By MONTE DUTTON

I would have liked to be in Frisco. I’ve got a lot of friends in the area, and at least one who would have let me sleep on his couch. All I would have needed was some gas and spending money.

I could’ve not paid my taxes for a while.

I would have liked to be in Montana, but I might as well have shot for Australia, or asked one of those space-traveling multi-billionaires to let me hop a ride to the stars.

Turn me loose, set me free / Somewhere in the middle of Montana – Sir Merle of Haggard

I’m delighted to have the FCS title game to watch. I’d rather watch the Grizzlies and the Jackrabbits than the Carolina Panthers and anybody. I hope Montana wins for the entirely selfish reason that it was Montana that eliminated Furman in overtime. I’m not sitting here decked out in Griz paraphernalia. I’m more rooting for a decent game than for either team.

Montana is about all I’ve got, awaiting the basketball recovery. This game is bound to make me feel melancholy. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, two straight years of 10-3.

We are a hopeful lot that turns on a dime.

Bob Richey’s basketball team lost, at the very least, Furman’s greatest tandem since Clyde Mayes and Fessor Leonard. So awash in the historic cleansing of last season were most – and I’m talking coaches, trained media, others with websites, fans, friends, Romans, countrymen and countrywomen – that they predicted the Paladins to win the SoCon again.

Oh, the next seven scorers are back.

At this moment, the Paladins are 6-9 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

Of course they’re struggling. No team could lose Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson without struggling.

The prevailing view has changed. Views seldom prevail long.

Oh, rats. Er, Jacks. South Dakota State went 57 yards right away. I mean, based on helmet logos, I like the Jackrabbits better. By the way, isn’t FCS a great place for original nicknames? Paladins. Mocs, Jackrabbits, Terriers, Great Danes, Toreros, Torinos (okay, the last one was a Ford) …

Another advantage for South Dakota State: the jerseys don’t have names on the back.

It’s 7-0. I’m anxious to see if the Grizzlies can matriculate – one of the world’s insipid TV terms — down the field, lest a switch back to the Panthers seem tempting.

Much has been made by the South being eliminated out of the FBS finals. Wouldn’t it be marvelous if the South could finagle its way back into the FCS title game? The high plains and mountains of the sparsely populated West are fertile ground for football games.

Montana got stopped on fourth down inside the one, just as I expected it would, but the Grizzlies got it back on a rare interception surrendered by SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski. It’s the second quarter. Keep hope alive.

The Jacks got a touchdown. The Griz got a field goal. I fear that is going to be a pattern.

The Furman women’s basketball team buried 5/12 three-pointers in the first half. I hope the men’s team is there. Maybe it will rub off.

One more factor in South Dakota State’s favor: it has a running back named Braxton (Hill). I have a brother named Braxton. Point.

At this rate, I may convince myself to root for the Jacks. No. I’m no fair-weather friend. There’s too little fair weather in the Missouri Valley and Big Sky.

The Montana mascot, the one impersonating a cartoon character, is named Monte. Counterpoint.

What the Grizzlies need is a big play, which is what 14 other teams needed this season against the Jackrabbits.

It’s the third quarter and Tampa Bay only leads Carolina, 6-0. I didn’t tune in. I just checked the score.

When I was at Furman, many years ago, I attended a CLP event – Cultural Life Program; is it still a thing? – to see Rev. Jesse Jackson speak. All I remember was the Greenville native beginning a sentence with, When the doors of opportunity have been locked with impunity … I don’t know what it has to do with this blog – I guess it’s a blog, or is it a column? – but it makes me smile when I think about it the same way as when I hear a college football team is matriculating down the field again.

It’s just 7-3 at halftime, but resistance seems futile. That’s about the way it was for Furman at Montana, but the Paladins managed to take it into overtime. God, I’ll miss that team. Furman could be good next year, but it’s not going to be as stable in its excellence, Wofford notwithstanding.

Clay Hendrix and his staff have major rebuilding to do. The potential is there, but to borrow Clay’s frequent words, he’s got to find the guys who can “make a play.” Football is a game of matchups.

The Grizzlies just fumbled in the open field. South Dakota State is poised to strike. This might become the Afternoon of the Lepus.

I see the way Montana’s defense is playing its heart out against SDSU, and I think, Furman’s was better.

Those fans from the Great Lonesome North travel well. They get lots of practice.

Nothing like those positive gains. They’re even better than forward bite in NASCAR.

South Dakota’s just better, which is no reason to stop the endangered species of presses. Hell, the Jacks would’ve probably beaten the Paladins, too. It would’ve been nice to see, though.

Montana needed Joe Montana to defeat South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits wore them down, just like Albany. Just like everybody else.

Soon, in the spring, football season will begin to beckon again. After all, Furman won’t be playing baseball.

I’m thankful for your support, whether by advertising, contributing or reading.

Thanks so much for the recent contributions. My goal is to provide unique coverage of local sports. I’m aware that folks appreciate what I do, particularly the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

I used to list an address to send a check (DHK Sports, P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C. 29325). I finally got it through my thick head that not that many people write checks nowadays. For example, me. A more convenient means might be sending a reasonable contribution to DHK Sports on Venmo.

Support the advertisers, and help keep the site – the game stories, the blogs, the photos – alive by making, if you choose, a monthly donation via Patreon. The Laurens County site is here. The Furman site is here.

Another way I can make a little is if you purchase my books at MonteDutton.net. They’re quite entertaining in spite of the fellow who wrote them. Two of my novels, Cowboys Come Home and Lightning in a Bottle, are available in audio versions. The latest, The Latter Days, is about baseball.

Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.