GAMe

FUll PAPeR
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Saturday, dec. 4 Ins
InsIDe
vS.. north dakota St.

DAY
nORTH DAKOTA sTATe AT MOnTAnA sTATe, BOBCAT sTADIUM, 12:05 P.M. — FCs PlAYOFFs

InsIDe
BUMPY ROAD
n Bison have had up
and down season I 2

SEAN SPERRY/
CHRONICLE

Montana State
receivers Julius
Lloyd, Everett
Gilbert and Elvis
Akpla each have
their own meth-
ods for keeping
warm.

Cold Blooded
ReMeMBeR THe ...
n Current ‘Cats, like
‘84 team, don’t want
to be forgotten I 2

Postseason forecasts don’t scare these once-chilly ’Cats

By WILL C. HOLDEN
Chronicle Sports Writer
You’ve heard of the Rose Bowl, the
Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. A se-
lect few will even recognize the Gaylord
Hotels Music City Bowl.
But do you recall the Frozen Toilet
Bowl?
Others referred to the 1976 Division
II semifinal between Montana State and
North Dakota State as the Grantland Rice
Bowl, but not former Chronicle sports
editor Mike Yowitz, who happened to be
the first to need a bathroom break in the
press box at then 66-year-old and now
defunct Dacotah Field in Fargo, N.D.
He rounded the corner and peered
at the stall in the poorly-insulated press
facility, medieval enough that Grantland
Rice may have actually paid it a visit, and
sure enough, there was every plumber’s
worst nightmare: a block of ice in a tub
of porcelain.
The frozen toilet bowl.
Hearing the story surprised no one
brave enough to set foot on the peril-
ous Astroturf that day. Former MSU
linebacker Bert Markovich surmised
that ice skates might have been the most
MAKe PlAns FOR
“I’m pretty sure (Gilbert) was the only one sweating in that AnOTHeR GAMe
Montana game. That was quite the accomplishment.” n The Chronicle’s Will
— Julius Lloyd Holden handicaps
today’s matchup I 4
effective footwear for the antiquated advances of the last 34 years may not
playing surface. have prepared Montana State’s current
“It was like a skating rink and we were trio of leading receivers for how bad it
wearing tennis shoes,” Markovich said. was about to get.
“Much to his chagrin, I ended up bor-
BRRRR
rowing (assistant coach) Cliff Hysell’s chilly ’cats no more n Bobcats notched
shoes just because I couldn’t stand up on Elvis Akpla set foot on the MSU
anything else out there.” campus in January of 2009 and then got playoff win over Bison
At that point in history, former MSU pneumonia. Less than a week later, he on bitter cold day in
cornerback Ron Muri said there was was practicing in a blizzard.
only one available technology that made Well, the Senegal native thought, it Fargo 34 years ago I 5
40-mile-per-hour gusts and minus-15 can’t get much worse.
degree temperatures bearable. By and large, he’s been right. But sub-
No, it wasn’t rubbing two sticks to- zero wind-chill games like the Bobcats’
gether to make fire. 2009 loss to Northern Arizona and their One MORe sTeP
“Winning,” Muri said, recalling the 2010 win over Montana are an unpleas-
10-3 Bobcat victory. “There’s a small ant reminder why Akpla sports what n Carroll faces
chance one of us might have frozen to amounts to a full-bodied thermal suit, talented St. Xavier
death if we’d lost.” not unlike the preferred attire of Jacques
Fast forward to the era of propane Cousteau, in the later months of the team in semis I 8
heaters, Nike and FieldTurf; Markovich season.
and Muri aren’t sure if today’s players “It’s just like anything else,” Akpla said.
realize how good they have it. “You’ve got to come prepared.” Printed on recycled PaPer
Then again, coming from Africa,
Dallas and Los Angeles, all the scientific More COLD I 3

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8 | Saturday, December 4, 2010 bozeman daily chronicle

BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium

naia semifinals

Carroll takes on pass-happy St. Xavier

By TIM DUMAS
Chronicle Sports Editor

Mike Van Diest knows talent. You

don’t win 142 games in 11 years without
recognizing it.
But the passing numbers put up by St.
Xavier, Carroll College’s opponent in Sat-
urday’s NAIA semifinals, make him gush.
St. Xavier quarterback Anthony Kropp
has thrown 55 touchdown passes this
season and has tossed at least three in
every game and six on two occasions. He
leads the nation with 4,311 yards, and
even though he’s thrown the ball 466
times, Kropp has been intercepted just 11
times and has completed 65 percent of his
passes.
“That’s phenomenal. It’s just hard for
me to believe that,” Van Diest, Carroll’s
head coach, said. “They have the best
group of skill people we’ve seen over the
last two or three years.”
The Saints (12-0) host the 13-0 Cougars
at Nelson Stadium in Helena at noon,
with the winner heading to the national
championship in Rome, Ga., on Dec. 18.
Carroll, of course, had its share of im-
pressive numbers. The Saints are No. 1 in
sacks (38.5) and are 6th in scoring defense
(15.1) and 8th in total defense (269.2).
They also have players like Bubba Bartlett,
who has a team-high 57 receptions.
Bartlett, according to Van Diest, is an
asset whether he makes 10 catches (as he
did last week against Marian) or none (as
he did in the playoff opener against Azusa courtesy of carroll sports information/”photos by grant”
Pacific). Carroll’s Bubba Bartlett (44) is effective whether he’s catching the ball or blocking. “He’s not an ‘I’ guy, he’s not a chest-thumper,” says his head coach.
“He’s not an ‘I’ guy, he’s not a chest-
thumper,” Van Diest said. “He catches the regular season, according to Van Diest. 1,413 yards. The Cougars have defeated for the school and for comfort, but when
ball, and he gets up (and goes back to the “We carried over how the season fin- each opponent by at least 17 points and it kicks off at noon on Saturday, it’s the
huddle.) I think that’s the way football ished up,” he said. “I don’t think that, all have passed the ball four times more than same field no matter what town you’re
should be played. When he’s not catch- of a sudden, there was a big jump emo- they’ve run it. playing in.”
ing the ball, he’s blocking. Just because he tionally and physically. We played well in And then there’s Kropp. In the other semifinal, No. 1-ranked
doesn’t have catches doesn’t mean he’s not the second half of the season and we kept “He’s so good,” Van Diest said. “He Sioux Falls (12-0) hosts MidAmerican
doing his job.” improving. We’re climbing that mountain doesn’t take sacks, he keeps plays alive and Nazarne and enters the game on a nation-
Corey Peterson leads the team with one step at a time. We’ve slowly trudged throws the ball on time.” long 41-game winning streak. That mark
734 receiving yards and 14 touchdown forward. That’s been our M.O. for about Carroll is home for the third consecu- is the longest active among any division in
catches. the last six weeks.” tive week during the playoffs. Yet Van college football and is just one shy of tying
Carroll has played sound football Still, St. Xavier provides a huge chal- Diest says that fact doesn’t give his team the all-time NAIA record set by Texas
in the playoffs. The Saints have not lenge. an advantage. A&I.
fumbled the ball, have been assessed just Receiver Mike Maher leads the na- “We have awesome fans, but it doesn’t Carroll is 27-3 in its last 30 postseason
five penalties and committed just two tion in non-kick scoring (138 points) guarantee seven points one way or the games and has the second-most active
turnovers. It’s a continuation from the and receptions (109). He is second with other,” he said. “It’s nice to play at home playoff wins (34).

