Montana State at Eastern Washington - Skyline Sports

[catatac]

Ya, I guess it's just a difference of opinion. One more hypothetical and I'll probably bow out of this. Let's say Tommy gets injured in the last play of our semi final win and he can't play in Frisco. Then pretend Mark Gronowski for SDSU is also injured but questionable. Zero chance I'm laying in bed really hoping Gronowski can go.

If that makes me a bad person, I'll own that.

[Colter_Nuanez]

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SvlYG ... c7ca3346c7\

Fun times counting these down!

[Long Time Cat]

I want to add something here, especially since I am partially responsible for the thread derailment. I particularly hoped that Vesperis would play this weekend because I would like to see the Cats defense against a decent passing offense. I think we win this game either way, but it would be nice for the defensive backs to get some real game experience against a good quarterback and receiver. Since we played New Mexico, I don’t believe we have faced a good passing attack and it would be nice to do that before we face a team with a good offense and a good defense.

[TomCat88]

I want to add something here, especially since I am partially responsible for the thread derailment. I particularly hoped that Vesperis would play this weekend because I would like to see the Cats defense against a decent passing offense. I think we win this game either way, but it would be nice for the defensive backs to get some real game experience against a good quarterback and receiver. Since we played New Mexico, I don’t believe we have faced a good passing attack and it would be nice to do that before we face a team with a good offense and a good defense.

This is a good point. MSU will play UC Davis, and that passing game is good, and Hastings is good. The Cats will also likely face either SDSU or NDSU or both and both teams have good QBs. USD is another likely opponent, and Bauman is a good QB. UM's QB Fife looks like he's pretty good and UM has good WRs. So, a test from Vesparis could be advantageous, but they might still be good in the pass game without him.

ISU was a good passing team, along with UNM, and Kobe Tracy is a good passer. I don't think MSU had Johnson vs ISU, and they were able to take advantage of their height at times. Johnson is a difference maker due to his height (6-0). MSU 'held' Tracy to 16 for 33, 183 and 2 TDs with no Ints. Those are decent numbers, but the two TDs were incredible plays that you can only tip your hat to. The first was a toe-tapper at the back of the EZ and the second featured Tracy going to the ground in the grasp and connecting with a WR that was covered about as good as possible. Those two plays covered 21 yards and without them Tracy has pedestrian numbers.

[tetoncat]

1

[tetoncat]

I want to add something here, especially since I am partially responsible for the thread derailment. I particularly hoped that Vesperis would play this weekend because I would like to see the Cats defense against a decent passing offense. I think we win this game either way, but it would be nice for the defensive backs to get some real game experience against a good quarterback and receiver. Since we played New Mexico, I don’t believe we have faced a good passing attack and it would be nice to do that before we face a team with a good offense and a good defense.

This is a good point. MSU will play UC Davis, and that passing game is good, and Hastings is good. The Cats will also likely face either SDSU or NDSU or both and both teams have good QBs. USD is another likely opponent, and Bauman is a good QB. UM's QB Fife looks like he's pretty good and UM has good WRs. So, a test from Vesparis could be advantageous, but they might still be good in the pass game without him.

ISU was a good passing team, along with UNM, and Kobe Tracy is a good passer. I don't think MSU had Johnson vs ISU, and they were able to take advantage of their height at times. Johnson is a difference maker due to his height (6-0). MSU 'held' Tracy to 16 for 33, 183 and 2 TDs with no Ints. Those are decent numbers, but the two TDs were incredible plays that you can only tip your hat to. The first was a toe-tapper at the back of the EZ and the second featured Tracy going to the ground in the grasp and connecting with a WR that was covered about as good as possible. Those two plays covered 21 yards and without them Tracy has pedestrian numbers.

Look at numbers. Maine 1500 yd 11 td 4 int, Mercy Hurst 1900 18 and 8, ISU 2400 24 4, decent passing on bad to a good teams. They couldn't run ball which allowed Cats to stifle pass as well.

[BleedingBLue]

The Eastern offense is very similar to last year, and that Cats D, which wasn't as good as this year's D, held them to 14.

[Colter_Nuanez]

The Eastern offense is very similar to last year, and that Cats D, which wasn't as good as this year's D, held them to 14.

