Brawl of the Wild

Brawl of the Wild
Montana Grizzlies Montana State Bobcats
Sport(s)	Football
Total meetings	111
Series record	Montana leads 70-36-5
First meeting	November 25, 1897
	Montana 18, MSU 6
Last meeting	November 19, 2011
	Montana 36, MSU 10
Next meeting	November 2012
Largest win	Montana 70, MSU 0 (1904)
Longest win streak	Montana 16 (1986–2001
Current win streak	Montana 1 (2011)
Trophy	The Great Divide Trophy

The Brawl of the Wild (also referred to as Griz–Cat and Cat–Griz) is an annual college football rivalry game between the Montana State University Bobcats and the University of Montana Grizzlies. The rivalry began on November 26, 1897 when the two teams played in Bozeman, Montana, home of Montana State, with Montana prevailing by the score of 18-6. At the time, Montana State was known as Montana State College, while Montana was known as Montana State. The rivalry is the 31st oldest among active rivalries in NCAA Division I and of those is the 11th oldest west of the Mississippi River. It is also the 4th oldest active rivalry in the FCS and the oldest west of the Mississippi River.

During a period that is often referred to in Montana as "The Streak", Montana won every meeting from 1986 until 2001. A few of these games were close, but most of them gave a strong indication that the two football programs were going in very different directions. Montana won two NCAA Division 1-AA championships during "The Streak", while Montana State had one season where they failed to win a single game. On a cold, snowy day in November 2002, Montana State was finally able to go on the road and snap Montana's 16 game run.

The game almost always, especially of late, has major implications on the Big Sky Conference championship and its automatic bid to the Division I tournament. The name "Brawl of the Wild" is now used almost exclusively to refer to the matchup in official publications, but most people in Montana affectionately refer to the game simply as "Cat-Griz" (Bobcat fans) or "Griz-Cat" (Grizzly fans).

The Great Divide Trophy

The Great Divide Trophy was first awarded in 2001. It has since changed hands six times.

DivideTrophy

History

The Brawl of the Wild is the game between MSU and their primary rival, the University of Montana Grizzlies, for The Great Divide Trophy. As of the most recent matchup in November 2011, Montana leads the series 70-36-5.

The series has three distinct periods. From 1897 to 1916 the teams didn't belong to a conference and at times would play twice per year. Early seasons had seven games or less with one season seeing the Grizzlies play just one game. Four of the five ties in the series came during this era. Montana won 12 games to Montana State's 7.

In 1917 Montana State joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and in 1924 Montana joined what is now the PAC-12 Conference when it entered the Pacific Coast Conference. The RMAC included several teams that would become Mountain West members. When MSU joined the RMAC included Colorado, Colorado State, Utah, Utah State, and Brigham Young. When UM joined the PCC included Stanford, California, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, and Idaho. The Bobcats remained in the RMAC through 1956, while the Grizzlies remained in the PCC through 1949 and joined the Skyline (aka Mountain States) Conference from 1951-1961. MSU was independent from 1957-1962 and UM was independent in 1950 and 1962. During this period UM enjoyed a 30-8-1 edge in Cat-Griz games.

Both schools entered the Big Sky Conference as charter members in 1963 with Montana holding a 42-15-2 series lead. From 1963 to 1985 Montana State enjoyed its most successful period of the Cat-Griz rivalry. MSU won 17 games to just six for UM. Following that Montana started "The Streak" when it won 16 straight games from 1986 to 2001. MSU ended the drought by winning three of four, while UM holds a 6-4 edge after "The Streak" with Montana winning the most recent game 36-10 in Bozeman. The Big Sky era shows Montana with a 28-21 lead.

Montana has won 22 of the last 26 meetings. Since MSU won its first national championship in 1956, the series shows UM with a 30-26 edge.

