Sports Now -- Brawl of the Wild Special with Fritz Neighbor

Local sports talk from Northwest Montana covering prep sports, Bobcats, Grizzlies and more!

Special thanks to Nomad GCS and Hagadone Media Group Montana for their support.

Check out the Daily Inter Lake on YouTube to watch the show!

Follow the Daily Inter Lake on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with the latest breaking news from the Flathead Valley and beyond.

Hosted by Josh Dugan

Visit DailyInterLake.com to stay up-to-date with the latest breaking news from the Flathead Valley and beyond. Support local journalism and subscribe to us! Watch this podcast and more on our YouTube Channel.

Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a news tip, want to place an ad, or sponsor this podcast? Contact us!

Transcript

All right, I'm joined by the Daily Inter Lake's Fritz Neighbor, who was in attendance for the last two Grizzlies victories. Some steamroll kind of wins for the Griz, Fritz. Big week in Grizzly football, for all the wild, of course. College GameDay, the elephant in the room. It's coming to town. Just to start it out, I did want to get your thoughts on covering football in the state of Montana for so long, just what it means, you know, as a fan of Montana football, what you think it means for these programs?

Oh, no, that's a very cool deal. You know, GameDay has been around a long time, never been in Montana before. There was a big push by the Grizzlies last year, not for Cat-Griz, but for a game a week before. And, you know, we had movie stars and dignitaries putting things on Twitter, saying, "Come to Montana." Didn't work out. I think they went back to Ohio State for the third time that season. But that kind of work. I mean, let's face it, if UCLA had won Saturday night, then the game wouldn't be here. But UCLA's loss kind of pushed it away. And so now, the pod gets to get the crew back there in Bozeman for a great game, a great rivalry, to be the 121st meeting. Both teams are ranked. Montana's playoff hopes, I think, are on the line. So it should be awesome.

Yeah, no doubt. Well said. It's a good thing you mentioned that UCLA game because it really did come down to that late game. It just kind of rolled right into the Cats' favor, and both teams really get to benefit from it. You kind of just mentioned how the Grizzlies have their season on the line. I did want to ask you, looking at the playoff situation and everything, I kind of looked back last year. I did see that I believe two FCS teams had four losses and still snuck into the postseason. Do you think this is kind of a "win and get in" scenario for the Griz? Do you think it's like a "win or go home" kind of a game, or at least they need to have that mindset? Or do you think they could lose a fourth game and possibly sneak into the playoffs?

You know, I think Bobby Howard mentioned it Saturday after their win over Eastern that he thought they were in, win or lose, interesting. But I look at the standings and they're in 6-0. And UC Davis is playing great football and now has to head to Sac State. No, they're not giving me a favorite to beat Sac State, but they've been playing great football. That's Davis wins, they only have three conference losses. The Grizzlies are at four conference losses. Now you're asking the FCS committee to put in six conference losses. I think Idaho gets in. I might be wrong about that too, but I think that'll get them. So yeah, I think the Griz, I think they'd rather control their own destiny and say, "Let's win Saturday against the Bobcats." A lot like last year, the Griz hadn't beaten a team with a winning record until Cat-Griz. This year is the same thing. If they're going to beat a winning team, it's going to have to be on Saturday. And then they're in. 8-3 gets you in. 7-4, I'm not absolutely certain that's going to work.

"I'm right there with you, honestly. I talked about it a little bit earlier, briefly on the other podcast I did, and it's kind of like, do you want to leave it to the committee? Do you want to leave that chance out there? So I agree, I think for safety reasons, the Griz definitely needs this one. You don't want to leave it to chance, even if it's a close game and they lose, you still don't know for sure. So yeah, it's not worth it.

Speaking of the Griz and sitting here trying to fight for the playoffs, the one last thing I for sure wanted to ask you was, can you remember such a roller-coaster season for the Griz, where they started out with all these expectations, championship hype, preseason player accolades, and now it all comes down to a kind of the last week? You gotta kind to win to make the playoffs. So it's kind of been a roller coaster. Just seeing if anything comes to your mind that's been similar in the past.