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bozeman daily chronicle Saturday, December 4, 2010 | 7

BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium

Expanded bracket brings Eastern hosts SE Missouri St. ceiving and returns, Harris

changes to FCS playoffs FCS Playoffs By EWU Sports Information

Regardless of the debate

By SCHUYLER DIXON
The Associated Press
DALLAS — Delaware
coach K.C. Keeler inter-
rupted preparations for a
Football Championship
Subdivision playoff game
by letting his players go
home for Thanksgiving.
He’ll probably do the same
for Christmas if the Blue
Hens are still playing.
The Division I football
wing that uses a playoff
system had to scrap the
traditional four-week
sprint to crown its cham-
pion when the bracket
expanded this year from
16 teams to 20. Now the
postseason is something of
a slow-starting marathon
with first-round byes for
12 teams and 42 days from
start to finish.
The most significant
difference in the tier for-
merly known as Division
I-AA is a bowl-like break
of three weeks between
the semifinals and cham-
pionship game, which is
moving to the Dallas area
from Chattanooga, Tenn.
By the time Jan. 7 rolls
around, the FCS playoffs
will be just 20 days shy of
the famously long NBA
playoffs.
Keeler doesn’t mind the
starts and stops, though.
He was happy to have a
week to recover from a
rough-and-tumble regular
season in the Colonial
Athletic Association. He
and his players don’t care
how long they have to
wait if they advance to the
championship game. They
face Lehigh, an opening-
round winner, in the
second round Saturday.
“It’s been a long, intense
season living in this con-
ference,” said Keeler, who
won an FCS championship
in 2003 and played for
the title again four years
later. “It was really nice
to have (the break), ‘OK,
we’re kind of going into
our second season. And
now let’s get away from it
a little while and then we
come back and get after it
full force.’”
Keeler prefers a little
waiting around to what
happened in 2007, when
the Blue Hens were
snowed in for two days
after a playoff game, had
to go on the road again the
next week and had only
two days at home before
traveling to Chattanooga
for the title game. They
were blown out by Ap-
palachian State.
“We figured out we
slept in our beds like six
of the last 16 nights of the
season,” Keeler said. “It
was brutal, and we were
banged up. So I think
Delaware head coach K.C. Keeler is a fan of the new format.
some down time would
have been an opportunity
to get some kids healthy
and give us a chance to
play Appalachian State a
little better than we played
them.”
The FCS long sought
NCAA approval on playoff
expansion because the
16-team format fell far
short of the generally ac-
cepted ratio of 25 percent
of teams advancing to the
postseason in each sport.
The modest increase still
leaves FCS below 20 per-
cent of teams reaching the
playoffs, but the growth
was cautious because
of concerns over costs.
Future expansion will be
considered, Southland
Conference Commission-
er Tom Burnett said.
“There are, I think, 117
teams that play at this level
(and) if only 16 teams
were allowed to get in, I
think it’s great that more
teams can experience this,”
Lehigh coach Andy Coen
said. “Like our kids? This
is a memory these guys
will have the rest of their
lives.”
All playoff games before
the championship are held
at one of the participat-
ing schools, with sites
determined by a financial
guarantee and other fac-
tors. The highest-seeded
playoff teams get to host
games as long as they meet
the minimum bids, which
start around $30,000
and go up in subsequent
rounds. Schools with
larger fan bases and bigger
stadiums generally turn in
larger bids.
The Dallas suburb of
Frisco went after the title
game because it’s trying to
carve out a sports niche in
one of the busiest — and
strongest — markets in the
country.
The fast-growing city
is home to the Double-A
affiliate of the American
AP
League champion Texas
Rangers and Major League
Soccer’s FC Dallas, which
just reached the franchise’s
first championship game
and plays in the stadium
that will host the FCS title
game. The Dallas Maver-
icks’ minor league team
recently made its debut
in a basketball arena that
doubles as an ice rink at
the headquarters for the
NHL’s Dallas Stars.
“It’s a community that’s
built in sports as part of
enhancing the quality of
life,” Burnett said. “I think
at every turn this com-
munity really turns out
for sports events, and we
think that will be the case
again.”
Burnett acknowledges
risks, and they are sig-
nificant. The Dallas-Fort
Worth market is owned
by the Big 12, and sports
consumers have plenty of
choices. The SEC is big in
the Chattanooga market,
but the other options
aren’t as plentiful, giving
the FCS game a stronger
footprint.
This season’s champi-
onship game also will go
head-to-head with the
Cotton Bowl, which has
its latest date ever and
falls between the BCS
bowls and the Jan. 10 BCS
championship game. It’s
far and away the latest the
FCS has played its title
game, which is normally
held before bowl season
gets busy.
“It’s probably part of
all the unknown in all
of this,” Burnett said.
“There’s some thought
of, ‘Well, if our game is
later and played among all
those other ones, does the
stature, does the interest,
grow in our game. It is a
national championship
game and a lot of these
bowl games are not, for
whatever that’s worth. We
have to wait and see.”
over rankings and seed-
ings, the NCAA Football
Championship Subdivi-
sion determines its nation-
al championship the right
way — with a playoff.
Eastern Washington
University’s quest for a
long playoff run begins
Saturday when the No.
1-ranked and fifth-seeded
Eagles host Southeast
Missouri at Roos Field
in Cheney, Wash., at 2:05
p.m. Mountain time.
Eastern will be making its
eighth FCS Playoff appear-
ance while the Redhawks
are making their first. It
will be the first meeting
between the two schools.
“We’re the fifth seed —
so we’re not the No. 1 team
in the country,” Eastern
head coach Beau Bald-
win said. “That’s where
we stand and we have a
little chip on our shoulder
because there are still four
teams ahead of us. Don’t get
me wrong — we’re excited
about it and it’s an honor
for our team to be ranked
first in the country. But at
this level it’s all about seed-
ing and finding a champion
through a true tournament
rather than the polls.”
Following a 9-2 finish
in the regular season and
co-championship in the
Big Sky Conference with a
7-1 mark, the Eagles were
rewarded with a No. 1
ranking in The Sports Net-
work poll. An hour after
that poll was released, the
FCS selection committee
gave Eastern a No. 5 seed
and a first-round bye.
Southeast Missouri,
featuring running back
Henry Harris, was ranked
ninth in the final regular
season Sports Network
Second Round
Saturday
Western Illinois (8-4) at Appala-
chian State (9-2), 10 a.m.
Wofford (9-2) at Jacksonville State
(9-2), 10 a.m.
Lehigh (10-2) at Delaware (9-2),
10 a.m.
New Hampshire (7-4) at Bethune-
Cookman (10-1), 11 a.m.
Georgia Southern (8-4) at William
& Mary (8-3), 11:30 a.m.
North Dakota State (8-4) at
Montana State (9-2), Noon
Villanova (7-4) at Stephen F.
Austin (9-2), 1:30 p.m.
Southeast Missouri State (9-2)
at Eastern Washington (9-2), 2 p.m.
poll. The Redhawks were
2-9 a year ago, but finished
the regular season 9-2 af-
ter winning the Ohio Val-
ley Conference title with
a 7-1 record. The school,
located in Cape Girardeau,
Mo., lost its season opener
27-10 to Ball State and
its final game 29-27 to
eighth-ranked Jacksonville
State on Nov. 13.
“They really grind it in
terms of how they run the
football,” said Baldwin of
the third-best rushing of-
fense in FCS (271.1 yards
per game). “They don’t
turn it over and they find
ways to force turnovers.”
This week’s game
will include a match-up
between a pair of Walter
Payton Award candidates
— Harris and EWU junior
Taiwan Jones. Harris
leads FCS in all-purpose
yards (219.8 per game),
and Jones is right behind
(195.1 per game). Harris
is second nationally in
rushing (147.9) and has 18
total touchdowns; Jones is
fourth in rushing (134.4)
and has 14 total TDs.
A major difference
in the two backs is the
amount of touches —
Harris averages 25.9
rushes per game and 5.7
yards per carry, and Jones
averages 17.6 carries and
7.6 per carry. Including re-
has touched the ball 328
times (7.4 per play) and
Jones has had the ball in
his hands on 213 occa-
sions (9.2 per play).
“He’s a very good run-
ning back — he’s not huge
but he runs tough and he
gets a lot of carries,” said
Baldwin of Harris. “He
can carry the load and he’s
also able to break a big
one on you. He’s the whole
package. He runs with
a lot of physicality for a
smaller back.”
If the Eagles win their
opener and advance to the
quarterfinals, they may
end up playing at fourth-
seeded Montana State,
which was the last team
to defeat Eastern, 30-7 on
Sept. 25 in Bozeman.
The Eagles wrapped up
their season by defeating
Idaho State 34-7 on Nov.
20 at Roos Field, earning a
share of the Big Sky Con-
ference title with Montana
State. It was EWU’s fifth Big
Sky title, having also won in
1992, 1997, 2004, 2005.
With seven straight
victories, the Eagles
ended the regular season
with the fourth-longest
winning streak in FCS
and best among the 20
playoff teams. (Lehigh has
now won eight in a row
after a first-round playoff
victory). Eastern has
out-scored its last seven
opponents 234-138.
This year’s squad has
surpassed the 1997 team —
which was sixth to end the
regular season and fourth
after the FCS Playoffs — for
the school’s highest ranking
ever. That squad, coached
by former MSU head coach
Mike Kramer, won a pair
of playoff games to advance
to the semifinals and finish
12-2.

