IS UM any good?

[TomCat88]

Yes, um is good. No shame in saying so.
So are the Cats.
So is Davis, EWU (at least offensively) and Weber (at least defensively).
NAU just knocked off Arizona.
Its gonna be a very tough year in the Big Sky, and the conference champ will probably come down to scheduling and who dodges the most tough teams this year, as well as who can avoid key injuries and stay relatively healthy.

Weber is giving up over 6 yards per play. And EWOO is only giving up 5. Heck, Weber is giving up over 5 yards per rush. To be fair, Weber has played 2 top tier rushing teams in Utah & JMU, and the Eagles have played a bad FBS team, a D2 team, and a bad FCS team, so not totally a fair comparison.

But I think the jury's still out on Weber's D at this point. They've certainly failed to impress over 3 games.

I don't see what area the Eagles are better this season than they were in 2019. Not that I've studied them all that closely. Anyone know why they were picked third in the BSC preseason polls?

[Joe Bobcat]

Washington played UM without three of its most productive offensive players. Jalen McMillan also missed the Michigan game. He had 10 catches for 175 yards and a TD yesterday. Another WR, Terrell Bynum, has had nine catches for 179 yards and two TDs the past two games. RB Sean McGrew had six runs for 31 yards and a first half TD in his first game back yesterday.

The Huskies put a beatdown on Ark. State 52-3. UM is good, there's no doubt in my mind about that. My point regarding FCS wins over FBS teams, even Top 25 teams, is that they don't always mean much in the long run. Of the five previous winners only one has won the title, two lost out in the semis (one of those was NDSU and it was the only title they didn't win in during a nine-year stretch), and one didn't make the playoffs. The other Cincy, was in the IAA (FCS) on a technicality, so I shouldn't even count them. So you have a little bit of everything there.

I think UM is at least a quarter-final team this year. If they go unbeaten and win the BSC, then I'd say at least a semi-finalist. I think they'll beat EWU on the road and most likely be undefeated when MSU plays in Missoula. Barring any unforeseen issues (injuries, COVID) for either team, I think MSU will be either 9-1 or 8-2 (6-1, BSC) for that game and it could be for the league title. I don't see MSU losing to EWU right now either. The biggest game in the BSC chase will be when MSU travels to Weber State. The winner of that has a good shot at catching UM for the BSC title and auto-bid.

Griz won without their top two RBs and would have still won if Akem, Roberts, and Sulser were out also.

Your probably right, your QB couldn't complete a pass to those WR's for most of the game.

Griz will be very dangerous later in the year when Kris Brown is throwing to Flowers, White, Simpson, and Roberts. And Akem….occasionally.

You think he'll end up being your starter at some point? Seems like a hot-button issue over there.

Yes.

Kris Brown is the most talented QB the Griz have ever had. There I said. And it’s without question in my opinion. He’s got legit next level skill and athleticism. 6’4, 220, super quick release, huge arm, fast, strong. He checks every box physically and played well when Humphrey got KO’d in the spring. Yes, it was against CWU, but he looked at total ease running the show. His play in fall camp reflected that also.

If Cam had the exact same skill and athleticism he does now but was a R-FR like brown, there would be no question who the starter is.

There are some freshman on UM’s offense ready to burst onto the scene. But with returning senior starters in front of them, a favorable schedule, and a dominant defense, it will be a little while before we see them.

I really like KB too.

You think Hauck felt some sort of pressure or allegiance to Cam headed into fall? With all I heard about Brown, and your thoughts above, it seems odd he didn't win the job. It will be interesting to follow. Especially if the Griz keep winning with Cam at the helm.

Hauck actually does this a lot with players at all positions.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance.

The griz currently have the most talented qb they have ever had and he's on the bench. And Hauck has done this with a lot of other players?

I'm all for building depth. I love being excited about non-starters and their potential. But I cannot envision a scenario where you have a player that is the most talented ever at whatever position he's at, and he's not starting; or even barely playing.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either. I'm just repeating something I was told by someone in the know. It caught me off guard, as well. Apparently he'll go with an incumbent/senior/presumed starter and wait for them to be off before going with "his guy."

I've heard the same and have suspected it in some instances but I'm not sure that he does this in all cases.
I wonder how he would handle starting and playing time if his son were on the team.

[onceacat]

Yes, um is good. No shame in saying so.
So are the Cats.
So is Davis, EWU (at least offensively) and Weber (at least defensively).
NAU just knocked off Arizona.
Its gonna be a very tough year in the Big Sky, and the conference champ will probably come down to scheduling and who dodges the most tough teams this year, as well as who can avoid key injuries and stay relatively healthy.

Weber is giving up over 6 yards per play. And EWOO is only giving up 5. Heck, Weber is giving up over 5 yards per rush. To be fair, Weber has played 2 top tier rushing teams in Utah & JMU, and the Eagles have played a bad FBS team, a D2 team, and a bad FCS team, so not totally a fair comparison.

