Utah Tech Good/Bad/Ugly

[MSU01]

The Good

- The Bobcats are 2-0, spend 8 of the next 12 weekends in Bozeman with six home games and two bye weeks, and have the only FCS over FBS win so far this season!
- As the great John Madden always said, you're going to win a lot of games if the other team doesn't get a first down until the fourth quarter.
- The o-line and run game continues to perform well even as the injuries mount. Plenty of backups are getting meaningful playing time and still performing pretty well!
- Tommy had another good game statistically despite the sometimes choppy aesthetics. 67% completion percentage, a nice TD pass to Jones, and most importantly no turnovers.
- Loved the formation MSU ran a few times with four players in the backfield and Jones taking the snap with Tommy behind him. Utilize your talent in creative ways!
- Taco's two punt returns, he is a big time weapon back there.
- Brendan Hall could be one of the best players MSU has ever had at his current position, it just happens to be something we all take for granted unless something goes wrong and some will only remember his kicking struggles from last season. Which leads to...

The Bad

- ...Field goals are still a major issue. The first miss suffered from a poor snap but the second one needs to be made from that close. Nice to see them make one later on but I have absolutely no confidence in the team's ability to hit a 40-yard field goal if needed. I don't think Vigen does either.
- Injuries seem to be creeping up on the team already, but I suppose the good news is that they've got a rare September bye week after the Maine game and then a game they'd win even if they sat out all 22 starters for the entire game.
- Another poor first quarter showing by the offense. Fortunately there was little to no chance they'd fall behind this time but the game was 0-0 for longer than it needed to be.

The Ugly

- Utah Tech's ESPN+ announcer, who appeared to have done about as much preparation for the broadcast as I did for that one History test where I had to guess the answer to every question after being up all night playing Goldeneye on the N64 instead of studying. Uluilakepa isn't THAT bad if you practice it, Bryce Grebe will be excited to learn he was last week's Big Sky DPOW, and MSU apparently has identical quadruplets Scottre, Scott, Scotty, and Double Deuce Humphrey at running back. The camera work was also...interesting but I'll give it a pass since they said it's student workers doing the broadcast.
- The score of Utah Tech's game at UNLV next week given how many of their players went down injured last night.

[91catAlum]

Defense was dominant. I honestly don't remember ever seeing a team not get a first down for 3 quarters. Even against the D2 opponents we've played. Amazing!

Running game mostly kept rolling despite the various O line injuries and no Julius Davis.

The FG kicking game is still not right. I know Kautzman is out but even the protection seems sloppy. This must get fixed. It's frustrating that it hasn't been, given it was a glaring issue last year.

Way too many penalties. A 10 yard holding every other drive is going to hurt much more when we get into conference play.

Overall, still plenty to clean up but it's good to start 2-0 on the road, heading into Gold Rush!

[AFCAT]

The ugly is that dark, dingy, PA system reverberating, poor excuse for a stadium. That place makes UNC and PSUs stadiums look like the Taj Mahal, at least on TV.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen long shadows on a field during a night game.

[St George]

As painful as it was listening to the Utah Tech announcer, I would still rather listen to him than that giz homer Marty Mountsapig.

[nevadacat]

The ugly is that dark, dingy, PA system reverberating, poor excuse for a stadium. That place makes UNC and PSUs stadiums look like the Taj Mahal, at least on TV.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen long shadows on a field during a night game.

In person, it’s not a bad little stadium. Lighting certainly needs upgrading. And ADA seating is in the basement.

Interesting having a D-1 program with 20 dancers, about 25 cheerleaders, and an enormous marching band of … 25. That doesn’t include the six flaggers and six directors. Felt sorry for the band at halftime.

[Montanabob]

The ugly is that dark, dingy, PA system reverberating, poor excuse for a stadium. That place makes UNC and PSUs stadiums look like the Taj Mahal, at least on TV.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen long shadows on a field during a night game.

In person, it’s not a bad little stadium. Lighting certainly needs upgrading. And ADA seating is in the basement.

