Well Bobcat football season 2012-2013 is coming up. However, this season will be different. They will not have Clay Bignell, Elvis Akpla, and Jason Cunningham. Those three players were the package of greatness, they brought joy to Montana State. It is weird that only two of those players made it into the National Football League. One of those two, Jason Cunningham was 56 of 72 field goals at MSU. That’s pretty good for a NFL kicker. Some other news is that he went to the Kansas City Chiefs and I feel that Cunningham has accomplished  his job and at some point he will become one of the best kickers in football history. That’s what I hope for. As for Akpla, he became a NFL wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s great for him. He studied to be a doctor, but because of that catch at Sam Houston (the best catch I have ever seen) he had a lot of teams wanting to take him. The Eagles were the lucky team; if Akpla starts he’ll be Michael Vick’s favorite target. Those two players are going to be the best NFL players ever and I am going to enjoy watching them.

Now what I’m thinking is why didn’t Clay Bignell make it? He had an incredible year with fumbles, interceptions, touchdowns, and sacks. I thought he deserved it most out of everyone. Bignell was a starter for the past two seasons as a middle linebacker for the Bobcats. He played just 10 games last year, but had 42 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, and 3 interceptions.

So the Bobcat’s first game of the season is against Chadron State on August 30th at Bobcat Stadium. This will be their first game under the new lights. I predict that it is going to be a great  game and the Cats will send them home 31- 17. The Cats have a ton of new great players and I think that they will go on to play Sam Houston again in the semi finals and win this time. They will play the Grizzlies in the game to get to the championship and beat the Griz 24-21.
I talked to coach Ash and asked how the new players are fitting in; he said just fine. I also talked to McGee and asked “how did the scrimmage go?” He said awesome, and he is looking forward to a great Bobcat season. Minter Owens and DeNarius McGee were named TSN preseason All American players. McGee threw for 5962 yards and 47 tds. Jody Owens and Minter combined had 105 tackles and had 7.5 sacks as Big Sky crowns.

The last time we played Chadron was in 2006. Montana State lost 35-24. This years game will be played at 7:05 pm and if you would like updates on the game go to Montana State’s facebook page and I’ll be there updating you on the game. This year the Big Sky Conference will be different. We have 2 new teams: North Dakota State and Southern Utah. They are great teams. When we last played North Dakota State we lost in the 2011 playoff quarterfinals 42-17. That game I did not like at all. We last played Southern Utah in the 2012 preseason but didn’t have too much luck, we lost 27-10. We lost both of the games so I am  predicting that Montana State will beat North Dakota State 42-35, my prediction for Southern Utah will be that Montana State will crush Southern Utah 43-7. Montana State is going to have a great season.
This season McGee is in the running for the Walter Payton Award. That’s pretty cool for Mcgee. I hope he can get it.

So the Bobcat’s first game will be played August 30. The first night game in Montana State history. I can’t wait for Northern Colorado for homecoming. That is going to be a great game. So I’m picking 31-17 Montana State. Cats vs Chadron; every one should come and support the Cats. Who knows? Maybe they could bring home their first trophy since 1984.

Jack Carroll Thorsen is an eleven year old Bozeman resident who loves Bobcat Football. He blogs during each home Bobcat game on his facebook page, his after game blog can be found at jacksfootballblog.com