The biggest difference is that by this point in the season, EWU had quit, the last two years. The team I saw live in Cheney in 2022 that lost 38-35 to the Cats was not the same that got blown out by the Griz. Last year in Bozeman, Cats made EWU tap out before halftime.

I'm not sure if EWU will have already quit by Saturday. But they hadn't quit as of last week. I was actually really impressed with their fight last Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

[grizzh8r]

The Eastern offense is very similar to last year, and that Cats D, which wasn't as good as this year's D, held them to 14.

The biggest difference is that by this point in the season, EWU had quit, the last two years. The team I saw live in Cheney in 2022 that lost 38-35 to the Cats was not the same that got blown out by the Griz. Last year in Bozeman, Cats made EWU tap out before halftime.

I'm not sure if EWU will have already quit by Saturday. But they hadn't quit as of last week. I was actually really impressed with their fight last Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

Completely agree. Though I will never root for EWU, I do like that they've shown no quit this season. This hasn't been the case in seasons past, where they were just going through the motions in the second half of losing seasons.

[TomCat88]

The Eastern offense is very similar to last year, and that Cats D, which wasn't as good as this year's D, held them to 14.

The biggest difference is that by this point in the season, EWU had quit, the last two years. The team I saw live in Cheney in 2022 that lost 38-35 to the Cats was not the same that got blown out by the Griz. Last year in Bozeman, Cats made EWU tap out before halftime.

I'm not sure if EWU will have already quit by Saturday. But they hadn't quit as of last week. I was actually really impressed with their fight last Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

I think EWU quit after they fell behind. I think (and hope) that all teams go into a game ready to play and trying to win but once things start to go downhill, they get into a “here we go again” mentality and then the rout is on. Eastern held the Bobcats on the first possession and made a couple plays early but once MSU scored they definitely looked like they gave up as MSU scored 6 tds on 14 plays!

EWU was also on the road for those two (MSU UM) games and will be at home for this one. They were on the road vs Idaho too and played hard all game but on the other hand they have a bit of a rivalry with the Vandals.

[TomCat88]

I want to add something here, especially since I am partially responsible for the thread derailment. I particularly hoped that Vesperis would play this weekend because I would like to see the Cats defense against a decent passing offense. I think we win this game either way, but it would be nice for the defensive backs to get some real game experience against a good quarterback and receiver. Since we played New Mexico, I don’t believe we have faced a good passing attack and it would be nice to do that before we face a team with a good offense and a good defense.

This is a good point. MSU will play UC Davis, and that passing game is good, and Hastings is good. The Cats will also likely face either SDSU or NDSU or both and both teams have good QBs. USD is another likely opponent, and Bauman is a good QB. UM's QB Fife looks like he's pretty good and UM has good WRs. So, a test from Vesparis could be advantageous, but they might still be good in the pass game without him.

ISU was a good passing team, along with UNM, and Kobe Tracy is a good passer. I don't think MSU had Johnson vs ISU, and they were able to take advantage of their height at times. Johnson is a difference maker due to his height (6-0). MSU 'held' Tracy to 16 for 33, 183 and 2 TDs with no Ints. Those are decent numbers, but the two TDs were incredible plays that you can only tip your hat to. The first was a toe-tapper at the back of the EZ and the second featured Tracy going to the ground in the grasp and connecting with a WR that was covered about as good as possible. Those two plays covered 21 yards and without them Tracy has pedestrian numbers.

Look at numbers. Maine 1500 yd 11 td 4 int, Mercy Hurst 1900 18 and 8, ISU 2400 24 4, decent passing on bad to a good teams. They couldn't run ball which allowed Cats to stifle pass as well.

You need look no further than MSU's previous opponents season averages and what they did vs MSU. No team has exceeded their average in any category and that's despite most teams getting to play vs MSU's 2-3s for good chunks of games and racking up garage-time numbers. If you take out their numbers vs MSU, which drags their averages down, that difference is even more dramatic. I think PSU's yards per game dropped by almost 30 after playing MSU. From around 425 to 395, and they got about 2/3rds of their yards in the last 15-20 minutes.

