MISSOULA, Montana — Washington-Grizzly Stadium has brewed up plenty of magic over the years for its inhabiting Grizzlies.
And the man who has mastered the alchemy of the environment, conjuring up the most spells, has certainly been Bobby Hauck.
But Junior Bergen is giving his Merlin head coach a run for his wizard money this December.
The flashy, stealthy, and fearless do-everything junior just happens to hail from the Magic City. And on Saturday, he was purely enchanting in helping his team to an unforgettable win in front of the biggest crowd to ever watch a playoff game in the Garden City.
Saturday night in Missoula will go down as one of the most magical, memorable evenings in the 37-year history of the famed venue.
It took two overtimes, a peerless punt return touchdown and an OT score for good measure by Bergen…. some pure witchcraft by Bergen and Keelan White to connect on a pivotal two-point conversion… PLUS a pandemonium-igniting interception of North Dakota State’s two-point conversion attempt by Corbin Walker for Montana to secure a win for the ages.
As RaJa Nelson’s last-gasp throw settled into Walker’s hands in the Northeast corner of a stadium about to reach bedlam and the scoreboards around the venue read “31-29”, fireworks exploded out of the south side of the stadium.
Griz players raced around the turf looking for someone to celebrate with and finding many teammates from the here and now, along with many, many Griz greats from yesteryear basking in the moment. Hardly anybody knew what to do other than lose their minds.
Montana has reached the precipice of the Football Championship Subdivision. And now Montana will get another chance to prove itself on the biggest stage of the FCS.
Hauck, an unapologetic yet beloved figure in Montana sports lore, was mobbed by all comers, from fans to players to former pupils. As Montana’s head coach reached mid field in the last December game of his 12th season leading his alma mater, he was met by two of his four children.
Robby, a captain of last year’s Griz and a prominent stitch himself in the Hauck family’s interweaving with University of Montana football, along with one of Bobby’s twin daughters (it’s hard to say which, considering Alexandra and Sydney are identical) embraced their father as tears ran down the daughter’s face.
Wins have come with great prevalence, particularly in Missoula, during Hauck’s 12 seasons at UM over the span of 20 years. Saturday’s double overtime victory is the 129th in Hauck’s storied career.
Hauck’s been the leader of the men in maroon for some of the most iconic moments in the program’s rich history, not the least of which came in 2009 when the Griz outlasted the Goliath of the FCS at the moment. Montana beat Appalachian State during a quintessential Treasure State blizzard to make sure that Armanti Edwards’ career ended without a third national title.
But Saturday night’s victory was different than all the rest. App State was the standard, but North Dakota State is the greatest dynasty in college football history. And to win in the fashion the Griz did, with flair, pizazz, drama and, of course, magic, made it seem like perhaps the sweetest celebration of the 59-year-old head coach’s entire career.
“You can’t quantify this statement, but it’s one of the biggest games, the greatest games in the history of our stadium,” Hauck said following the game. “It was a pleasure to be a part of it. Just a real privilege to be part of that game.”
Montana, winners of 10 in a row, will take on No. 1 South Dakota State, winners of 28 in a row. Although Hauck dead panned that he had no clue that SDSU had won 59-0 Friday night against UAlbany, Montana’s head coach still recognized just what the victory meant to the University of Montana.
“Double overtime, that’s probably how a game like that should finish up, two great teams fighting their tails off,” Hauck said. “We are ecstatic to get the victory.”
When Montana slogged through its non-conference without much flair, then lost its conference opener at Northern Arizona, many wrote off the Griz. After Saturday’s win, Montana is 13-1, riding a 10-game winning streak and will play for the national championship for the eighth time in in school history.
“It means the world to me and it means the world to everyone on this team, our coaches, everyone who has put in all the work inside of that locker room,” Griz captain senior linebacker Braxton Hill said.
The raucous crowd of Griz faithful showed up and stayed throughout like no other group in recent memory. As North Dakota State executed a two-minute drill to close the first half, Montana athletic director Kent Haslam said to no one in particular as he walked through the press box, “this is the most fans still in their seats before halftime, ever”, a striking symbol of how everyone in attendance knew the prestige of the visitors and the magnitude of the moment.
And even when Bergen made the stadium shake with the most iconic and explosive play of his now mythical Griz career — a winding 47-yard punt return for the ages — North Dakota State did not flinch.
Bergen’s punt return TD early in the fourth in the third quarter gave Montana a 16-9 lead. But Miller’s nine-yard touchdown strike to stud sophomore Eli Green with 51 seconds left helped knot the score. For the second time in three weeks, the Bison were going to overtime.
And for the second time in as many weeks, the Griz would need extra time to extend their season as well.
“That’s why I look like I’m 105,” Hauck quipped. “Overtime is gut wrenching. So what’s that make double overtime? HORRIBLE. Nobody loves double overtime. We want to win by 50, in regulation.
“I’m having a blast and this group of people likes and loves each other and they play hard for each other. It’s a privilege to be their coach.”
NDSU scored on its first play of OT as gun run quarterback Cole Payton went off tackle and raced into the South end-zone. Bergen went into the phone booth as Clark Kent and emerged as Superman again, catching a pass in the flats, then sprinting to pay dirt.
“Junior is terrific. He’s a great football player. He can throw it, he can catch it, he can run it. He has a real knack for it in the return game. “There’s a bunch of guys with monster blocks and it doesn’t happen with them, but it’s (Bergen’s PR TDs) are why we’ve won the last two weeks.” Hauck said.
Second overtime meant a flipped field and a jog for the teams and the media corps in attendance to the North End-zone.
