Sports Now - Griz and Bobcats FCS Playoff Preview w/ Fritz Neighbor

Fritz Neighbor of the Daily Inter Lake joins the show once again to help breakdown the Griz matchup with FCS power and defending national champion North Dakota State as well as the Bobcats rematch with Big Sky foe Weber St. Plus, a look at the FCS playoff bidding process and the lack of transparency involved.

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

Hosted by Josh Dugan
Check out the Daily Inter Lake on YouTube to watch the show!

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

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

Welcome back! I'm joined by Fritz Neighbor of the Daily Inter Lake. We're going to talk a little bit of Grizzly football, a little Bobcats football, and maybe a little FCS playoff in general. Today is a playoff preview special. Thank you to Fritz for taking the time to join us. Fritz, you were at that Grizzly comeback last weekend versus SEMO, one for the ages. I just wanted to get your thoughts on that one first. I'll give you the floor to tell us how that one was because I gotta imagine the energy was pretty low before that kick returned by Malik Flowers, and then all of a sudden, it was a different ball game. So I just kind of want to give you the floor for that one for a sec.

Yeah, and you know, I'm old enough to remember when they played South Dakota State in '09, and a lot of the same things happened. It was really bad for the Griz. Not much went right. South Dakota State came out in the second half in '09 and threw a long gain of 64 yards, something like that. They scored and it went forward 48-21. So you're thinking, "That's it." A friend of mine left the stadium that day. But by the time he got to his truck in the parking lot, the cannon was already coming out because Mark Mariani had taken a kickoff back to the house. 

Fast forward 13 years, first-round game down big at halftime, give up a long drive to start the third quarter, to fall 24-7. And then next thing you know, you know, and part of it is that they had to kick from their own 20 because of a personal foul. But they had no choice but to kick it deep and let Malik Flowers catch it. And then the script flipped right then. Yeah, history writes itself. You can't write it any better. The Mariani return, I did see that all over Twitter, going viral. Everybody bringing that up. And like you said, to be down 48-21 and to make a comeback, and then a couple, you know, however, many years later to do it again, is pretty special. I did want to ask, when Junior Bergen returned that punt if that was kind of how electric it was in the stadium, was the decibels going off the Richter there? I just gotta imagine that one brought the house down.

Yeah, you know, the stadium was fairly half-full. They usually don't draw great, and there's even a smaller crowd than you usually get on Thanksgiving weekend. It's been quite a few Thanksgiving playoff games at Washington-Grizly Stadium, not that late and maybe not that cold. But, you know, 13,390 sounded a lot more, sounded like a lot more people than that when Bergen got loose. And that was one difference between the '09 game and the '22 game, is that the Griz got two special teams touchdowns this past Saturday and needed them really, and that, you know, the second one, not only the score, but I think gave them the momentum that they'd been lacking up to that point.

Yeah, I did feel like that kind of was the stamp they needed, like, okay, we're back, we're in this game, and we can win this one. And I'm sure Coach Bobby Hauck has to love that, being a special teams guy, it came down to the special teams even making a couple of plays. So I'm sure that'll have him happy. As far as that matchup with the Bison, I know that historically, it is one of the toughest matchups at the FCS level.

Um, I just wanted to lead into it a little bit. I did want to mention, I'm sure you're aware of it, but the star fullback for the Bison, Hunter Loop K loop key (I might have said that wrong), he's gonna be out with a shoulder injury. And they are going to be missing five starters from the regular season, a couple of reports that I've read said. So maybe the Griz were catching them at the right time. They did have a couple of mutual opponents this year, Indiana State and South Dakota, and the Griz had more convincing wins. Now, all that being said, when the ball drops on Saturday, that all changes. So I just wanted to ask you, how do you see the Griz going out to the Fargo Dome and competing? And just kind of how do you think this one goes with the momentum on their side?

You know, it's... I don't know if there's ever a good time to catch NDSU. Well, they've been so good for the last 11 seasons. But if there is one, this might be it. Three kids hit the transfer portal before their first playoff game. Two of them played a lot. Then they lose Loopy. You know, they didn't have Loopy for their last regular season game, which was their cross-town or cross-state rival North Dakota. And all he did was run. You know, their quarterback ran for four touchdowns and got 201 combined yards from their two tailbacks. And I don't know, their offensive line is everything as good or better than MSU's. They'll run that plus one rushing attack, you know, run the quarterback at a wildcat as an extra blocker. It's gonna be tough. It's an NDSU team that has an NFL quarterback. No, Liberty was probably the best pro prospect. Is their best pro prospect. But they're still NDSU. They're 9-2. They're not the powerhouse they have been in the past. But playing at home, I don't know, it's a tall hill.