Teams try to go yard on MSU at the starts of games and at the start of second half often. My assumption is they watch tape and see the defense MSU is always in to start games and try to take advantage right away. They haven't hit one lately, but I'm sure someone will before the season is over (UNM got one early and MSU was out of position a lot causing pass interference). The problem is that they have about as good a chance of getting picked off as they do completing one of those. Jackson got Chachere at the start of the second half in Portland. Chachere isn't a good passer in my opinion though.

The big (relatively) concern would be a situation like UNM, but despite those struggles MSU played fairly well defensively. UNM averages 470 yards per game and 6.6 per play on the season. MSU held them to 324 and 6.0 on the road before it got dialed in (as was the case for UNM). UNM had 176 passing yards at 6.6 ypa vs MSU, but averages 260 and 7.5 (again take out the MSU game and they probably average 275 and 7.7).

I'm not ruling out the fact that a team could come out and hit a bunch of deep passes vs. MSU or have some shorter routes blow up with a bunch of YAC. No one has done so with any consistency yet, but then again, MSU hasn't played against a lot of high-end passers like Visperas and Hastings.

[TomCat88]

I want to add something here, especially since I am partially responsible for the thread derailment. I particularly hoped that Vesperis would play this weekend because I would like to see the Cats defense against a decent passing offense. I think we win this game either way, but it would be nice for the defensive backs to get some real game experience against a good quarterback and receiver. Since we played New Mexico, I don’t believe we have faced a good passing attack and it would be nice to do that before we face a team with a good offense and a good defense.

This is a good point. MSU will play UC Davis, and that passing game is good, and Hastings is good. The Cats will also likely face either SDSU or NDSU or both and both teams have good QBs. USD is another likely opponent, and Bauman is a good QB. UM's QB Fife looks like he's pretty good and UM has good WRs. So, a test from Vesparis could be advantageous, but they might still be good in the pass game without him.

ISU was a good passing team, along with UNM, and Kobe Tracy is a good passer. I don't think MSU had Johnson vs ISU, and they were able to take advantage of their height at times. Johnson is a difference maker due to his height (6-0). MSU 'held' Tracy to 16 for 33, 183 and 2 TDs with no Ints. Those are decent numbers, but the two TDs were incredible plays that you can only tip your hat to. The first was a toe-tapper at the back of the EZ and the second featured Tracy going to the ground in the grasp and connecting with a WR that was covered about as good as possible. Those two plays covered 21 yards and without them Tracy has pedestrian numbers.

I forgot to mention that one of the biggest pass plays against MSU's defense this season came vs ISU late in the first half when Tracy connected on 4th and 10 on a free play (MSU jumped offside) for 31 yards with an underthrown ball and it led to the TD that came on 4th down and required an excellent play by their WR to not only catch the pass, which was high, but also get his toes down.

That series of events led to 7 of the 31 first half points MSU's defense has allowed this year. Another 7 came vs Maine right with 3:15 to go in the half and that drive required a 4th down conversion. Another 7 to UNM on a naked bootleg that completely fooled MSU with 1:33 to play in the half. So, MSU's defense has only allowed 10 points in the first 26:45 of its games this year.

[CodyCat]

I want to add something here, especially since I am partially responsible for the thread derailment. I particularly hoped that Vesperis would play this weekend because I would like to see the Cats defense against a decent passing offense. I think we win this game either way, but it would be nice for the defensive backs to get some real game experience against a good quarterback and receiver. Since we played New Mexico, I don’t believe we have faced a good passing attack and it would be nice to do that before we face a team with a good offense and a good defense.

This is a good point. MSU will play UC Davis, and that passing game is good, and Hastings is good. The Cats will also likely face either SDSU or NDSU or both and both teams have good QBs. USD is another likely opponent, and Bauman is a good QB. UM's QB Fife looks like he's pretty good and UM has good WRs. So, a test from Vesparis could be advantageous, but they might still be good in the pass game without him.