In 2010, Rob Ash took over, so Bobby Hauck left for UNLV. And if they had beaten the Bobcats that year, they would have been in, and they fumbled twice inside the five-yard line and kept them out of the playoffs. The same thing not that long ago, Bobby's first year back. They fumbled inside the five and lost to the Bobcats. That was a weird year where they repeatedly had big leads and couldn't hold on to them. It just kind of beat them at the end. It happened three or four times that year.

The other one I can think of that this year reminds me most of is 1990, which I know it's a long time ago, but I'm old. And I was just starting work at The Missoulian. They were number two in the nation, and we had really high hopes. They'd been a semifinalist the year before, and they blew a three-score lead against Idaho State at home in the last seven minutes of the game. And it just tanked them. That number two ranking never treated the Griz very well. In fact, they were number two this year when they lost to Idaho. So 1990, 2018, and 2010, it happens. I mean, the sun has shined on the Griz a lot of years, and this is one of those years where, is it going to happen or not? We don't know for sure.

Yeah, no, well said. Thank you for that. And I think that's a good way to put it. Is the sun going to shine or not? Because it's been a couple of weeks, it's been shining pretty well, and then there's a couple of gloomy weeks. So it's really one of those things heading into the final week of the season, you don't know fully what to expect. If this team's fully healthy with Lucas Johnson, they're different. So there are a lot of factors involved. But I just wanted to get some context there, because there was so much preseason hype for it to potentially end without a playoff appearance would definitely be a little bit of a letdown. You know, we're going to wait and see what happens Saturday. I'm excited to see it. But if there's anything else you want to get to, Fritz, if not, that was great. Thank you for your time.

"Yeah, no, I just, uh, that'll be interesting. I mean, seven to four teams get in at 7-4 with the 2014 field, so that helps. It was a 16-team field. I'd say, you know, gotta win. Yeah, now, now I just, you know, it greatly helps themselves with the win. And I think it's possible the Bobcats have a great offense and not a very good defense. Um, who is the vice versa, a really good defense, at least against teams with losing records. And, uh, an offense that's kind of hit and miss. So, it'll be a great Saturday. 100 Styles make fights, and it's so true. The one team has the kind of an elite defense versus the elite offense. It's like, who rolls out their best hand on Saturday? That's what's going to come down to, maybe who makes a couple of plays. So, no, that's awesome. Thank you, Fritz. And from my understanding, I think you're going to be out there Saturday. Hopefully, you make it out there and have a great time. That should be an exciting one."

"Yeah, hopefully, I'll be able to talk afterward. It's got a cold today, so sorry about that. But no worries. Yeah, I'm sure your voice is going to be feeling it after yelling on Saturday too. So, you'll be, that'll be fun, but well worth it. Yes, sir. All right, well, thank you, Fritz. Much appreciated. Thank you for your time. And you have a great rest of your day. All right, man. See ya. All right, thanks, Fritz. Epic stuff as always from Fritz. We'll get to a couple of quotes from Bobby Halk and a couple of quotes from Brent Vegan. Get a little more depth. I'll add some commentary to that, and wrap up our 'For All the Wild' preview for the 'Inter Lake Sports' now. To watch the full YouTube version of the regular 'Inter Lake Sports' now, we got the prep roundup, we got all that fun stuff. And then I did a 'Grazing Cats' preview. Had to add a little more depth. Had to get Fritz on here. Had to get his opinion. So, definitely well worth it. 

We'll keep this one roll. We'll get some quotes in here. We'll get some fun stuff. Thank you all for checking it out. And thank you again to Fritz for toughing it out, and making it on here. He was covering back-to-back games in cold weather. That Cal Poly game was the snow game, you know? So, I mean, it's understandable. We lose our voice after those two. But, so we'll see what happens Saturday. But shout out Fritz, shout out everybody watching. We'll keep this one rocking and rolling. All right, thanks again to Fritz for joining us, and taking the time to make that phone call. As I said, much appreciated. I've joked about before, the walking encyclopedia of Grizzlies knowledge. Learned a lot of Grizzlies football from that guy, a lot of Montana football. Hope you did too, like I said before.

