Gatewood who is accused of using his athletic scholarship money to traffic cocaine from California in the Bozeman, Montana area.   That arrest makes A.J. Nicholson looks like a boy scout.  Gatewood was the sixth former Montana State athlete arrested or charged with crimes involving drugs or murder in the past year.  That’s right folks, the Bobcats don’t limit their aggression to the football field, just like any good band of criminals. 

Montana State Andre Fuller is being investigated because he allegedly sold cocaine to an informant last June.  Wide receivers Edward Sullivan and Derrick Davis, Jr. were just trying to fit in when they got busted for selling drugs last summer.  Also last June, former player John Lebrum and Bobcat basketball player Branden Miller were charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of another drug dealer.  I know Montana is boring, but do you really need this many drugs to make it fun.  The answer is probably yes, but that still seems like a lot of people selling drugs for a state with a population of 915 people. The icing on the felony cake is that assistant football coach Joe O’ Brien was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

You can't say this is all coincidence and could happen at any other school. You know why? Because it didn't. It happened at Montana State, where administrators -- athletic and otherwise -- did not have control of their program. Do people honestly think the firing of Mike Kramer completely eliminates the problem? As shown the humorous article, the problems have spread and simply chopping off the head of the football program will not cure the infection.

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According to the Griz-Cat insider, Carroll College head coach Mike Van Diest is interested in coaching the Montana State Bobcats and will interview for the position vacated by Mike Kramer.

“I’d like to take a look at it,” Van Diest said. “I don’t know where it will go — I have no assurances on either end — but I certainly want to pursue it at this time.

“There’s a great tradition and history at Montana State University. And there’s always excitement in new challenges. I’m not unhappy (at Carroll), but this is an opportunity. I want to take a look at a new opportunity.”

He says he has no assurance of what will happen, but he has to be the favorite, doesn't he? He ran a clean, successful program at Carroll and has to be the only applicant out of the supposed 25 who would generate the most excitement. With the decision to fire Kramer already being called into question, would they dare not hire the guy most would prefer as his successor? This means the decision would likely be up to him.

If I'm Mike, I'd say no. As I mentioned in yesterday's post on the subject, if he's planning on leaving Carroll, he might as well wait for the UM job. Odds are the Griz job will open up sometime in the next two years and he would be a favorite in that race as well. If he went to the Griz, he'd have instant success at the state's premier school and one of the FCS's marquee programs. If he goes to MSU, he has to try and cure a cancerous program where no one really knows how deep the problem goes. The soonest he's going to have the successful, clean program he wants at MSU is a year, and probably later. He could wait the same amount of time — about a year or two — and be handed the reigns to the always successful Griz program. Mike probably aspires to coaching heights past both UM and MSU so which job is more likely to absolutely kill your coaching stock?

However, it's not like both jobs are open now. If he wants to leave now, he probably can. If it were up to me, I'd wait it out and probably try to sneak a phone call to Mr. O'Day.

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With the firing of Mike Kramer, Cat fans now have to wonder who will try to drag the MSU program out of the hole it's in. Most Cat fans pray it will be Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest. He's the hottest available commodity and there's no question he'd be a good fit -- similar to Lou Piniella with the Cubs during the '06 baseball season. It's very likely the job will be his if he wants it, but a couple questions have to be asked first.

The first major question is whether or not he wants to leave Carroll. He's experienced so much success with the Saints and probably does not want to put the program in a tough spot by leaving for MSU. He also may think the MSU program is just in too much turmoil.

If Van Diest does in fact want to leave, there is another important question -- when does he want to do it? Yes, the Bobcat job could very well be his if he wants it. However, the head coaching spot at the University of Montana could be his for the taking by the end of the '07-'08 season with Hauck likely getting out of Missoula as soon as he can find a sub-mediocre I-A team that's willing to take him. However, if he waits it out, he may not get the Griz  job. He'd probably be one of the favorites but I assume it'd be a bit tougher to land than the MSU gig.

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Greg Rachac on the Billing Gazzette's Cat-Griz Insider is reporting that Montana State football coach Mike Kramer has been fired. This comes in the wake of arrests of former football players for dealing cocaine.

An e-mail from Montana State SID Bill Lamberty Friday afternoon announced that Bobcats coach Mike Kramer has been fired. The e-mail stated that, “Montana State University Athletic Director Peter Fields announced Friday that the University is exercising its option to terminate the contract of Mike Kramer, MSU’s head football coach for the past seven seasons.”

Fields was quoted in the e-mail, “Looking at the football program as a whole and in light of the recent criminal activities of former student-athletes connected to it, I believe there is something broken with our football program, and we need to take decisive steps to fix it.”

