Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a five-part series previewing Montana State’s off-season as Jeff Choate and his staff prepare for their second season.
MISSOULA — The night before the 116th battle between Montana State and Montana, MSU head coach Jeff Choate capped a week-long series of speakers brought in to inspire his team with two men who have been a part of the fierce rivalry for as long as any contemporary subjects.
Sure, Kane Ioane and Ty Gregorak are both on Choate’s coaching staff. But few know the modern history of the rivalry better than one of the greatest Bobcats of all time and a man who spent 12 of the last 13 years roaming the sidelines in Missoula.
Throughout the week leading up to Choate’s first showdown with the Griz, he invited former Bobcats like Brad Daws, Ty O’Connor and Evan Groves to come speak to his team. He wanted his players to truly understand the full magnitude of the rivalry. You’d be hard pressed to find two men who understand the meaning of the matchup more than Ioane, a four-time All-American safety for the Bobcats from 2000 until 2003 and a coach at his alma mater ever since, or Gregorak, MSU’s first-year defensive coordinator who wore the same hat for 12 successful seasons in Missoula starting in Ioane’s senior year.
MSU head coach Jeff Choate celebrates with wide receiver Mitch Herbert
“I thought as a coaching staff, we did a really good job last week of explaining and coaching and teaching exactly what the magnitude of this game is,” Gregorak said in a press conference on November 21. “A couple of us had been in it a lot of years, some of us had never been in it. That’s true with the players too. There were some kids who have played in four and some that had no idea.
“Coach brought Kane and I up to the Hilton Garden Inn down on Reserve Street and we both shared exactly our feelings on the game. We had guys come in all week telling them about their experiences, former players. It was awesome, such a merry mix of old-school, new-school, that mid-generation that is 10 years out. I thought our kids were 100 percent dialed into the plan, the mission and went out and executed it very well.”
Coaching on the opposing sideline for the first time in a stadium where he helped the Griz win eight Big Sky Conference championships, Gregorak’s Montana State defense gave up a 58-yard touchdown on UM’s first play from scrimmage. Then the Bobcats didn’t give up anything for most of the next three quarters. Montana’s up-tempo offense managed just two first-half first downs and ran just 20 plays before intermission. The MSU lead swelled to 24-7 as the Bobcats kept getting stops and kept running the ball with authority, eventually rolling up 368 rushing yards and possessing the ball for 38:10 in a 24-17 victory, Montana State’s first since 2012.
“It was incredible,” Gregorak said. “It’s one of the best venues in all the land at our level. I saw a lot of people and I think someone yelled ‘traitor’ from the crowd but other than that, everyone was awesome. It’s a great rivalry. When asked how I would be received, I said, ‘We will be received like every Bobcat is: probably not real well.
“It was interesting, no question, to coach an opposing team there, the hated rival…and to give up seven points like that. But once we settled in, what an experience.”
MSU defensive end Derek Marks (95) celebrates a TFL with linebacker Josh Hill (58)
Montana’s explosive offense entered the rivalry game averaging 41.7 points and 500 yards per game. UM had scored at least 62 points in each of its last three home games, a program record. A spread passing attack predicated on pushing the tempo while spreading the field both horizontally and vertically added an inside run game this fall that was averaging 160 yards through its first 10 contest.
Montana State didn’t allow much of anything. Aside from the first play of the game and a 37-yard completion in the second quarter from senior quarterback Brady Gustafson to sophomore wide receiver Keenan Curran, Gustafson managed 14 other completions for just 97 yards. Sophomore tailback Jeremy Calhoun did not play in the first half and his 51 yards on eight carries after halftime helped boost UM’s rushing stats, but the Griz managed just 113 yards on the ground. All told, Montana notched 13 first downs, including just two before halftime, and totaled 305 yards of offense on 59 plays.
“I think our players were well prepared to what they were going to see and get,” Gregorak said. “We worked hard as a coaching staff to give them the information as to where they were lining up.
