The Official-Unofficial GOLD RUSH Game Thread - MSU vs Maine

[AFCAT]

Has anyone seen a post game news conference with the Maine coach and players? I can't locate one online.

[tetoncat]

2nd and 3rd stringers did not play well but finally got meaningful reps. Maine never took starters out. If you feel bad about this win, just remember it was 35-0 early in the 2nd quarter. I get practice is important but my eyes tell me Wilson is a gamer when the lights come on. I'm really hoping for a big third year move in his development in 2025. Reed...I just don't see his arm overcompensating for his lack of mobility.

Thought Maine's QB was a good player for what its worth.

Agree Wilson looked good, live and confident out there. Encouraging. No idea why they forced Reed to play so vanilla, though. Still tend to agree with folks who suspect our starting QB next year is probably not on our roster. Even though we don't throw a ton, we'd be a very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs who want to play.

Puzzling that Vigen went to the deep backups as early as he did but it almost seemed like Maine was being sporting in not really pressing things time-wise to "make it a game" and force us to put the starters back in. Maine coach appreciated that we really could have embarrassed them and didn't Backup defense didn't look great, but they hung in there and improved.

Agree that Maine's QB was actually quite good. Was also very effective at getting away from several sack situations and throwing the ball away rather than making a stupid pass that would have been picked off.

Another game that felt a bit strange but a good win nonetheless. Hopefully we can get back some of our OL that have been injured.

Honest question. Why do you think MSU would be a “very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs”

The handing the ball over 40 times a game. Limited passing plays or the running yourself into the ground year in/year out (ie injuries)…

Bet Sanders from CO wishes he could hand off a few more times. If top QB had a 20 pass 40 run ratio but capability to throw 30 times why wouldn't they want that. I don't understand the running into the ground argument. Idaho has had 2 QBs go out
already and it wasn't because they were running. Mellott is as big as most of the RB. Should teams not give top RB 20-25 carries.

[coloradocat]

The team website finally posted the box score (I don't trust regular sports sites to get everything right) and I just wanted to remind everyone of the first 3 drives:

1: 2 plays, 84 yards, 79 yard TD run, 00:41
2: 2 plays, 68 yards, 40 yard TD run, 00:41
3: 2 plays, 22 yards, 4 yard TD pass, 00:44

That was just crazy. 3 TDs on 6 plays in 2 minutes and 6 seconds!

[AFCAT]

Maine radio broadcast. Fun to listening to a different perspective.
https://goblackbears.com/watch/?Archive ... pe=Archive

[RICO CAT]

Has anyone seen a post game news conference with the Maine coach and players? I can't locate one online.

Google’Black Bears Battle in Loss to #3 Montana State.’ It’s on their athletics website:
‘Goblackbears.com’ sorry I can’t link it. It’s the head coach only, no player interviews.

[AFCAT]

Has anyone seen a post game news conference with the Maine coach and players? I can't locate one online.

Google’Black Bears Battle in Loss to #3 Montana State.’ It’s on their athletics website:
‘Goblackbears.com’ sorry I can’t link it. It’s the head coach only, no player interviews.

Hmmm, it's not playing for me. All I can see is about 40 seconds of their high lites in the game.

[rivercat]

Interesting take

[Catsrgrood]

The team website finally posted the box score (I don't trust regular sports sites to get everything right) and I just wanted to remind everyone of the first 3 drives:

1: 2 plays, 84 yards, 79 yard TD run, 00:41
2: 2 plays, 68 yards, 40 yard TD run, 00:41
3: 2 plays, 22 yards, 4 yard TD pass, 00:44

That was just crazy. 3 TDs on 6 plays in 2 minutes and 6 seconds!

Damn, what took them so long on the 3rd drive?

Looks like that’s when our slow down began…

[RICO CAT]

I feel like they moved it cuz it was there before. goblackbears.com try Coach Stevens CAA Press Conference Week Two.

[coloradocat]

Interesting take

Nice of the media to ignore the circumstances of how they "battled back" in the second half.

[rfischer94]

I gotta admit that Maine got a little bit more from the player swap than we did. Rohan only got 1 catch for 15. Jaharie got 8 carries for 29 yards. Even though Jaharie got more yards my guess is Rohan came out better on the trade.

