2025 Griz Hail Mary

[nanacat]

I had to congratulate a Gris poster yesterday. In my words, he was talking up the Gris pretty strongly and I commented that hopefully their 50ish transfers can gel. QB was mentioned and I commented that if they are fortunate hauck won’t run off another workable, decent QB. The poster agreed and said he would love to see a long term guy come in and take the reins some day.

I just thought of a question, curious of others take on it. Do you feel that the Gris are one good coaching hire from becoming very relevant again?

Well they just hired a new WR coach with 30 years experience. Can't find the article I read, but I think his name is Bobby Kennedy.

[RickRund]

I had to congratulate a Gris poster yesterday. In my words, he was talking up the Gris pretty strongly and I commented that hopefully their 50ish transfers can gel. QB was mentioned and I commented that if they are fortunate hauck won’t run off another workable, decent QB. The poster agreed and said he would love to see a long term guy come in and take the reins some day.

I just thought of a question, curious of others take on it. Do you feel that the Gris are one good coaching hire from becoming very relevant again?

Well they just hired a new WR coach with 30 years experience. Can't find the article I read, but I think his name is Bobby Kennedy.

And I am talking about mainly a head coach. Hoping bobby stays until he is 65.

[nanacat]

I had to congratulate a Gris poster yesterday. In my words, he was talking up the Gris pretty strongly and I commented that hopefully their 50ish transfers can gel. QB was mentioned and I commented that if they are fortunate hauck won’t run off another workable, decent QB. The poster agreed and said he would love to see a long term guy come in and take the reins some day.

I just thought of a question, curious of others take on it. Do you feel that the Gris are one good coaching hire from becoming very relevant again?

Well they just hired a new WR coach with 30 years experience. Can't find the article I read, but I think his name is Bobby Kennedy.

And I am talking about mainly a head coach. Hoping bobby stays until he is 65.

I figured that's what you meant.

[iaafan]

I had to congratulate a Gris poster yesterday. In my words, he was talking up the Gris pretty strongly and I commented that hopefully their 50ish transfers can gel. QB was mentioned and I commented that if they are fortunate hauck won’t run off another workable, decent QB. The poster agreed and said he would love to see a long term guy come in and take the reins some day.

I just thought of a question, curious of others take on it. Do you feel that the Gris are one good coaching hire from becoming very relevant again?

Yes. But the question is are they capable of that.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

[Montanabob]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

i see a 10-1 cats going into griz 9-3 for the conference championship. NAU and idaho 3 and 4. suck state 5 or 6.

[catatac]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

i see a 10-1 cats going into griz 9-3 for the conference championship. NAU and idaho 3 and 4. suck state 5 or 6.

No UCD?

[Montanabob]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

i see a 10-1 cats going into griz 9-3 for the conference championship. NAU and idaho 3 and 4. suck state 5 or 6.

No UCD?

naw, i think they are going to stumble.

[Prodigal Cat]

Sooooo many Griz fans had an absolute conniption when the Cats introduced the legacy 41 saying we copied them. Meanwhile…

[coloradocat]

Sooooo many Griz fans had an absolute conniption when the Cats introduced the legacy 41 saying we copied them. Meanwhile…

Anyone who has been to Gold Rush knows how hot it can be that first week in September, even with a 6pm start. I think it's great they decided to encourage the entire stadium to wear black clothing.

[iaafan]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

[coloradocat]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

As Bobbi has proved year after year, you can be both overrated and relevant on the national landscape.

[iaafan]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Yeah, I wasn’t very sure what you meant by relevant and I’m still not. My point is that I don’t see them as a serious threat to win a national championship. If by relevant you mean the literal definition, then yes, they’re relevant. So is Idaho’s State. That’s a pretty low bar. I have a feeling you mean it in some other way or you’re not using it correctly. There are lots of different levels of relevance.

I just think that what Hauck is doing is desperate as the thread title says. Yet, there are some people who are buying his formula when there are no examples of it working anywhere to date.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Yeah, I wasn’t very sure what you meant by relevant and I’m still not. My point is that I don’t see them as a serious threat to win a national championship. If by relevant you mean the literal definition, then yes, they’re relevant. So is Idaho’s State. That’s a pretty low bar. I have a feeling you mean it in some other way or you’re not using it correctly. There are lots of different levels of relevance.

I just think that what Hauck is doing is desperate as the thread title says. Yet, there are some people who are buying his formula when there are no examples of it working anywhere to date.

If I had wanted to say they were title contenders, I would have.

They are not relevant in the way Idaho State is. That’s just asinine. They are relevant in the way USC is. In the way Miami is. A top tier program that has the ability to quickly and consistently become a title contender. They will always have one of the best stadiums in the FCS. They will always have one of the best fan bases in the FCS. They have the history, the facilities, the program. Them not being title contenders right now doesn’t change that. Realistically, anybody can coach there and have a solid record. The same cannot be said for Idaho State. They have different floors and ceilings, their relevance is not the same.

I dislike UM. I dislike Bobby. I think his current recruiting approach is fantastically horrid. That doesn’t change who they are as a program, and they are always a relevant program. When people think of FCS football, one of the programs they think of is Montana. That’s relevance.

