Game thoughts

[jaredkuehn]

Coming from a Griz fan, I was very impressed with Cats showing yesterday. Prukop and the offense looked legit. Someone in the BSC is going to have to figure out how to stop Adams and the EWU offense, that's a juggernaut right now. Thats a tough loss to swallow but Cat fans should be l looking forward to a lot of great football this season. I'll be rooting the Cats on until we meet in Missoula in November.

As a side note, Bobcat stadium sounded amazing on TV, much louder than the freaking Fargo Dome.

[Joe Bobcat]

Great team wide effort and contribution from so many players, everyone stepped up. Shawn John had a career day and should at least be in the conversation for POW. I am certain if John Madden was making the choice that Shawn John would be a shoe in.

[codecat]

But that wasn't what lost the game. Going 0-2 on 2 pt. conversions did. The End.

It was the two fumbles IMO.

I think any of us could point to any number of 20 or so plays that lost it for us, both offensive and defensive, - my nomination was when we had them to 3rd and 10 in the fourth quarter and Coe got a roughing the passer penalty so instead of 4th and 10 they got a first down (I'd get the specifics of time etc for you but our stats never seem to get posted within a day anymore).

[Rjones61]

But that wasn't what lost the game. Going 0-2 on 2 pt. conversions did. The End.

I thought MSU only went for one 2 pt. conversion.

[91catAlum]

The Cats had plenty of chances to win this thing. The 2 turnovers in the first half really hurt, you just cannot give the EWU offense 2 extra possessions. Without those turnovers, the score could easily have been 37-20 at the half. The dropped wide open TD pass to the running back in the 4th quarter might have won the game, as a couple plays later we turned it over on downs. And the inability to pick up 4th and inches was also a killer.

The Cats defense actually played a really good first half, other than the big Forte run. Forcing EWU to punt on their first possession really set the tone. However, the second half was a different story. Other than Mario Brown's fumble in the 4th, we did not get 1 stop (unless you count holding them to a FG once). They allowed EWU to convert a 4th and 2 on the drive to tie it at 44, and allowed the 4th and 10 conversion on their game winning drive. VA generally had little pressure on him in the 2nd half.

The loss of Marino had a noticeable affect IMO, not necessarily with the lack of QB pressure in the 2nd half, but moreso holding the edge in the run game. EWU (smartly) ran the ball right at his backup a lot, with good success.

I was surprised that EWU's defense did such a good job containing Prukop. He did run for a few first downs, but he never broke off that big 30+ yarder that we've seen the last couple games. They caught him from behind a few times just as he was about to escape the pocket for a big gain - including the 4th and 3 that we didn't convert. Hats off to the EWU D-line for that.

Overall - Unbelievable game. The crowd was loud and proud the whole game (with the exception of the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as usual). And at the end, about 3/4 of the crowd stayed long to applaud the team as they came off the field, which was really really cool... made me proud to be Bobcat!

[cats2506]

The Cats had plenty of chances to win this thing. The 2 turnovers in the first half really hurt, you just cannot give the EWU offense 2 extra possessions. Without those turnovers, the score could easily have been 37-20 at the half. The dropped wide open TD pass to the running back in the 4th quarter might have won the game, as a couple plays later we turned it over on downs. And the inability to pick up 4th and inches was also a killer.

The Cats defense actually played a really good first half, other than the big Forte run. Forcing EWU to punt on their first possession really set the tone. However, the second half was a different story. Other than Mario Brown's fumble in the 4th, we did not get 1 stop (unless you count holding them to a FG once). They allowed EWU to convert a 4th and 2 on the drive to tie it at 44, and allowed the 4th and 10 conversion on their game winning drive. VA generally had little pressure on him in the 2nd half.

The loss of Marino had a noticeable affect IMO, not necessarily with the lack of QB pressure in the 2nd half, but moreso holding the edge in the run game. EWU (smartly) ran the ball right at his backup a lot, with good success.