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6 | Saturday, December 4, 2010 bozeman daily chronicle

BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium

MSU playoff records

Individual Records, Single Game
Rushes 32 Tom Kostrba vs. North Dakota State, 1976
Yards 115 Tom Kostrba vs. North Dakota State, 1976
Rushing TDs 2 Aaron Mason vs. Appalachian State, 2006
Avg./carry 7.6 Tom Kostrba vs. New Hampshire, 1976
Passes 57 Kelly Bradley vs. La Tech, 1984
Completions 32 Kelly Bradley vs. La Tech, 1984
Passing TDs 3 Kelly Bradley vs. Arkansas St/Rhode Island, 1984
THE LAST TIME: MSU VS. NDSU
#18 Montana State 20,
#8 NDSU 17
Sept. 24, 2005
At Bozeman
Montana State put together a 92-yard
scoring drive with nine minutes remain-
ing to rally for a 20-17 victory of North
Dakota State. No. 8 NDSU took a 17-13
lead on a 2-yard TD run by Kyle Steffes
with 9:13 remaining.
MSU (2-2), ranked 18th in NCAA
Division I-AA, had its kickoff return to
the 42-yard line nullified on a blocking
penalty, leaving the Bobcats to start their
The Bobcat defense held NDSU on its
final drive, including incomplete passes
on its final two plays. The loss ended a
six-game winning streak for the Bison.
MSU ended its five-game losing streak to
nationally ranked I-AA teams.
Montana St. 20, North Dakota St. 17
NDSU 0 7 3 7 — 17
Montana State 7 6 0 7 — 20
First Quarter
MSU – Gatewood 12 pass from Lulay (Hastings kick)
Second Quarter
NDSU – Steffes 2 run (Vartanian kick)
MSU – Murray 42 pass from Lulay (Kick blocked)
Third Quarter
NDSU – FG Vartanian
Fourth Quarter

Most INTs 3 by many drive on the 8-yard line. NDSU – Steffes 2 run (Vartanian kick)
MSU – Domineck (Hastings kick)
MSU used a no-huddle offense and A–13,327
Pass yards 334 Kelly Bradley vs. La Tech vs. La Tech, 1984 Travis Lulay passed for 45 yards and Statistics
NDSU MSU
Percentage .574 Kelly Bradley vs. Rhode Island (27-47), 1984 rushed for 27 more on the final 15-play First Downs 19 16
drive, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run Rushing yards 44-135 28-92
Catches 10 Joe Bignell vs. La Tech, 1984 by Justin Domineck with 1:41 remaining.
Passing yards
Total Offense
195
330
219
311
Yards 130 Joe Bignell vs. La Tech, 1984 Lulay ran 17 yards on a first-and-10 Passing 16-29-1 22-29-0
Punts 2-35 4-36
from the 22, avoiding two tacklers to get
TD catches 2 Joe Bignell vs. LT, Kelly Davis vs. ASU, 1984 the ball to the 5-yard line. He tried to
Penalties
Fumbles/Lost
9-60
2-0
7-61
1-1
RUSHING - Steffes (NDSU) 33-117; Walker (NDSU) 8-21; Lulay
Total Tackles 18 Kirk Timmer vs. Arkansas State, 1984 dive into the end zone two plays later, but (MSU) 12-46; Bass (MSU) 11-44
was held up at the 1. PASSING - Walker (NDSU) 16-29-1, 195 yds.; Lulay (MSU) 22-
Solo Tackles 11 Mark Fellows vs. La Tech, 1984 Domineck, who rushed just four times
29-0, 219 yds.
RECEIVING - Heckendorf (NDSU) 6-89; Cooper (NDSU) 3-45;
Tackles for Loss 6 Mark Fellows vs. La Tech, 1984 for three yards, ran in for the game win- Gatewood (MSU) 9-77; Murray (MSU) 4-78;
TACKLES - C.Dahl (NDSU) 9-0=9; Mays (NDSU) 7-2=9; Maresh
Sacks 6 Mark Fellows vs. La Tech, 1984 ner. (NDSU) 5-2=7; Marudas (MSU) 6-5=11; Daly (MSU) 3-7=10

