Big crowd expected for Bobcats’ opener Thursday
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference was indirectly part of a big upset last week when former Colorado Mines coach Bob Stitt led the Montana Grizzlies to a victory over four-time FCS defending national champion North Dakota State.
Might the NCAA Division II RMAC be connected to another stunner Thursday night when league member Fort Lewis (Colo.) College visits Bozeman to take on the Montana State Bobcats?
Not likely.
The Bobcats of coach Rob Ash are nationally ranked among Football Championship Subdivision teams and expect to contend for the Big Sky Conference championship. The Cats, stacked with the FCS limit of 84 scholarships, meet the Skyhawks, with their division limit of 63, Thursday night at 7 at what is expected to be a sold-out Bobcat Stadium.
It’s the Cats’ “Gold Rush Game,” with MSU fans urged to wear gold in support of their team. The MSU athletic department announced Monday that all 4,100 student tickets were snapped up in two hours and less than 600 single-seat tickets remain available for the game, which will be televised in-state by Cowles Media (KFBB-TV in Great Falls) and out-state by Altitude.
The Bobcats ranked third among all FCS teams in total attendance in 2014, behind North Dakota State and Montana, and have sold a record 9,000 season tickets this season. Capacity at Bobcat Stadium is 20,767. Last fall the Cats averaged 17,777 at home and four times topped the 19,000 mark.
Montana State set school records a year ago for points and total yards and is expected to once again field a potent offense behind veteran junior quarterback Dakota Prukop.
Fort Lewis was 3-8 a year ago, including a 56-14 to a Stitt-coached Colorado Mines team. But Skyhawks’ head coach John L. Smith has an impressive track record and brings some intrigue to the matchup.
Smith’s long head coaching career includes stops at Idaho, Utah State, Louisville, Michigan State and Arkansas. He is 7-15 in two seasons at Fort Lewis, which is located in Durango, Colo.
Fort Lewis has never played the Bobcats very tough. All three previous meetings have been one-sided, with Montana State winning 59-20 (2010), 45-9 (1998) and 58-20 (1993).
Meanwhile, the Bobcats of coach Rob Ash will not be at full strength for their opener after it was announced that three players have been suspended. Defensive backs Khari Garcia and Tre’von Strong, plus linebacker Blake Braun will sit out for unspecified violations of the team’s conduct policy. Garcia and Braun are sophomores and Strong, a former Billings Skyview star, is expected to see the field as a true freshman.
The MSU depth chart released over the weekend lists former Great Falls High star Trace Timmer as a starting cornerback. Former Bison standout Trevor Bolton is the team’s No. 1 punter.
Senior quarterback Jake Bleskin and sophomore offensive lineman Dylan Mahoney, both ex-C.M. Russell High stars, are listed as backups at their respective positions. Bleskin is also a fine punter.