I was surprised that EWU's defense did such a good job containing Prukop. He did run for a few first downs, but he never broke off that big 30+ yarder that we've seen the last couple games. They caught him from behind a few times just as he was about to escape the pocket for a big gain - including the 4th and 3 that we didn't convert. Hats off to the EWU D-line for that.

Overall - Unbelievable game. The crowd was loud and proud the whole game (with the exception of the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as usual). And at the end, about 3/4 of the crowd stayed long to applaud the team as they came off the field, which was really really cool... made me proud to be Bobcat!

We are not supposed to be loud when the Cats are on offense

[91catAlum]

The Cats had plenty of chances to win this thing. The 2 turnovers in the first half really hurt, you just cannot give the EWU offense 2 extra possessions. Without those turnovers, the score could easily have been 37-20 at the half. The dropped wide open TD pass to the running back in the 4th quarter might have won the game, as a couple plays later we turned it over on downs. And the inability to pick up 4th and inches was also a killer.

The Cats defense actually played a really good first half, other than the big Forte run. Forcing EWU to punt on their first possession really set the tone. However, the second half was a different story. Other than Mario Brown's fumble in the 4th, we did not get 1 stop (unless you count holding them to a FG once). They allowed EWU to convert a 4th and 2 on the drive to tie it at 44, and allowed the 4th and 10 conversion on their game winning drive. VA generally had little pressure on him in the 2nd half.

The loss of Marino had a noticeable affect IMO, not necessarily with the lack of QB pressure in the 2nd half, but moreso holding the edge in the run game. EWU (smartly) ran the ball right at his backup a lot, with good success.

I was surprised that EWU's defense did such a good job containing Prukop. He did run for a few first downs, but he never broke off that big 30+ yarder that we've seen the last couple games. They caught him from behind a few times just as he was about to escape the pocket for a big gain - including the 4th and 3 that we didn't convert. Hats off to the EWU D-line for that.

Overall - Unbelievable game. The crowd was loud and proud the whole game (with the exception of the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as usual). And at the end, about 3/4 of the crowd stayed long to applaud the team as they came off the field, which was really really cool... made me proud to be Bobcat!

We are not supposed to be loud when the Cats are on offense

OK... But are we supposed to be absent?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[cats2506]

The Cats had plenty of chances to win this thing. The 2 turnovers in the first half really hurt, you just cannot give the EWU offense 2 extra possessions. Without those turnovers, the score could easily have been 37-20 at the half. The dropped wide open TD pass to the running back in the 4th quarter might have won the game, as a couple plays later we turned it over on downs. And the inability to pick up 4th and inches was also a killer.

The Cats defense actually played a really good first half, other than the big Forte run. Forcing EWU to punt on their first possession really set the tone. However, the second half was a different story. Other than Mario Brown's fumble in the 4th, we did not get 1 stop (unless you count holding them to a FG once). They allowed EWU to convert a 4th and 2 on the drive to tie it at 44, and allowed the 4th and 10 conversion on their game winning drive. VA generally had little pressure on him in the 2nd half.

The loss of Marino had a noticeable affect IMO, not necessarily with the lack of QB pressure in the 2nd half, but moreso holding the edge in the run game. EWU (smartly) ran the ball right at his backup a lot, with good success.

I was surprised that EWU's defense did such a good job containing Prukop. He did run for a few first downs, but he never broke off that big 30+ yarder that we've seen the last couple games. They caught him from behind a few times just as he was about to escape the pocket for a big gain - including the 4th and 3 that we didn't convert. Hats off to the EWU D-line for that.

Overall - Unbelievable game. The crowd was loud and proud the whole game (with the exception of the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as usual). And at the end, about 3/4 of the crowd stayed long to applaud the team as they came off the field, which was really really cool... made me proud to be Bobcat!

We are not supposed to be loud when the Cats are on offense

OK... But are we supposed to be absent?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Yeah, I know what you mean, but by the time EWU had the ball the crowd was back in.