“We studied a lot as a coaching staff to see some things. (Montana head coach Bob Stitt) does what he does. His offense is his offense. I thought we did a good job defending the formations and seeing the pictures and mixing and matching things, most of which we had shown. I heard in their press conference how much man (coverage) we played but we only called about 11, 12 plays of man. We were doing a good job of mixing and matching zones. I think the kids did a really good job.”
Montana State redshirt freshman linebacker Josh Hill won Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for notching eight tackles, grabbing an interception and forcing a fumble. MSU allowed the Griz to convert just 2-of-12 third down tries. Leading 24-14, Gustafson hit Curran in the flat on a third down and he was tackled on the two-yard line. MSU redshirt freshman safety Brayden Konkol and senior defensive tackle Matt Brownlow stuffed the 6-foot-7 Gustafson on the ensuing fourth down try.
MSU quarterback Chris Murray (8) dives
Doesn’t surprise me,” Choate said of the game Gregorak called following the victory, MSU’s fourth in 2016. “He’s a very good defensive coach and he has been one of the best defensive coaches in this league for awhile. It had nothing to do with the fact he was at the University of Montana. When I asked him to come on board here, it’s because I knew he was one of the better guys in the league and I knew we had ground to make up in that phase.”
Following Montana State’s upset win — the Bobcats denied the Griz a playoff berth while posting their second straight win after six consecutive Big Sky defeats — emotions ran high on the Washington-Grizzly Stadium turf. Many of the Montana State players celebrated on the Griz logo on the middle of the field to the ire of several UM players. After a few obscene gestures by Montana State’s defensive backs, a scuffle broke out. Many players pushed, shoved and tried to throw punches. Both coaching staffs, running backs coaches Justin Green and Michael Pitre chief among them, broke up the fight and the teams went their separate ways.
“I shook Coach Stitt’s hand, wanted to make sure we got our hands on that (Great Divide) trophy but I know there was some pushing and shoving,” Choate said. “They probably didn’t appreciate some of our guys on the logo and I get that. They want to protect their turf. It’s a rivalry game and emotions are going to run high but I thought the coaching staffs did a good job of minimizing that. That’s part of the game.”
Emotions were high before the game as well, particularly for a group of MSU coaches making their Cat-Griz debuts. Defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander, a five-year NFL safety out of Boise State who is in his second full season as a full-time college coach, appeared before the game wearing no shirt in an effort to inspire his players on an unusually warm (read: 39 degrees) November day in Missoula.
“I just shake my head and laugh,” Choate said. “I was like, ‘Gosh, I wish some of our guys looked like that (laughs).’ He did the same thing a couple of years ago when we were in Pullman (with Washington playing against Washington State) and it was like 17 degrees and minus-30 wind chill. It was like the coldest Apple Cup ever played. It’s kind of a mindset. But we come out and I was like, ‘It’s 40 degrees and sunshine, GA. We are alright, bud.’ I love Gerald and I think he has done a great job with our guys on that back end. He brings that passion and emotion as a young coach. When he’s my age (46), he’ll keep his shirt on (laughs).”
MSU lineman Caleb Gillis (73) and Monte Folsom (54) celebrate with the Great Divide trophy
Choate talked of his knowledge of the rivalry first cultivated during his time as a linebacker at Montana Western in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mick Dennehy and Mick Delaney, two former UM head coaches, are two of Choate’s primary mentors. Choate employed an array of tactics to ready his players and his coaching staff before the game. He then went out and led his team to the biggest win of his young head coaching career.
“It was a great environment,” Choate said. “I was really pleased with the way our kids played. Stuck to the script, didn’t deviate, didn’t flinch, missed some opportunities, didn’t back down. Seeing some frustrations from over the year culminate and come to a head with a really special win to send these seniors out in a positive way and provide some momentum for us.
“I thought it was better than what I thought it would be. You felt the passion and the energy. It was a big-time ball game. That’s one of the really cool things about playing football and Montana State or Montana is this rivalry. It was definitely a special deal and looking forward to many more.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