Interesting having a D-1 program with 20 dancers, about 25 cheerleaders, and an enormous marching band of … 25. That doesn’t include the six flaggers and six directors. Felt sorry for the band at halftime.

i thought the entertaining aerial show was a great addition to the ambiance. why didn't the bobcat cheerleaders travel to the game?

[Travelingcat]

Made the road trip to the game-- my thoughts

The Good:


Defense looked excellent-- though I'm not sure I've ever seen a less "dominant" performance from a team that didn't give up a first down for three plus quarters. No turnovers or sacks-- just methodically shut down the other guys. Obviously impressive, but it was just as obvious their offense was inept

We have so much depth at RB-- Coon came in late and looked great, as did all of the RBs, though they sometimes needed to be more patient in hitting the hole.

We (appeared to) avoid serious injury, though Mellott looked like he might have had more than cramps, no matter what Vigen said. Obviously, we'll want to look at Moore as well, though he wasn't even icing the injury midway through the game.

Obviously our team has a lot of depth.

Great fan support.

The Bad:

The kicking game-- though obviously this is our backup. Given our struggles here, it's a mystery that we weren't able to bring in quality competition this year.

Our ability to finish drives was not great.

Our offense really lacked creativity and the passing game was exclusively short and to the boundary. One long throw and nothing more than ten yards over the middle. I'd love to attribute this to us staying vanilla vs. an overmatched opponent but we need to see a lot more here going forward.

Some costly first half penalties including 2 OL penalties on the usually dominant Wehr.

The Ugly:

Utah Tech's offense and the Stadium's PA and replay systems.

[Montanabob]

As painful as it was listening to the Utah Tech announcer, I would still rather listen to him than that giz homer Marty Mountsapig.

who is this marty you speak of? i always leave the gris broadcasts on mute.

[catatac]

Good: Our defense. We'll see if they keep doing what they're doing but at this point it looks like it might be a dominant defense. 41 yards given up by the starters, and looking back at game one, MSU D performed WAY better than Arizona vs New Mexico.

Bad: PENALTIES. This is a veteran team, I don't understand all the stupid holding and other penalties, although I haven't watched the replay to see if there were bad calls in there. I doubt it... Vigen needs to get that cleaned up ASAP.

Ugly: Tommy not only being in the game but running the ball in the 4th quarter in a game where there was a 1% chance that team could score ANY points against our starting D. It's absolutely to not only keep him as healthy as can be when we face the best teams in the country, but also having a capable backup with real game experience,

[MSU01]

Good: Our defense. We'll see if they keep doing what they're doing but at this point it looks like it might be a dominant defense. 41 yards given up by the starters, and looking back at game one, MSU D performed WAY better than Arizona vs New Mexico.

Bad: PENALTIES. This is a veteran team, I don't understand all the stupid holding and other penalties, although I haven't watched the replay to see if there were bad calls in there. I doubt it... Vigen needs to get that cleaned up ASAP.

Ugly: Tommy not only being in the game but running the ball in the 4th quarter in a game where there was a 1% chance that team could score ANY points against our starting D. It's absolutely to not only keep him as healthy as can be when we face the best teams in the country, but also having a capable backup with real game experience,

It sure looked like this particular ref crew was calling the holding penalties a lot more tightly than most crews do these days. After seeing Grebe get tackled over and over last year with no flags I tend to expect MSU to get the same leeway, which did not happen last night. I do give credit to the o-line for adjusting to how the game was being called and not having any more penalties after the first quarter.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Cole Sain did not have a good game. A lot of plays with no/limited push or time spent on the ground. Very disappointing considering I thought he did quite well against New Mexico.

[BleedingBLue]

Cole Sain did not have a good game. A lot of plays with no/limited push or time spent on the ground. Very disappointing considering I thought he did quite well against New Mexico.

The combination of him and Jaden Perkins resulted in the majority of the short runs in the 3rd quarter last night. Understandable for Jaden, not ao much for Sain. We'll see how Reed looks when he comes back, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sain becomes the backup at both G spots when Justus Perkins and Reed are both back

[Camo_Cat]

Good: o-line depth continues to be a strength. Despite a patched-together line, these guys are still creating good running lanes. Rohan Jones us a freaking stud! All our RBs are just plain filthy - stick any one of them in the backfield and we don't miss a beat. Defense showed out last night!