Interceptions 1 by many
Fumbles Forced 2 Tex Sikora vs. Rhode Island, 1984
2 Bobby Daly vs. Appalachian State, 2006 Dumas/from B1 And don’t think the cur-
rent ’Cats don’t appreciate it.
And so it does.
The current ’Cats may
Fumbles Recovered 1 by many “Ever since we’ve had not be laying new turf
The 1984 team will be the turf, it’s been phenom- anytime soon. But in
Field Goals 1 by many remembered for not only enal,” head coach Rob Ash another 26 years, they’ll
Punts 6 G. Marinkovich vs St. Joseph’s, M. Swenson vs NDSU winning it all, but for the said. “We’ve always been settle for joining exclusive
Average 42.0 George Marinkovich vs. St. Joseph’s, 1956 gift that keeps on giving able to have good practic- company.
— the turf the Bobcats es. We don’t have to worry “The fact that they’ve
Punt Returns 3 Mark McGrath vs. NDSU, 1976 play on every Saturday. about it.” given back to the program
Average 17.4 Mark McGrath vs. NDSU, 1976 You may remember that As for Arnold, he went — that’s special to our
in 2006, the last time the on to coach under former guys,” Ash said of the 1984
Kick Returns 2 several times ’Cats made the playoffs, Bobcat quarterback Den- squad. “That’s the team
Average 27.0 Tim Clements vs. Rhode Island, 1976 they played on a chewed- nis Erickson at the Uni- that everybody remem-
up field. Like this year, a versity of Miami, where bers.”
Long Return 33 Mike Jefferson vs. App State, 2006 heavy snow fell in the days they won national titles in “You hear the year 1984
before the game. And the 1989 and ’91. all the time around here
grass was more brown Arnold’s three rings because they won the big
Individual Records, Career than green. But because make a nice collection. one,” MSU quarterback
Rushes 59 Tom Kostrba, three games, 1976 of the nearly $1 million But mention the turf Denarius McGhee said
Yards 306 Tom Kostrba, three games, 1976 put up by the members gesture from the ’84 team, last month. “That’s what
of the ’84 team, MSU had and he turns into Frosty we want, too. We want to
Rushing TDs 2 Tom Kostrba, three games, 1976 turf installed for the 2008 the Snowman when the be remembered, too.”
2 Aaron Mason, one game, 2006 season. The surface is not thermometer gets red. 1956, ’76, ’84 and …
only a bonus for Satur- “When you bring that 2010?
Average Per Carry 5.2 Tom Kostrba, three games, 1976 days, but allows the team up, I get a little emotional,” Tim Dumas can be
Average Per Game 102.0 Tom Kostrba, three games, 1976 to practice in dry condi- he said. “I wanted to make reached at tdumas@
tions during snowy weeks sure that their legacy lived dailychronicle.com and
Passes 143 Kelly Bradley, three games, 1984 like this one. forever.” 582-2651.
Completions 79 Kelly Bradley, three games, 1984
Passing TDs 8 Kelly Bradley, three games, 1984
Most Interceptions 6 Kelly Bradley, three games, 1984
Fewest Interceptions 1 Jack Rolovich, two games, 2006
Pass Yards 969 Kelly Bradley, three games, 1984
Percentage .552 Kelly Bradley, three games, 1984
Catches 20 Joe Bignell, three games, 1984
Yards 269 Joe Bignell, three games, 1984
Touchdown Catches 3 Kelly Davis, three games, 1984
Total Tackles 29 Mark Fellows, three games, 1984
24 Mark DeVore, two games (no stats vs. NDSU), 1976
Solo Tackles 13 M. DeVore vs. NH, 1976; M. Fellows vs. LT, 1984
Tackles for Loss 6 Mark Fellows vs. La Tech, 1984
Sacks 6 Mark Fellows vs. La Tech, 1984
Interceptions 1 by many
Fumbles Forced 2 Tex Sikora, three games, 1984
Fumbles Recovered 3 Clete Linebarger, three games, 1984
Blocked Kicks 1 Johnson vs. La Tech, 1984
Field Goals 3 Mark Carter, three games, 1984
3 Jeff Muri, three games, 1976
Field Goal Attempts NA
Long Field Goal 3 9 Mark Carter vs. Arkansas State, 1984
Punts 13 Mike Swenson, three games, 1984
Average 42.0 George Marinkovich, one game/six punts, 1956

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bozeman daily chronicle Saturday, December 4, 2010 | 5

BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium

Bobcats skated past NDSU in last playoff meeting

By MSU SportS InforMatIon
It was cold.
Ask anyone involved in Mon-
tana State’s 10-3 playoff win over
North Dakota State 34 years ago
to the day before this Saturday’s
playoff game between the Bob-
cats and Bison, and the topic of
the frigid conditions comes up
early in the conversation.
“It was so cold,” laughs Arnie
Sgalio, MSU’s Sports Information
Director in 1976 and currently
an executive with ESPN Region-
al, who spent the week in Fargo
advancing the ABC National
Game of the Week. “Really cold.
And snowy.”
“It was a miserable windy day,”
recalls long-time MSU athletic
trainer Chuck Karnop. “It started
blowing hard (before the game)
and blew the same way for three
hours.”
But the game played in blus-
tery conditions on hard Astroturf
— “It was carpet, just like what
we’re standing on now,” says
one of that day’s standouts, Tom
Kostrba, now a middle school
teacher in Bozeman — resonates
with many of its participants as
more than a football game. It
stands as a symbol of how foot-
ball used to be.
“It was the element of kids
just beating the person in front
of them,” Kostrba recalls over a
third of a century later.
MSU scored 10 second-half
points, all by freshmen, to claim
a 10-3 win which advanced the
team to the 1976 NCAA Division
II National Championship game.
Seven days later, MSU claimed
its second national crown.
Karnop, who witnessed many
of the 33 meetings between
NDSU and the Bobcats, said by
the time those teams met for the
28th time that December day
in 1976 the game had become
legendary for many involved in
the series.
“I think it kind of got so it
Paul Dennehy and the Bobcats ran for 174 yards vs. NDSU in 1976, a week before winning the national title.
symbolized that it was going to
be football, almost (old-time)
Butte type of football. Our guys
would start getting ready three
weeks ahead of time just to go in Paul floated one in there over my three first downs in the fourth
there whacking.”
Kostrba was in on many of
that day’s big plays, rushing for
106 yards and setting
up both Bobcat scores.
With the Bobcats trail-
“the harder
ing 3-0 at halftime, Ko- bigger their smiles got. and it was all but sealed.
strba gained 34 yards on
seven carries on the first the same the other way.”
drive of the second half
to move deep into Bison
territory. On third-and-
four from the NDSU five yard-
line, sophomore quarterback
Paul Dennehy found freshman
tight end Butch Damberger in
the end zone on a play Damberg- back to the bench, and I’ll never
er said he will never forget.
“When the play was called I
knew it was coming to my side,
and my heart started pump-
ing,” said the tight end from Cut
courtesy montana state university sports information
Bank. “I released off the line and game, freshman Jeff Muri from
ran my route to the corner of the Miles City drilled a 34-yard field
end zone — to this day I’m not goal to give MSU a seven-point
sure I ran the right route — and lead. The Bison gained only
shoulder and I caught it over the quarter, one on a halfback pass,
top in the corner of the end zone. and when Butte’s Jim Janhunen
I didn’t know if I was close to be- ended NDSU’s only serious
late-game threat with an
you popped them, the interception in the final
five minutes the win was
Kostrba said the frigid
conditions minus-21
degrees at kickoff, but
— Chuck Karnop, former MSU trainer windy throughout the
game, according to re-
ing out of bounds, so I just kind ports — played to his strength.
of slid down. I’ve had people “It was a great battle, (in)
tell me they could see the grin the wind and the snow and the
on my face when I was running outdoor stadium. It was a hard
surface, and it was pretty chal-
forget that feeling. It was pretty lenging. You had to be a north-
exciting.” south runner, and that’s what I
On the eighth play of the was, so I had an advantage right
fourth quarter, with the Bob- off the bat.”
cats tightening their grip on the Kostrba said he knew from a
conversation with All-America
offensive lineman Jon Borchardt
that the Bobcats had plenty of
life in spite of being shut out for
the first two quarters.
“At halftime I asked Jon, ‘How
are you doing out there,’ and he
goes, ‘I have been blocking my
man, and I will continue block-
ing my man for the rest of the
game.’ That’s how it was… we
just had to overcome what they
gave us.”
How meaningful was the
MSU-NDSU rivalry in the
1970s? Montana State fore-
shadowed the 1976 playoff win
by whipping the Bison 34-7 in
that season’s second game. Two
games into the 1977 season, the
Bobcats won a 24-17 heart-stop-
per in Fargo.
In the 1976 and ’77 seasons,
NDSU compiled an 18-5-1
record. Three of those five losses
were to the Bobcats.
The series lapsed after a 21-19
Bobcat win in 1980 when Mon-
tana State moved to Division
I with the rest of the Big Sky
Conference, while NDSU stayed
in Division II. But with the
Bison transitioning to Division
I football in 2005, the old rivals
got together again. It was like the
‘70s all over again, without the
wide-collared leisure suits, as the
Bobcats earned a hard-fought
20-17 victory.
Still, 34 years after that classic
old-school playoff game, many
of those who witnessed it from
the Bobcat sideline don’t recall
the stats, or even the final score,
correctly. But they remember
the nature of the game, and the
nature of the series.
“That game was a hard-hitting
son of a (gun),” Karnop said
reverently. “The thing I remem-
ber about them is that the harder
you popped them, the bigger
their smiles got. And it was the
same the other way. Like two
teams that really just wanted to
play football, and didn’t know
any better.”