But I think the jury's still out on Weber's D at this point. They've certainly failed to impress over 3 games.

I don't see what area the Eagles are better this season than they were in 2019. Not that I've studied them all that closely. Anyone know why they were picked third in the BSC preseason polls?

Cause it’s safe. Weebs was picked #1, but is currently playing way worse than the top 4. As of now, it’s splitting hairs between the Top 4…but EWU took 2nd last year, so there’s a recency bias.

[onceacat]

Griz won without their top two RBs and would have still won if Akem, Roberts, and Sulser were out also.

Your probably right, your QB couldn't complete a pass to those WR's for most of the game.

Griz will be very dangerous later in the year when Kris Brown is throwing to Flowers, White, Simpson, and Roberts. And Akem….occasionally.

You think he'll end up being your starter at some point? Seems like a hot-button issue over there.

Yes.

Kris Brown is the most talented QB the Griz have ever had. There I said. And it’s without question in my opinion. He’s got legit next level skill and athleticism. 6’4, 220, super quick release, huge arm, fast, strong. He checks every box physically and played well when Humphrey got KO’d in the spring. Yes, it was against CWU, but he looked at total ease running the show. His play in fall camp reflected that also.

If Cam had the exact same skill and athleticism he does now but was a R-FR like brown, there would be no question who the starter is.

There are some freshman on UM’s offense ready to burst onto the scene. But with returning senior starters in front of them, a favorable schedule, and a dominant defense, it will be a little while before we see them.

I really like KB too.

You think Hauck felt some sort of pressure or allegiance to Cam headed into fall? With all I heard about Brown, and your thoughts above, it seems odd he didn't win the job. It will be interesting to follow. Especially if the Griz keep winning with Cam at the helm.

Hauck actually does this a lot with players at all positions.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance.

The griz currently have the most talented qb they have ever had and he's on the bench. And Hauck has done this with a lot of other players?

I'm all for building depth. I love being excited about non-starters and their potential. But I cannot envision a scenario where you have a player that is the most talented ever at whatever position he's at, and he's not starting; or even barely playing.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either. I'm just repeating something I was told by someone in the know. It caught me off guard, as well. Apparently he'll go with an incumbent/senior/presumed starter and wait for them to be off before going with "his guy."

I've heard the same and have suspected it in some instances but I'm not sure that he does this in all cases.
I wonder how he would handle starting and playing time if his son were on the team.

In related news, Robby Hauck was credited with 3 tackles & amass breakup.

[TomCat88]

Yes, um is good. No shame in saying so.
So are the Cats.
So is Davis, EWU (at least offensively) and Weber (at least defensively).
NAU just knocked off Arizona.
Its gonna be a very tough year in the Big Sky, and the conference champ will probably come down to scheduling and who dodges the most tough teams this year, as well as who can avoid key injuries and stay relatively healthy.

Weber is giving up over 6 yards per play. And EWOO is only giving up 5. Heck, Weber is giving up over 5 yards per rush. To be fair, Weber has played 2 top tier rushing teams in Utah & JMU, and the Eagles have played a bad FBS team, a D2 team, and a bad FCS team, so not totally a fair comparison.

But I think the jury's still out on Weber's D at this point. They've certainly failed to impress over 3 games.

I don't see what area the Eagles are better this season than they were in 2019. Not that I've studied them all that closely. Anyone know why they were picked third in the BSC preseason polls?

Cause it’s safe. Weebs was picked #1, but is currently playing way worse than the top 4. As of now, it’s splitting hairs between the Top 4…but EWU took 2nd last year, so there’s a recency bias.

I should of known it was something completely stupid. It's a poll after all.

[griz5700]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

[CatBot]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

[onceacat]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

I wouldn't call the Cats a "passing team". Cats are #5 in the BSC in total passing. #3 in Rushing. And a lot of that has to do with what defenses have been willing to give. I'd call the Cats pretty balanced & opportunistic. Which is really good.

[CatBot]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

I wouldn't call the Cats a "passing team". Cats are #5 in the BSC in total passing. #3 in Rushing. And a lot of that has to do with what defenses have been willing to give. I'd call the Cats pretty balanced & opportunistic. Which is really good.

Yes opportunistic is a great word, and in the end we are in total agreement on that. However...

The stats don't lie, although I don't out too much credence in them this early in the season with only the OOC games played. I'm mostly on the eye-test method: we have come out passing early and often in our games so far, and much of the running yards have come in garbage time after our passing game has 'loosened them up'. Teams are still trying to stack the box on us just like last year, and with the emergence of McKay as a passing threat, we are making them pay.

[cats2506]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

[Montanabob]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

Take out runs over 40 yards and the average isn't very good at all.

[91catAlum]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

Take out runs over 40 yards and the average isn't very good at all.

Take out runs of less than 3 yards, and the average gets much better.