Greatest games

1968

In 1968, in what is considered by many as the most exciting game in the Cat-Griz series, Dennis Erickson, flanker Ron Bain and running back Paul Schafer lead a monumental comeback as the Bobcats clinch a tie for the Big Sky championship -- their third straight. Trailing 24-9 in the fourth quarter, Montana State scored 20 points in the last nine minutes and won 29-24 when Schafer, who had 58 carries for 234 yards in the game, dove into the end zone with 12 seconds left. The Grizzlies appeared to have the drive stopped at the MSU 32, but a facemask penalty gave the Cats new life on the 17.

In all, 34 points are scored in the final quarter. Bain's brother, Doug of the Grizzlies, gave the Montana a 17-9 lead early in the quarter on a pass from Ray Brum. After another UM touchdown made the score 24-9 with just over 10 minutes to go as it looked as if the Grizzlies would win going away, but the Bobcats weren't done. Schaefer scored on a short run with 8:15 to play and Erickson hit Bain for a touchdown with five minutes left cutting the lead to two at 24-22.

After Schafer's touchdown, the Grizzlies nearly spoil things for MSU. UM takes over at the 20 with speedy receiver Ron Baines at quarterback. He gains 15 and another 15 are tacked on by an unnecessary roughness penalty. Baines then makes a circus run of 37 yards from midfield before he's dragged down at the MSU 13 after time expires.

1997

In another exciting finish of the series, Montana State fights back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to take a 25-24 lead on a three-yard run by Eric Kinnamon with 22 seconds to play in Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcats appeared poised to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Grizzlies, but Montana wasn't done.

Thanks to a kickoff that sailed out of bounds Montana gets the ball on its own 35-yard line with no time expended off the clock. After an incomplete pass UM quarterback Brian Ah Yat finds receiver Justin Olsen for a completion of 46 yards to the MSU 19 with eight seconds to play. Ah Yat would recover his own muffed snap on the next play and after a UM timeout Kris Heppner kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired giving Montana the 27-25 win.

Just as the first half ended MSU was whistled for having too many men on the field giving UM one extra play and the Grizzlies made the Bobcats pay scoring a touchdown on the last play of the half. The Bobcats also misfired on special teams all day. Prior to kicking the ball out of bounds they failed on three conversion attempts.

1998

Montana State would get its heart broken again - not as bad as in 1997 -- a year later. Leading 21-20 and ahead for most of the second half, the Bobcats fall when Dallas Neil takes a pass from Brian Ah Yat and tightropes down the sideline for an 18-yard touchdown with just over five minutes to play. UM converts the two-point attempt and the Grizzlies win 28-21.

The game is played at a slippery Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula and extends the UM winning streak over MSU to 13.

2002

The Bobcats would finally put an end to their losing streak at 16 games when true freshman quarterback Travis Lulay leads them to a 10-7 win in Missoula on a snowy, windy day. Lulay connected with Junior Adams for a 53-yard touchdown in the third quarter and, after a fumble led to Montana's lone score of the day, MSU's defense made it hold up.

The Bobcats held UM quarterback John Edwards to just 8-for-32 and 106 yards passing on the day. Edwards completed just one pass in the first half. MSU was led by senior running back Ryan Johnson, who ran for 132 yards, and cornerback Joey Thomas, who blocked a field goal and played a big role in Edwards' struggles.