[catgrad05]

The Cats had plenty of chances to win this thing. The 2 turnovers in the first half really hurt, you just cannot give the EWU offense 2 extra possessions. Without those turnovers, the score could easily have been 37-20 at the half. The dropped wide open TD pass to the running back in the 4th quarter might have won the game, as a couple plays later we turned it over on downs. And the inability to pick up 4th and inches was also a killer.

The Cats defense actually played a really good first half, other than the big Forte run. Forcing EWU to punt on their first possession really set the tone. However, the second half was a different story. Other than Mario Brown's fumble in the 4th, we did not get 1 stop (unless you count holding them to a FG once). They allowed EWU to convert a 4th and 2 on the drive to tie it at 44, and allowed the 4th and 10 conversion on their game winning drive. VA generally had little pressure on him in the 2nd half.

The loss of Marino had a noticeable affect IMO, not necessarily with the lack of QB pressure in the 2nd half, but moreso holding the edge in the run game. EWU (smartly) ran the ball right at his backup a lot, with good success.

I was surprised that EWU's defense did such a good job containing Prukop. He did run for a few first downs, but he never broke off that big 30+ yarder that we've seen the last couple games. They caught him from behind a few times just as he was about to escape the pocket for a big gain - including the 4th and 3 that we didn't convert. Hats off to the EWU D-line for that.

Overall - Unbelievable game. The crowd was loud and proud the whole game (with the exception of the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as usual). And at the end, about 3/4 of the crowd stayed long to applaud the team as they came off the field, which was really really cool... made me proud to be Bobcat!

We are not supposed to be loud when the Cats are on offense

OK... But are we supposed to be absent?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Yeah, I know what you mean, but by the time EWU had the ball the crowd was back in.

I made the comment to the people sitting around me that it was good planning for the cats to get the ball after half and have a long drive to allow the crowd extra time to get back into the stadium

[91catAlum]

The Cats had plenty of chances to win this thing. The 2 turnovers in the first half really hurt, you just cannot give the EWU offense 2 extra possessions. Without those turnovers, the score could easily have been 37-20 at the half. The dropped wide open TD pass to the running back in the 4th quarter might have won the game, as a couple plays later we turned it over on downs. And the inability to pick up 4th and inches was also a killer.

The Cats defense actually played a really good first half, other than the big Forte run. Forcing EWU to punt on their first possession really set the tone. However, the second half was a different story. Other than Mario Brown's fumble in the 4th, we did not get 1 stop (unless you count holding them to a FG once). They allowed EWU to convert a 4th and 2 on the drive to tie it at 44, and allowed the 4th and 10 conversion on their game winning drive. VA generally had little pressure on him in the 2nd half.

The loss of Marino had a noticeable affect IMO, not necessarily with the lack of QB pressure in the 2nd half, but moreso holding the edge in the run game. EWU (smartly) ran the ball right at his backup a lot, with good success.

I was surprised that EWU's defense did such a good job containing Prukop. He did run for a few first downs, but he never broke off that big 30+ yarder that we've seen the last couple games. They caught him from behind a few times just as he was about to escape the pocket for a big gain - including the 4th and 3 that we didn't convert. Hats off to the EWU D-line for that.

Overall - Unbelievable game. The crowd was loud and proud the whole game (with the exception of the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, as usual). And at the end, about 3/4 of the crowd stayed long to applaud the team as they came off the field, which was really really cool... made me proud to be Bobcat!

We are not supposed to be loud when the Cats are on offense

OK... But are we supposed to be absent?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Yeah, I know what you mean, but by the time EWU had the ball the crowd was back in.

That's true, most people were back.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[cat_stache_fever]

Great TOTAL game day experience...tailgates were awesome; off the charts fare! Game was unreal and versus a very worthy opponent. Only thing missing was a win; coulda gone either way. Looking forward to conference play; think we can run the table.

I'm a bit doom and gloom sometimes, but I REALLY like what I saw yesterday. Lot of reasons to be excited.

I'm all in...