Eli Gilman proved why he’s the Jerry Rice Award winner as the top freshman in the FCS as he ripped off a 13-yard touchdown run. Then came a miraculous two-point conversion.
McDowell, who fought through a busted up throwing hand all night, pitched to Bergen, who rolled to the East toward the Griz sideline. The former Billings Senior quarterback had his face-mask grabbed, so he decided to heave a prayer because the flags were already flying.
He lofted one up to the back of the end-zone but the ball was tipped…right before it was snared by White, adding yet another iconic moment to a highlight reel that will be emblazoned on the brains of Griz fans forever.
“I saw the guy come off the edge and he grabbed my face mask and I looked up and saw Keelan and I was like, ‘Well, it’s a free play anyway, so I might as well give it a shot.’” Bergen said. “I threw it as hard as I could and I suppose it got tipped, I couldn’t see it, I don’t know what happened. I just heard the crowd go crazy.”
“Pure relief,” White added. “Like Coach Hauck said, nobody likes overtime. It was just awesome, pure relief and excitement, feeling blessed.”
Still, the mighty Bison have the hearts of champions and refuse to go out without a fight. TK Marshall pounded in a short touchdown to cut the lead to two.
Then NDSU lined up with an uneven line and Payton at quarterback. The Bison ran a sort of reverse play that ended with Walker snaring an interception and pandemonium ensuing.
“I was just relieved,” UM linebacker Braxton Hill said. “Then people started coming left and right. I can’t even put it into words, that feeling. I was so excited. It was such a game of ups and downs, and you just got to stay levelheaded, and I think we did that as a team and we finally got a break in overtime.
“That was a legendary night in our stadium. Griz Nation is the best. That was so much fun and super excited about everything. I can’t even put it into words.”
North Dakota State charged into Missoula as the standard even if this year has been spun as a “down year” for the Bison. NDSU won three straight playoff games, including two straight on the road in two of the most raucous environments in the FCS (Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, the Dakota Dome in Vermillion), earning the FCS playoff wins record in the process.
Saturday marked NDSU’s 12th straight appearance in the semifinals. To put that in perspective, Montana was in their 11th semifinal and moved to 8-3 in those Final Four contests.
The Bison claimed nine national championships between 2011 and 2021, rapidly replacing Montana, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and others as the gold standard of small-school Division I football.
Even if NDSU lost three out of four during the regular season and entered the playoffs 8-3, the Bison carried a five-game winning streak that included a 45-17 dismantling of the No. 3 seed last week when North Dakota State thrashed South Dakota.
“how close we’ve gotten the last four week and the playoffs, it’s been something special, and the environment tonight, you never want you career to end, but it’s a little bit easier knowing this is my last memory of college football,” NDSU senior defensive end Jake Kava said.
The last two times NDSU came to Missoula, memorable contests played out. In 2003, the then-Division II Bison beat the mighty Griz when Chris Snyder missed what would’ve been a walk-off field goal for the hosts.
In 2015, with Brent Musburger on the nationally televised ESPN call, Joey Counts pounded in a touchdown with 13 seconds left to help Montana begin the Bob Stitt era with a bang, posting a 38-35 win over an NDSU team that had won the last four national titles.
Then came Saturday, an afternoon turned evening that will live in Garden City and Treasure State lore forever.
“This is two really proud programs that have really long, proud tradition,” Hauck said. “When you got to the Fargo Dome and you see how many championship years that they have pasted on the wall there, it’s phenomenal. I think people understand but I think they don’t quite get it.
“North Dakota State has been a good football program for 100 years. And we kind of like to think we invented it here, too, at least our fans do (laughs). That lends itself to two teams that really battle. That’s how it’s expected to be played there and that’s how it’s expected to be played here. It’s a real privilege to be in these games.”
Montana preached “RTD” when Hauck first returned and many thought the Big Sky Conference’s Darth Vader would have the Death Star eviscerating the league’s “Planet Alderons” right away.
But nothing in life is that easy and neither is building an elite football program, especially given all the resources and momentum North Dakota State and their fellow Dakota football teams have accumulated since Hauck left Montana for the first time following the Grizzlies’ last trip to the FCS national title game in 2009.
The early-season slog, the flawed two-quarterback system, the proliferation of injuries on the defensive front….none of them deterred this Griz team.
Montana settled on McDowell under center and committed to playing a complimentary, team-exclusive style that has, ironically, allowed players like Bergen to emerge as super-duper stars.
“This team really reminds me of the 2008 team, which I thought was undervalued going into the season, lost our first conference game down at Weber State and then went on a roll, went and played for the national championship,” Hauck said. “There’s some things that are identical for that.
“I also think it’s interesting that a whole bunch of former players from those teams and our past couple of teams are here, a lot of them. I think everyone is fired up for this team because they have a lot of grit. They have a lot of mental and physical toughness. They are highly competitive. And this one has found a way to pull out games like that one today.”
As the band Alabama’s song “If you’re going to play in Texas (you gotta have a fiddle in the band)” blared out throughout Washington-Griz — it’s become a right of passage tuen for those going to Frisco — Hauck, Bergen and the Griz could breathe a sigh of relief.
“Leaving your mark on games like this, we wanted to take it upon ourselves to make plays in this game,” Bergen said. “And that’s what we did.”
After back-to-back overtime victories and an iconic contest to cap one of the most memorable home game slates in school history, the Griz are heading to the Frisco party for a chance to check the last empty box on Hauck’s otherwise sterling resume.
“Let’s say this: that game, winning that game brings great joy to everybody, our team, our staff but also Grizzlies football brings a lot of joy and happiness to the people of Montana and our alumni base” Hauck said. “Grizzly football is special and that was a special game.”