Game results

#	Year	Winning team		Losing team		Series
1	1897	Montana	18	Montana State	6	Montana leads 1-0
2	1898	Montana	6	Montana State	0	Montana leads 2-0
3	1898	Montana	16	Montana State	0	Montana leads 3-0
4	1899	Montana State	5	Montana	0	Montana leads 3-1
5	1899	Montana State	38	Montana	0	Montana leads 3-2
6	1900	Montana State	38	Montana	0	Series tied 3-3
7	1901	Montana State	31	Montana	0	Montana State leads 4-3
8	1902	Montana State	38	Montana	0	Montana State leads 5-3
9	1903	Montana State	13	Montana	6	Montana State leads 6-3
10	1904	Montana	79	Montana State	0	Montana State leads 6-4
-	1905	-	-	-	-
-	1906	-	-	-	-
-	1907	-	-	-	-
11	1908	Montana	0	Montana State	0	Montana State leads 6-4-1
12	1908	Montana State	5	Montana	0	Montana State leads 7-4-1
13	1909	Montana	3	Montana State	0	Montana State leads 7-5-1
14	1909	Montana	15	Montana State	5	Montana State leads 7-6-1
15	1910	Montana	0	Montana State	0	Montana State leads 7-6-2
16	1910	Montana	10	Montana State	0	Series tied 7-7-2
-	1911	-	-	-	-
17	1912	Montana	7	Montana State	0	Montana leads 8-7-2
18	1912	Montana	39	Montana State	3	Montana leads 9-7-2
19	1913	Montana	7	Montana State	0	Montana leads 10-7-2
20	1913	Montana	20	Montana State	7	Montana leads 11-7-2
21	1914	Montana	26	Montana State	9	Montana leads 12-7-2
-	1915	-	-	-	-
22	1916	Montana	6	Montana State	6	Montana leads 12-7-3
23	1917	Montana	9	Montana State	7	Montana leads 13-7-3
-	1918	-	-	-	-
24	1919	Montana	6	Montana State	6	Montana leads 13-7-4
24	1920	Montana	28	Montana State	0	Montana leads 14-7-4
25	1921	Montana	14	Montana State	7	Montana leads 15-7-4
26	1922	Montana	7	Montana State	6	Montana leads 16-7-4
27	1923	Montana	24	Montana State	13	Montana leads 17-7-4
-	1924	-	-	-	-
28	1925	Montana	28	Montana State	7	Montana leads 18-7-4
29	1926	Montana	27	Montana State	0	Montana leads 19-7-4
30	1927	Montana	6	Montana State	0	Montana leads 20-7-4
31	1928	Montana	0	Montana State	0	Montana leads 20-7-5
32	1929	Montana State	14	Montana	12	Montana leads 20-8-5
33	1930	Montana	13	Montana State	6	Montana leads 21-8-5
34	1931	Montana	37	Montana State	6	Montana leads 22-8-5
35	1932	Montana State	10	Montana	7	Montana leads 22-9-5
36	1933	Montana	32	Montana State	0	Montana leads 23-9-5
37	1934	Montana	25	Montana State	0	Montana leads 24-9-5
38	1935	Montana	20	Montana State	0	Montana leads 25-9-5
39	1936	Montana	27	Montana State	0	Montana leads 26-9-5
40	1937	Montana	19	Montana State	0	Montana leads 27-9-5
41	1938	Montana	13	Montana State	0	Montana leads 28-9-5
42	1939	Montana	6	Montana State	0	Montana leads 29-9-5
43	1940	Montana	6	Montana State	0	Montana leads 30-9-5
44	1941	Montana	23	Montana State	13	Montana leads 31-9-5
-	1942	-	-	-	-
-	1943	-	-	-	-
-	1944	-	-	-	-
-	1945	-	-	-	-
46	1946	Montana	20	Montana State	7	Montana leads 32-9-5
47	1947	Montana State	13	Montana	12	Montana leads 32-10-5
48	1948	Montana	14	Montana State	0	Montana leads 33-10-5
49	1949	Montana	34	Montana State	12	Montana leads 34-10-5
50	1950	Montana	33	Montana State	0	Montana leads 35-10-5
51	1951	Montana	38	Montana State	0	Montana leads 36-10-5
52	1952	Montana	35	Montana State	12	Montana leads 37-10-5
53	1953	Montana	32	Montana State	13	Montana leads 38-10-5
54	1954	Montana	25	Montana State	12	Montana leads 39-10-5
55	1955	Montana	19	Montana State	0	Montana leads 40-10-5
56	1956	Montana State	33	Montana	14	Montana leads 40-11-5