There is also information in a press release on MSU's athletic page:

[MSU Athletic Director Peter Fields] met with MSU President Geoff Gamble and Vice President for Student Affairs Allen Yarnell on Friday. He said Gamble and Yarnell concurred that the cumulative effects of the program's troubles pointed to a "crisis in leadership" in Bobcat football.

"It starts with leadership," Fields said. "When you look at our football program's recent history, it is apparent that its direction does not fit with what this University is all about.

It is very impressive to see the administration step up on this one and attempt to get rid of what has been on-going problem. They very easily could've passed it off by saying that these are former players who are no longer affiliated with the program but they didn't. It also makes me wonder just how deep this whole situation goes.

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Like a 6'2" slow lanky white receiver going over the middle for a poorly thrown and floating pass, this story is lined up just perfectly for the safeties that are all those Griz fans who think the Montana State football team is made up of a bunch of criminals. I want to say this story is more sad than it is comical, but that's just not true. They were MSU grads (well, one was, not sure about the other) selling coke. They couldn't be smart enough to get away with it for too long.

Out of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, here's the first few paragraphs:

A drug-dealing cartel consisting of former Montana State University athletes who were known as the main suppliers of cocaine in Bozeman was busted this week after the arrest of a former MSU football player and his brother.

Former wide receiver Richard Demond Gatewood, 23, and his brother, Randy Lamar Gatewood, 21, both of Bozeman, appeared in federal court in Missoula Wednesday on two federal complaints alleging they were selling cocaine and conspiring to sell cocaine in Bozeman from June 2005 to May 2007, according to court records.

Both men are being held in Missoula County's jail. Bail has not been set.

According to federal court records, another former MSU football player who goes by the street names of “Demetrius,” “D” or “DW” has been the leader of a drug-dealing gang with at least six drug “runners” in Bozeman for two years.

One of those runners, Rick Gatewood, allegedly used his athletic scholarship money to help bring cocaine to Bozeman from “DW's” supplier in Fairfield, Calif.

It's somewhat ironic that a major cocaine distributor shares the same name as a character from children's books and a PBS cartoon.

UPDATE
-Here's an article with the Cats' history of trouble with the law.
-Here's the AD's response.

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A Bozeman area sponsor has decided to pick up the tab on the hideous monstrosity pictured above. Yep, that's right, the 2007 Montana State Bobcats will be vomited from a giant inflatable cat. Get excited.

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As any baseball fans know, double-headers are tough. It's extremely difficult to go out and win two games in one day. Things are especially difficult when you try to pick up two on the road. Well, the Griz lacrosse team did just that with wins yesterday over #7 Northern Colorado and #11 Montana State.

I don't have many specifics and the only news I have on yesterday's games comes from a blip on Grizlax.com regarding the Northern Colorado game and an anonymous e-mail saying both games went well. The Griz beat Northern Colorado 15-10 and I do not have a score on the MSU game.

This makes the third Griz lacrosse victory in two days as the team also beat #19 Western Oregon on Saturday.

I believe this marks the end of the regular season for the UM lacrosse team. Please do let me know if there is some kind of a postseason.

Update: The score of the Griz-Cat lacrosse game was 17-10, Griz.

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Well I just logged on to TVguide.com to see if for some odd, convenient reason the Griz's spring football game would be televised. Of course, it's not. Interestingly, the Altitude TV network will be showing Montana State's Triangle Classic from Great Falls.

Montana State may be playing its final spring football scrimmage in Great Falls on April 28, but Bobcat fans in Bozeman won't have trouble watching.

In fact, Bobcat fans spread far and wide will be able to catch the action thanks to Altitude Sports and Entertainment. The regional cable television network will carry the Triangle Classic, beginning at 2 pm, a contest that caps an event that has become a north-central Montana tradition.

I guess that's fair. I mean we get a FCS Semifinal on the deuce and they get their spring game on Altitude. I think I'll take that trade every year... which is about how frequently it'll occur. Well, unless the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs.

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The University of Montana has dominated Montana State so far this year as the Griz swept the Cats in men's hoops, women's hoops, volleyball and won the Griz-Cat football game. Well, the Griz lacrosse team — damn straight, we have lacrosse team — looks to notch another victory over MSWho.

The University of Montana lacrosse team faces off against the Cats on Saturday as part of a weekend of games in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz also face Utah Valley State College on Friday and Linfield on Sunday.

For tons of information, head to their website at GrizLAX.com. It is run by team photographer and webmaster, Will Moss.

Here are some basics on the team: they are a club team, meaning that they do not have scholarships and do not get much (any?) financial support from the University. I believe they get as much money as other clubs do, but not near what other actual university-sanctioned sports get.

