Found a way

[nanacat]

I'll admit I had some concerns about the game going the wrong way due to defense just not seeming to be themselves in the first half into the 3rd. They just seemed off. Certainly getting hailed on, coming off a bye, playing on the road, are all factors, and excuses, but what stands out is the finish. That shows who this team is. They lifted each other up, as Tommy mentioned in his post game, buckled down, made some adjustments and won. This is a very special team!

[onceacat]

We obviously had a weakness against the offense that EWU was running but it appeared that Daly found a way to counter it by the end of the third quarter. Sometimes, you just get outschemed. Sometimes, they make better adjustments than you do. But Daly seemed to have figured it out by the end of the third and into the fourth (as Tom mentioned) and I'm glad it happened now so that we know what to do if/when we come up against an offense like it in the future.

Yeah, it was good for MSU that they appeared to get that solved because I would guess others might use it. Not Davis, but possibly SAC and maybe UM.

Keep in mind that EWU’s rushing numbers are skewed by the 75-yard run. They also lost 16 on the sack at the end. Good run is a good run though. I want to rewatch because it looked like O’Reilly was being held. Not that I know what constitutes holding in this day and age. They still averaged 4+ per carry if you remove those two plays which is still good. But MSU has been keeping most teams below 3.

EWU was the best FCS offense the Cats played & Cat D held them at or below their season averages.

Even with the hold on O'Reiley that lead to the TD.

Thats a pretty solid performance any way you cut it.

[BelligerentBobcat]

Eastern put up 288 passing and 263 running while going for 49 against the griz and allowed 701 yds to the griz.

168 and 225 for 28 it's against us. With a running qb we didn't prep for. We went for 498yds.

We’ll never know, but it would’ve been interesting to see how Visperas (sp?) did against us. Certainly we saw some benefit to their passing game not being as good, but their running game was certainly better than usual. We’d still win, maybe by more, maybe by less.

In what way was it “certainly better” than usual?

I phrased that poorly.

What I meant is that I don’t think Eastern would have ran that well if Visperas was playing/starting.

[BelligerentBobcat]

We obviously had a weakness against the offense that EWU was running but it appeared that Daly found a way to counter it by the end of the third quarter. Sometimes, you just get outschemed. Sometimes, they make better adjustments than you do. But Daly seemed to have figured it out by the end of the third and into the fourth (as Tom mentioned) and I'm glad it happened now so that we know what to do if/when we come up against an offense like it in the future.

Yeah, it was good for MSU that they appeared to get that solved because I would guess others might use it. Not Davis, but possibly SAC and maybe UM.

Keep in mind that EWU’s rushing numbers are skewed by the 75-yard run. They also lost 16 on the sack at the end. Good run is a good run though. I want to rewatch because it looked like O’Reilly was being held. Not that I know what constitutes holding in this day and age. They still averaged 4+ per carry if you remove those two plays which is still good. But MSU has been keeping most teams below 3.

EWU was the best FCS offense the Cats played & Cat D held them at or below their season averages.

Even with the hold on O'Reiley that lead to the TD.

Thats a pretty solid performance any way you cut it.

Hard to compare them to their season averages when they were missing the starting QB.

[CodyCat]

I didn’t look at the gameday thread. Can’t stand the entitlement from some fans when things get rough. Terrible look by those specific fans.

I just laugh at the game thread because it's the same guy every single time who is the first to proclaim the season over because MSU isn't playing well. Not sure I'd call it entitlement but some are definitely better at dealing with their nerves and frustration than others.

The Eags are a good team that got shafted with a really tough schedule. If they had the Cats' schedule, they'd probably be a 2 loss team and in talks for a playoff berth.

If they could find a good DC willing to live in SpoCompton (and maybe a whale to fund some NIL & facilities), they'd be back to the glory days in a heartbeat.

Really? We’ve beat Idaho. Would’ve beat the gris badly had the Cats played them the same week eastern did. We get Davis in two weeks. I just don’t see where the Cats would’ve had two losses.

[BelligerentBobcat]

I didn’t look at the gameday thread. Can’t stand the entitlement from some fans when things get rough. Terrible look by those specific fans.