57	1957	Montana State	22	Montana	13	Montana leads 40-12-5
58	1958	Montana State	20	Montana	6	Montana leads 40-13-5
59	1959	Montana State	40	Montana	6	Montana leads 40-14-5
60	1960	Montana	10	Montana State	6	Montana leads 41-14-5
61	1961	Montana State	10	Montana	9	Montana leads 41-15-5
62	1962	Montana	36	Montana State	19	Montana leads 42-15-5
63	1963	Montana State	18	Montana	3	Montana leads 42-16-5
64	1964	Montana State	30	Montana	6	Montana leads 42-17-5
65	1965	Montana State	24	Montana	7	Montana leads 42-18-5
66	1966	Montana State	38	Montana	0	Montana leads 42-19-5
67	1967	Montana State	14	Montana	8	Montana leads 42-20-5
68	1968	Montana State	29	Montana	24	Montana leads 42-21-5
69	1969	Montana	7	Montana State	6	Montana leads 43-21-5
70	1970	Montana	35	Montana State	0	Montana leads 44-21-5
71	1971	Montana	30	Montana State	0	Montana leads 45-21-5
72	1972	Montana State	21	Montana	3	Montana leads 45-22-5
73	1973	Montana State	33	Montana	7	Montana leads 45-23-5
74	1974	Montana State	43	Montana	29	Montana leads 45-24-5
75	1975	Montana State	20	Montana	3	Montana leads 45-25-5
76	1976	Montana State	21	Montana	12	Montana leads 45-26-5
77	1977	Montana State	24	Montana	19	Montana leads 45-27-5
78	1978	Montana	24	Montana State	8	Montana leads 46-27-5
79	1979	Montana State	38	Montana	21	Montana leads 46-28-5
80	1980	Montana State	24	Montana	7	Montana leads 46-29-5
81	1981	Montana	27	Montana State	17	Montana leads 47-29-5
82	1982	Montana	45	Montana State	15	Montana leads 48-29-5
83	1983	Montana State	28	Montana	8	Montana leads 48-30-5
84	1984	Montana State	34	Montana	24	Montana leads 48-31-5
85	1985	Montana State	41	Montana	18	Montana leads 48-32-5
86	1986	Montana	59	Montana State	28	Montana leads 49-32-5
87	1987	Montana	55	Montana State	7	Montana leads 50-32-5
88	1988	Montana	17	Montana State	3	Montana leads 51-32-5
89	1989	Montana	17	Montana State	2	Montana leads 52-32-5
90	1990	Montana	35	Montana State	18	Montana leads 53-32-5
91	1991	Montana	16	Montana State	9	Montana leads 54-32-5
92	1992	Montana	29	Montana State	17	Montana leads 55-32-5
93	1993	Montana	42	Montana State	30	Montana leads 56-32-5
94	1994	Montana	55	Montana State	20	Montana leads 57-32-5
95	1995	Montana	42	Montana State	33	Montana leads 58-32-5
96	1996	Montana	35	Montana State	14	Montana leads 59-32-5
97	1997	Montana	27	Montana State	25	Montana leads 60-32-5
98	1998	Montana	28	Montana State	21	Montana leads 61-32-5
99	1999	Montana	49	Montana State	3	Montana leads 62-32-5
100	2000	Montana	28	Montana State	3	Montana leads 63-32-5
101	2001	Montana	38	Montana State	27	Montana leads 64-32-5
102	2002	Montana State	10	Montana	7	Montana leads 64-33-5
103	2003	Montana State	27	Montana	20	Montana leads 64-34-5
104	2004	Montana	38	Montana State	22	Montana leads 65-34-5
105	2005	Montana State	16	Montana	6	Montana leads 65-35-5
106	2006	Montana	13	Montana State	7	Montana leads 66-35-5
107	2007	Montana	41	Montana State	20	Montana leads 67-35-5
108	2008	Montana	35	Montana State	3	Montana leads 68-35-5
109	2009	Montana	33	Montana State	19	Montana leads 69-35-5
110	2010	Montana State	21	Montana	16	Montana leads 69-36-5
111	2011	Montana	36	Montana State	10	Montana leads 70-36-5

 

External links

• University of Montana
• Montana State University
• Missoulian News special report on the rivalry
• Series history from cfbdatawarehouse.com
• MSU-UM Rivalry Scores

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games