The Miracle in Missoula

After an up-and-down year, The Cats entered the 2018 Brawl of the Wild looking to claim their third straight Cat-Griz win and keep the Great Divide trophy in Bozeman. With the state title on the line and a year’s worth of bragging rights, the Cats completed one of the most miraculous comebacks in Brawl of the Wild history.

After a rocky start, the Bobcats gained possession late in the second quarter staring at 22 point deficit. Sophomore quarterback Troy Andersen guided the Cats down the field and punched in a touchdown to gain some momentum before halftime bringing the score to 22-7.

A slow third quarter saw the score remain the same until the fourth quarter rolled its first seconds off the clock. With 14:24 to go, the Cats reached double digits on Andersen’s second touchdown of the game followed by a successful two-point conversion to bring the Cats within seven at 22-15. The Griz didn’t go away without a fight as they kicked a successful field goal to extend their lead to 10. A mere minute and forty-five seconds later, Andersen found his way into the end zone for the third time, the Cats closed to within three.

On the Grizzlies next possession, senior linebacker Grant Collins forced a fumble to give the Cats great field position at the UM 35 yard line. Under three minutes later, senior running back Logan Jones sucked the life out of Washington-Grizzly stadium as he scampered in from 13 yards out to take the lead 29-25.The defense held the mantra of “bend, don’t break” in the final minutes when the Grizzlies moved their way down to the MSU one-yard line with only nine seconds to go in the game. Following a Grizzly timeout, the Cats called the most important time-out of the year. Although Choate’s timeout was called in time the Grizzlies still ran their play, which would have resulted in a touchdown. On the Grizzlies’ next actual play, senior tackle Tucker Yates found his way through the offensive line and forced the most memorable fumble of the year. Junior defensive tackle Derek Marks recovered the ball and pandemonium ensued. The Bobcats entered victory formation and ran out the clock for their third consecutive Brawl of the Wild victory.

Affectionately titled “The Miracle in Missoula,” the 118th meeting between the two teams lived up to the hype. Andersen pushed his Big Sky Conference leading rushing touchdown total to 19 and came within just one of the single-season record for rushing touchdowns at MSU. The victory also granted MSU their first FCS playoff berth since 2014.