FARGO — Montana still has the pride, but not much to back it up. The Grizzlies were once the gold standard of NCAA Division I-AA football, but since, well, almost since the Football Championship was called Subdivision I-AA, the Grizzlies haven’t been at the top of their game.
That move came in 2006. The last Big Sky Conference championship won by the Grizzlies came in 2009. That was also the last time Montana made the playoff semifinals. Officially anyway. The Griz won the conference and reached the semifinals in 2011, but those accomplishments faded from the record books after then-head coach Robin Pflugrad’s program was hit with sanctions related to a rape scandal.
Those days are long gone, but Montana is still trying to recapture the glory of days gone by when it won 14 straight Big Sky titles from 1995 to 2009. Two national championships were included in this time span. The Griz remain one of the best funded, best backed and best branded names in FCS football.
The results do not match the potential or hope in Missoula. The final at the Fargodome on Saturday of the second round of the playoffs ended 49-26 in favor of North Dakota State, a game in which the Bison rushed for 453 yards, gained 511 yards overall and streaked four touchdown runs of 68 yards or longer had stock.
North Dakota State’s Kobe Johnson reacts after scoring on a 75 touchdown run against Montana during the NCAA FCS playoffs at the Fargodome on Saturday, December 3, 2022.
David Samson/Forum Communications Co.
This comes two weeks after the Griz gave up 439 rushing yards and 561 total yards in a 55-21 shellacking by archrival Montana State. Brawl of the Wild? More like Maul of the Mild.
A Montana newspaper reporter asked Griz head coach Bobby Hauck about the status of his program at the post-game press conference, reminding Hauck that the program’s slogan is “Return to Dominance.” The Griz finished 8-5 in a win over a team with a winning record.
“How do you feel about where the program is?” asked the reporter.
“I don’t know,” Hauck replied. “You know, we want to win every game.”
The Griz were not close to the bison, just as they were not close to the Montana State.
Are questions asked? Hauck has one year left on his contract.
Admit that to the Griz: they play hard and they play physically, even if that sometimes pushes the limits of what is acceptable.
North Dakota State’s Nick Kubitz sprints down the sidelines of Montana with an interception return during the NCAA FCS playoffs at the Fargodome on Saturday, December 3, 2022.
David Samson/The Forum
The Bison, a team known for playing by the whistle and talking about it afterwards, were stunned when Montana offensive lineman Chris Walker fired a shot at NDSU defenseman Spencer Waege, Kubitz sat as a weigher during an interception return from teammate Nick on the dome lawn. Walker hit Waege from behind, folding the 6-foot-5, 282-pound senior and injuring his back.
The severity of Waege’s injury remains to be seen, but he lay on the pitch for several minutes while coaches checked him. He left the game and didn’t return. Waege was seen walking stiffly outside the Bison locker room after the game.
Tempers on the field – and in the stands – clearly flared as NDSU players rushed to the rescue of Waege in front of the Griz bench. There was whining, pointing, and tapping. Notably, no flag was thrown at Walker, but NDSU was penalized twice for the game.
Asked about the heated moment, Hauck characterized the teams as “aggressive”.
“You know, it’s not tennis or football,” he said.
The Bison clearly saw things differently, considering head coach Matt Entz assembled his entire team on the field before play resumed and delivered as lively a presentation as you will see. His message?
North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz congratulates TaMerik Williams on his touchdown against Montana during the NCAA FCS playoffs at the Fargodome on Saturday, December 3, 2022.
David Samson/Forum Communications Co.
“You have to be smart. We can’t play at this level. Our boys are proud, especially when they’re in the dome. We have these incredible relationships and that’s a captain who’s down,” Entz said. “I knew exactly how our boys would react and we had to involve them and make sure they understood how to be smart and behave appropriately. That’s what Bison does.
“Did it sometimes get a little bumpy at the end? Probably and that’s frustrating and I don’t want to see that. That’s not football.”
Entz and Hauck chatted longer than usual in midfield after the game as they shook hands, although Entz did not characterize the conversation as anything unusual when asked. respect, families. All the good stuff
His players were a bit more open in their post-game comments.
A play after Waege’s injury, Bison running back Kobe Johnson was knocked late late after a brief win. After the officials pulled off the 15-yard penalty, Johnson stopped the next game for a 73-yard touchdown run to give NDSU a 42-20 lead.
When asked if the touchdown had cooled emotions on the field, perhaps taken the edge off, Johnson didn’t hesitate to say no.
“I’ll say things have probably stayed a little bit hot for us,” Johnson said. “I’m going to say that because the energy before was a huge energy, not of this world. And we knew we had to take them and control them, use them properly. We couldn’t throw cheap shots back at them. We had to line up and play ball, do it between the white lines. I have a feeling that’s what happened.
Chippiness is a form of boasting, one assumes. It just seems empty if the results aren’t there to back it up. As the Bison follow Montana State in dropping the hammer on the Griz for 49 points and 453 rushing yards, a return to dominance seems a distant hope.