******.

[ilovethecats]

it was a great game. personally i loved seeing a team be more aggressive with some of their calls. loved going for two regardless if we got it or not. it was aggressive trying to get as many points as possible. also loved going for it on 4th a couple times.

people always like to point to one reason why the game was lost. sports don't work that way. it was a combination of lots of things but the effort was there. if we get one of those first down on 4th the game might be over. if we stop them on 4 and long the game isn't over. but that's football. i guess if we really want to pick one play it has to be the last play of the game. we stop their 2-point conversion we win. we didn't and we lost.

eastern is a hell of a team. VA is a hell of a qb. that was a great game and i think the cats should be able to build on this.

[kwcat]

My thoughts on play by both teams and comments on" reffing"

First we got beat by a very good team that is coached very well.
Secondly our team played their rear ends off and our coaches overall coached very well on both sides of the ball. Some said our qb pressure wasn't good, but I disagree. When we decided to we frequently got good pressure. Several times, seemingly by design, we left Adams behind scrimmage and forced him to throw into good coverage and was a tactic that paid off more than once.
Thirdly the officiating, which I know is water under the bridge and usually becomes a moot point, I believe there are comments that should be made. I was at the game and did not record it and watched it again tonight at Spectators. Was noisy , of course, and did not take notes: however forthcoming comments are on plays that were shown multiple times. The calls may or may not have had a bearing on the outcome.
Prukop was hit two steps out of bounds on 1st quarter drive by Hamlin.
Roderick was hit two steps into the end zone on an avoidable hit by number 4.
Horse collar call by us on Forte (an outstanding athlete by the way) as he scored was a jersey grab and not a horse collar.
First late hit out of bounds by db on Forte was not late, his right foot was still in and he hadn't stepped out. The second was a good hit, by Garcia I believe, but he gave an extra shove after out of bounds.
One that was a difference maker was the run, by the Cats, in the 4th qtr on third down .The spot was shown three or four times on root and was over a yard short costing us a first down and a non conversion of an eventual fourth down.
Shawn Johnson did step out of bounds and got 13 extra yards.
Just griping on the officiating a bit. I know not changing anything. However these were things I saw during the game as well and wanted to see the replay to be sure of the argument.
Once again EWU is a good team and still very well could have won regardless of these calls.
As a side not , many have complained about things such as Vernon Adams shushing the crowd, I see nothing wrong with this action. He had to listen to 3 quarter plus of insults, racial slurs, etc from our fans behind his bench, and his actions were probably appropriate. Our crowd and coaching schemes were in his head for most of the game and showed in his errors early. He recovered and played well. His first two years I didn't care for his demeanor, maybe because I am country and he is city, but from what I saw sitting on the south 40 yd line he handled himself very well In a hostile environment.
Seasons not over and we are getting better.I believe we are a deep play off team. GO CATS!

[KittieKop]

My thoughts on play by both teams and comments on" reffing"

First we got beat by a very good team that is coached very well.
Secondly our team played their rear ends off and our coaches overall coached very well on both sides of the ball. Some said our qb pressure wasn't good, but I disagree. When we decided to we frequently got good pressure. Several times, seemingly by design, we left Adams behind scrimmage and forced him to throw into good coverage and was a tactic that paid off more than once.
Thirdly the officiating, which I know is water under the bridge and usually becomes a moot point, I believe there are comments that should be made. I was at the game and did not record it and watched it again tonight at Spectators. Was noisy , of course, and did not take notes: however forthcoming comments are on plays that were shown multiple times. The calls may or may not have had a bearing on the outcome.
Prukop was hit two steps out of bounds on 1st quarter drive by Hamlin.
Roderick was hit two steps into the end zone on an avoidable hit by number 4.
Horse collar call by us on Forte (an outstanding athlete by the way) as he scored was a jersey grab and not a horse collar.
First late hit out of bounds by db on Forte was not late, his right foot was still in and he hadn't stepped out. The second was a good hit, by Garcia I believe, but he gave an extra shove after out of bounds.
One that was a difference maker was the run, by the Cats, in the 4th qtr on third down .The spot was shown three or four times on root and was over a yard short costing us a first down and a non conversion of an eventual fourth down.
Shawn Johnson did step out of bounds and got 13 extra yards.
Just griping on the officiating a bit. I know not changing anything. However these were things I saw during the game as well and wanted to see the replay to be sure of the argument.
Once again EWU is a good team and still very well could have won regardless of these calls.
As a side not , many have complained about things such as Vernon Adams shushing the crowd, I see nothing wrong with this action. He had to listen to 3 quarter plus of insults, racial slurs, etc from our fans behind his bench, and his actions were probably appropriate. Our crowd and coaching schemes were in his head for most of the game and showed in his errors early. He recovered and played well. His first two years I didn't care for his demeanor, maybe because I am country and he is city, but from what I saw sitting on the south 40 yd line he handled himself very well In a hostile environment.
Seasons not over and we are getting better.I believe we are a deep play off team. GO CATS!

