MISSOULA — In a brawl, two adversaries attempt to inflict pain on one another.
This was not a brawl, but rather a mauling — one-sided, brutal and definitive.
In front of a record crowd at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, with a chance to earn a piece of the Big Sky championship and bury an archrival’s postseason dreams while solidifying its own, Montana State instead turned the ball over on five of its first six possessions. The Grizzlies turned those mistakes into five first-half scores, and then rode its fierce defense to an emphatic 34-7 win. “We shut them down dominantly,” proclaimed Montana head coach Mick Delaney, who Monday announced he was retiring at the conclusion of this season. “[Montana State is] a good football team, but our guys came with a purpose and a focus. They prepared every single minute they had this past week; they knew what they had to do, … and they executed the game plan in all three phases with almost perfection.” With the loss, the No. 12 Bobcats (8-4 overall, 6-2 Big Sky) finish tied for second in the conference with No. 13 Montana (8-4, 6-2) and Idaho State. Instead of locking up a certain postseason berth with a win, MSU will not learn its fate until this morning’s FCS selection show. MSU head coach Rob Ash thinks his team should be in. “Absolutely,” he said. “If we hang onto the ball we can play with anybody in the country. I believe that very sincerely.” The problem for the ’Cats on this night, as light precipitation fell through the first half, was that they failed to hang onto the ball on more than half of their possessions.