I just laugh at the game thread because it's the same guy every single time who is the first to proclaim the season over because MSU isn't playing well. Not sure I'd call it entitlement but some are definitely better at dealing with their nerves and frustration than others.

The Eags are a good team that got shafted with a really tough schedule. If they had the Cats' schedule, they'd probably be a 2 loss team and in talks for a playoff berth.

If they could find a good DC willing to live in SpoCompton (and maybe a whale to fund some NIL & facilities), they'd be back to the glory days in a heartbeat.

Really? We’ve beat Idaho. Would’ve beat the gris badly had the Cats played them the same week eastern did. We get Davis in two weeks. I just don’t see where the Cats would’ve had two losses.

Read the post you’re responding to again, and then try again.

[CodyCat]

I didn’t look at the gameday thread. Can’t stand the entitlement from some fans when things get rough. Terrible look by those specific fans.

I just laugh at the game thread because it's the same guy every single time who is the first to proclaim the season over because MSU isn't playing well. Not sure I'd call it entitlement but some are definitely better at dealing with their nerves and frustration than others.

The Eags are a good team that got shafted with a really tough schedule. If they had the Cats' schedule, they'd probably be a 2 loss team and in talks for a playoff berth.

If they could find a good DC willing to live in SpoCompton (and maybe a whale to fund some NIL & facilities), they'd be back to the glory days in a heartbeat.

Really? We’ve beat Idaho. Would’ve beat the gris badly had the Cats played them the same week eastern did. We get Davis in two weeks. I just don’t see where the Cats would’ve had two losses.

Read the post you’re responding to again, and then try again.

[onceacat]

I didn’t look at the gameday thread. Can’t stand the entitlement from some fans when things get rough. Terrible look by those specific fans.

I just laugh at the game thread because it's the same guy every single time who is the first to proclaim the season over because MSU isn't playing well. Not sure I'd call it entitlement but some are definitely better at dealing with their nerves and frustration than others.

The Eags are a good team that got shafted with a really tough schedule. If they had the Cats' schedule, they'd probably be a 2 loss team and in talks for a playoff berth.

If they could find a good DC willing to live in SpoCompton (and maybe a whale to fund some NIL & facilities), they'd be back to the glory days in a heartbeat.

Really? We’ve beat Idaho. Would’ve beat the gris badly had the Cats played them the same week eastern did. We get Davis in two weeks. I just don’t see where the Cats would’ve had two losses.

Read the post you’re responding to again, and then try again.

LOL. I think we beat the gris by 2 scores at home & Davis by a TD on the road. We beat Jeff Choate & Nevada by a TD too. Cats are undefeated if we have EWUs schedule PLUS Cats would have a lot tougher SOS so there would be a legit case for #1.

[onceacat]

We obviously had a weakness against the offense that EWU was running but it appeared that Daly found a way to counter it by the end of the third quarter. Sometimes, you just get outschemed. Sometimes, they make better adjustments than you do. But Daly seemed to have figured it out by the end of the third and into the fourth (as Tom mentioned) and I'm glad it happened now so that we know what to do if/when we come up against an offense like it in the future.

Yeah, it was good for MSU that they appeared to get that solved because I would guess others might use it. Not Davis, but possibly SAC and maybe UM.

Keep in mind that EWU’s rushing numbers are skewed by the 75-yard run. They also lost 16 on the sack at the end. Good run is a good run though. I want to rewatch because it looked like O’Reilly was being held. Not that I know what constitutes holding in this day and age. They still averaged 4+ per carry if you remove those two plays which is still good. But MSU has been keeping most teams below 3.

EWU was the best FCS offense the Cats played & Cat D held them at or below their season averages.

Even with the hold on O'Reiley that lead to the TD.

Thats a pretty solid performance any way you cut it.

Hard to compare them to their season averages when they were missing the starting QB.

I don't think that QB play was holding Ewoo back-the backups looked pretty dang good IMO. They scored 28 on one of the saltiest Ds in FCS. Its their D that was a serious problem.