As a club team, they play in the Men's Collegiate Larosse Association's (nationwide association of club college club teams) Division B. Sure, they're stuck in the lower division, but they do what most Griz teams do and stomp through that lower division. The Griz lacrosse team is ranked third in the latest MLCA Division B poll. I really hope end up topping St. Thomas (preppy MN private school), not a big fan of that place.

For anyone who isn't headed to places like Cabo and Cancun, you should definitely go and check out a couple of games.

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With the Lady Griz's 84-70 win over the Cats on Sunday night, they completed a season sweep of the Bobcats in the two major sports: football and basketball.

The points were distributed pretty well: Rogers, who went off in the first half and finished with 16. Morales was once again very impressive as she went for 16 as well and tacked on 8 assists. She really is an incredible passer. As soon as she gets the ball going the other way she'll look up for a long pass, which she completed a couple of in the game. Johanna Closson led the Griz with 17 points.

It's really amazing how fundamentally sound the Lady Griz are in comparison to the men's team. I don't mean to bash the men's team but they really trail pretty far behind the women when it comes to the basics. The men do not have a great passer like Morales; Ellis and Rundles are kind of close but neither have the awareness she does.

The Lady Griz also run much cleaner and effective set plays. They work the picks and hustle for open shots. When they get those open shots, they seem to always knock them down, especially open treys.

Hustle is also a huge part of the Lady Griz's success. Sonya Rogers was great at chasing down fast breaks. Once she nearly picked a ball clean but there was an iffy foul. Another team she pressured a girl into missing a layup.

The Lady Griz also knock down their free throws. Come on fellas, they're free points. There's really nowhere to point for the reason the men's hoops team isn't as fundamentally sound as the Lady Griz.

There were a couple guys from the men's team at the game tonight and they probably should've brought a notebook, they have a lot to learn from the ladies.

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First off, I will never call it a glog. I've done this live blog thing once before so if it's a little off or not updated enough, let me know and I'll work on making it better.

Most people know what's going down but here are a couple previews.

Griz's most dominating force, Andrew Strait has been sick all week and no one really knows if he can play and if he will, how much. The Cats have won six of seven and haven't lost in Boz Angeles in conference play. However, they've lost the past four matchups with the Griz, including a 73-65 game in Missoula.

Well I just ate a big bowl of chili and watched th end of Au Pair so I know I'm pumped.

Lets do this, live blog is after the jump.

First Half

Pregame Well the broadcast really sounds great as the game is apparently being broadcast from the top of a mountain. Come on guys, don't blame this on the fans.
Pregame For anyone that saw the little intro they did, you had to love the Michael Jordan/Rip Hamilton/Kobe Bryant fist clench that Cam Rundles did after dropping a big dime in the Sac State game.
Pregame Oh no, no Drew. A bad cold? Come on big fella. Sharpie is starting.
19:34 The shot clock is broken, this break has to help the Griz by quieting the crowd. How come all of our students don't wear team shirts? It's kind of ridiculous. If MSU fans can all match, I think we should be able to sacrifice our Abercrombie & Fitch to throw on this $1 student shirts.
18:00 Cats up 2-0. Sharpie has taken but not made the first two Grizzly shots. He just picked up a foul. I really want to see some major minutes for Gus Chase.
17:25 3-2 Griz as Doc Dlouhy knocks down a long three. Anyone know why he's called Doc. Someone is calling us cheaters. How are we cheaters? Yeah, great intelligent fans from MSU.
9-2 Griz They took the time off the screen but we've made three threes to start the game. Sharpie just picked up his second foul, look for Gus Chase to come in. If he plays like he did in the Sac State game, this may get out of hand.
14:57 Nope, Chavez comes in... and knocks down a three. Oh, you want to play zone? Yeah, screw that, we're just going to shoot over it. 12-2.
12-5 Carlos Taylor makes a big three. There's another one by Durham. It's 12-8. A shootout at the OK Corral. I kind of hate cliches like that.
14-8 Griz Dlouhy knocks down a tough fade. We need him to start playing like a contributing senior.
11:14 Griz are up 14-11. Teams have knocked down a combined seven threes. "Both teams are living and dying by the three." Seven threes... I don't think anyone is dying by it.
10:00 There's someone with a really annoying raspy voice right behind the broadcasters. This is going to be fun. 14-13 after an 11-2 Cat run.
8:50 Taylor knocks down a couple shots, one being a trey and they're up 16-14. BE makes one and its 16-16. Chavez just grabbed someones arm and whiped them out. Cat fans are chanting DUI. Classy guys... not saying our fans would be any less intense though. Two missed cat freethrows.
16-18 TV Timeout Not gonna lie, the Cats have some pretty great commercials. No, not as good as UM ones, but still pretty good. I have to say, I've watched a lot of college hoops and seen a lot of university ads and the Montana schools are some of the best I've seen.
7:00 Stads and Gus come in. Then Stu knocks down a three. He has really been playing great as of late...once he got some minutes. Yeah, can't play well if you're not getting minutes. I don't blame Tinks though, Stu was having some off-the-court troubles. I don't know what they were, but they were there.  19-18 Griz.
5:20 Taylor has 10 points already, in like 10 minutes. Raspy voice is getting really annoying. Noah is so much better. BE knocks down two FTs and its 21-20.
4:05 B-More. Gus Chase, Baltimore native, gets the offensive board, gets fouled and makes the shot. I love ths guy. He misses the FT but we get it back and Martin knocks down a three. Five point possession, holla. 26-22 Grizzle shizzle.
2:41 26-24 Griz and Dlouhy just mobbed some guy with glasses. He shoots 54% from the line so good deck there. Commercial. I asked this in the last live blog but honestly, is this guy who flooded his wife married? Where's her commercial? She can't be happy with this stunt.
1:40 Time out. Cats fans are chanting "Eat shit Grizzlies, go Cats go." Why on earth do they get courtside seats and we don't?? I mean we're so much more creative and classy.
Half Here's how it ended: Rundles made three then the guy with ugly hair and glasses made a 5 footer then Hasquet launched up a brick from somewhere around the third row. Durham, who hasn't cramped up and cried while trying to touch people in the courtside seats, missed a desperation three at the end of the shot clock. 29-26 Griz.
Half Could Mike Kramer and this color guy, I think it's Rob McPherson, be any different? Kramer is huge, tough and manly. This color guy is kind of at the other end of the spectrum, being rather flamboyant.