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4 | Saturday, December 4, 2010 bozeman daily chronicle

BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium

The edge
North Dakota State at MoNtaNa State
When MonTana STaTe haS The ball iNtaNGiBles
Passing: This is the one area where the Bison
edge team had any semblance of a running game. The weather edge into a sellout
have to win. With an inconsistent offense and McGhee has a running game and the best won’t play as crowd com-
a defense that has proved susceptible to the receiving corps the Bison have seen all year. big a factor in ing off an
run at times this year, NDSU’s stout defensive That could spell trouble for the visitors. today’s game emotional
front has to get pressure on Denarius McGhee Rushing: Attacking the heart of the Montana as some win against
and its ballhawking secondary to make big defense with the I-formation and power runs thought — Robert Morris
plays. The trouble is, even some of the Big Sky up the gut proved effective for MSU two weeks and maybe that was a
Conference’s best defensive lines had a difficult ago. That won’t be the case again today. The hoped — it battle into
time getting consistent pressure on McGhee this middle of the NDSU defense is beefier and may might. While the snow the fourth quarter. MSU
season and even some of the Big Sky’s best secondaries had be the strength of the entire unit. Luckily for the Bobcats, might have piled up Fri- will trot out a veteran
a difficult time locking down all of his receiving threats. they have the ability to run outside as well. And playing day, the forecast for to- defense and a confident
The question is: how much better are the defenses in the in a predominantly two-back offensive league, the Bison day calls for 30 degrees offense at home coming
Missouri Valley Conference? The Big Sky has never been a might not be well-accustomed to sneaky backs like and clear. As both teams off a bye week. Having
league predicated on defense, and the Missouri Valley has Orenzo Davis, who can find seams even without a lead said, that’s balmy for a single week off at this
produced some of the nation’s best over the past five years. blocker in front of him. this time of year. What point in the season will
The key to this particular Missouri Valley unit is Matthew And make no mistake, Davis, who has racked up 517 will play a factor is the not have made MSU
Gratzek. When the 6-foot-2, 290-pound disruptive menace yards with four touchdowns in his past four games, is crowd and what both rusty. It’ll have helped
at defensive tackle has been healthy and forcing offensive playing his best football of the season right now. Expect teams did last week. with late-season healing
lines to account for him, his presence alone almost assures the Bobcats to attack the NDSU the same way they NDSU will send a team and preparation.
the Bison will bring pressure, with even a four-man attacked teams like Sacramento State and Northern chalk-full of youngsters edge: Montana State
rush. And double-teaming him will free up pass-rushing Colorado, using stretch, misdirection and quick pass
specialists Coulter Boyer and Cole Jirik at defensive plays along with a heavy mix of C.J. Palmer and Davis. overall
end. Even for the best of quarterbacks, throwing into a That allowed the pair to rack up 525 total yards and five There is no question that there are elements of
secondary that has picked off 14 passes this year under touchdowns against a pair of defenses that were also this NDSU team — highlighted by its defense and
those types of conditions could be treacherous. stocked with bigger, physical defenders. short passing game — that could give MSU trouble.
Then again, even with its stingy Tampa Two scheme, There is a chance that the Bison have enough depth But with a clearly inferior offense and a defense
NDSU has been bitten by some good quarterbacks this at linebacker to combat such a scheme. But with Matt playing out of its element against a spread offense,
year. That list includes Walter Payton candidate Matt Anderson and Chad Willson both coming back from the likes of which it has rarely seen this season, it will
Barr of Western Illinois, whose numbers are similar to injuries this week, they may not have the endurance to be extremely difficult for North Dakota State to go
McGhee’s, in a 28-16 NDSU loss and Indiana State’s Ronnie keep up with MSU’s fierce rushing and passing attacks punch-for-punch with MSU in Bozeman today. This
Fouch, a Washington transfer who threw for 330 yards in for four quarters. game shouldn’t be close, and it could get ugly.
the Fargodome and may have also beaten the Bison if his edge: Montana State

When noRTh daKoTa STaTe The ball

Passing: Coming off a shoulder and collar- ing in any game. In a hostile environment and
bone injury, NDSU’s redshirt freshman quar- edge inclement weather, don’t expect his numbers
terback, Brock Jensen, has perhaps caught to get much better.

