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In 50 years of coaching, Mick Delaney never felt anything quite like this.

Needing a win over Montana State to reach the FCS playoffs, his Montana football team responded with a season-best performance in front of a record crowd of 26,352 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The 13th-ranked Grizzlies played as if shot out of a cannon early, leaving the 12th-ranked Bobcats shell-shocked en route to a 34-7 win under the lights.

“This is unreal -- just so many emotions right now running through me,” said Delaney, who announced he will retire at the end of the season. “… Today was probably the most special day of my coaching career because of what these young men and our coaches did. Just total domination from beginning to end.”

The win boosted Montana to 8-4 and likely earned it a second straight postseason berth. The Grizzly players and coaches will gather at 9 a.m. Sunday morning to watch ESPNU and find out where and when they play next weekend.

Montana and MSU (8-4) finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Sky Conference standings with Idaho State, each team at 6-2. Montana State blew its a chance to tie Eastern Washington for league bragging rights but Bobcats’ skipper Rob Ash still felt compelled to salute the 71-year-old Delaney afterwards.