The Bobcat Nation

There are a few thoughts that have been lingering in my mind after the championship game that I felt like getting off my chest.
First off, the team and fan base have nothing to hang their heads about. This is an incredible team, incredible fanbase, and we should be proud of that. Also, it was clear to anyone watching the game on TV, that there were more of our fans there, and they were more passionate. The fans caused several false starts on a neutral site, which is incredible. All the superlatives about our seniors and especially Tommy, are fully accurate. We are blessed to have this group.
Without being said, if not this team, then who? If not now, when? Our best players were Montana players. This is a group that had been through everything. Their years here had been tailor made to prepare them for this moment. I can’t help but feel if we didn’t win with these guys, then winning is a long way off. This North Dakota State team was far from unbeatable, as some of their iterations in the past have been. Perhaps I need some optimism, but it is very hard to feel like this is anything but our best chance in a long time to win a national championship, and we failed. When will be our next best chance? When will we have a team full of Montana guys as our best players and someone who is a leader and player like Tommy? This was a great season, and I am grateful for our players and for our fan base. but this feels like we’ll be looking back at this game for years to come, wishing we had finally gotten over the top.

To answer your question of if not this team then when. It could be next year it could be a few years. That’s why you play the game, there are teams that should win the championship but don’t (this team arguably) and there teams that shouldn’t win the championship that do (Philly Eagles 2017)

This kind of feeling happens almost every time a team gets sooo close, but doesn’t get over the top. Things like “we’ll never replace these seniors”, or “that was our best shot”.

But reality is there are “irreplaceable” seniors that graduate every year. It happens to every team. The younger guys on this team will grow up, just like this group of seniors did. The younger guys on this team got such an incredible amount of experience this season vs. almost every other team in the FCS. That foundation has been built and the expectations have been set.

There is always fear after graduating a great class, but the Cats will be very good next year. Great recruiting classes, great team environment, great atmosphere inside the stadium and out. Good players will want to play here. This team wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

The Cats won’t win every game next season, but they will absolutely be in the thick of it at the end of the year.

Look at South Dakota State. They lost to NDSU in the playoffs four times in a row (2012, 14, 16, 18) and had a long losing streak to them in the regular season as well, but eventually were able to break through and win two straight titles. It's not easy and it takes time, but MSU is doing what they need to do. Improve your facilities (MSU was way behind the DSUs in this area but not any longer once the IPF opens) and build your program the right way, through strong recruiting and player development being the priority supplemented by transfers at specific areas of need. Eventually it will pay off, we just don't know when and yes, that can be frustrating for all involved when it doesn't happen as fast as we want it to.

MSU01 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:22 am

Look at South Dakota State. They lost to NDSU in the playoffs four times in a row (2012, 14, 16, 18) and had a long losing streak to them in the regular season as well, but eventually were able to break through and win two straight titles. It's not easy and it takes time, but MSU is doing what they need to do. Improve your facilities (MSU was way behind the DSUs in this area but not any longer once the IPF opens) and build your program the right way, through strong recruiting and player development being the priority supplemented by transfers at specific areas of need. Eventually it will pay off, we just don't know when and yes, that can be frustrating for all involved when it doesn't happen as fast as we want it to.

Seriously. It feels like we are a legit program now. I know we've been relevant for awhile but it does feel like we've taken that extra step the last few years. Build on it.

CatBlitz wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:47 am

MSU01 wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:22 am

Look at South Dakota State. They lost to NDSU in the playoffs four times in a row (2012, 14, 16, 18) and had a long losing streak to them in the regular season as well, but eventually were able to break through and win two straight titles. It's not easy and it takes time, but MSU is doing what they need to do. Improve your facilities (MSU was way behind the DSUs in this area but not any longer once the IPF opens) and build your program the right way, through strong recruiting and player development being the priority supplemented by transfers at specific areas of need. Eventually it will pay off, we just don't know when and yes, that can be frustrating for all involved when it doesn't happen as fast as we want it to.

Seriously. It feel like we are a legit program now. I know we've been relevant for awhile but it does feel like we've taken that extra step the last few years. Build on it.