Martin may have had more production in this game than Jones, but there's no guarantee that the pattern will hold over multiple games.

[AFCAT]

I was looking for something immediate post game, but I guess they had to make a flight back home.

[Rich K]

Seems like Vigen made a conscious decision not to step on their throats in an effort to get some decent film of the depth. Maine will win a handful of games in the CAA. They got out of Bozeman healthy which had to have been somewhere on their list of goals. Bobcats have what amounts to another fall camp leading into Mercyhurst which will be another opportunity to test the depth. Time for a week of whip cracking on the 2nd and 3rd levels while the starters heal up and hit the weights maybe?

[PortlandCat90]

Seems like Vigen made a conscious decision not to step on their throats in an effort to get some decent film of the depth. Maine will win a handful of games in the CAA. They got out of Bozeman healthy which had to have been somewhere on their list of goals. Bobcats have what amounts to another fall camp leading into Mercyhurst which will be another opportunity to test the depth. Time for a week of whip cracking on the 2nd and 3rd levels while the starters heal up and hit the weights maybe?

Good thoughts and definitely correct on the Vigen decision. I think it was the on-field post-game interview where he said, "We were up 35-0 and pulled back....if we didn't do that there's no telling what that would have been" or something to that effect.

The Maine interview was strange. Positive outlook, I guess, since nobody asked, "Coach, 22 minutes into the game you are down 35-0 and giving up over 15 yards per play when MSU pulled most of their starters...thoughts on that?"

I think this game and Mercyhurst, while unfortunate, will put us ahead for the next two years as well. For young 2's and 3's to get a taste of the field against Maine's 1's can only lead to additional thirst and hard work, knowing exactly what they are working for during a long season and offseason.

[SparkCat]

I gotta admit that Maine got a little bit more from the player swap than we did. Rohan only got 1 catch for 15. Jaharie got 8 carries for 29 yards. Even though Jaharie got more yards my guess is Rohan came out better on the trade.

Martin may have had more production in this game than Jones, but there's no guarantee that the pattern will hold over multiple games.

Jones is and will be a much better player for us than Martin.

[ThoughtUKnew14]

2nd and 3rd stringers did not play well but finally got meaningful reps. Maine never took starters out. If you feel bad about this win, just remember it was 35-0 early in the 2nd quarter. I get practice is important but my eyes tell me Wilson is a gamer when the lights come on. I'm really hoping for a big third year move in his development in 2025. Reed...I just don't see his arm overcompensating for his lack of mobility.

Thought Maine's QB was a good player for what its worth.

Agree Wilson looked good, live and confident out there. Encouraging. No idea why they forced Reed to play so vanilla, though. Still tend to agree with folks who suspect our starting QB next year is probably not on our roster. Even though we don't throw a ton, we'd be a very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs who want to play.

Puzzling that Vigen went to the deep backups as early as he did but it almost seemed like Maine was being sporting in not really pressing things time-wise to "make it a game" and force us to put the starters back in. Maine coach appreciated that we really could have embarrassed them and didn't Backup defense didn't look great, but they hung in there and improved.

Agree that Maine's QB was actually quite good. Was also very effective at getting away from several sack situations and throwing the ball away rather than making a stupid pass that would have been picked off.

Another game that felt a bit strange but a good win nonetheless. Hopefully we can get back some of our OL that have been injured.

Honest question. Why do you think MSU would be a “very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs”

The handing the ball over 40 times a game. Limited passing plays or the running yourself into the ground year in/year out (ie injuries)…

Packed stadium, chance to win a title, championship culture, get to play in a great rivalry game, the list goes on and on.

If you dont think we pass the ball, you arent paying attention.

I was there and I know how to read the boxscore but let me know when we land this FBS QB you speak of..

[coloradocat]

I was looking for something immediate post game, but I guess they had to make a flight back home.

I also wonder how often non-top tier teams do post game interviews on the road. Outside of their radio guys I can't imagine anyone else covered the game in person for their side.