You know, you guys can comment if you want. Seriously, anyone that's reading, let me know what you think.

Second Half

19:25 Sharpie knocks down a looong two after a drive and dish by Cam. Good to see the big guy show some range. 31-26. Hasquet just picked up his first foul.
10:45 Durham knocks down a three. Just cramp up already. 31-29 Griz. It's starting to heat up as someone tried to grab Rundles as he pranced over their body. That sounded weird.
17:55 Durham knocked down another one. 32-31 Cats. No, killa Cam knocks down a three. 34-32. Whenever the Griz need a big three, it seems like it always comes from Cam early in the shot clock. It's liek eh can make one whenever he wants. Then Sharpie throws down. Then Davis gets a bucket as Sharpie picks up his third foul. Woah, a lot of stuff. Knocks down the FT. 36-35.
16:17 Dissly gets a four point play. 39-36. Then Squet gets some work down low. 39-38. Raspy voice is so annoying.
Commercial Yeah, our UM ads are definitely better. However, this Ole's American Idol ad tops them all. How can they have the coldest beer in town? Is it a frozen block of beer?
14:00 Stu gets two buckets in a row then Durham knocks his third three down of the half. 42 all boys. lets do this.
13:32 Chavez misses getting a three point play to the chants of "He is drunk." Yes it is an unfortunate thing. Get a grip students. Griz just miss an alley oop then Chavez gets the offensive rebound and knocks down one of two free throws after being fouled. 45-42 Griz.
12:15 Dlouhy knocks down a three after Dissly threw down with a hint of authority. Then Chavy makes a great pass on the fast break so Stu can lay it in. 50-44 Griz.
10:50 Morris made something close and crowd gets into it. 50-46 Cats. Sharpie misses a three and Squet got the rebound and missed a close one.
9:20 Mayes knocks it loose, then gets it back from BE and timidly dunks. Come on, get up Stu! 52-46
8:24 Dissly strolls down the lane easily again. BE then drives and tries to get a tear-drop. Misses, Sharpie gets the rebound and gets fouled. Makes one. He's from Hollister, like the clothing store. That's cool. Then Durham knocks down a shot for his eleventh point in the half. 56-50 Griz. Then Martin walks. TV timeout as raspy yells "Yeeaahhh yeeaahhh." You know you just get the ball, not 11 points?
7:30 Cats knock down an open three out of the TO. Dlouhy drives then passes to Sharpie. He almost lets it go by but decides to grab it once its halfway over his shoulder. He puts it in. 58-53 Griz.
5:07 Sharpie picks up his fourth foul on a huge make up call. Morris makes one. Stickin with that 54% FT shooting. Then an offensive foul on Squet. Lets get some momentum going guys. Hah, the announcers sit in like the third row.
4:26 Hey raspy, yes, the refs are kidding you. Cats are complaining about the fouls as BE gets fouled as he drives. Ellis knocks down both and gri are up 60-54.
3:40 Durham steals hit and Ellis fouls him then supposedly was dangerously close to getting a technical. He damn near (and probably did) almost picked it clean after chasing Casey McCramps down.
3:00 Hasquet knocks down a long two. He could've moved his foot back a half inch and it would've been a three. Griz are up 62-55. It's looking pretty good as long as we don't decide to give the game a away. Cats take  TO with 2:44 left. Then the Cats turn it over.
2:10 Ellis gets chased all over the court then passes to Sharpie, who dunks. 64-55 before Taylor Drives and somehow makes some odd looking shot as he's fouled. Misses the FT. Griz up 64-57 with 1:50 left. It's probably over. NAU beats ISU. We better not somehow lose this because apparently losing to MSU can throw off the rest of your season. Ask the Bengals.
1:50 Durham makes a frustration foul on Squet, who makes one. Griz up 65-57. Then the Cats go into hack-a-big mode. Sharp, who I want to remind you again is from Hollister, CA, makes one of two. Cats can't get a bucket again and foul
1:21 66-57, then Stu knocks down two FTs to make it 68-57. It's over Cats. Now I pray, for the sake of irony, that the awful fan with the raspy voice goes out and gets a DUI.
1:11 Just get up already. Come on. We could throw the rest of the free throws off the shot clock and the Cats couldn't make enough shots to score. Ellis knocks down two free throws to make it 70-59.
:42  Jorgenson keeps telling us it's not over. Then Dissly shoots it over the backboard. That wasn't tipped buddy.
Game 72-63 Griz. Big win for us as we end their undefeated conference streak and move a bit close to Weber, who somehow only has two games left. One against us and one against Sac State. Lets assume that's 1-1 because we can't lose that.
Postgame "Here I'll stand in the middle and you get on that side." I love when they turn the mic's on to early. Jorgenson's going to talk with Griz. Some more great sound. Tinks talks about Stu's consistency. It's definitely been good. Stu talks about getting his guys up. This team is in desperate need of a senior leader down the stretch.