[tetoncat]

I didn’t look at the gameday thread. Can’t stand the entitlement from some fans when things get rough. Terrible look by those specific fans.

I just laugh at the game thread because it's the same guy every single time who is the first to proclaim the season over because MSU isn't playing well. Not sure I'd call it entitlement but some are definitely better at dealing with their nerves and frustration than others.

The Eags are a good team that got shafted with a really tough schedule. If they had the Cats' schedule, they'd probably be a 2 loss team and in talks for a playoff berth.

If they could find a good DC willing to live in SpoCompton (and maybe a whale to fund some NIL & facilities), they'd be back to the glory days in a heartbeat.

Really? We’ve beat Idaho. Would’ve beat the gris badly had the Cats played them the same week eastern did. We get Davis in two weeks. I just don’t see where the Cats would’ve had two losses.

Read the post you’re responding to again, and then try again.

LOL. I think we beat the gris by 2 scores at home & Davis by a TD on the road. We beat Jeff Choate & Nevada by a TD too. Cats are undefeated if we have EWUs schedule PLUS Cats would have a lot tougher SOS so there would be a legit case for #1.

EWU sort of has Cats schedule from last year. But top teams at home vs road, they haven't been able to win any of them

[ilovethecats]

Best part about yesterday’s game is just by the eye test, we didn’t look great. Not bad by any means but quick 3 and out, dumb penalties, D looked lost. And yet I didn’t find myself worried about losing one time. We won by 2 tds on the road not looking great. I’ll take that all day.

We’re gonna roll Saturday. I guess Davis could surprise me but I’m just not worried about them and I love us playing a competent team the week before the brawl.

We’ll be 11-0 into the rivalry game and leave Saturday afternoon 12-0.

I will say the +1 run game EWU played around with seemed to give us issues. The dakotas are real good at the +1 so I hope that’s a priority this next month.

[PapaG]

We obviously had a weakness against the offense that EWU was running but it appeared that Daly found a way to counter it by the end of the third quarter. Sometimes, you just get outschemed. Sometimes, they make better adjustments than you do. But Daly seemed to have figured it out by the end of the third and into the fourth (as Tom mentioned) and I'm glad it happened now so that we know what to do if/when we come up against an offense like it in the future.

It was mainly due to over pursuing on the long TD run. Seven players were following the wrong side of the reverse and gaps were left wide open.

[77matman]

We obviously had a weakness against the offense that EWU was running but it appeared that Daly found a way to counter it by the end of the third quarter. Sometimes, you just get outschemed. Sometimes, they make better adjustments than you do. But Daly seemed to have figured it out by the end of the third and into the fourth (as Tom mentioned) and I'm glad it happened now so that we know what to do if/when we come up against an offense like it in the future.

It seemed obvious that EWU was doing something offensively that we didn’t game plan for. I was comfortable that we’d figure out how to adjust. My concern was how long it took. Was kind of hoping for adjustments in the first half if not the start of second half. Isn’t 3 quarters a little long to make adjustments to an offensive scheme that is more than marginally successful???

[Bobcat4Ever]

It was the lowest point total for EWU at home this season.

Second lowest total yards at home.

It was their worst, by points margin, home loss.

They were below their total yards and ppg averages.

Despite it being arguably MSU’s worst defensive performance this season, MSU appeared to have figured out how to stop this type of offense on the fly, which is very impressive. I’m trying to think of other games where teams allow 28 points and 328 yards (47 plays) in less than three quarters, then allow 0 points and 65 yards (22 plays) in the final quarter+. I’m sure I’ve seen
something similar but nothing is popping out to me.

Similar to New Mexico. The defense stonewalled them in the 4th quarter, and the offense put up 21 points. That’s two really great 4th quarter finishes.

[4KornerKat]

We obviously had a weakness against the offense that EWU was running but it appeared that Daly found a way to counter it by the end of the third quarter. Sometimes, you just get outschemed. Sometimes, they make better adjustments than you do. But Daly seemed to have figured it out by the end of the third and into the fourth (as Tom mentioned) and I'm glad it happened now so that we know what to do if/when we come up against an offense like it in the future.

