BOZEMAN, Mont. – Montana State plays its official Homecoming game on October 9 against Portland State next fall, but Rob Ash will face a different Homecoming game of sorts much earlier in the season when Drake, the school he led on the gridiron for 18 years, visits Bozeman.
Drake of the Pioneer Football League highlights MSU’s non-conference slate, which also features regional rivals Washington State of the Pac 10 and Fort Lewis of the Rocky Mountain Conference. MSU’s Big Sky home games include Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado and Weber State in addition to Portland State, and the Bobcats face the Grizzlies in Missoula to close the regular season on November 20.
But MSU’s game against Drake in Bobcat Stadium, part of a home-and-home series which concludes with a trip to Des Moines in 2012, stands as a highlight for Ash, the all-time wins leader in Bulldogs history. “That will be a special game,” Ash said. “I have relationships with many people in and close to that program. But it’s one of 11 games we’ll play next year, and each pose their own challenges. We’re excited about the direction of our program and the promise of the 2010 season.”
Montana State lost its only previous meeting with Drake, a 54-0 decision in Des Moines in 1940. The Bobcats are 0-7 all-time against Washington State, with the most recent meeting a 45-28 decision in 2002. MSU is 2-0 against Fort Lewis.
“Our non-conference schedule is very competitive and will prepare us for the Big Sky season,” Ash said. “As its been every year that I’ve been at Montana State, the Big Sky shapes up as competitive from top to bottom and should be one of the best FCS leagues in the country again.”
2010 Montana State Football Schedule
Date Opponent Time Site
Sep 4 Fort Lewis 1:05 pm Bozeman, MT
Sep 11 at Washington State TBA Pullman, WA
Sep 18 Drake 1:05 pm Bozeman, MT
Sep 25 Eastern Washington 1:05 pm Bozeman, MT
Oct 2 at Sacramento State TBA Sacramento, CA
Oct 9 Portland State (HC) 1:35 pm Bozeman, MT
Oct 16 at Northern Arizona TBA Flagstaff, AZ
Oct 23 Northern Colorado 1:05 pm Bozeman, MT
Oct 30 at Idaho State TBA Pocatello, ID
Nov 6 Weber State 12:05 pm Bozeman, MT
Nov 13 Open
Nov 20 at Montana 12:05 pm Missoula, MT
*-Big Sky Conference game
All games Mountain Time unless otherwise noted