24 14
this MSU defense at the worst possible time. Rushing: Looking for proof that D.J. McNor-
With the emergence of defensive tackle Zach ton is the heart of the NDSU offense? Check
Minter and the return of defensive end Dustin the first five plays of their first-ever FCS playoff
O’Connell over the past three games, the game last week — all hand-offs to McNorton.
Bobcat defensive line has come alive, putting The senior running back has used his solid
tons of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. combination of size and speed to pile up an
A Bison offensive line that is huge but has had troubles impressive 1,228 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns at a
with consistency and durability this season may struggle clip of 5.5 yards a carry. McNorton also hasn’t had to take Analysis by WIll C. holden
to contain them. And if MSU is often getting pressure the beating most feature backs endure thanks to a nice
with four-man fronts, this game might be over before it contribution from backup Mike Sigers, who, save Taiwan of the Chronicle
starts for NDSU. Jones, is as explosive as any running back that MSU has
That said, there is one facet of this offense that has to seen this season.
look troubling to MSU. While the Bison may only have one
deep threat in Warren Halloway, they have a plethora of
short passes and screens already built into their offense,
But there is one glaring red flag that appears in McNor-
ton’s statistics. While he has been just about unstoppable
on the fast track inside the Fargodome this season, he
MSU vs. NDSU
and they used them to torch a decent Robert Morris
defense last week. Quite similarly, Montana and Northern
Arizona burned the ‘Cats so often with those quick hitters
has put up dreadful numbers on the road. Aside from
one nice effort against Illinois State, the sixth-worst
defense in the nation, McNorton has been held to 188
All-Time
that both teams hardly bothered throwing deep. yards on 56 carries with no touchdowns in four games
But there was one big thing that both UM and NAU away from home this season. And there’s also the fact 2005 .......... 20-17* 1957 ............ 27-6*
had that NDSU does not — an accurate senior quarter- that defending the run may be the biggest strength of 1980 .......... 21-19* 1950 ............0-27+
back. To his credit, Jensen has showed what Bison coach this Bobcat defense. 1979 ..........7-21@ 1949 ............28-7+
Craig Bohl called “marked improvement” in the second NDSU will lean heavily on its running game, which
game of all his back-to-back starts this year. But all of means MSU will be allowed to focus its efforts there.
1978 .......... 28-18* 1948 ............ 33-0*
those games just happened to take place in the friendly And like Jensen, in a hostile environment and inclement 1977 ........24-17@ 1946 .......... 39-18*
confines of the Fargodome. And “marked improvement” weather, don’t expect McNorton’s road numbers to get 1976 ..........10-3@! 1940 .............. 7-0*
never inched Jensen’s completion percentage above 44 much better today. 1976 ............ 34-7*
percent this year nor gave him more than 229 yards pass- edge: Montana State 1939 .......... 14-16*
1975 ..........6-13@ 1929 .............. 6-0*
1974 .......... 34-14* 1927 ............ 22-0*
special teams 1973 ........17-34@ 1922 ..........0-48@
Kicking & punting: The Bison have one of is one of the nation’s best, having gone 19- 1972 ......... 27-24&
edge 1914 ............ 18-0*
the best punters in the FCS in John Prelvitz. for-23. 1971 ........12-28@
His 39.37-yard net punting average is in the Returns & coverage: Forget about punt 1970 ............ 8-30* + - at Glendive
nation’s top 10 along with the 36.93 mark returning today. With either the rough 1967 ........... 6-24& & - at Great Falls
put up by MSU’s Rory Perez this season. So if weather or the game’s two great punters * - at Bozeman
Perez isn’t feeling any ill effects of getting a making those balls tough to field, you won’t 1966 ........22-35@
little banged up chasing down that safety at see much of it today. As far as kick returns 1965 ............ 7-14* ! - Playoff game
Montana two weeks ago, this matchup is a go, neither team has chalked up nor given 1964 ............0-7@ Series Record: 21-
push. up any big ones yet this season. So expect 1962 ........... 37-2& 12, MSU
Where Montana State gains the advantage is kicking. a pretty uneventful day on the special teams front if it
Ryan Jastram may have hit a 51-yarder last week, but proves true that typically-automatic MSU long snap- 1961 ..........35-0@ at bozeman: 13-3
he’s a dome kicker who has been wildly inconsistent per Tim Garcia got his one mulligan out of the way last 1960 ........26-14@ at Fargo: 5-7
this year, hitting on 12 of 20 attempts. MSU’s Jason game against the Grizzlies. 1959 .......... 24-12* at great Falls: 2-1
Cunningham, who isn’t unaccustomed to driving snow, edge: Montana State
1958 ........33-20@ at glendive: 1-1

