| Cats
Rule in '02 |
| by
Bill Lamberty, MSU Athletics |
|
| November
23, 2002, was a snowy, blustery day in Missoula.
Facing the daunting task of ending Montana's incredible
16-year run of domination against the Bobcats, MSU
fans woke that morning asking themselves, "How?"
|
| Mike
Kramer found himself asking a different question.
"Why not?" |
| As
in, why not win a Big Sky Championship? Why not
do it in Missoula? And why not do it on a snowy,
blustery day, a typical Montana afternoon? |
| Hours
later, as one of the most memorable scenes in Montana
State's football history unfolded in Washington-Grizzly
Stadium, Kramer watched the jubilant celebration.
"This is just a great payoff for some kids and coaches
that have worked awfully hard," Kramer said, his
calm demeanor a stark contrast to the well-deserved
exuberance erupting around him. "It's a great feeling,
but it comes after a lot of hard work and some hard
times." |
| Indeed,
it's hard to comprehend how dramatically MSU's program
has risen in the past two years. Kramer was 0-11
in his first season at Montana State. That squad
was riddled with injuries, and with defections by
players that didn't want to meet his demands. The
youthful Bobcats of 2000 may not have won a game,
but they won Kramer's admiration. "The guys that
survived that experience were better football players
for it, and they were better people for it," Kramer
said. |
| Still
young, the 2001 Bobcats were no longer inexperienced.
An infusion of talent from the West Coast--Junior
Adams and Tyler Thomas transferred to MSU from Oregon
State, followed by Justin Mobley from New Mexico,
whose brother played with Adams and Thomas at OSU,
and then Mobley's former New Mexico teammate Brian
Choi--put the 'Cats on solid footing for Kramer's
second season, but also set the stage for a dramatic
2002 campaign. MSU followed the 0-11 debacle with
a solid 5-6 campaign, which included a 4-3 Big Sky
record. |
| As
much excitement as the team generated heading into
the 2002 season, no one could have foreseen what
would transpire. True freshman Travis Lulay replaced
Thomas at quarterback before the Idaho State game,
and immediately ignited the offense. Adams and Ryan
Johnson each played through injuries to post sensational
senior seasons. And the MSU defense blistered opposing
offenses, leading the Big Sky in defense for the
second straight year. |
| The
Bobcats survived a middle-of-the-season slump to
set up a month that will live as one of the most
exciting four-game stretches in Bobcat history.
Not since 1984 had MSU won the Big Sky Conference,
and never before had the 'Cats clinched a championship
on the season's last regular season weekend by winning
their fourth straight. The Bobcats toppled Sacramento
State on a Nate Cook field goal after time had expired,
held off Eastern Washington when Adam Cordeiro returned
a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown in the game's
last two minutes, came from behind to beat Portland
State at home, and traveled to Missoula for the
championship showdown. |
| The
game was a 3-0 thriller at halftime, and when the
Bobcats opened the second half to a half-empty stadium
there was more than just snow in the air. Travis
Lulay found Junior Adams and Scott Turnquist on
key third-down conversions, and then, on a third-and-five
from the MSU 47, in an empty-backfield formation,
Lulay found Junior Adams on a slant, and Junior
dashed 53 yards for a touchdown. |
| For
all intents and purposes, the game ended on that
play. The Grizzlies converted a turnover deep in
Bobcat territory into a fourth-quarter TD, but that
and a couple of botched field goals were Montana's
only serious scoring threats of the day. The Bobcat
defense was stifling. MSU held the Grizzlies to
only 199 yards of offense. The victory was stunning
for its resounding nature. |
| That
the Bobcats narrowly lost to McNeese State the next
week for MSU's first-ever Playoff loss was anticlimactic,
but also gave the team a starting point and a potential
end point for the 2003 season. |
| "There
is no limit to how good Montana State can be next
year," Kramer said. "This team played with elan
and pride and style, with confidence and passion,
and if we can recapture that next fall, there is
absolutely no limit." |
| Johnson,
Montoya Honored for Academics |
| Montana
State's senior running back Ryan Johnson and junior
defensive end Jon Montoya made history this fall
by earning Verizon Academic All-America First Team
honors. It was Montoya's first selection, but Johnson
became a third-time First Team Academic All-America. |
| Montoya
and Johnson combined to make Montana State the only
team in Division I with two first-team selections,
topping such perennial powers as Notre Dame, Stanford
and the Ivy League schools. |
| In
addition, Johnson was named a College Football Foundation
Scholar-Athlete, receiving a major postgraduate
scholarship, and was named an NCAA Today's Top VII
Award Winner, an honor bestowed on the top eight
student-athletes in all of college sports, regardless
of sport, gender or classification. Montoya was
also honored as a Division I-AA Athletic Directors
Association All-Scholar choice. |
| Johnson
caps a sensational Bobcat career as MSU's top rusher
for a season and career, and during MSU's home finale
against Portland State had his jersey retired. |