Bad: passing game is nowhere near where it should be. Tommy is a 4-year starter at QB and his pocket presence has not developed. Some of this comes from playcalling; some of it comes from the style of play we have asked of Tommy. But taking sacks, throwing off his back foot under pressure, etc. is kind of worrisome at this point. We have a stable of highly talented WRs and we need to figure out how to get the ball to them.

Ugly: kicking game. I know most are putting this in the Bad category, but let's face it - it's atrocious. And we were told this was a point of emphasis during the off-season and in fall camp. It lost us crucial games last year, and showing no signs of improvement. Tommy being in the game in the 4th quarter. Up 24-0, and UT absolutely pathetic on offense, that game was well in hand before Tommy dove in for the TD and came out hurting. I don't care less if it was just cramps - coaches need to take better care of the players, especially when you're talking about your team's best player and considering the hot temps they were dealing with. I have not been disappointed with Vigen during his tenure until that point.

[catatac]

Good: o-line depth continues to be a strength. Despite a patched-together line, these guys are still creating good running lanes. Rohan Jones us a freaking stud! All our RBs are just plain filthy - stick any one of them in the backfield and we don't miss a beat. Defense showed out last night!

Bad: passing game is nowhere near where it should be. Tommy is a 4-year starter at QB and his pocket presence has not developed. Some of this comes from playcalling; some of it comes from the style of play we have asked of Tommy. But taking sacks, throwing off his back foot under pressure, etc. is kind of worrisome at this point. We have a stable of highly talented WRs and we need to figure out how to get the ball to them.

Ugly: kicking game. I know most are putting this in the Bad category, but let's face it - it's atrocious. And we were told this was a point of emphasis during the off-season and in fall camp. It lost us crucial games last year, and showing no signs of improvement. Tommy being in the game in the 4th quarter. Up 24-0, and UT absolutely pathetic on offense, that game was well in hand before Tommy dove in for the TD and came out hurting. I don't care less if it was just cramps - coaches need to take better care of the players, especially when you're talking about your team's best player and considering the hot temps they were dealing with. I have not been disappointed with Vigen during his tenure until that point.

Starting kicker is out, and from everything I've heard - once he gets back there will be much more consistency there than last season. I doubt many teams in the country have backup kickers that can come in and not skip a beat.

[Camo_Cat]

Good: o-line depth continues to be a strength. Despite a patched-together line, these guys are still creating good running lanes. Rohan Jones us a freaking stud! All our RBs are just plain filthy - stick any one of them in the backfield and we don't miss a beat. Defense showed out last night!

Bad: passing game is nowhere near where it should be. Tommy is a 4-year starter at QB and his pocket presence has not developed. Some of this comes from playcalling; some of it comes from the style of play we have asked of Tommy. But taking sacks, throwing off his back foot under pressure, etc. is kind of worrisome at this point. We have a stable of highly talented WRs and we need to figure out how to get the ball to them.

Ugly: kicking game. I know most are putting this in the Bad category, but let's face it - it's atrocious. And we were told this was a point of emphasis during the off-season and in fall camp. It lost us crucial games last year, and showing no signs of improvement. Tommy being in the game in the 4th quarter. Up 24-0, and UT absolutely pathetic on offense, that game was well in hand before Tommy dove in for the TD and came out hurting. I don't care less if it was just cramps - coaches need to take better care of the players, especially when you're talking about your team's best player and considering the hot temps they were dealing with. I have not been disappointed with Vigen during his tenure until that point.

Starting kicker is out, and from everything I've heard - once he gets back there will be much more consistency there than last season. I doubt many teams in the country have backup kickers that can come in and not skip a beat.

True, but as I mentioned in another thread, this is not all on the kicker. Some of these woes are on the line as well.