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bozeman daily chronicle
Depth charts
Montana State
Offense
LEFT TACKLE
72 Mike Person 6-5/295 Sr
70 Killian Fitzpatrick 6-8/270 Fr
LEFT GUARD
68 Conrad Burbank 6-4/280 Jr
57 Casey Dennehy 6-1/270 So
CENTER
56 Shaun Sampson 6-0/249 So
61 Alex Terrien 6-4/285 Jr
RIGHT GUARD
61 Alex Terrien 6-4/285 Jr
71 Jesse Hoffmann 6-4/286 Sr
RIGHT TACKLE
50 Leo Davis 6-4/271 Jr
70 Killian Fitzpatrick 6-8/270 Fr
QUARTERBACK
9 Denarius McGhee 6-0/197 Fr
12 Cody Kempt 6-2/211 Sr
RUNNING BACK
8 Orenzo Davis 5-9/185 Jr
20 C.J. Palmer 6-0/210 Jr
W RECEIVER
14 Everett Gilbert 5-9/180 So
27 DeSean Thomas 6-1/180 Jr
X RECEIVER
1 Elvis Akpla 6-1/187 Jr
86 Tanner Bleskin 6-3/210 Fr
Z RECEIVER
82 Julius Lloyd 6-0/184 Sr
10 Kruiz Siewing 5-11/182 So
TIGHT END
81 Kyle Begger 6-2/245 Jr
88 Shane Robison 6-5/250 Jr
KICKER
15 Jason Cunningham 6-1/162 Jr
Defense
BANDIT
48 Dustin O’Connell 6-2/245 Sr
34 Preston Gale 6-2/239 Fr
TACKLE
90 Dan Ogden 6-0/270 Sr
96 Zach Minter 6-1/265 So
NOSE TACKLE
45 Jason D’Alba 6-2/277 Sr 76 Jesse Hinz 6-3/284 Fr
98 Christian Keli’i 6-0/282 So
END
11 John Laidet 6-5/250 Jr
49 Caleb Schreibeis 6-3/245 So
SAM LINEBACKER
44 Aleksei Grosulak 5-10/215 Fr
9 Roger Trammell 6-1/230 Jr
MIKE LINEBACKER
42 Clay Bignell 6-2/236 Jr
59 Tanner Ripley 6-1/214 Sr
WILL LINEBACKER
23 Jody Owens 6-1/214 So
41 Na’a Moekiola 5-11/220 Fr
BOUNDARY CORNER
26 Arnold Briggs 5-10/185 Sr
17 Sean Gords 5-10/185 Fr
FREE SAFETY
22 Mike Rider 5-11/196 Sr
5 Joel Fuller 6-0/200 So
ROVER
7 Jordan Craney 6-1/205 Sr
32 Anthony Cosme-Peko 5-11/209 Sr
FIELD CORNER
13 Darius Jones 5-10/167 So
24 James Andrews 6-1/187 Jr
PUNTER
18 Rory Perez 6-2/180 Fr
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Saturday, December 4, 2010 | 3
BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium
Cold/from B1 as effective for fellow re- Dakota State brave blow-
ceiver Julius Lloyd, who is ing snow and minus-10-
two years Gilbert’s senior degree temperatures.
After being told that and not nearly as hyperac- “Well, yeah, I suppose
Akpla is strongly con- tive. what we just practiced
North Dakota State sidering bringing win- “I’m too old,” said Lloyd, in was a blizzard,” Smith
ter gloves to Saturday’s a Seattle native who spent said as he thawed out later
Defense second-round playoff two years at a junior col- that night. “But that’s just
END game against North Da- lege in central California winter in Fargo. It’s not
92 Coulter Boyer 6-4/245 Jr kota State to wear over his He does think Gilbert like it’s unusual for this
96 Ricky Hagen 6-3/240 So receiving gloves while on might be onto something, time of year.”
the sideline, Clay Bignell though. While that may be the
TACKLE
shook his head. “I’m pretty sure he was case, going back 34 years
70 Matthew Gratzek 6-2/289 Sr “Some of those out-of- the only one sweating to the day, Muri has a
60 Ryan Drevlow 6-4/252 Fr state guys pull out all the in that Montana game,” hard time using the word
NOSE GUARD stops,” the Montana-born Lloyd laughed. “That was “typical” to describe what
69 Leevon Perry 6-3/268 Fr middle linebacker said. quite the accomplish- the Bobcats and Bison
“Especially the Texas ment.” faced in that bone-chilling
95 Matt Phillips 6-4/286 Sr semifinal contest.
guys.”
END Everett Gilbert leads the Sunnier skies ahead At the very least, the day
98 Scott Stoczynski 6-3/245 Jr charge. Bignell rolls his eyes. ended up being anything
93 Cole Jirik 6-4/235 Fr Growing up in central Like many of the other but typical for his older
Texas, where average tem- Treasure State natives brother Jeff, a record-
WILL LINEBACKER
peratures rarely dip below playing in the 110th run- setting Bobcat kicker. He
48 Matt Anderson 6-2/233 Sr 50 degrees, and just off ning of ’Cat-Griz, Bignell missed three field goals in
45 Chad Willson 5-11/221 Jr of Lake Hubbard, which sniffed at the snow and one game for the first time
MIKE LINEBACKER never freezes, MSU’s cur- winds that made the in his career.
44 Preston Evans 5-11/225 Jr rent leading receiver had flags at Washington- “To put it simply, it
a hard time fathoming a Grizzly Stadium appear was like nothing I’ve ever
34 Grant Olson 6-0/217 Fr as if they’d just been seen,” Ron Muri said.
place where snow in June
SAM LINEBACKER isn’t entirely out of the starched. Thankfully for all
56 Brandon Jemison 6-1/215 So question. “When you grow up in parties involved, today’s
43 Don Carter 6-1/220 Fr Now he thinks it may the cold, you just get used game likely won’t rival the
have helped his game. to it,” Bignell said. Frozen Toilet Bowl. With a
CORNERBACK
When he’s not on the Landon Smith couldn’t forecast of 30 degrees and
13 Freddie Banks 5-8/179 Sr sideline wrapped in a agree more. partly cloudy, everyone
32 Derrius Colvin 5-10/182 Sr parka, arms spread wide The North Dakota State from the old-school to the
STRONG SAFETY and standing in front of tight end believes trying new-school, from Fargo to
20 Colten Heagle 5-11/192 Fr a propane heater like he’s to start his car in tempera- Bozeman, from the equa-
about to give it a bear tures that would give Jack tor to the artic agreed.
36 Cyrus Lemon 5-11/196 Sr Frost hypothermia might And nobody said it bet-
hug, Gilbert is in constant
FREE SAFETY motion. have prepared him for ter than Markovich.
7 Daniel Eaves 6-0/199 Jr “When it’s cold, I’m playing in the cold better “That’s balmy for this
15 John Pike 5-10/181 Jr bouncing around so than any of the team’s time of year.”
much to keep warm that I weekly 8 p.m. outdoor Will Holden can be
CORNERBACK
think I actually might run practices. reached at wholden@
1 Marcus Williams 5-11/186 Fr faster,” Gilbert said. And this week’s nightly dailychronicle.com and
4 Josh Gatlin 6-0/194 Sr The strategy isn’t quite training session saw North 582-2690.
PUNTER
83 John Prelvitz 6-2/212 Sr
“When it’s cold, I’m bouncing around so much
Offense
LEFT TACKLE
to keep warm that I think I actually run faster.”
52 Michael Arndt 6-6/318 Sr — Everett Gilbert
67 Hank Jacobs 6-3/290 Fr
LEFT GUARD
63 Austin Richard 6-3/327 Jr
57 Boen Andersen 6-2/292 Jr
CENTER
63 Austin Richard 6-3/327 Jr
RIGHT GUARD
78 Paul Cornick 6-6/305 Jr
68 Ty Beckius 6-3/300 So
RIGHT TACKLE
77 Billy Turner 6-4/289 Fr
72 Jeff Jerve 6-4/292 Fr
QUARTERBACK
16 Brock Jensen 6-3/220 Fr
3 Jose Mohler 6-0/170 So
HALFBACK
8 D.J. McNorton 5-9/203 Jr
23 Matt Voigtlander 5-11/219 Jr
FULLBACK
46 Lee Vandal 6-1/248 Sr
47 Garrett Bruhn 6-1/232 So
RECEIVER
6 Antwon Moutra 6-2/188 Jr
11 Justin Howard 5-10/181 So
RECEIVER
81 Warren Holloway 6-2/190 Jr
80 Reed Duchscher 6-2/196 So
TIGHT END
84 Landon Smith 6-2/238 Sr
82 Matt Veldman 6-6/254 Jr
KICKER
30 Ryan Jastram 5-11/203 Jr
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2 | Saturday, December 4, 2010 bozeman daily chronicle