[iaafan]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Yeah, I wasn’t very sure what you meant by relevant and I’m still not. My point is that I don’t see them as a serious threat to win a national championship. If by relevant you mean the literal definition, then yes, they’re relevant. So is Idaho’s State. That’s a pretty low bar. I have a feeling you mean it in some other way or you’re not using it correctly. There are lots of different levels of relevance.

I just think that what Hauck is doing is desperate as the thread title says. Yet, there are some people who are buying his formula when there are no examples of it working anywhere to date.

If I had wanted to say they were title contenders, I would have.

They are not relevant in the way Idaho State is. That’s just asinine. They are relevant in the way USC is. In the way Miami is. A top tier program that has the ability to quickly and consistently become a title contender. They will always have one of the best stadiums in the FCS. They will always have one of the best fan bases in the FCS. They have the history, the facilities, the program. Them not being title contenders right now doesn’t change that. Realistically, anybody can coach there and have a solid record. The same cannot be said for Idaho State. They have different floors and ceilings, their relevance is not the same.

I dislike UM. I dislike Bobby. I think his current recruiting approach is fantastically horrid. That doesn’t change who they are as a program, and they are always a relevant program. When people think of FCS football, one of the programs they think of is Montana. That’s relevance.

I never defined what you were saying. I just asked. Thanks for filling in the gaps. To answer your initial question now that you explained yourself, I would say that I don’t see where anyone was saying UM isn’t relevant.

Getting back to the discussion about UM throwing up a Hail Mary pass, I just think a lot of people, including the Skyline crew are biting on it. I don’t give it much of a chance and I don’t think it’s going to be a good model going forward. I don’t think that’s saying they’re irrelevant but doing this will probably make them less relevant.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Yeah, I wasn’t very sure what you meant by relevant and I’m still not. My point is that I don’t see them as a serious threat to win a national championship. If by relevant you mean the literal definition, then yes, they’re relevant. So is Idaho’s State. That’s a pretty low bar. I have a feeling you mean it in some other way or you’re not using it correctly. There are lots of different levels of relevance.

I just think that what Hauck is doing is desperate as the thread title says. Yet, there are some people who are buying his formula when there are no examples of it working anywhere to date.

If I had wanted to say they were title contenders, I would have.

They are not relevant in the way Idaho State is. That’s just asinine. They are relevant in the way USC is. In the way Miami is. A top tier program that has the ability to quickly and consistently become a title contender. They will always have one of the best stadiums in the FCS. They will always have one of the best fan bases in the FCS. They have the history, the facilities, the program. Them not being title contenders right now doesn’t change that. Realistically, anybody can coach there and have a solid record. The same cannot be said for Idaho State. They have different floors and ceilings, their relevance is not the same.

I dislike UM. I dislike Bobby. I think his current recruiting approach is fantastically horrid. That doesn’t change who they are as a program, and they are always a relevant program. When people think of FCS football, one of the programs they think of is Montana. That’s relevance.

I never defined what you were saying. I just asked. Thanks for filling in the gaps. To answer your initial question now that you explained yourself, I would say that I don’t see where anyone was saying UM isn’t relevant.

Getting back to the discussion about UM throwing up a Hail Mary pass, I just think a lot of people, including the Skyline crew are biting on it. I don’t give it much of a chance and I don’t think it’s going to be a good model going forward. I don’t think that’s saying they’re irrelevant but doing this will probably make them less relevant.

Rick Rund posed the question: “Do you feel that the Gris are one good coaching hire from becoming very relevant again?”

The question makes the assumption that the Griz are not currently relevant. So yes, somebody was saying UM isn’t relevant, which is why I made the original comment that I did.

[iaafan]

Are we trying to say the Griz aren’t very relevant? Guys…come on! Be a little realistic.

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic but this notion that has gained a lot of steam about how Bobby has discovered a new way to win championships is a little wild.

I don’t knock him for trying but I think it’s born out of necessity/desperation and not an epiphany. He lost a bunch of players and has replaced them with players from the portal. Supposedly the players last year weren’t any good and these new players are. Hauck says that sometimes attrition is good as in the bad guys left so I could go get some good guys.

This Tootell and Tatanka show feeds into it and gives it support in effect gives it relevance. Yet it doesn’t touch on the fact that those supposedly bad players (they both agree with Hauck that they had no talent last year) were all brought in by Hauck and Hauck, by his own unintentional admission, didn’t mold them into good players.



They go on to say that our coaches are mocking them by pointing out how we develop players and use the portal sparingly ala NDSU, yet we have lost six straight to them while UM beat NDSU in ‘23. They don’t dig into that um win or our loss or anything else that surrounds either team’s methodology very deeply. They probably know that if they did their theory would fall apart rapidly.

Hauck has shown that he isn’t a very good coach in his current iteration at UM. His W-L record is not great, especially in the league. His win over NDSU was during an off year for the Bison and it was delivered by a punt return specialist in Cinderella Story fashion. Other than a string of about 5-6 games in 2023 and a win over us in 2021, there’s nothing special about Hauck’s performance. That string of wins is probably more happenstance than anything devised in a laboratory.