Now, let's get to a couple of words from each team's coach. We'll talk about Grizlies first. We'll get some quotes from Bobby Hauck, and then we'll get some quotes from Brent Vigen of Montana State. Afterward, kind of round this Brawl of the Wild preview episode out. Alright, first we're gonna get a quote from Bobby Hauck

"This is on the team's most recent win over Eastern Washington and how he thinks that has earned them a playoff spot. Sure, it was great to get a dominating win over Eastern. I thought we played well in all three phases. There are some things we need to do better. We gave up too many yards. We were very good on third down on offense, and I didn't think we punted it well. So, we'll keep working on everything, trying to be better. But that win puts us in the playoffs, I think. So now we can just get on and get ready for the next one. God, I like the confidence from Coach Hauck.

I just talked about that with Fritz a little bit. On the fence, I wouldn't leave it to the committee. But hey, the head coach has been doing this for a while. I'm guessing if anybody wants to get in there, it's him. He must feel confident. And that might be a little way kind of saying in the press, 'Hey, you know, we're getting in for sure,' as almost like a message to the FCS playoff committee. Like, 'Hey, I'm confident. We just blew out Eastern Washington. We blew out Cal Poly. What's the question, man? We're in.' So, a very confident statement from Coach Hauck."

"Moving along, this was his statement when asked about the team's health. Lucas Johnson, starting quarterback, has been dealing with some injury. Left in the second half of last week's game, and missed some time earlier this year. Here's what Coach Hauck had to say about the Grizlies' health as a team and Johnson, in particular, when asked. 'For me personally, I'm good. I had a cold a couple of weeks ago and am feeling great. You know, we're really hoping that everybody will be ready to play this weekend. That's where we are on Monday at 2, whatever it is. So, we're hoping everybody will be ready to go.' Obviously, Coach Hauck didn't exactly throw the ship at you and tell you exactly how the injury log is looking or anything like that. But the intention is for everybody to play. That's the game plan heading into the week. 

And that's a big time for the Grizzlies because they're a different team with Lucas Johnson on the field. I've said that time and time again. You want your guy on the field in the biggest game of the season with the potential playoffs on the line. Daniel Britt looked really good in cleanup duty and relief duty, whatever you want to call it, last week. Garbage time's a lot different than the rivalry game against your biggest opponent with the playoffs on the line. So, definitely want Johnson on the field. It's a good sign that Coach Hauck at least hinted that the team is ready to play. And it's good that he's feeling better too. Apparently, he had a cold. So, it was worth throwing that out there. A little bit funny, but too funny."

"Alright, keep it moving. This is what Coach Hauck had to say about the rivalry game. 'Good stuff. In terms of the rivalry game, you know, I know they're well coached. Coach Vegan does a great job, man. He's a good coach, he's a good man. I have a lot of respect for him and how he does it. He'll have them ready to go. I'm excited about this game. I love playing down there. I just always have. I think I saw my first college football game there and have always really enjoyed it. We've played well lately. We're going to need to play well again in order to have a chance to win this game. I assume we'll be an underdog in the game, but we've beaten this opponent 73 times in the history of this rivalry, and outside of Nebraska's 91 over Kansas, I don't know if there's a Division I team with more wins over one opponent. So, we kind of have a feeling like we ought to win this game too.' That was a nice little start, very friendly, and then ended with, 'Yeah, but you know, we've kind of been the little brother to Montana State for a while.' So, Coach Hauck had to throw the record in there, but it's very true. Montana State is a good team. They're going to have to bring it this week. But hey, I mean, history's history. Can't knock them for bringing it up. And at the same time, we've got to live in the moment. It's a big week. This is when it matters most. But that's a pretty remarkable stat, though. Interesting stuff."