Yeah, with a team like that, as you said, they have all the experience on their side in the playoffs. They have guys who've been there. They have a system that works. I do think it's interesting how you mention their quarterback or their running back without Loopy. And then all of a sudden, they just keep running it right down teams' throats. It reminds me a little bit of the Bobcats, how earlier this year, Tommy Malott missed some time, and what happened? Sean Chambers plugs in and plays and does the same thing. So, no, the system's there, the coaching's there. Like you said, probably not ever the right time to catch them, especially at home. So the Griz are gonna have to hit a couple of home runs early and get a jump out to a lead. It feels like if they get behind against that running game, it's going to be a tough day.

I did want to ask you a couple of Bobcat's things if there was any other grid stuff you want to mention or go over first, though. Feel free if not, just a couple of Bobcats questions. But, you know, the one big thing you could take out of last week's grid game is that they found their playmakers in the second half. It's been a frustrating offense to watch all year because, you know, Cole Grossman was so good last year. You figured he'd have 40 or 50 catches.

Uh, you cut his fifth touchdown pass on Saturday and he's come on for the third game in a row, but he's only had 25 catches. I think Mitch Roberts is the only guy with more than 27 catches. So, the Griz, when I see them every day, they have better quarterbacks this year than they did last year. So, something's not connecting, but then every so often, as in the second half against SEMO, it did connect, you know? And they started finding the playmakers, including Junior Bergen, Cole Grossman, and Keelan White. And there's a lot of talent on that team offensively. And they all need to get found, you know? They need to hook up with those guys to get some points on the board to beat NDSU.

Yeah, definitely. And it's like you said, I mean when it clicks, it clicks for that offense. The potential is there. It's just the consistency hasn't been there. When you look at some of those scores they put up on teams, I mean, they've run it up on a couple of teams. They put up a huge second half last week. So maybe, you know, they can watch that film, find that groove because it has been there at times. It just hasn't been consistent all season long.

Now, as far as the Bobcats, I did want to ask you about this matchup versus Weber State on the horizon. I mean, the Bobcats have been rolling. But when you're playing a team for the second time, a conference foe, it kind of turns up the temperature a little bit. There's so much film to study. I'm just kind of curious if now it might be like North Dakota State, like you just mentioned, where their run game is so good it doesn't matter. But I wanted to ask you, do you think the Wildcats can have the wrinkles in their game if Weber State does stop that running game or at least contain it?

Yeah, that first Weber State contest was so weird. Weird stuff keeps happening to Weber State. A lot of fumbled snaps, and jailbreak punt snaps, and four of them against the Bobcats led to eight points and a safety. So they lost by five. They dropped a certain touchdown pass late in that game. On the other side, I don't think MSU had a worse game on defense and special teams this season. In fact, on offense, their first pass was intercepted, then they started running wild, especially Tommy Malott. But at some point in that game, late in the second quarter, things started to click for the Cats. And they have played good football. I know they gave up two touchdowns at the end of that first Weber game, but in the three or four games they've had since, they've just been solid in all phases. That tends to make me want to pick them again. 

There's a pretty good history in the Big Sky Conference that when two teams meet in the playoffs, the opposite outcome happens from the first time. And this time, MSU won the first one, so history would tell you Weber State's got the advantage. But I just didn't like the way Montana State played the first time. I think they've been playing so much better since then. I still think they're the pick.

Yeah, no, that's well said. And, you know, I kind of felt the same way. It's an interesting thing about the Big Sky and conference play there because it is so interesting. When the first team wins in the regular season, it's often that in the playoffs, the other team gets them because they know a little bit more of their hand, maybe they're a little motivated, whatever it may be. But I do think that's worth mentioning. It's true.

And then Sean Chambers, I think he was out of that Weber State game. He'll be back for the Bobcats in this one. That could be a difference-maker as well. One other thing I wanted to get to, if there's any other Bobcat stuff you had, I did want to ask you about. Feel free to throw that out there whenever.

But I also wanted to ask you about the FCS playoff bidding thing that's been going around social media a little. I did see you had a little column on that. Just if you wanted to kind of tell the audience a little bit about some of the drama with the bidding and the interesting way they've been doing things and why people are up in arms.