Once again, this game was big as the Griz move within a game of Weber State and end MSU's chances of hosting the BSC tournament. Keep it rolling Griz and lets have the Zoo get to watch our guys play their way into the dance.

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Yeah, Yogiisms tend to be a bit cliche when used in headlines but this one fits pretty well when describing the basketball teams at the University of Montana and Montana State University. They both come into this game at 7-4 in conference play and in a tie for second-place but they've done so very differently.

Fans of the two teams come probably come in in with very varying opinions on their respective seasons. First off, the Bobcats. This team came into conference play looking pretty talentless and like a team that would go pretty quietly into the abyss. That hasn't happened.

Head coach Brad Huse has this Bobcat team playing way over its head and right in the thick of the Big Sky race. It was them who ended Idaho State's undefeated stretch and sent the Bengals into chaos. The Cats also beat Weber State at home. It hasn't been this way throughout all of BSC play as they started 1-3. Then it started. They beat Weber at home and won six of seven.

The Griz are sitting a little differently. They also are 7-4 in BSC play but they arguably have the most talent, top-to-bottom, in the entire conference. This means they;re doing the exact opposite of the Cats and playing below their talent level.

When a team appears to play below its talent level, fans start questioning coaching. This has happened as several Griz hoops fan aren't has happy about Tinks as Cats fans are about Huse. I don't agree with this. Many fans expected this team to continue on its upward track but are disappointed to find them in a transition year. No matter who the coach was, this team was going to be in transition after losing the chemistry it had this year. This is more due to the loss of seniors Kevin Criswell and Virgil Matthews.

However, all Griz and Cat fans would have to agree: this game is big and the rivalry only adds to it.

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A series of "upsets" over the weekend have made the race for the BSC regular season title much closer and put the Griz right back into its peloton.

The Griz lost to ISU last Wednesday night, another big road win for the Bengals, and gave up and assumed the Big Sky tournament would be played in Pocatello. Then the Cats decided to mess things up a bit.

Montana State beat ISU Saturday when Akbar Abdul-Ahad missed a three at the buzzer. Normally I wouldn't care at all who did this but I made fun of this guy for talking to the cheerleaders in Missoula before inbounding a pass and he responded by saying he'd knock down a three for me, which he did a couple seconds later. A little after that he turned it over and the Griz knocked down a three and now this. Karma.