If Hauck is some kind of savant, then he should have more to show for himself. The reality is UM wasn’t much worse last year than it has been every year. They were 5-3 BSC last year, 4-4 in 2022. 32-16 since his return with 14-0 record over Cal Poly, ISU, UNC and PSU. The 7-1 in 2023 is on its face an anomaly.

Other than the 2023 run his teams have lost to MSU, NDSU and SDSU 55-21, 49-26, 23-3, 34-11, and 35-18. They tacked on points in each of those games but one after they were for all intents and purposes over. Despite that they’re not within 17 points in any of them.

I don’t want to go point by point, so I’ll just keep it short. Even if all of what you said was true, UM is still a nationally relevant FCS program. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Yeah, I wasn’t very sure what you meant by relevant and I’m still not. My point is that I don’t see them as a serious threat to win a national championship. If by relevant you mean the literal definition, then yes, they’re relevant. So is Idaho’s State. That’s a pretty low bar. I have a feeling you mean it in some other way or you’re not using it correctly. There are lots of different levels of relevance.

I just think that what Hauck is doing is desperate as the thread title says. Yet, there are some people who are buying his formula when there are no examples of it working anywhere to date.

If I had wanted to say they were title contenders, I would have.

They are not relevant in the way Idaho State is. That’s just asinine. They are relevant in the way USC is. In the way Miami is. A top tier program that has the ability to quickly and consistently become a title contender. They will always have one of the best stadiums in the FCS. They will always have one of the best fan bases in the FCS. They have the history, the facilities, the program. Them not being title contenders right now doesn’t change that. Realistically, anybody can coach there and have a solid record. The same cannot be said for Idaho State. They have different floors and ceilings, their relevance is not the same.

I dislike UM. I dislike Bobby. I think his current recruiting approach is fantastically horrid. That doesn’t change who they are as a program, and they are always a relevant program. When people think of FCS football, one of the programs they think of is Montana. That’s relevance.

I never defined what you were saying. I just asked. Thanks for filling in the gaps. To answer your initial question now that you explained yourself, I would say that I don’t see where anyone was saying UM isn’t relevant.

Getting back to the discussion about UM throwing up a Hail Mary pass, I just think a lot of people, including the Skyline crew are biting on it. I don’t give it much of a chance and I don’t think it’s going to be a good model going forward. I don’t think that’s saying they’re irrelevant but doing this will probably make them less relevant.

Rick Rund posed the question: “Do you feel that the Gris are one good coaching hire from becoming very relevant again?”

The question makes the assumption that the Griz are not currently relevant. So yes, somebody was saying UM isn’t relevant, which is why I made the original comment that I did.

The word “very” is used. Very means ‘in a high degree’ so I take Rick to being saying a national title contender. You may not. I think we’ve milked everything out of this discussion. I was more interested in everyone’s take regarding the items other than the first sentence where I was getting clarification from you. I just don’t see it working and I’m scratching my head as to why it seems a lot of people think it’s going to. I don’t think I’ve seen a good rationale for it. But I’m open to listening.

[coloradocat]

The whole "Bobbi is playing 4D chess" narrative that Colter rolls out there every now and then is really annoying. I don't believe for a second that Bobbi thinks that the way to win a championship is to be wildly different than NDSU and play the portal lottery every year. I think his recruiting team just straight failed for a few years and he got backed into a corner where he had to go shopping for transfers to field a competitive enough team to get the big boosters off his back. Colter even acknowledges that he'd rather do it the NDSU/MSU way. Bobbi isn't outsmarting anyone (except Colter and Tootell), he's just going with Plan B because he failed at Plan A.

[Prodigal Cat]

The whole "Bobbi is playing 4D chess" narrative that Colter rolls out there every now and then is really annoying. I don't believe for a second that Bobbi thinks that the way to win a championship is to be wildly different than NDSU and play the portal lottery every year. I think his recruiting team just straight failed for a few years and he got backed into a corner where he had to go shopping for transfers to field a competitive enough team to get the big boosters off his back. Colter even acknowledges that he'd rather do it the NDSU/MSU way. Bobbi isn't outsmarting anyone (except Colter and Tootell), he's just going with Plan B because he failed at Plan A.

Even the griz fan pod delved into this last season. Kyle did a dive into their recruiting classes and the amounts that are still on the team and making a difference by their Junior or Senior seasons in BH 2.0 and it is not good. Of course the rest pushed back on it but the numbers didn't lie. I just don't think their coaching staff is great at evaluating talent or body types and developing those players into D1 athletes. To be honest we get into recruiting back and forth but the number of times both teams go after the same recruit with the same fervor is actually less common than you think. One pertinent example is the rumor was the Cats got the Dowler twins because we offered both but the griz only offered Taco. Seeing Caden get picked as captain and when healthy has been a standout shows they didn't do a good analysis on him. Same with Ortt. Bobby thought he was too slow and still thought it last season, targeted him in the Brawl with bubble screens etc. and had it backfire. He constantly has to go to the portal because the freshman they are bringing in just aren't good enough.