Week 9: UC Davis @ Montana The game experience at Montana was like nothing I’ve ever been to. Tailgate atmosphere was cool, very spread out on streets and fields near the stadium. Folks were friendly and knowledgeable. Stadium is cool; stands are RIGHT on the field (maybe 10 yards on sidelines), three sides of seats are high rise that helps build the noise.
Noise? When we took the field on offense it was a ROAR. And it somehow got louder after the first false start.
First half was bleak. Kids were losing their composure a bit with noise, penalties and Griz intensity (some questionable stuff). Coaches were calm (except Hawks penalty, his first in 35 years!). Once we got to 21-13, the feeling on the sideline (and stands behind us) really shifted. Double pass that set up that TD was reminiscent of hook-and-lateral v USD that turned things around. After 21-21 it felt inevitable. I told a buddy that it felt like if we got a lead we’d pull away. And did we ever. Impressive thing was how the players were reacting to the turnover/TD/turnover/TD/turnover/TD onslaught. No excessive celebration, more if a let’s get back at it (as an aside, QB was hurting after that sack/fumble. Might have led to two INT’s)
Special teams were outstanding! Punts were good , kickoffs outstanding and NO mistakes. That was a great sign.
7-1? On top of the BigSky? Great time to be an Aggie. On flight home I was telling my buddy who is there every game like me (he’s at all away games too) ‘we’ve seen a lot of tough games the past 10 years, this one made up for most of them!’