More importantly, this game puts the Griz only two games back of the Bengals so if they manage to win in Pocatello, they only need to make up one more game elsewhere.

The Griz also sit only a game and a half of Weber State and Northern Arizona as WSU lost to Matt Martin the Griz and NAU lost the Portland State.

This comes with a couple huge games coming up this week: Griz vs NAU and WSU @ ISU.

Related: Around the Big Sky [Vikings Blog]

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You know what, I hate Dick Vitale and I'm sorry for any reference to him. I hate Joe Buck too but that's not the point. The point is that Cam Rundles is a stud.

The Griz won a grinder over the rival Cats with a lot of help from their frosh. Rundles scored 15 big points in the second half. It was like he just decided that after going scoreless in the first half, he was going to carry this team.

However, it wasn't the normal way someone carries a team by making spectacular plays and obviously playing superior to everyone else on the court. Instead, he just made shots when he needed to.

I remember once when the Cats made a big basket to cut it close, Cam got the ball behind the three point line with no less than 25 seconds on the shot clock and just decided he was going to knock down a three. He rose up with a defender all over him and knocked down like he was just shooting around after practice.

Does anyone know where the ceiling is on this kid? Seriously, a freshman that runs the point and is possibly the most dynamic player on the best team in the conference. I don't think he'll ever reach the Stuckey stratosphere but Cam is good, damn good.

Fellow freshman Ryan Staudacher also played well as hit three big threes coming off the bench. As did Mike Chavez. Stads is finding his spot in the rotation but Chavy is really fighting for more playing time. That's kind of scary seeing as this team needs role players but it's great to see his effort.

The Griz are starting to find out who they are. Good timing too with league leaders Idaho State and Weber State rolling into town this week.

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The Lady Griz beat the Cats tonight 86-67 in a somewhat  easy game over in the Bozone.

I don't really know what to say on this victory as it was a somewhat easy win over a subpar team. Mandy Morales, of course, led all scorers with 20. According to the Bobcat announcers, she also went Michael Vick on the MSU crowd. Junior forward Johanna Closson notched an impressive 17 points and 9 boards.

I don't know how possible this is, but if the Lady Griz just do not get beat the rest of the season, can they make it into the top 25? If so, how high?

I don't care what sport you're in or what gender it is but if your only loss of the season comes to an Ohio State team, you're pretty damn good.

Tags: Basketball, Johanna Closson, Griz-Cat, Mandy Morales, Montana State Bobcats

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As evidenced by this season's attendance level at basketball games, I'm assuming that many of you will not care about this Griz-Cat week as much as you all did about the last one. You should.

The Griz men's team come into this week needing a win pretty bad. They are 1-2 in conference play and Weber State just jumped out to 4-1 with their win over Portland State so the Griz come into the weekend a game and a half back.

It's not like this lowly Montana State team is a guaranteed win. There are no guaranteed games in the BSC this year. Just ask anyone who's played Northern Colorado (yeah they're 0-4 in conference play but most of the losses have been close) or maybe Eastern Washington. EWU lost at home by a buzzer beater to MSU, pulling off the victory in Cheney that the Griz couldn't grab.

The Lady Griz game isn't quite as enticing with the likelihood them blowing out MSU and the fact that the game is in Bozeman. Even so, they come in with an 11-game winning streak and a box full of BSC player of the week awards.

Lady Griz play at 7 on Thursday and the Griz men play Saturday at 7 so bust out that Tivo if you want to see Reggie Bush and Drew Brees tear up the Iggles.

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With their victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis, the Griz have moved within one win of a trip to Chattanooga Tennessee for the I-AA National Championship Game. This kind of blows my mind: the Superbowl is in Miami, the BCS title game is in Glendale, Arizona and the I-AA National Championship Game is somewhere in Tennessee. That seems unfair.

This game will be played Friday night at  5:30 against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The game will be telecast live on ESPN as they'll bring in portable lights for the game. This comes after Appalachian State, who stomped Ms. U, chose to play their game Saturday afternoon. Sure it may feel like Lambeau, in January, on Pluto, but I'll take the atmosphere a night in the Zoo brings.

Time for another "maroon-out?"

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As long as the Griz keep winning, they will be at home all the way until they travel to Chattanooga for the I-AA National Championship.

The Griz earned the #2 seed and will face McNeese State University, who earned the automatic bid from the from the Southland Conference.

Next Saturday's Griz/Cowboys game won't be the only one played in Montana. The Bobcats will be playing host to the Furman Paladins. That is one of the weirdest sports names I've ever heard. After doing a Google image search I think a Paladin is a World of Warcraft character. Nice.

The #1 seed is first-ranked and defending champion Appalachian State.