BOBCAT GAME DAY
North Dakota State at Montana State
12:05 p.m. Bobcat Stadium

Sideline Bison traversed bumpy road to familiarity

Briefing NDSU was blanked
Records
Montana State 9-2 two weeks ago, then
North Dakota State 8-4 put up 43 points
Series
By WILL C. HOLDEN
34rd meeting, MSU leads 21-12
Chronicle Sports Writer
Weather forecast
What sort of team gets shut
Partly cloudy, high 29
out in its season finale and then
Crowd gets an at-large bid into the
playoffs? Probably the same sort
About 15,000 expected of team that scores a season high
TV in points a week after getting
blanked.
ABC, Altitude (Trey Bender, Jay That team is North Dakota
Taylor) State.
Going into their second Foot-
Radio ball Championship Subdivision
game in program history, the
KXLB-FM (100.7), Jeff Lasky,
Bison might be the FCS’ greatest
Dan Davies, Tyler Wiltgen anomaly.
Coaches They’ve downed Missouri Val-
ley Conference preseason favor-
ite, Southern Illinois, and have
been defeated by the conference’s
worst defense, Illinois State.
They’ve beaten one great
quarterback from Indiana State
and lost to another from West-
ern Illinois.
They upset Kansas in their
ROB  craig season opener and were upset
ASH bohl 3-0 by Missouri State in their
MSU, 4th year NDSU, 8th year season finale.
31st year overall 8th year overall Just when you think have
29-16 at MSU 60-29 at NDSU NDSU pegged, they’ve found a
205-115-5 overall 60-29 overall way to upset your expectations.
That’s been as much of a compli-
Schedules
ment as it’s been a slight. And
North Dakota State the Bison know it.
6 @ Kansas 3  “For us, it’s all about execu-
9 @ Northern Iowa 16
tion,” running back D.J. McNor-
ton said. “When we execute, we
35 Morgan St. 9 win. When we don’t, we’ve had
38 So. Dakota 16 some struggles.”
16 W. Illinois 28 McNorton is no exception.
34 @ Youngstown St. 29 The senior has rushed for 907
24 @ Illinois St. 34 yards and nine touchdowns in
seven home games this year
27 Indiana St. 15
but has been held to 321 yards
20 So. Illinois 6 and one touchdown in five road
31 So. Dakota St. 24 games.
0 @ Missouri St. 3 Heading into another road
43 Robert Morris 17 contest Saturday in Bozeman,
Today @ Montana St. 12:05 p.m. McNorton wasn’t able to identify
the chief cause for his woes away
from the Fargodome, but incon-
Montana State sistency at quarterback surely
59 Fort Lewis 10  hasn’t helped.
22 @ Wash. St. 23
48 Drake  21
30 Eastern Washington 7
COURTESY NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY/Dennis Hubbard
D.J. McNorton has 1,228 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Bison.
Diminutive sophomore Jose
Mohler, who stands at 5-foot-10
and 165 pounds, won the starting
job at the beginning of the season,
only to suffer an injury in week
three after he had led the Bison
offense to a mere 12 points.
Redshirt freshman Brock Jens-
en took what started to look like
a stranglehold on the position,
leading NDSU to wins in three
out of four games before suffer-
ing a rash of his own injuries.
Since then it’s been a hodge-
podge of each, with Mohler still
looking largely ineffective and
Jensen finally looking closer
to 100 percent after battling a
broken collarbone and bum
shoulder.
After a string of game-time
decisions at the position, NDSU
head coach Craig Bohl has
announced Jensen as his man
under center for today’s game
with Montana State.
This comes after a 43-17
playoff win over Robert Morris
that was — surprise, surprise
— rockier than the final score
indicated. Jensen finished the
game 10-of-24 for 229 yards,
and had it not been for two
screen passes-turned-big gains
by McNorton, that yardage total
would have been 109.
After taking a moment to
find the right words, Bohl called
Jensen’s performance, “pretty
good.”
“I thought he was off, his tim-
ing was off,” Bohl said. “There
were things he did in the game
that were pretty good, but there
were other things that we were
disappointed in.”
Think the one unquestioned
bright spot of this North Dakota
State team is its defense, which
has held its opponents to the
ninth-fewest points in the FCS?
Think again.
Even that unit has had its ups
and downs.
The Bison have given up over
235 yards rushing in each of
their four losses this season and
as the Missouri Valley’s fifth-
ranked passing defense, they’re
not exactly smothering their
opponents’ passing games.
MSU head coach Rob Ash has
analyzed all the Bison’s strengths
and shortcomings, as well. But
after the digging, he’s found one
statistic that he thinks is the
most telling of all.
They’re 8-4.
Just seven years after making
the transition from Division II,
NDSU has figured out how to
win at this level.
“This is a complete football
team,” Ash said. “That’s the big-
gest thing I’ve seen from watch-
ing the tape.”
Whether it’s utilizing their
always-stout defensive line or
their much-improved secondary,
riding their traditional power
running game or hitting on the
occasional deep pass, the Bison
have won three of their last four
games.
But more importantly, they’ve
found their way back to the
playoffs, a realm where they
dominated for the better part of
the 1980s and 90s.
And while the road to Boze-
man might have been a little
rougher than Bohl would have
liked, looking out his window
in Fargo, N.D., gives him all the
solace he needs.
“It’s great to have snow outside
and to still be coaching football,”
he said.
Will Holden can be reached at
wholden@dailychronicle.com and
582-2690.

Will you remember these ‘Cats in 26 years?

64 @ Sacramento St. 61
44 Portland St. 31
7 @ Northern Arizona 34
37 Northern Colo. 35
23 @ Idaho St. 20
24 Weber St. 10
21 @ Montana 16
Today NDSU 12:05 p.m.
Players to watch
NORTH DAKOTA STATE: RB D.J.
McNorton is a big part of the Bison
offense.
MONTANA STATE: RB Orenzo
Davis has shown the ability to
bounce off tacklers for extra yards.
Injury report
Montana State
OUT: DE Brad Smith (shoulder),
Ben Tauanuu (leg).
PROBABLE: DE John Laidet (quad).
They were the last best
team.
Want a lively debate? Try
picking the top team ever to
come out of Montana State.
Usually any such discussion
comes down to three years
— the national champion-
ship years, of course.
The 1956 team went un-
defeated and won the NAIA
national championship. The
’76 edition was the first to win 12 games in
a season, and used 10 in a row to win the
Division II national title. The 1984 team also
won 12 games, and 10 consecutive, to take
the Division I-AA crown.
Which is best? Not sure. The most
remembered, however, has to be that ’84
bunch.
The Bobcats of that Orwellian year are
what every season since has been compared
to.
This fall is no different. A 2-1 start was followed by a loss to Idaho
The current ’Cats have State. The Bobcats didn’t lose again until
won nine regular-season 1985.
Tim games, the most since A victory at Division I-A Fresno State
Dumas 1984. They are playing a capped the regular season and earned the
December home game, the ‘Cats the No. 2 seed for the postseason,
Chronicle first since … yep, ’84. where they fell behind in both home playoff
Sports Editor
That season 26 years ago games. In the opener, Kelly Bradley was part
is not only revered be- of six touchdowns in a win over Arkansas
cause of how it ended, but State (3 passing, 2 on first-half intercep-
because of how it started: tion returns and 1 rushing). The next week,
with no expectations. the Bobcats trailed in the fourth quarter to
“Nobody saw it coming,” said Dave Ar- Rhode Island when Joe Roberts intercepted
nold, who was head coach that year. pass and ran it back 97 yards for the go-
The ’83 team went 1-10, although the lone ahead touchdown.
victory was a big one: 28-8 over rival Mon- Joe Bignell’s two touchdown receptions in
tana. So it didn’t take much for the ’84 ’Cats the championship brought the national title
to top the previous season. Three games to to Bozeman, but the magic of that season
be exact. was never recaptured: The ’Cats won just
“We joked that we just wanted to im- five games over the next two seasons, thus
prove,” Arnold said from his winter home in ending Arnold’s tenure.
Deerfield Beach, Fla. “And after we won
two games, we improved.” More dumas I 6