[onceacat]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

#25 in the country with 192 yards per game. 5.37 per rush. (For reference, SDSU is rushing for 7.6 yards per carry, Sammy is 7.8, NDSU is 7.9 JMU is 6.1...Even EWU is 5..

Cats are pretty clearly a good rushing team...but we have a long way to go to be playing with the big dogs.

[ilovethecats]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

Take out runs over 40 yards and the average isn't very good at all.

Take out runs of less than 3 yards, and the average gets much better.

Always makes me chuckle when people are discussing stats and then take out certain stats to make a point. You see it with QB's all the time. Guy will throw for 350 yards and someone will always point out that if you take away the 70 yard bomb for a score and the 50 yard screen pass his numbers weren't all that good.

I think from here on out we all agree to just take out any negative play from scrimmage, thus boosting our final stats.

[Long Time Cat]

Yes, um is good. No shame in saying so.
So are the Cats.
So is Davis, EWU (at least offensively) and Weber (at least defensively).
NAU just knocked off Arizona.
Its gonna be a very tough year in the Big Sky, and the conference champ will probably come down to scheduling and who dodges the most tough teams this year, as well as who can avoid key injuries and stay relatively healthy.

Weber is giving up over 6 yards per play. And EWOO is only giving up 5. Heck, Weber is giving up over 5 yards per rush. To be fair, Weber has played 2 top tier rushing teams in Utah & JMU, and the Eagles have played a bad FBS team, a D2 team, and a bad FCS team, so not totally a fair comparison.

But I think the jury's still out on Weber's D at this point. They've certainly failed to impress over 3 games.

I don't see what area the Eagles are better this season than they were in 2019. Not that I've studied them all that closely. Anyone know why they were picked third in the BSC preseason polls?

Are teams already feeling the effects of playing this spring? If so it's could to be a long season for Weber and EWU.

[cats2506]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

Take out runs over 40 yards and the average isn't very good at all.

Just as well make up your own stat then so it fits the narrative.

[Montanabob]

As much as I’d love to see it, it just doesn’t make sense to play a talented Freshman over a very capable Senior.

Good point. Chip Kelly made the same mistake of starting a talented R-FR named Marcus Mariota over his two-year capable starter R-SR Darron Thomas and it didn’t turn out very well at all. Bobby is making all the right moves. Oh, wait…

And yes, the Griz are very good. So are the Bobcats.

I’d say Oregon was in a slightly different position competing for a championship in 2012 than Montana in 2021. Every game has huge ramifications for a P5 school.

Griz are a contender with either Humphrey or Brown at QB.

Yes. The Cats are a very good, championship caliber team. It’s the strongest, most athletic team I’ve ever seen at MSU. I hope the Griz can stop their run game. We shall see.

So far everyone has done a decent job stopping the run game. I'm not sure you're actually paying attention. (hint: the Cats are a passing team now)

Against USD the Cats rushed for over 300 yards, Passing was only 235, We will see what happens in the next few weeks, but I think our run game is going to be just fine.

Take out runs over 40 yards and the average isn't very good at all.

Just as well make up your own stat then so it fits the narrative.

My point is if you take out 3 runs, our average run was under 2 yards/run. That is not a strong rushing game by any standards.

[tdub]

This whole taking out of specific runs is kind of interesting to think about. Because there is validity in netting out long runs. You can almost gain way more analysis of a running game if you break runs into two categories: (1) runs under 20 yards and (2) big plays over 20 yards. Both have value in analysis. And both are good. Do you have an “explosive play” run offense? Or do you have a beat-em-to-a-pulp offense? If you average 4 ypc or more with runs under 20 yards, then I’d argue you have a very strong run game. You’ll tend to dominate late in games.
If you have a low ypc below 20 yards (like 2) but a few explosive plays, you’ll put up some points but also will show tendency to get behind the sticks.
So while you can’t talk about one without the other, looking at the run game like that is beneficial.

[onceacat]

This whole taking out of specific runs is kind of interesting to think about. Because there is validity in netting out long runs. You can almost gain way more analysis of a running game if you break runs into two categories: (1) runs under 20 yards and (2) big plays over 20 yards. Both have value in analysis. And both are good. Do you have an “explosive play” run offense? Or do you have a beat-em-to-a-pulp offense? If you average 4 ypc or more with runs under 20 yards, then I’d argue you have a very strong run game. You’ll tend to dominate late in games.
If you have a low ypc below 20 yards (like 2) but a few explosive plays, you’ll put up some points but also will show tendency to get behind the sticks.
So while you can’t talk about one without the other, looking at the run game like that is beneficial.

Good point. That’s sort of the difference from the 2019 team & the 2013 teams. Those Cramsey teams put up insane rushing yards…but couldn’t run power on 3rd or 4th & short to save their lives. The 2019 team was far less explosive…but because they could rush consistently for 4-5 yards, they were able to close out close games with the offense in a way that the Cramsey teams couldn’t.

[griz5700]

Cats win today vs PSU confirms it. MSU is now a passing team. My mistake.