“Season Predictions for 1976
“The 1975 season was a changing of the guard, with a number of players starting for the first time,” said Markovich, eventually a Seattle attorney.
The Bobcats went 5-5 after starting the season 1-4.
In the summer of 1976, Holland asked the Cats to set their goal in writing.
Remembers Markovich: “I wrote down, ‘win the national championship.’”
His brother laughed at him.
“I was a young kid dreaming," Markovich said. "I think others on the team thought championship, but didn’t say it.”
The Cats were selected fourth out of seven in the Big Sky coaches preseason poll. Most players agree: What would eventually happen was a surprise.
“We took it one game at a time,” said Rick Vancleeve, yet another Hall of Famer. “In the beginning, I think some of us didn’t even know there was a national championship game.”
"The Chief": MSU's larger-than-life head coach
“Volumes stated, and none over-stated,” Markovich said when asked about Holland.
Recruiting was one of “The Chief’s” many abilities. When the Butte native visited the Markovich family, it “was a done deal.”
Many Cats echo the same of Holland's recruiting wizardry.
“When I was coming out of Butte Central, some assistant coaches came by a few times,” said Dennehy, an eventual Hall of Fame quarterback who was also being pursued by Montana and Idaho. Dennehy was hedging, until the sincere, soft-spoken Holland “walked in the door and spent time with my folks.”
Dennehy continued, “My mom was quiet, she never said much. When Sonny left the house, dad and I went outside to talk about the Cats. Surprisingly, mom followed. She immediately made the decision.”
Twenty-two months later, MSU won the national title with the bleach-blond southpaw making critical plays.
The Offense
“Whatever the opposing defense did, was wrong,” Markovich recalled when asked about the offense.
Without a doubt, MSU had the best offensive line in the country. With Holland’s blessing, Don Christiansen, the offensive coordinator, designed and called the offense around the strength of the line.
Christiansen also tapped into the talent of the Cats’ four horsemen backfield: Dennehy, Jones, Don Ueland, and Tom Kostrba.
The Bobcats “took two-by-fours to the defenses,” said one observer. The design used the fullback Jones’ unique blocking ability to spring the others – including blocking edge defenders – one of the most difficult assignments in football.
And then, when the Cats had lulled the defense into ignoring Jones as a ball carrier, he would thread the needle and slingshot up the middle, into the enemy’s territory with electrifying runs.
Throw in the passing game with multiple rotating receivers, and the nightmare prolonged until the final whistle. Suddenly, every defense became brittle.
Bryan Flaig, Scott Quittem, Len Kelly, and Jerry Reisig traded spots at the split end and flanker positions. Loitering for playing time were freshmen speedsters Jeff Muri and future NFL player Mark McGrath. Holland’s receivers were blockers first. If they could not block in the open field, they never saw playing time…”
From part of the article. Sounds like the keys to 76 and 2024 are almost exactly the same… hmmmmmm.
