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Welcome back real football! Saturday is the second annual FCS kickoff, pitting the four time defending national champions North Dakota State University versus the #12 Montana Grizzlies, who are debuting new head coach Bob Stitt, formerly of Colorado School of Mines and subject of endless fascination for a small subset of football nerds. What exactly is the FCS kickoff? An excuse to pay attention to the wonderful weird world of FCS football. A place with bloodfields, fortune 500 CEOs in second careers, familiar names slumming it between jobs, and an 24 team playoff. Most importantly, the FCS is home to some very good football and both teams this weekend represent that. So here's the matchup: North Dakota State University  At this point the only question with NDSU is why FBS schools are dumb enough to schedule them. During their current four year run, they've gone 58-3, at one point ripping of 30 straight wins, including that one where they beat Kansas State at Snyder Family Stadium. So far, it looks like second year head coach Chris Klieman is going to follow in Craig Bohls footsteps, and the Bison are going to continue to steamroll everybody with their dominant defense and efficient pro-style offense. Imagine Nick Saban's Alabama stepping on the face of college football for half a decade, except everybody involved has obnoxiously Scandinavian name, unironically eats lutefisk, and thinks of Fargo as a model american metropolis. gently caress them. But seriously, this looks like another excellent NDSU squad. The offense is returning 8 starters, potentially mitigating a lot turnover on the defensive side, where they're starting a brand new secondary. Still, their ability to slow down Montana's passing game will be crucial to how the match plays out, because they really don't want to get into a shootout. Adding to the challenge, nobody has any tape on Montana because of their new coach... Montana  If NDSU is 'bama, Montana is some bastard mix of Texas' underperformance relative to historical excellence and Penn State's poorly prosecuted sex crimes. We're past that though! With a brand new coach and a collection of football talent without any bestselling books about their misdeeds, it's a new day in Missoula. Really though, it comes down to whether or not Coach Stitt can live up to the hype. Stitt came into public consciousness, at least amongst a very small subset of the public, a few years back when the version of the fly sweep he invented was used to eviscerate Clemson in Orange bowl. He put together a career 108-62 record at Division II school Colorado School of Mines, but his record likely understates his success there: he built a program essentially out of scratch, at a school with a median ACT in the high 20s/low 30s, while trying to convince student athletes to come play at a school with a 75% male student body and no majors outside engineering and a student body not always concerned with athletics. Now he's at the helm of one of the best funded FCS programs, on a campus where athletics are king and distractions are aplenty. He could easily exceed the already high expectations and show how much CSM was holding him back, or he could falter dealing with student athletes who aren't engineering students. As for their on the field prospects, Montana is expected to use some version of a spread attack, but a fun storyline going into the game is that nobody is really sure what it would look like. NDSU has allegedly been trying to scrounge up as much gametape of CSM as they can, but nobody is quite sure how much of his playbook he's bringing with him. For a general outline of what he does though, this piece by Bill Connelly is pretty great. The novelty and element of surprise are a double-edged sword that might determine the contest: if Montana's players are comfortable enough in the system to exploit the raw NDSU secondary, they could turn the game into a track meet and put of a lot of pressure on the plodding NDSU. Unofficial Mascot for the Game: Smokey the Air  This is the biggest wildcard this weekend. Washington, Idaho and Western Montana are on fire, and the prevailing winds are blowing everything through Missoula/all of the state. Visibility is miserable, I can taste woodsmoke everytime I go outside, and the state strongly advises against extended physical exertion outside. There's a chance it could settle down by tomorrow, but right now it looks like the teams will have to play through it. Aside from the novelty of watching a stadium full of people slowly get cancer, it could test both sides conditioning and slow the game down, potentially giving NDSU an advantage. When to watch: 3:30 EST, ESPN. What to drink: I'm going represent my Montana pride with a couple growlers of delicious Blackfoot Single Malt IPA. They don't distribute outside Helena, MT city limits though, so I'd recommend Moose Drool Brown Ale by Big Sky brewery, because that's really the only widely distributed Montana beer.
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Aug 28, 2015 21:34
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Thank god there is a game tomorrow, because it is my birthday and if i cannot watch football on my birthday it is a travesty.
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Aug 28, 2015 23:05
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I have to say that moose drool, while good, is like 10 times better in billings than anywhere outside Montana.
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Aug 29, 2015 19:11
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Football!