Check out the press release on nccasports.com for more information on the playoffs; I'll try to get a bracket up once I figure out the complete seedings

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As most Montanans already know, the Griz were victorious in this year's Brawl. The AP article on the game leads with Josh Swogger's statistics but everyone who watched the game, including the Cat-Griz Insider, knows he wasn't the reason our Griz won this game.

It's pretty easy to see the QB wasn't the deciding factor; just look at Swogger's complete stat-line or the final score. They are 17/41 241 yds 1 TD 2 INT and 13-7 respectively. Swogger did have his one moment with the spectacular TD pass to Eric Allen right in front of the student section. This made me (sitting in the front row) react during the play the same way someone would act if Ken Griffey Jr (10 years ago) were jumping up and robbing a homerun that would've otherwise nicked off their knee. I was really in awe and kind of stood back as it happened but once EA dove past the pylon I erupted along with everyone else around me. After this grab, all the momentum shifted and defense decided the Cats were not going to win this game.

From this point on, the Griz defense stepped up every time they needed to. Whether it was stopping them about a Pabst can short of the first down with 5 minutes left or sacking the Cats on the crucial 4th down to [pretty much] end the game, the Cats' resiliency just wasn't working out.

I really could not have enjoyed my first Griz-Cat game any more than I did.

I will try to put more photos up in another entry and also toss up anymore reaction pieces I come across

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The Montana Grizzlies remain in the second slot on this week's Sports Network I-AA college football poll after they used the University of Northern Colorado as a practice squad to get their offense rolling. It was pretty much the same scenario as the Ohio State's rout of Northwestern, except with less defense.

It kind of worries me that the Bears managed to toss up 21 points on our stingy D. Even so, at least we didn't have to sneak by them for a shot at the BSC crown.

Next week's Brawl of the Wild will be a showdown between the #2 and #15 I-AA teams as Montana State jumped up three spots during their idle week; this is probably something a team full of George Costanzas would aspire to do as often as possible.

One reason for the bizarre jump is NDSU's absolute demolition of Cal Poly. The Bison romped the Mustangs by a score of 51-14. This is the same Mustang team the Griz needed a last second field goal to beat.  The Bison sit at #4 and received eight first-place votes. Yeah, it really is a shame they're postseason ineligible. Not.

About that field goal: I just saw the replay of that this week and that kick barely made it inside the left upright. Because I watched the game from the student section I really had no idea it was that close. After the kick Dan Carpenter was jubilant. I think in that scenario I probably would've just passed out from relief if I was that close to greatly disappointing so many intoxicated Montanans.

Anyway, complete rankings -- as usual -- after the jump.

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Saturday's Griz-Cal Poly game lived up to all expectations. It was a defensive battle between #2 and #6 and had the game been I-A, Corso and the gang would've been there and it would've been an Instant Classic.

The best Griz game of the year ended on a Favre-like drive -- one of the the vintage ones where he doesn't throw a pick halfway through -- by Josh Swogger to set up 21 yard game winning kick by Dan Carpenter. This means the Griz hang in at #2 in the latest Sports Network I-AA Football Poll and this game goes down as another one Skip Bayless would've hated.

The win also means everything is in order for a Brawl of the Wild with BSC title implications. It's just like the Michigan-Ohio State game, except with the S and the C switched. The Griz have Northern Colorado coming up and the Cats just beat them, barely. Can you say settling for a moral victory?

Ms. U moved up on spot to #18 after their sixth straight win.

Complete rankings after the jump.

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The Montana Grizzlies continued undefeated run through Big Sky play with an excellent defensive display against Idaho State. This kept the Griz at #2 in the Sports Network I-AA Football Poll.

From the stands, the game looked very sloppy but the stats showed otherwise for the defense as they held the Bengals, who are averaging a league-best 404 yards per game, to only 92. The defense needed to bail out the defense and the special teams as they prevented another team from getting past the end of the student section when they needed to drive the length of the field for the win.

In other Big Sky news: Montana State needed a late interception return for a touchdown to rally past Weber State. With the win, the Cats jumped up five spots to #19 in the poll. Portland State dropped four spots to #25.

Next weeks opponent, Cal Poly, moved up three spots to #6 after beating San Diego State. Appalachian remained at #1, receiving 96 first-place votes after beating #8 Paladins 40-7.

Complete rankings after the jump.

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After their very dicey 24-21 victory over NAU, the Griz moved up one spot to #2 in the I-AA Sports Network Division I-AA football poll. This comes after previously 13th ranked James Madison upset former #1 New Hampshire 42-23.