Absolutely. When Choate was hired after the 2015 season MSU was at its low point and NDSU was running off title after title, but the Bobcats have narrowed the gap significantly over the past decade both on and off the field. Trust the process and it will eventually pay off. And if it doesn't happen and MSU moves up to FBS in 5 or 10 years without winning a national championship, that's ok too. Sports are supposed to be fun and this season was a hell of a lot of fun for this fan despite the disappointing end.

tdub wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:18 am

This kind of feeling happens almost every time a team gets sooo close, but doesn’t get over the top. Things like “we’ll never replace these seniors”, or “that was our best shot”.

But reality is there are “irreplaceable” seniors that graduate every year. It happens to every team. The younger guys on this team will grow up, just like this group of seniors did. The younger guys on this team got such an incredible amount of experience this season vs. almost every other team in the FCS. That foundation has been built and the expectations have been set.

There is always fear after graduating a great class, but the Cats will be very good next year. Great recruiting classes, great team environment, great atmosphere inside the stadium and out. Good players will want to play here. This team wasn’t just a flash in the pan.

The Cats won’t win every game next season, but they will absolutely be in the thick of it at the end of the year.

Yep. This team was better than the 21-22 team and that team graduated a bunch of nfl guys. We'll be fine. We all need to remember that no matter how they roll at qb next year it's not going to look the same as Tommy. Doesn't mean it's bad, but it will assuredly look different. We're loaded up front even if we lose conner. We're loaded at RB. Loaded on the DL. We are in a great place. This sucks, today, because we all believe we should have won this one. But that doesn't erase the progress. I'm excited to see the new narrative and arc of the next group! Onward.

CatBlitz wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:47 am

Seriously. It feels like we are a legit program now. I know we've been relevant for awhile but it does feel like we've taken that extra step the last few years. Build on it.

This is where I am. We are there now. And that’s why it stings.

Bobcat Sig wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 2:10 pm

CatBlitz wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:47 am

Seriously. It feels like we are a legit program now. I know we've been relevant for awhile but it does feel like we've taken that extra step the last few years. Build on it.

This is where I am. We are there now. And that’s why it stings.

This stings, simply because we as a program managed to whiff on the first half. But this isn’t near as painful as the 51-10 (I think it was) beatdown in the quarters a few years back.

I appreciate the level headed responses. It does make me feel better. I can’t fight the feeling that teams of this caliber just don’t come around very often, and the upward trajectory of our program is not guaranteed to continue. However, based on the past 10 years, we are in an awesome spot.

JoeCatsJoe wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 6:28 pm

I appreciate the level headed responses. It does make me feel better. I can’t fight the feeling that teams of this caliber just don’t come around very often, and the upward trajectory of our program is not guaranteed to continue. However, based on the past 10 years, we are in an awesome spot.

Teams of this caliber don't just come around very often......until you build a program. We have a program built to be excellent annually - admin, donors, fans, recruiting, coaches - the rebuild is completed & now MSU's reaping the benefits on the field. I love that Vigen took a talented kid from Butte America and turned him into the Walter Payton award winner. I'm confident he'll continue to develop the team both in ability and depth. This is the golden era of Bobcat football as far as I'm concerned. Go Cats! Can't wait for next season!

These are still the good old days, even if they aren't quite the best of days.

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 2:25 pm

Bobcat Sig wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 2:10 pm

CatBlitz wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 07, 2025 11:47 am

Seriously. It feels like we are a legit program now. I know we've been relevant for awhile but it does feel like we've taken that extra step the last few years. Build on it.

This is where I am. We are there now. And that’s why it stings.

This stings, simply because we as a program managed to whiff on the first half. But this isn’t near as painful as the 51-10 (I think it was) beatdown in the quarters a few years back.

While the score of that game was much worse; this loss cured much deeper. Number one seed, undefeated, multiple awards, favored by nearly everyone, far more fans in attendance, and statistically slightly better. It was ours. We were the better team. And we lost it.

For those reasons, it’s much worse.