It seemed obvious that EWU was doing something offensively that we didn’t game plan for. I was comfortable that we’d figure out how to adjust. My concern was how long it took. Was kind of hoping for adjustments in the first half if not the start of second half. Isn’t 3 quarters a little long to make adjustments to an offensive scheme that is more than marginally successful???

I agree with this point, but I think to some degree the 3 quarters piece is misleading.

If you think about the drives, they had one in the first half, and then the quick touchdown, and then Polidore's interception.
They opened the second half with two solid drives, after which the Cats got things figured out. Would have been really nice to stall out at least one of those second half drives, and obviously the one play TD from the first half can't happen.

[TomCat88]

MSU still possesses the reputation of being a team that, when it has time to prepare for a particular QB/offense, has the ability to shut teams down with its defense.

It's hard for me to believe that MSU was exposed by EWU for the simple reason the only other game that a team had some success on offense was UNM and the Lobos had the benefit of a new coach and having no games on film under him for MSU to use. Dante Chachere was hyped as being a huge threat to have a big game vs MSU. MSU, however, had time to prepare for him and the result was overwhelmingly in MSU's favor 66 total yards for Chachere.

While EWU did have a good game rushing the ball, statistically, the 75-yard run has a lot to do with that. Had they had another run similar to that it would be a concern, but it seems like a one-off and there's some question about a possible hold or two on that play. Even it was clean, however, EWU didn't do anything like that again. They did have a number of good running plays, but in re-watching the game it's pretty obvious that MSU was having issues learning what to do on the fly. I counted at least 15 plays where the defense had to look to the sidelines and scramble to get set up. That could be due to having Uluilakepa out, but I think it had more to do with the simple fact that Visperas didn't play, and they weren't quite ready for Taylor to be in full time.

I think it would be great if SAC runs Bennett out there just to see if MSU has that issued ironed out for sure. The final four possessions for EWU went punt, punt, downs, downs. The first three (trailing by 7) they ran seven times for 21 yards. On the last possession (down 14) they were forced to pass but did attempt one run and it was stuffed for no gain. They had a play that was technically a run, but it was a pass play that resulted in a 16-yard sack. So, 8 carries for 21 yards during that crucial stretch. Prior to that, 30 carries for 220 yards (7.7 per carry). Take out the 75 and its still 29 for 145 (5.0 per carry), which is good, but I think MSU can live with that as long as they aren't getting burned in the pass game.

Aside from the long run, MSU played the run well in the first half giving up 49 yards on 14 carries. The third quarter was the most concerning as you would've expected MSU to adjust at halftime and clean things up on EW's first possession. The Eagles got 40 yards on 9 carries and scored, then the next possession looked very bad for MSU as EWU ran on every play and went 64 yards on 6 rushes to tie the game. At that point it looked like MSU was not capable of stopping them. Their longest run after that was 5 yards. On the 6 rush TD drive to tie it at 28, all but one run was for at least 5 yards.

[tetoncat]

MSU still possesses the reputation of being a team that, when it has time to prepare for a particular QB/offense, has the ability to shut teams down with its defense.

It's hard for me to believe that MSU was exposed by EWU for the simple reason the only other game that a team had some success on offense was UNM and the Lobos had the benefit of a new coach and having no games on film under him for MSU to use. Dante Chachere was hyped as being a huge threat to have a big game vs MSU. MSU, however, had time to prepare for him and the result was overwhelmingly in MSU's favor 66 total yards for Chachere.

While EWU did have a good game rushing the ball, statistically, the 75-yard run has a lot to do with that. Had they had another run similar to that it would be a concern, but it seems like a one-off and there's some question about a possible hold or two on that play. Even it was clean, however, EWU didn't do anything like that again. They did have a number of good running plays, but in re-watching the game it's pretty obvious that MSU was having issues learning what to do on the fly. I counted at least 15 plays where the defense had to look to the sidelines and scramble to get set up. That could be due to having Uluilakepa out, but I think it had more to do with the simple fact that Visperas didn't play, and they weren't quite ready for Taylor to be in full time.

