Top 10: Cats and Griz Moments of 2015
As I sit here drinking a beer and reflecting on 2015, I couldn’t help but think how fun the Bobcat and Grizzly seasons were. I mean, yeah I’m a huge Cat fan and the season went further south than any of us had hoped, but there were plot lines everywhere and each week you wondered if the season was going to change. I decided to do something super original: a year end Top Ten List. It was actually hard to pick out the 10 most memorable Cats and Griz moments of 2015. Here’s my take:
10. Stitt’s fist year at the helm
Bob Stitt came to Missoula and no one knew what the year would hold. Coming from the Colorado School of Mines with the spread/fly sweep philosophy, everyone wondered how long it would take for the Griz to adapt to the new offense. Well it didn’t take long as the Griz knocked off NDSU in his first game. There were times early in the season where it wasn’t pretty but as the year went on, Stitt started to get things going. Coming to Montana there are obviously lofty expectations and Stitt finished the season 8-5 with a playoff win. Bobcat fans would LOVE to have that kind of success with a first year coach in 2016.
9. Griz players arrested with their get away driver
In early November three Griz players and two UM students were arrested after trespassing into a vacant structure and stealing some beer. Regardless of which school it happens at, athlete arrests always get people talking and this one was no different. Charges started out at the felony level but were later lowered to misdemeanor trespassing charges. The best part is the get away driver Courtney Reep – wrong place at the wrong time just trying to help out some friends who had been drinking. She ended up pleading not guilty which one of our Mint writers was very happy about.
8. Bignell’s hit on the RB versus Fort Lewis
All you need to do is watch this video to see why it’s on our list.
Remember when ESPN used to do their “Jacked Up” segment before the NFL got serious about concussions? Yeah, this would have been on there.
7. Gregorak’s move across the divide
It’s not very often you see a successful coach switch it up and go immediately from one side of the rivalry to the other. That’s exactly what Ty Gregorak did, though. Citing the aspiration of one day becoming a head coach as one of the reasons he wanted to work under the FBS connected MSU coach Jeff Choate, Gregorak is taking his defensive talents to Bozeman. In the minds of most Bobcat fans (and I’m sure many Griz fans that don’t want to admit it), this was a huge power play by Choate. He’s coming to the state and he’s going to fix the defense and doesn’t care where he gets the guys to do it – even if that means going to the Griz and getting the coordinator. Griz players past and present were shocked about the defection. It’ll be very interesting to see what the defense will look like next year for both the Cats and the Griz with this change.
6. Montana State’s defense
The talk all season was about how amazing the Bobcat’s offense was… and how horrible the Cats defense was. To say the Cat’s defense was sieve-like would be an understatement. The Cats defense was the worst defense in the Big Sky and one of the worst in all of the FCS football. The Cats’ first three losses on the season were insane – they averaged 40+ points in those losses! All season Cats fans thought it’d turn around but it never did and only got worse. A new regime was brought in to fix this which included the addition of former Griz defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak.
5. Idaho State’s horrible attempt at winning that spurred a Griz winning streak
Idaho State was tied with Montana at home in OT with a 37 yard field goal attempt to win the game. Then this happened.
The Griz were 4-4 coming into the game after a loss the week before to Portland State. It looked like the Griz were going to be 4-5 and out of the playoff hunt. The Griz returned the botched FG and went on a 3 game regular season winning streak that got them into the playoffs. Had the Michigan State v Michigan game not happened this year, this would have been the craziest ending in football in 2015.
4. Rob Ash axed – Jeff Choate hired as next MSU coach
We at the Mint wrote about this a few weeks before the season ended and after the season ended it actually happened: Rob Ash was let go as coach of the Bobcats. Many Cats fans, surprisingly, thought this was a huge mistake and that he didn’t deserve it. We had pointed out numerous times that Ash’s record in the last 3 years was mediocre and barely over .500 and that it was time for a change. Peter Fields and Waded Cruzado agreed and Jeff Choate entered the picture. Coming over from Pac-12 Washington, Choate will lead the Bobcats into a new era – one where it’s time in many Bobcat fans’ minds to get over the hump and become the elite program that they’ve been so close to being. Hell, just come in and beat the Griz and most Cat fans will be happy. Ash’s record against above average teams was horrible in his tenure so Choate will have to win these games to win over the Cat faithful. With the head coaching change there were many changes to position coaches and coordinators. Co-Defensive coordinator Jaime Marshall was not retained and Tim Cramsey (The Cramster) was also let go after he interviewed for the head coaching job. Kane Ioane was one long-time Bobcat coach that was retained much to the relief of many Bobcat fans.
3. Dakota Prukop becomes Duck-ota Prukop and The Cramster loses his power move
The University of Oregon has a problem developing their own QBs apparently and once again stole a top FCS quarterback under the somewhat bullshit graduate transfer rules. Apparently acting as a FBS farm system, the Big Sky conference lost one of it’s best and most exciting play makers in Dakota Prukop to the Ducks for the second year in a row. Prukop was as exciting as they come and the hole it leaves at QB for the Bobcats is gaping. It’s an unknown that most didn’t think they’d have to worry about until after his senior season. Prukop’s decision seemed to come on the heels of the Bobcats not hiring his boy Tim Cramsey as the head coach after Rob Ash was terminated. The Cramster came out hot after the Ash firing saying he wanted to be the head coach of the Cats, saying his offense was unreal and it was ridiculous the Cats didn’t win more games with the firepower they had, and basically threatening Peter Fields saying he was the only coach Prukop would play for. Well Fields didn’t bow to The Cramster’s threats and chose Choate as the head coach instead. Cramsey is gone and with him the Cats star QB. Good riddance.
2. Griz shock NDSU in Stitt’s first game
What do you get when you take Brent Musberger, ESPN, the only college football game on that day, Washington Grizzly Stadium, and the four time defending FCS champions? An instant classic type of a game. The Griz drove the field on their final possession for the game winning touchdown against NDSU as ash (not Rob) came showering down on the fans from the nearby forest fires. I’m a Cat fan and I was jealous of the scene in Missoula. No one really gave the Griz a shot and thought the game would go the way that their playoff game eventually went, but the Griz came out with Stitt and shocked the FCS world.
1. Griz rock MSU in 115th Brawl of the Wild
Why is this #1? Because this game is always #1. Cat-Griz is annually the biggest party in Montana and at the beginning of the season the polls and even Griz fans were saying it’d be a tough year to beat the Cats. Well, the Griz came into Bobcat Stadium and put it on the Cats. Not shockingly the Griz put up over 50 points as the Bobcats defense struggled again. The Cats had some momentum and started making it interesting until the Griz punter pulled his bitch-move flop and the Griz put the game away with their subsequent touchdown. At the time we didn’t know it’d be Ash’s and Prukop’s last game in the blue and gold and we didn’t know Ty Gregorak would be trading in his maroon and silver. A lot of things changed after this game and Cats fans had to start enduring another 12 months of “little brother” comments.
About the Author
Hot Take Nate Hot Take Nate now resides in Northern California but still calls Montana his home. It'll always be home.
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