Cat-Griz Feature: A dream job, and a wild season

When Bob Stitt was announced the Montana Grizzlies new head coach last December, he talked about this being his dream job. But, it's highly unlikely Stitt could have dreamt of a first season like the one the Grizzlies have had.

Heading into his first Brawl of the Wild, Saturday in Bozeman, Stitt's Grizzlies are on the verge of making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. But, at 6-4, a loss to the Bobcats would likely eliminate the Griz from those playoffs.

And that's why Stitt's crazy journey from Colorado Mines in the NCAA DII playoffs a year ago, to Saturday's Cat-Griz showdown in Bobcat Stadium is so interesting. Because in many ways, this first season in Missoula has been one where nobody has known what to expect.

Expectations were high when Stitt, considered an offensive innovator and somewhat of a maverick coach was announced at UM. He talked openly about trying to run 100 plays per game, about hating to punt and kick field goals, and most importantly, about embracing those high expectations at UM.

"This program has set the bar very high," Stitt said while on a summer tour that included a stop in Havre back in the summer. "The fan base always has high expectations for the program, and I love that about this place. There's a lot of pressure to win here, because they've done it a lot. But, that's exciting to me. I like that challenge."

Stitt also embraced the challenge of playing four-time FCS national champion North Dakota State in his first game at Montana. The buildup was immense, especially given the game was going to be televised nationally on ESPN, as the first college football game of 2015. But even with high expectations, and all the excitement surrounding the game, few saw Montana's last-play 38-35 win over the Bison coming.

And that's when things got even crazier for the head coach, and his first-year team. Montana's win over NDSU vaulted the ceiling for the Griz' season to new levels. Talk of a national championship began to pick up steam, and Stitt was getting national exposure based off the upset win.

Seven days later however, on a rainy summer night in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, everything changed, as Montana lost to Cal Poly on a last-second field goal, and two weeks after that, the Griz lost their starting quarterback, and a road game at Liberty, and all of a sudden, Stitt was 1-2 three games into his Griz' career.

The Griz would bounce back against the following week against Northern Arizona, but the injury big at quarterback, and the rollercoaster had already been set in motion. Stitt's first season in Missoula has also included a shocking overtime loss at home to Weber State, a Halloween beatdown at the hands of Portland State, and a miracle finish in overtime at hapless Idaho State. All with backup quarterbacks in the game.

However, when the schedule came out, most Griz fans would have immediately picked two losses on the schedule – NDSU and Eastern Washington. But, Stitt went 2-0 in those games, after the Griz blasted the rival Eagles 57-16 last Saturday in Missoula. A healthy Brady Gustafson back at quarterback was key to Montana's win over EWU, something the Griz hadn't done in four years. And now, health is why Stitt feels the roller coaster is starting to level off.

"If you're healthy at the end of the season, you can make a run," Stitt said after the win over EWU. "We're finally healthy again, and we feel like we have a chance to make a run, to extend our season."

But to extend their season, Stitt and the Grizzlies will have to do something none of his last three predecessors did, which is win their first Cat-Griz game. Bobby Hauck, Robin Pflugrad and Mick Delaney all lost to the Bobcats in their first try. And in order for Stitt to reverse that trend, his team will have to do something they haven't done yet this season either, follow a home win with one on the road. But, the win over EWU, and the return of Gustafson, have Stitt and the Griz feeling good heading into Saturday's battle, which Stitt can't wait for considering he's never been a part of the intensity that is the Cat-Griz rivalry.

"I think it's going to be similar to me walking into the stadium the first game against North Dakota State," Stitt said of his first Brawl. "You really don't know what to expect, and it's ten times greater than you ever imagined it being

  "It means a lot to the people in this state," he added. "That's why we gotta go win the ball game. For our fans and the passion they have. We can't let 'em down."

It's been a first season Bob Stitt could have never imagined he would have in Missoula when he so passionately talked about how excited he was to the Griz' new head coach almost a year ago. But now, that wild season, much like the offense he envisions running at UM, is down to the annual Brawl of the Wild. And though Stitt has never coached in a Cat-Griz game before, judging by the comments above, it sounds like he already gets it. It sounds like he already understands just what this particular game is all about.

And, from the man who has so many dreams and visions for what he wants the Griz' program to look like, and accomplish in the future, understanding the Cat-Griz rivalry is all Griz' fans needed to hear.