That it ended so quickly, in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs may make the Grizzlies' dream season more unforgettable.
It was a season that had as its prologue the shocking arrest of top-flight cornerback Jimmy Wilson, who turned himself in on murder charges in June in California. June turned into fire season in western Montana and the Grizzlies opened camp under ominous, smoky skies.
Three wins turned into four and five, though the Griz struggled mightily to put away first winless Weber State, then a talented Eastern Washington squad that outlasted them in the playoff bracket.
Through October the wins kept coming: A 17-3 struggle at Sacramento State, a 52-7 laugher over Northern Colorado, an impressive 21-16 victory at Northern Arizona.
In November, after the Griz held off Portland State 34-31, handled Idaho State 27-14 and ran away from Montana State 41-20, the stage seemed set for another long playoff run.
Then Wofford spoiled the party.
“There were so many plays in last weekend's game, right down to the last field goal,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said of the 23-22 loss, which ended with Dan Carpenter's potential game-winning kick sailing wide left as time ran out. “If we'd have made some of them, we'd still be playing.
“We let a really good team hang around, and when you let good teams hang around, you give them a chance to beat you. And that's what they did.”
Many of the Grizzlies' opponents hung around, which is either a testament to Montana's resolve, its lukewarm scheduling or the fact the Big Sky Conference is no pushover.
That probably depends on which side of the Great Divide you're on. But if the Big Sky was as soft as many suspected, you couldn't deny the Griz had been building toward this season.
All of the Griz were Hauck's recruits, including a senior class that numbered a remarkable 23 players, though several were missing at the end, due either to injury or legal problems. It was Hauck's fifth season, and he was destined to move into second place on UM's career wins list with a victory over arch-rival Montana State.
Lex Hilliard, injured for Montana's 12-2 campaign in 2006, appeared to be recovered from the Achilles injury that delayed his senior year. Also back from injury were defensive end Mike Stadnyk and punter Tyson Johnson.
All played well. Johnson led the Big Sky in punting, was second in the FCS with a 47.2-yard average; Stadnyk, a junior, had 44 tackles including 3.5 sacks, batted down three passes and recovered a fumble; and all Hilliard did was run for 1,132 yards and 16 touchdowns, breaking two of UM's career touchdown records.
Beyond Johnson and Hilliard there were Carpenter, who owns two FCS career records, and Biermann, who put himself in the hunt for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS. Biermann had 15 sacks, five forced fumbles and two blocked field goals.
That's not to mention two senior receivers, Eric Allen and Ryan Bagley, who combined for 13 touchdown receptions, and a trio of senior linebackers - Tyler Joyce, Kyle Ryan and Loren Utterback - who together made exactly 300 tackles.
“It's a big senior class, and they really produced,” said Hauck, who also loses reserve linebackers Muckie Foreman and Alex Hawthorne to graduation. “They produced five Big Sky championships; they've produced 16 Big Sky Conference wins in a row. They've done a lot of things.”
Chris Clark and Quinton Jackson, a pair of seniors who waited in the wings behind Tuff Harris - now of the Miami Dolphins - and Wilson, stepped into the breach at cornerback and played well. Jackson had 4.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions; Clark also had a pick to go with 60 stops.
The safety spot also lost a pair of playmakers in Torrey Thomas, who ended up fifth on UM's career interception list with a dozen, and hard-hitting Van Cooper, Jr., who contributed 47 tackles.
All of them made headlines, whether it was Ryan's crucial interception to set up a TD against Weber State, or Jackson's two picks at Sacramento State, or Carpenter's game-winning field goal against Eastern.
Four seniors started on offense, including left tackle Cody Balogh; seven started on defense, including tackle Kelly Kain. The O-line loses depth with the added departures of Eric Michel and Ryan Gustafson. Backup corner Brandon Dwyer won't be flying downfield on special teams anymore.
“But the cupboard's not bare,” Hauck noted. “We're excited about next season. Just like we always are.”
The Grizzlies won't have running back Reggie Bradshaw or receiver Craig Chambers, who missed either all or most of the 2007 season with injuries. They were seniors and transfers who already used a redshirt year.