ISU was a good passing team, along with UNM, and Kobe Tracy is a good passer. I don't think MSU had Johnson vs ISU, and they were able to take advantage of their height at times. Johnson is a difference maker due to his height (6-0). MSU 'held' Tracy to 16 for 33, 183 and 2 TDs with no Ints. Those are decent numbers, but the two TDs were incredible plays that you can only tip your hat to. The first was a toe-tapper at the back of the EZ and the second featured Tracy going to the ground in the grasp and connecting with a WR that was covered about as good as possible. Those two plays covered 21 yards and without them Tracy has pedestrian numbers.

I forgot to mention that one of the biggest pass plays against MSU's defense this season came vs ISU late in the first half when Tracy connected on 4th and 10 on a free play (MSU jumped offside) for 31 yards with an underthrown ball and it led to the TD that came on 4th down and required an excellent play by their WR to not only catch the pass, which was high, but also get his toes down.

That series of events led to 7 of the 31 first half points MSU's defense has allowed this year. Another 7 came vs Maine right with 3:15 to go in the half and that drive required a 4th down conversion. Another 7 to UNM on a naked bootleg that completely fooled MSU with 1:33 to play in the half. So, MSU's defense has only allowed 10 points in the first 26:45 of its games this year.

Those stats are absolutely wild. On a much more vanilla look at the defense, they are just so darn fun to watch.

[ilovethecats]

And I still want to blast them and I don't care if we do it with them at full strength or if we do it with them missing players to injury.

Which would you rather have? Victory against the full strength opponent or the injured opponent?

I would prefer the former. But that's just me. YMMV

Sorry for the thread derailment, Skyline Sports! Thanks for the Cats coverage!

Well I have never seen a team at full strength other than occasionally the first game of the season. You find me a team this late in the season without any injuries and perhaps I'd change my mind.

I think most people who say they don’t want to see the other teams best players out are just saying that to make themselves feel better about the part of themselves that wants other teams players to be out. Anyone who argues this with me is especially guilty. Lol!

[SparkCat]

Did Eastern to a press conference this week?

[The MICKSTER]

Did Eastern to a press conference this week?

Aaron Best press conference Oct 29.....

[catatac]

Did Eastern to a press conference this week?

Aaron Best press conference Oct 29.....

Thanks for posting. I wouldn't be too surprised if we end up in a dogfight over there. I'm hoping the game is never in question, but I have a feeling the Eags will come out fired up. I also loved his one quote, "They don't have enough footballs to distribute to all those stud running backs, or enough sacks to spread around to their defense. They have different problems than us." Something like that. lol

[coloradocat]

Did Eastern to a press conference this week?

Aaron Best press conference Oct 29.....

Thanks for posting. I wouldn't be too surprised if we end up in a dogfight over there. I'm hoping the game is never in question, but I have a feeling the Eags will come out fired up. I also loved his one quote, "They don't have enough footballs to distribute to all those stud running backs, or enough sacks to spread around to their defense. They have different problems than us." Something like that. lol

4 RBs with 40+ carries (5 if you count Tommy). 3 RBs with TDs (5 if you count Tommy and Chance).
6 WR/TE with 8+ receptions (1+/game) and 7 players with receiving TDs (2WR/3TE/2RB).
10 players with a sack (6 for Brody and everyone else has 1).

We've found enough balls in the first 8 games. I don't think we'll have any trouble in game 9 spreading them around.

[coloradocat]

MSU vs EWU through 8 games:
Off Rush/gm - 310 / 197
Def Rush/gm - 101 / 203
Off Rush TD - 25 / 18
Def Rush TD - 5 / 17
Off Pass/gm - 202 / 227
Def Pass/gm - 180 / 281
Off Pass TD - 18 / 16
Def Pass TD - 9 / 24

The only categories that are close are Off pass/gm (EWU) and Off Pass TD (MSU). Otherwise we have a decided advantage in every category.

[TomCat88]

Did Eastern to a press conference this week?

Aaron Best press conference Oct 29.....

Thanks for posting. I wouldn't be too surprised if we end up in a dogfight over there. I'm hoping the game is never in question, but I have a feeling the Eags will come out fired up. I also loved his one quote, "They don't have enough footballs to distribute to all those stud running backs, or enough sacks to spread around to their defense. They have different problems than us." Something like that. lol

I’d be surprised, shocked actually, if you didn’t think MSU would be in a dogfight with Simpson.