The Griz received two first place votes, fewer than #11 Hampton who received three. In all, eight different schools got at least one first place vote with #3 receiving the most (11) without actually being ranked #1. That title goes to Appalachian State.

Big Sky notables: Portland State moved up two spots to #23 and Montana State is still unranked but they received the second most votes of those not in the rankings. It's looking more and more like this year's Cat/Griz game could have major BSC implications(more on this in Cat-Griz's week 6 rundown). Complete rankings after the jump.

Here are the recaps from Saturday's games:

• Cat-Griz Insider:
  
  • A great escape
  • Week 6 rundown
• ESPN (AP)
• CSTV.com : #3 Montana holds on for win.
• The Missoulian: That's a sack, Jack: Montana defense holds NAU at bay
• Montana Kaimin: Griz defense tackles Lumberjacks with help of home fans.

Here's a great quote from that Kaimin article:

The 23,626 fans in attendance was the sixth-largest crowd in Washington-Grizzly Stadium’s history. NAU senior quarterback Jason Murrietta said playing in Missoula is never easy and it was particularly hard on that last drive.

“I think it was really difficult especially in that drive to get things going at a faster pace,” Murrietta said. “The crowd is a huge factor.”

When I was walking out of Wash-Griz after the game I heard not only that extremely loud bell, but a lot of people griping about Hauck going for it on the NAU 11 with 1:13 left to play instead of kicking a field goal that would've put the Griz up 6.

I totally agree with Hauck on this call, you go for the win right there and then. If you kick a field goal, there isn't that much of a difference between 3 and 6 points; a touchdown wins it and with that little time left a big TD play was all that was going to save them anyway. You take the three point lead and the crowd. After the turnover on downs the student section didn't let NAU get past the 30. Even if the Griz D had allowed a field goal, there is no way they would have beat us in OT, not at home.

Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points	LW
1. Appalachian State (88)	6-1	2,693	2
2. Montana (2)	5-1	2,498	3
3. Illinois State (11)	5-1	2,401	5
4. Cal Poly (1)	5-1	2,371	4
5. Youngstown State (1)	6-1	2,172	6
6. Massachusetts	5-1	2,034	8
7. New Hampshire (1)	5-1	2,023	1
8. James Madison	5-1	1,991	13
9. North Dakota State (2)	6-0	1,981	9
10. Richmond	5-1	1,720	10
11. Hampton (3)	7-0	1,645	12
12. Furman	5-2	1,558	11
13. Southern Illinois	5-1	1,466	7
14. Northern Iowa	4-2	1,349	14
15. Harvard	5-0	1,060	15
16. Tennessee-Martin	5-1	925	17
17. Eastern Illinois	4-3	889	16
18. UC Davis	3-3	719	18
19. Maine	4-2	626	23
20. Alabama A&M	5-1	612	20
21. San Diego	6-0	587	21
22. Princeton	5-0	507	24
23. Portland State	4-3	373	25
24. Coastal Carolina	5-2	228	NR
25. Sam Houston State	4-2	182	NR

Also receiving votes: Jackson State 179, Montana State 109, Towson 104, Central Connecticut State 74, Penn 52, Charleston Southern 51, Georgia Southern 50, Delaware 47, Jacksonville State 27, Delaware State 25, Holy Cross 17, Yale 15, McNeese State 13, Wofford 13, South Dakota State 9, Western Kentucky 8, Nicholls State 7.

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41-7 or $650,000, which matters more? I'm not going to make the call but the fact that the Griz made about $200,000 an hour to get trounced as if they were the Sisters of the Poor football team is almost impressive. Spread that out  over60 guys and it's $3,300.33 an hour. That's A-Rod bank. Nooo, college football isn't about the money at all.

Josh Swogger was not only running around the backfield as if he were carrying his life instead of a pigskin in his hands, he was also working on getting rid of a seven figure deficit in the athletic department and pumping some money into the football program.

While the Griz football team was serving as a prostitute to Drew Tate's stats, other teams in the Big Sky Conference were making decent showings against I-A foes.

Going into the weekend, I thought Thursday night would be the best showing by a BSC team when Northern Arizona hung with Arizona State for three quarters. No, it gets better (worse).

Ms. University earned 275 g's for their win over one time Big 12 power Colorado. Apparently Dan Hawkins can't ball on a field that ducks don't accidentally crash into.

On top of that, Portland State pulled off the "upset" of "I-A" New Mexico.

I'm just happy the weekend of torment is over. Even my I-A love ND had a sub-holy showing against Georgia Tech. The important thing is that there is a ticket in my (Coach) wallet (thank you girlfriend) for a 1:05 game against South Dakota State.

Everyone needs a game against Cupcake University.

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