Bobcat football nears playoffs

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Montana State Bobcat football team has inched closer to an at-large berth in the 2019 FCS playoffs thanks to a pair of lopsided conference victories.

Following Montana State’s 42-7 drubbing of Southern Utah, and 45-14 dismantling of Northern Colorado, the Bobcats have moved back up in the polls to crack the Top 10 once again with two games remaining. The ‘Cats’ latest victories pushed their record to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Traditionally, eight victories has been enough to receive an at-large berth, so with one more win MSU should be invited to post-season play, but Jeff Choate and Co. would rather not leave anything to chance and would prefer to win out and finish the season with nine victories.

However, the challenge will be great, as Montana State first has to navigate a difficult road trip to UC Davis to face an Aggies team that is the reigning conference champion and was a preseason Top 5 team. The Aggies have suffered some misfortune this season that has derailed their chances of a repeat trip to the playoffs, but they are playing some of their best football right now and received votes in the most recent FCS poll.

If the Bobcats can avoid a slip at UC Davis, they will return home to face the Montana Grizzlies in the annual Brawl of the Wild to close out the regular season. MSU will be looking to extend their winning streak over the Grizzlies to four games, but UM will not go down without a fight. You can bet the finish to the 2018 Brawl of the Wild is still heavy on the minds of Griz players and coaches, plus UM may very well be playing for their first conference championship since 2009, depending on the outcome of their matchup with Weber State the week preceding the showdown in Bozeman.

Montana has been one of the toughest teams in the nation this year, sporting a stout defense to go along with their usual lethal offense. The Grizzlies were ranked No. 5 in the most recent FCS poll.

For Montana State, they have always known that to be the best they are going to have to beat the best, so the game against their rivals should be a good litmus test to see if they are ready for postseason play. If MSU can manage to sweep their final two games, they very well could be in line for an at-large berth and host a first round game.

The FCS playoffs will begin on Saturday, November 30^th, with start times and opponents to be determined. •