I think it would be great if SAC runs Bennett out there just to see if MSU has that issued ironed out for sure. The final four possessions for EWU went punt, punt, downs, downs. The first three (trailing by 7) they ran seven times for 21 yards. On the last possession (down 14) they were forced to pass but did attempt one run and it was stuffed for no gain. They had a play that was technically a run, but it was a pass play that resulted in a 16-yard sack. So, 8 carries for 21 yards during that crucial stretch. Prior to that, 30 carries for 220 yards (7.7 per carry). Take out the 75 and its still 29 for 145 (5.0 per carry), which is good, but I think MSU can live with that as long as they aren't getting burned in the pass game.

Aside from the long run, MSU played the run well in the first half giving up 49 yards on 14 carries. The third quarter was the most concerning as you would've expected MSU to adjust at halftime and clean things up on EW's first possession. The Eagles got 40 yards on 9 carries and scored, then the next possession looked very bad for MSU as EWU ran on every play and went 64 yards on 6 rushes to tie the game. At that point it looked like MSU was not capable of stopping them. Their longest run after that was 5 yards. On the 6 rush TD drive to tie it at 28, all but one run was for at least 5 yards.

I'll have to rewatch Ortts interview, but sounds like Cats were just rushing 4, playing pretty base defense and finally added someone in the box in the 4th. Maybe they thought EWU would throw in 2nd half being behind

[Prodigal Cat]

MSU still possesses the reputation of being a team that, when it has time to prepare for a particular QB/offense, has the ability to shut teams down with its defense.

It's hard for me to believe that MSU was exposed by EWU for the simple reason the only other game that a team had some success on offense was UNM and the Lobos had the benefit of a new coach and having no games on film under him for MSU to use. Dante Chachere was hyped as being a huge threat to have a big game vs MSU. MSU, however, had time to prepare for him and the result was overwhelmingly in MSU's favor 66 total yards for Chachere.

While EWU did have a good game rushing the ball, statistically, the 75-yard run has a lot to do with that. Had they had another run similar to that it would be a concern, but it seems like a one-off and there's some question about a possible hold or two on that play. Even it was clean, however, EWU didn't do anything like that again. They did have a number of good running plays, but in re-watching the game it's pretty obvious that MSU was having issues learning what to do on the fly. I counted at least 15 plays where the defense had to look to the sidelines and scramble to get set up. That could be due to having Uluilakepa out, but I think it had more to do with the simple fact that Visperas didn't play, and they weren't quite ready for Taylor to be in full time.

I think it would be great if SAC runs Bennett out there just to see if MSU has that issued ironed out for sure. The final four possessions for EWU went punt, punt, downs, downs. The first three (trailing by 7) they ran seven times for 21 yards. On the last possession (down 14) they were forced to pass but did attempt one run and it was stuffed for no gain. They had a play that was technically a run, but it was a pass play that resulted in a 16-yard sack. So, 8 carries for 21 yards during that crucial stretch. Prior to that, 30 carries for 220 yards (7.7 per carry). Take out the 75 and its still 29 for 145 (5.0 per carry), which is good, but I think MSU can live with that as long as they aren't getting burned in the pass game.

Aside from the long run, MSU played the run well in the first half giving up 49 yards on 14 carries. The third quarter was the most concerning as you would've expected MSU to adjust at halftime and clean things up on EW's first possession. The Eagles got 40 yards on 9 carries and scored, then the next possession looked very bad for MSU as EWU ran on every play and went 64 yards on 6 rushes to tie the game. At that point it looked like MSU was not capable of stopping them. Their longest run after that was 5 yards. On the 6 rush TD drive to tie it at 28, all but one run was for at least 5 yards.

I guess a benefit to getting exposed to that style of the plus 1 QB run game is a team that utilizes it well is NDSU and to a lessor extent with their backup is SDSU.

[liqud360]

Hearing Simeon Woodard comment today on how the team lifts each other no matter what... WOW! What a great group, this team is something special for sure.

[RootinfortheCats]

Great teams win even when they aren’t playing their best.

Ask ETSU.