Yeah, well, I think everybody in Grand Forks, North Dakota, is up in arms because they've bid significantly more than Weber State did. And both teams are unseeded, and Weber State hosts. And Weber State might have, probably should have, been seeded, but they're not. So they took everybody's expectations and a lot of history and just threw it out the window and said, 'Yeah, Weber hosts.' And they did 40 grand, which I think is the minimum, went a little bit higher than that. And the issue comes in with North Dakota State bidding 127,000 and doesn't help.

So it begs the question, what are they doing here, and why is the system still in place? None of these playoff games are real money-makers, except with a possible exception of NDSU and U of M. I imagine the Alerus Center in Grand Forks would have drawn pretty well. Weber State drew 400 people. That's... I don't know. I just think that it's such a great subdivision, with a lot of good football, and the NCAA just wanted to make a little extra buck here and there and is kind of taking a little bit too much away from the product on the field.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'll be honest, I was kind of unaware of how much the money impacted all the moving factors with the bidding and how to get a home game. And I just wanted to ask you because I do think it's so strange that you have a 'non-profit' organization, the NCAA, making a lot of money at the FBS level and throughout college basketball. And then here, they have smaller schools at the FCS level bidding for their playoff. It's just a weird format. Why not let regular season results speak for themselves?

So I kind of wanted to give you that floor, mention that, because I did think that was kind of a strange way to shake out the end of the season. If you're North Dakota, you think you're going to be hosting based on, like you said, the history. And then, yeah, so maybe they'll look at it moving forward. But I had to ask you about it. Weird stuff.
Yeah, yeah, and you know, I'm still kind of conflicted and a little bit confused.

"You know, you read the NCAA keeps 95% of the ticket sales. Well, then how does somebody who underwrites a bid for, say, U of M get that money back? And I know NCAA redistributes the money from playoffs, like the NCAA basketball tournament. But it's just kind of confusing, and you can get conflicting signs of what's going to happen. I think it'd be better off seating one through 16 or even one through 24. And then they've been talking about expanding it in 2014. Like, please don't, you know? Just let's get this tournament squared away and make everybody think and feel like you're on a level playing field and go from there.

Yeah, no, well said, Fritz. That's great insight there. I think it's so crucial to have something like that with the postseason play be a fair process. You know, when teams are leaving it on the line all year. And then even, you know, the Griz, you could argue, you know, they were lucky to host a playoff game due to this system. But they probably should have been playing at CMO for that one. But hey, that's how the cookie crumbles, I guess.

But no, that was great stuff today, Fritz. I'm looking forward to these two matchups. If there's anything else you want to throw out there, go for it. If not, thank you so much.
Yeah, I'm just looking forward to Saturday. Heck yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. And hopefully, we're still talking about some Grayson Bobcats football this time next week. So let's, uh, hopefully, it's a good one. Should be a lot of fun.

All right, thanks, Josh. Have a good one, Fritz. Thank you all. All right, that was Fritz Neighbor of the Daily Inter Lake. A lot of fun there. That's the go-to guy right there when it comes to Montana Grizzlies knowledge and knows a lot about the Bobcats as well. Montana football in general. So great stuff from Fritz today.

All right, thanks again to Fritz for calling in. Thanks again to all y'all for tuning in. A lot of fun on the horizon this weekend. Both Montana football teams are going to be in action. The Bobcats are going in as favorites. The Grays are going in as the underdogs. Sometimes in the playoffs, things get a little interesting. So I guess that's my big thing.

At this time of the year, momentum is everything. I think the Bobcats are rolling at the right time as we discussed with Fritz. It's going to be a little interesting playing a foe for the second time, though, that's a conference team. I think that's going to be the big question for the Bobcats. As far as the Griz, it's all about whether can you keep that momentum going early. Maybe hit a home run right off the bat in the first quarter. Get a stop, score a touchdown, and get out to a lead. Because it's going to take something like that to shake it up a little bit to beat a North Dakota State, which is such a powerhouse and has won when it matters so often historically.

So it's going to be a great weekend of football. Can't wait. Go Griz, go Bobcats. I know most people, you know, you're picking root for one. But like I said before, you know, I'm rooting for Montana football. I'm hoping I'm here next week talking about victories and not losses. So let's see how it goes. I'm excited, everybody.

Thanks for tuning in. You have a good one, and thanks again to Flathead's best manufacturer, Nomad, for their support. Alright, have a good one, y'all!