A season-ending 13-10 defeat at major college entry Tulsa terminated his sophomore campaign. The fourth was a 38-0 whitewashing of UM in Missoula. The Bobcats dropped a 35-23 decision at North Dakota State before winning four more in a row. He moved into the starting lineup in his first moments of eligibility as a sophomore in 1966, leading MSU to wins in his first four varsity games. He had a "knack for coming up with big play in tight situations," as MSU's fine athletics publicist Ken Nicholson put it eloquently, while most just called him a "winner." He also rushed for 774 yards in his three seasons, and his coach Jim Sweeney repeatedly called him the best option quarterback in America.įor whatever one things of Erickson's statistics, his coaches and teammates and opponents always said the same thing. He threw for 3,181 career yards, then the most in school history by a wide margin, in his three varsity seasons, and his 1,819 yards in 1968 was dazzling in that time. He laughs that his role was to "hand off and get out of the way," and his teammates marvel at how footballs he launched got to their destination.Īnd yet, they did. In 1968, he was able to hand off to sophomore sensation Paul Schafer, another All-America. In 19 Erickson shared the backfield with All-America running back Don Hass. He departed the Bobcat program after leading MSU to three straight titles himself. HONORS: Honorable Mention All-America and 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1968, 1st Team All-Big Sky in 1967Ī CLOSER LOOK: Dennis Erickson arrived at Montana State in the fall of 1965 on the heels of the program's first Big Sky Championship.
Msu billings series#
Story Links Montana State's Top 125 Bobcats series continues with another quarterback who was considered the program's best ever at the completion of his career, Dennis Erickson.ĪLL-TIME TEAM: 1969 Billings Gazette All-Time Team
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