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Aug 29, 2015 20:05
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woooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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Aug 29, 2015 20:11
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Let's go Montana Bob Stitts
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Aug 29, 2015 20:12
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Outstanding write up, DinosaurEggSalad 
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Aug 29, 2015 20:20
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DinosaurEggSalad posted:
Cold Smoke from Kettlehouse Brewing is liquid crack and the single thing I miss most about Missoula. Edit: Texas is also a really good comparison for UM, we're pretty solid overall, big in our conference but don't turn that into tons of national championships or anything, basically a bloated, generally successful but not dominant program that thinks it's way bigger than it is. Washington Grizzly Stadium is still my favorite game day experience though, wouldn't trade that for anything. Thaddius the Large fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Aug 29, 2015 |
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Aug 29, 2015 20:22
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I am ready for college football to be on my screen
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Aug 29, 2015 20:23
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Thaddius the Large posted:Cold Smoke from Kettlehouse Brewing is liquid crack and the single thing I miss most about Missoula. God that stuff is astounding. It was actually the first Montana made beer I had, in a vaguely racist bar in Phillipsburg and thus the most Montana beer I ever had. Go Grizz!
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Aug 29, 2015 20:30
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Does NDSU play any FBS teams this year?
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Aug 29, 2015 20:31
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C2C - 2.0 posted:Does NDSU play any FBS teams this year? Nope, they were all too scared. e: YOU ARE LOOKING LIIIIIVE
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Aug 29, 2015 20:32
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Slate Action posted:Nope, they were all too scared. Muss pronounced it "By-zon" 
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Aug 29, 2015 20:33
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C2C - 2.0 posted:Does NDSU play any FBS teams this year? Not this year, but I think Iowa has them in 2016.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:33
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Jessie Palmer is an attractive dude.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:34
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C2C - 2.0 posted:Muss pronounced it "By-zon" That's how they say it, I swear to god. The Dakotas are the worst.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:34
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OF COURSE IT"S JESSE PALMER.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:34
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Go a grizzly
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Aug 29, 2015 20:34
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Let's go Bizon Let's go Grizz Let's go football
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Aug 29, 2015 20:35
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Alaois posted:woooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Truth. Also watching football while getting paid to do nothing is pretty cool
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Aug 29, 2015 20:35
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I hope Bob Stitt is a success.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:36
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Football!
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Aug 29, 2015 20:36
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FOOTBAW
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Aug 29, 2015 20:37
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REJOICE, COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE
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Aug 29, 2015 20:37
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Foooootball!!!
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Aug 29, 2015 20:38
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Pakled posted:I hope Bob Stitt is a success. In a weird way I wanted to get him at UGA for OC. I know it would have never happened, but damnit if I didnt want it.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:38
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Yay football! and it's not bad NFL preseason football, but a premier FCS matchup!
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Aug 29, 2015 20:41
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Pakled posted:REJOICE, COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE everything is beautiful and nothing hurts
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Aug 29, 2015 20:41
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6'6", 236 lbs. That's a big QB
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Aug 29, 2015 20:43
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C2C - 2.0 posted:6'6", 236 lbs. That's a big QB The other team's QB is 6'7"
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Aug 29, 2015 20:43
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Shittttt
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Aug 29, 2015 20:43
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Is it Montana that has the insane maroon or gray field of doom?
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Aug 29, 2015 20:43
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Yeah that secondary's looking rough
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Aug 29, 2015 20:44
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KKKLIP ART posted:Is it Montana that has the insane maroon or gray field of doom? No, that's Eastern Washington's cherry red poo poo
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Aug 29, 2015 20:44
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TOUCHDOWN Yeah NDSU still looks pretty loving good
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Aug 29, 2015 20:44
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C2C - 2.0 posted:6'6", 236 lbs. That's a big QB Montana's is 6'7" 235 lbs E: beaten like poo poo
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Aug 29, 2015 20:44
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DinosaurEggSalad posted:Shittttt Stittttttttt
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Aug 29, 2015 20:44
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KKKLIP ART posted:Is it Montana that has the insane maroon or gray field of doom? nah Eastern Washington has the Field of Blood
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Aug 29, 2015 20:44
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Pakled posted:Montana's is 6'7" 235 lbs. Good lawd! The battle of the golems.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:45
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Thaddius the Large posted:No, that's Eastern Washington's cherry red poo poo I swore that there was a maroon and gray team that wanted a non green field, not just the FIELD OF BLOOD team.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:46
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