I'm with you on everything, but this one right here. What?!? If this was the case I certainly hope someone was thrown out of the stadium on his/her *ss and invited to never return. Heckling, yelling, screaming is one thing, but....Are you serious or are you exaggerating?

[kwcat]

no exaggerating!
I am all for some good natured ribbing!

[JumpinJoe]

Tough loss Bobcats! I was keeping up with it on my phone before our game with Utah State and found myself disappointed when I saw the final score like my own team had just gotten beat. Sounds like your offense has found it's rhythm and hopefully will tear the conference a new one. Glad to see Johnson back at full strength and Prukop did what Prukop does. Great player. Anyway it wasn't a win but what an effort! Be proud Cats fans and win the rest of them! I'm keeping up with every game

[WalkOn79]

You guys looked great. We escaped with this game, and I'm not sure we deserved to. Your new quarterback is a beast, and is set up to create havoc in the Big Sky for the next few years. Great game, and good luck the rest of the season. I've always respected MSU's team and fanbase, and always root for you (when you aren't playing EWU, of course).

Thanks GoEagles! I gained some respect for VA on Saturday. didn't see any of the punkish behavior, and his post game, along with Baldwin was nothing but class. Hope to see you guys down the road in the playoffs! (Just not in the quarters)

[smithmel60]

Has anyone else noticed that Dakota has a remarkable likeness to.... Travis Lulay? I know it's early in his career, but the legs and his management of the game seem Lulayish. If he's as much a winner and becomes a better passer we should change his number to 14.

I think this is the best team MSU has had in a long time. Under DM I seemed to always be holding my breath for the next time he threw a stupid pass, or the ball fell out of his hands, or he fumbled because he would never tuck the ball away. He was a playmaker and a great kid, but you had to take the bad with the good. Plus, when the going got tough and you needed a leader who would make plays, his mind seemed to bail. Dakota is one cool customer for a sophomore with four starts. I think we're in for a treat if he can stay healthy.

[BigBruceBaker]

Anyone notice for the first time EVER, Shawn John wanting to hit people? He went after 4 dudes when he was running the ball. He was aggressive as all hell


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mslacatfan]

Has anyone else noticed that Dakota has a remarkable likeness to.... Travis Lulay? I know it's early in his career, but the legs and his management of the game seem Lulayish. If he's as much a winner and becomes a better passer we should change his number to 14.

I think this is the best team MSU has had in a long time. Under DM I seemed to always be holding my breath for the next time he threw a stupid pass, or the ball fell out of his hands, or he fumbled because he would never tuck the ball away. He was a playmaker and a great kid, but you had to take the bad with the good. Plus, when the going got tough and you needed a leader who would make plays, his mind seemed to bail. Dakota is one cool customer for a sophomore with four starts. I think we're in for a treat if he can stay healthy.

Agree with the comments on Dakota reminding me of Lulay

Could not disagree more about the comments on McGhee. Something like 36 career wins, and I would say he was single handedly responsible for at least half of them, where he was carrying the team on his back and willing them to a win in the 4th quarter.