Bobcats lick wounds after Chadron letdown
After Montana State beat Colorado to open the football season, Bobcats coach Mike Kramer made the rounds of the national talk shows.
Kramer was glib, but his emphasis was that the upset would mean nothing unless MSU beat Chadron State.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle’s headline last Sunday tells it all.
“Ugh!”
Kramer told reporters after MSU’s 35-24 loss to Chadron on Saturday, “No matter how you write this thing, this was a slap in the face, and we have to respond.”
Eastern Washington coach Paul Wulff wasn’t surprised the Bobcats didn’t respond a week after such a huge win, despite Kramer’s warning.
“Lot easier said than done,” Wulff said. “To turn around and play seven days later after an emotional game is not an easy thing to do. Very typical.”
That’s what Kramer told The Great Falls Tribune, in his own, unique way.
“We notoriously fell off our bike,” he said. “I’m a bike rider and this hurts, this really hurts. We fell in the ditch, no question.”
Eagles for sale
Now that EWU has traveled to West Virginia and survived a game against the sixth-ranked Mountaineers, it is adding considerations to future options.
Although the 52-3 score wasn’t what the Eagles wanted, they did get to travel across country, see a top-notch program, play before almost 60,000 and, in the end, pocket a big check, all ear-marked for the football program after expenses.
Why not play West Virginia for $450,000 instead of San Jose State for well less than half of that?
Montana got $650,000 to play at Iowa. With I-A programs scheduling 12 games and wins over I-AA opponents counting toward bowl eligibility, there could be some serious bidding for future “wins.”
“Obviously, it’s very dollar-driven,” Wulff said of the play-up games. “If there is money out there that is definitely going to enhance your program more than another I-A team that is proposing to you, obviously you’ve got to look at that.”
In a perfect world, Wulff would prefer to play other I-AA programs, but if I-A teams are trolling for wins with money as bait, the WVU trip – and check – broadened the horizon.
“I know as a head coach if I can get some of that to improve our program – since we’re the one taking a large hit – then I’m in favor of it,” he said. “I’m in favor of it if the money is directly coming back to enhance football.
“Financially, we’re trying to build ourselves to have six home games. We want to be a team that’s going to compete for a conference championship every year.”
Quick kicks
Cal Poly won 17-0 at Weber State, handing the Wildcats their first shutout at home since 1993. … Weber has 236 yards of offense in two games. Coach Ron McBride benched his starting quarterback and running back against Cal Poly and said this week the competition is open. … EWU has 311 yards of offense and has allowed 1,074, but pocketed $750,000 for its 0-2 start. … Montana senior Tuff Harris set a school record with 142 yards on five punt returns in a win over South Dakota State. Teammate Dan Carpenter set a school record with five field goals. … Northern Arizona has lost all-conference cornerback K.J. Gerard indefinitely after surgery on a wrist injured against Arizona State.