"Alright, let's get to a little bit now from the head coach of Montana State, Brett Vegan. Here's a quote from Brett Vegan about the game day being in town, the energy, and the exposure related to the program and the game in general. 'Well, I know the exposure piece is huge. The energy here for the Cat-Griz in our stadium, how much it'll add to that, I don't know. I mean, I would imagine this is my first home game in the rivalry. I imagine the energy is pretty high anyways. So, if it brings some more people out here, it'll dial it up a little bit. But the exposure, you know, that's so hard to quantify. So, you know, thankful that it has gotten to this position where they chose to come here and shine the light on the rivalry, on our conference, Bozeman, MSU.

 Everything. It's going to be a great thing for our fans and our people.' Coach Vegan said that really well in the sense that the energy is going to be there. Everybody knew that energy was going to be there regardless. It's a rivalry game. The student body is going to go crazy, the alumni are going to be pumped, and the fans in general are going to be wild. Now, the exposure element from College GameDay was my first thought as well. I was like, it's great to celebrate the sport in Montana and the love for football, but both of these programs can benefit from showing off the passion there is for football in the state of Montana. When you're looking at FCS schools, it's very hard to find a level of fan engagement and passion across the board that we have in the state from the two teams and the fan bases. Their programs, they're all in.

"So, similar to North Dakota State and South Dakota State, who have been on GameDay in the past, North Dakota State over the years they've slowly but surely built that brand up, become more of a national face. When you think of FCS Powerhouse, you think of North Dakota State. Being on a show like GameDay helps.

This is an opportunity for Montana State and Montana, both the Grizzlies and the Bobcats, to put their face out there, put their name out there, and show that they have a wild fan base who loves football. It's a state that loves the sport, and if you play football here, you have a chance to be a little bit of a Montana legend if you go out there in the Brawl of the Wild game and make a name for yourself. So, I think players, watching potential prep recruits out there around the country, what do you do Saturday morning when you wake up? You throw on college football, College GameDay. The national audience is going to be watching this one. 

It's great for both programs. I think Coach Vegan said it best, and I'm just excited to see it. You know, it's hard to quantify as Coach said, but who knows six months from now when people are signing their letter of intent to pick where to go to school. They start thinking, 'Should I go to the school close to home, maybe not as engaged in the sport, maybe not as into it?' Yeah, they've been talking to me for a while, but wow, I just got an offer from one of those Montana schools where they go buck wild and get rowdy and have fun at the games. That can sell you. So, I think it's big. The exposure is huge, and I'm happy for both programs and football in the state."

"One last quote from Coach Vegan about the opportunity to host this game and what it means to have home-field advantage. 'Playing at home, no matter who you play, and you dial it up on this game and you're playing at home versus in their stadium, I do think there's certainly a different feel. But at any rate, in either place, you can't let the moment get too big. You know, it's still got to be between the white lines. The environment around you, I think you can feed off the emotion. But ultimately, if you can't focus on what's happening in any particular play, then all that is is a bad influence. So, I think our guys have done a good job of playing within our home environment and letting it be an asset to us, and we'll need it to be on Saturday.' Well said, Coach, well said."

"When you think about it, the Bobcats have won 17 straight home games, an FCS-leading streak. There is a lot of pressure on the line, and honestly, that has to be calming a little bit for Bobcat Nation, and Bobcat fans. I did mention it on our other 'Brawl of the Wild' preview on the full episode of The Daily Inter Lake. Now you can go catch that on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you're getting your podcast. That was my concern for Montana State. At home, there's going to be a lot of noise around the game. Now, it's 'College GameDay' here. How do you respond? How do you leave it on the gridiron? Take it one play at a time mindset. But to hear Coach Vegan bring that kind of calm element, and focus on the game, clearly, he is not ready to get into the circus. It does not sound like he's worried about the shenanigans involved with 'GameDay' and all that.

"He is worried about coaching, coaching up his squad, having them ready to play. And that's what it's all about. Initially, when you think of a bunch of college athletes, ESPN's in town. There's a lot going on. It's easy to be distracted.

Usually, leadership starts at the top when you have that head coach with a calming presence going into that game. I think it says a lot, and I think that's going to help the Bobcats. So, that home-field advantage. Definitely, well said, Coach Vegan.