[CodyCat]

2nd and 3rd stringers did not play well but finally got meaningful reps. Maine never took starters out. If you feel bad about this win, just remember it was 35-0 early in the 2nd quarter. I get practice is important but my eyes tell me Wilson is a gamer when the lights come on. I'm really hoping for a big third year move in his development in 2025. Reed...I just don't see his arm overcompensating for his lack of mobility.

Thought Maine's QB was a good player for what its worth.

Agree Wilson looked good, live and confident out there. Encouraging. No idea why they forced Reed to play so vanilla, though. Still tend to agree with folks who suspect our starting QB next year is probably not on our roster. Even though we don't throw a ton, we'd be a very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs who want to play.

Puzzling that Vigen went to the deep backups as early as he did but it almost seemed like Maine was being sporting in not really pressing things time-wise to "make it a game" and force us to put the starters back in. Maine coach appreciated that we really could have embarrassed them and didn't Backup defense didn't look great, but they hung in there and improved.

Agree that Maine's QB was actually quite good. Was also very effective at getting away from several sack situations and throwing the ball away rather than making a stupid pass that would have been picked off.

Another game that felt a bit strange but a good win nonetheless. Hopefully we can get back some of our OL that have been injured.

Honest question. Why do you think MSU would be a “very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs”

The handing the ball over 40 times a game. Limited passing plays or the running yourself into the ground year in/year out (ie injuries)…

Packed stadium, chance to win a title, championship culture, get to play in a great rivalry game, the list goes on and on.

If you dont think we pass the ball, you arent paying attention.

I was there and I know how to read the boxscore but let me know when we land this FBS QB you speak of..

I didn’t know I had ever spoke about an FBS QB coming to MSU.

[rivercat]

2nd and 3rd stringers did not play well but finally got meaningful reps. Maine never took starters out. If you feel bad about this win, just remember it was 35-0 early in the 2nd quarter. I get practice is important but my eyes tell me Wilson is a gamer when the lights come on. I'm really hoping for a big third year move in his development in 2025. Reed...I just don't see his arm overcompensating for his lack of mobility.

Thought Maine's QB was a good player for what its worth.

Agree Wilson looked good, live and confident out there. Encouraging. No idea why they forced Reed to play so vanilla, though. Still tend to agree with folks who suspect our starting QB next year is probably not on our roster. Even though we don't throw a ton, we'd be a very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs who want to play.

Puzzling that Vigen went to the deep backups as early as he did but it almost seemed like Maine was being sporting in not really pressing things time-wise to "make it a game" and force us to put the starters back in. Maine coach appreciated that we really could have embarrassed them and didn't Backup defense didn't look great, but they hung in there and improved.

Agree that Maine's QB was actually quite good. Was also very effective at getting away from several sack situations and throwing the ball away rather than making a stupid pass that would have been picked off.

Another game that felt a bit strange but a good win nonetheless. Hopefully we can get back some of our OL that have been injured.

Honest question. Why do you think MSU would be a “very tempting landing spot for some pretty good FBS QBs”

The handing the ball over 40 times a game. Limited passing plays or the running yourself into the ground year in/year out (ie injuries)…

Packed stadium, chance to win a title, championship culture, get to play in a great rivalry game, the list goes on and on.

If you dont think we pass the ball, you arent paying attention.

I was there and I know how to read the boxscore but let me know when we land this FBS QB you speak of..

I would bet the house that they didn't try and had no intentions of landing an FBS drop-down this year. There is no way that Tommy wasn't going to be QB1. He's a captain, a primary leader and beloved by the Montanans. Other than a fluke situation that brought Chambers here, no quality QB is going to drop-down to be a backup.

If it is an open competition, I think MSU would be very attractive to a drop-down QB wanting a chance of starting.

[nevadacat]

My only real disappointment, other than the offensive and defensive back-ups in the second half, was that the Cats sold out the Rodeo team run out to a sponsor and included their flag with an 8th horse and rider. Okay, I get it, more money for the program, but I don’t have to like it.

We will have to add that 8th corporate sponsored flag to next years Gold Rush tee-shirt.

My wife received an email today that the rodeo team was in Cody over the weekend for a rodeo. The riders leading the team out were rodeo team alums. The current team will be back next game.