[coloradocat]

Good: o-line depth continues to be a strength. Despite a patched-together line, these guys are still creating good running lanes. Rohan Jones us a freaking stud! All our RBs are just plain filthy - stick any one of them in the backfield and we don't miss a beat. Defense showed out last night!

Bad: passing game is nowhere near where it should be. Tommy is a 4-year starter at QB and his pocket presence has not developed. Some of this comes from playcalling; some of it comes from the style of play we have asked of Tommy. But taking sacks, throwing off his back foot under pressure, etc. is kind of worrisome at this point. We have a stable of highly talented WRs and we need to figure out how to get the ball to them.

Ugly: kicking game. I know most are putting this in the Bad category, but let's face it - it's atrocious. And we were told this was a point of emphasis during the off-season and in fall camp. It lost us crucial games last year, and showing no signs of improvement. Tommy being in the game in the 4th quarter. Up 24-0, and UT absolutely pathetic on offense, that game was well in hand before Tommy dove in for the TD and came out hurting. I don't care less if it was just cramps - coaches need to take better care of the players, especially when you're talking about your team's best player and considering the hot temps they were dealing with. I have not been disappointed with Vigen during his tenure until that point.

Starting kicker is out, and from everything I've heard - once he gets back there will be much more consistency there than last season. I doubt many teams in the country have backup kickers that can come in and not skip a beat.

True, but as I mentioned in another thread, this is not all on the kicker. Some of these woes are on the line as well.

And the consistency that has been mentioned is in practice, which didn't seem to be a problem last year either. We'll just have to wait and see if Casey can handle game pressure any better this year.

[Lord Vigo]

The offense is clearly a work in progress, which is fine this time of year. They're trying to find ways to get Mellott throwing the ball more often, which makes sense. But I would just say that if they don't find the progress they're looking for by mid-season, they should be prepared to let him go back to being more of a runner in the bigger games (games that help secure homefield and playoff games). It obviously carries injury risk, but it also gives them the best chance to win.

The defense appears to have made a jump. Last week, they held UNM to 17 points in Albuquerque and then yesterday the Lobos scored 39 @Arizona including 24 in the first half. I realize that Utah Tech isn't a quality opponent, but for the starters to limit them to 41 total yards and zero 1st downs while playing into the fourth quarter... that's an absurd level of domination.

[tetoncat]

Good: o-line depth continues to be a strength. Despite a patched-together line, these guys are still creating good running lanes. Rohan Jones us a freaking stud! All our RBs are just plain filthy - stick any one of them in the backfield and we don't miss a beat. Defense showed out last night!

Bad: passing game is nowhere near where it should be. Tommy is a 4-year starter at QB and his pocket presence has not developed. Some of this comes from playcalling; some of it comes from the style of play we have asked of Tommy. But taking sacks, throwing off his back foot under pressure, etc. is kind of worrisome at this point. We have a stable of highly talented WRs and we need to figure out how to get the ball to them.

Ugly: kicking game. I know most are putting this in the Bad category, but let's face it - it's atrocious. And we were told this was a point of emphasis during the off-season and in fall camp. It lost us crucial games last year, and showing no signs of improvement. Tommy being in the game in the 4th quarter. Up 24-0, and UT absolutely pathetic on offense, that game was well in hand before Tommy dove in for the TD and came out hurting. I don't care less if it was just cramps - coaches need to take better care of the players, especially when you're talking about your team's best player and considering the hot temps they were dealing with. I have not been disappointed with Vigen during his tenure until that point.

only 1 of 4 parts is bad, punt and KO are outstanding XP is fine, it is just FG. Mellott should have been in game, just dont run read play. Hand off to RB.

[AFCAT]

As painful as it was listening to the Utah Tech announcer, I would still rather listen to him than that giz homer Marty Mountsapig.

who is this marty you speak of? i always leave the gris broadcasts on mute.

[RickRund]

As painful as it was listening to the Utah Tech announcer, I would still rather listen to him than that giz homer Marty Mountsapig.

who is this marty you speak of? i always leave the gris broadcasts on mute.

Is that the local Otis from Mayberry? Does he drink too much?