And of course, that calming element, to me, is big. It's easy to, kind of like he said, feed off the emotions of the crowd and the hype and all this. Especially with Game Day in town, one of the oldest rivalries in the country, you need to really be able to shake that off. We're all human. You can't totally shake it off. You're gonna get that adrenaline pump, and you're gonna have that momentum, that energy running through the veins.
At the end of the day, in a game like this, it comes down to who makes the fewer mistakes. And that's the problem with being juiced up like that. You get too pumped up, you get a little too fired up. Your game turns a little too emotional. Let me rack off that extra three or four yards rather than slide. In those kinds of moments, you need to be able to contain those emotions and stay focused. And that's going to be crucial for both teams.

So, well said, coaching. That'll pretty much do it for this Brawl in the Wild preview. I can't wait. College Game Day's in town. It's gonna be an absolute madhouse Saturday morning in Bozeman. So, whoever's out there, if you have some video and want to tag me on Twitter at Jdugan406, I'll gladly include it in next week's episode of Inter Lake Sports Now. Because we'd love to get some footage of the party out there. It's gonna be a good time. Happy with both programs.

And basically, to wrap it up, where I leave it as I said before, I said this on the Inter Lake Sports Now this week. You think of nationally, these big football states. People love to say Texas or Alabama. I think the passion for football in the state of Montana is right up there. And for it to get that national exposure is going to put a lot of eyes on these two programs. Maybe in the immediate future, you don't see anything in the next month or two. But look, six months from now, a year from now, once they've hosted that Game Day, if it's a success, guess what? ESPN might be back for the Brawl in the Wild again. Because it was such a hit.

"The more eyes you see on that rivalry, the kids want to play in a game like that. They want to play in an atmosphere like that. And considering the fact that the Grizzlies probably really need that one to seal a playoff spot, that game's gonna have a little bit of extra juice. Both teams are going to leave it all on the line, as they already would in the rivalry game.
To sum it up, I think this is great for the sport. I think nationally, it's going to help with recruiting. It's going to help put eyes on these two programs. And, you know, maybe we build even a little more of a cult following because, at the end of the day, people love energy, people love passion, and people love authenticity. And I'll say Montana football is pretty dang authentic because people leave their heart into it. They love it. And these kids are about to leave it all on the field this weekend.

So, let's not get lost in the madness at all. Let's give credit to those athletes, win or lose, on both sides because they're the ones going out there and putting on the show. The coaching staff saw them, so major credit to both the Grizzlies and Bobcats squads. They both put themselves in a position for this game to be extra meaningful, with the Bobcats potentially looking to get a playoff bye and the Grizzlies looking for that playoff spot. So, they both did their jobs leading up to the end of the season. Now, we all get to enjoy it.

Let's make sure to give those players, coaches, and programs the recognition they deserve. So, awesome stuff this week. Thank you to everybody for watching. Thanks again to Fritz for taking the time to power through and make that phone call. I know he was dealing with a little bit of a lost voice, and now he's going out to the Griz and Bobcats game in Bozeman this week. And I have a feeling it's gonna be kind of loud, and you're gonna need to do some yelling out there. So, we're rooting for you, Fritz. I feel you. It's gonna be a lot of energy out there. It's gonna be loud out there. So, I'm sure he'll be doing some more yelling.

But that being said, thank you to everybody for watching. Thank you to Nomad for helping power Inter Lake Sports Now. And thank you to Hagadone Media Group Montana for helping make this happen. Everybody out there, you have a good one. Enjoy the Brawl of the Wild. Who knows what we're going to be talking about next week? Hopefully, we're talking about a Grizzlies playoff berth and Montana State's got a good matchup. We want to keep this show rolling. Maybe, who knows, maybe the two meet up again in the playoffs. I'm sure, you know, FCS College Game Day playoffs, maybe round two, two in one year. All right, I'm jumping the gun. I'll slow down. We'll live in the moment as Coach Vegan said. You gotta handle your business. I'm jumping ahead here.

So, thank you, everybody. Have a great day. Enjoy the game. Fun stuff. We'll see how it goes."