They will have Thomas Brooks-Fletcher, Andrew Schmidt and Brandon Utterback at running back, and Mike Ferriter, Marc Mariani, Rob Schulte and Ty Palmer at receiver.
Losing Hilliard and senior Greg Coleman could leave UM without the big back that's been a mainstay of the Grizzlies' one-back offense. That and finding a quarterback rank near the top of Hauck's recruiting wish list, mainly because he feels you need to have one in each class.
Cole Bergquist manned the quarterback spot very capably, completing 61 percent of his passes for 2,623 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Griz actually averaged more passing yards - 235.8, compared to 227 - than they did last year with Josh Swogger calling signals.
Bergquist, who started eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2005, is 16-4 as the Grizzlies' starter.
“His evolution as a quarterback and his improvement from the '05 season was terrific,” Hauck said. “He's a different guy. He grows and grows and he's a threat - I'm really proud of the way he performed. In his senior year I think he's going to be terrific.”
The Griz remain strong at tight end - 22 catches and a touchdown return there - and the line, with all-league performers J.D. Quinn, Colin Dow and Brent Russum leading a group that includes Chris Dyk, Terran Hillesland, Levi Horn and Dan Carter, should keep improving.
Filling in the gaps will be daunting, whether it's for Biermann, Hilliard, that fleet of linebackers or Johnson and Carpenter.
“Those are guys that we played as true freshmen,” Hauck said of his punter and kicker. “We've got our eyes on those two positions as well. Those are questions we have to answer, no doubt.”
Hauck noted that taking FBS transfers has become more problematic. The season took another ominous turn when Coleman and defensive end Mike Shelton were arrested as they got off the bus returning from the Idaho State game on burglary, assault and kidnapping charges.
Coleman, Shelton and another former player involved, Qwenton Freeman, transferred in from Bowl Subdivision programs (Iowa State and Arizona).
“We've had some great guys,” Hauck said. “If you look at Craig Ochs (Colorado) and Brent Russum (Arizona State) - you can go down the list.
“I believe in our system of researching guys. With that being said, we're going to be very cautious. Š That's a hard question to answer right now. I guess cautious and hesitant are two words to describe our approach there.”
One thing is for certain: Recruiting Montana is the first priority.
“Out of 23 positions leaving, including kicker and punter, we started 18 Montana kids at one time or another,” Hauck said. “You can't do it all with Montana kids. But while I'm here, we'll always have a great nucleus of Montana kids.”
Of course, Hauck would rather not be talking recruiting at this juncture. Delaying recruiting until December - after the FCS title game - makes it tougher, but he would gladly take that trade-off.
Instead, the Griz watched Richmond beat Wofford 21-10 and Eastern drop a 38-35 decision to Appalachian State on Saturday.
“I think it speaks volumes about our team that with 36 seconds left, there was really not a doubt on our sideline that we were going to get a shot to go win it,” Hauck said of the Wofford loss. “And I don't think there was a lot of doubt that Dan was going to make the kick - in either his mind or anybody else's.”
It wasn't a fitting end for the Griz, though it wasn't unprecedented. Kris Heppner, who kicked 10 NFL field goals, missed the final field goal of his Griz career, as did Chris Snyder. The Griz had chances to go up by two scores and keep the hard-running Terriers at bay.
“There were at least 10 plays, and maybe 20,” Hauck said. “On third down we had a hold of their quarterback, he slips out and they move the chains. We give up a sack in max protection because we fall out trying to help and their guy comes late. We jump offsides at the 1-yard line. We miss a block at the point of attack that's going to get us a touchdown.
“The most glaring is the last field goal. Heck, I wish we'd been able to bang that through and move on. But that's the way it is.”
It was an excellent season. It was also taxing, painful and puzzling, as when Bagley broke his arm at ISU in much the same manner Ferriter broke his the year before. But it was rewarding, if not on the scale many expected.
“It's never easy,” Hauck said. “Usually hindsight is 20-20, but it's generally through rose-colored glasses. Winning's hard, and football seasons are a grind. They take a lot of emotion and effort. People give a lot of themselves.
“This will go down as one of the great seasons in our football history.”
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