The most unofficial Bobcat gameday thread - Eastern Washington

[CodyCat]

I saw Davis had 5 carries? How did he look? Why only 5? I hope he did not get dinged up again.

He did fairly well considering the times he was in everyone and their dog new he was going to get it. I imagine it was more so, get him live reps and build. Although I can think of a certain 4th and 1 where he would have been handy.

Same observation on my part. Looked healthy….got a couple live reps….and was equally wondering why a Humphrey or Davis run was not called….we had played “bully ball” running all the way down the field and I guess we thought we could “outsmart em” but in hindsight Davis or Humphrey would have been better.

Nine games in and I think this is the first situation that the fans have questioned our offensive coordinator. Haha. What an incredible season.

[BobcatDel]

Haha, funny argument here about what is and isn't a close game! Yesterday the score definitely got close in the third quarter but watching from home I never really felt like MSU was in serious danger of losing the game given how well they were moving the ball on offense. All they needed was a stop or two on defense and they got those in the fourth quarter.

Ha! Just shows how people see the situations differently. EWU had taken the second half kickoff and handily took it down the field for a TD. Made a stop on the Cats and then took it to us again for another score to tie it…..to get all the “MO” on there side…...and after I stopped swearing and throwing things at the TV….I’m sitting there thinking we haven’t even showed up the second half….thinking another stop by EWU and few more gadget plays, longish runs and we are behind….EWU has the “MO” and I’m sure the players are thinking they have the confidence and ability to beat the king now and adrenaline is pumping!!!! I confess there was no assurance or glowing self confidence on my part that we were going to rise up and take the game back. But seconds later I felt better…..but remained “puckered” until long pass to Ty. Guess that comes from a long life and seeing too many times in games where you let an underdog that has nothing to lose just “hang around” in a game ….and you sometimes get bit!

Oh well…that’s what makes life interesting…..hearing other perspectives and experiences different than your own. Love it!

[BleedingBLue]

I saw Davis had 5 carries? How did he look? Why only 5? I hope he did not get dinged up again.

He did fairly well considering the times he was in everyone and their dog new he was going to get it. I imagine it was more so, get him live reps and build. Although I can think of a certain 4th and 1 where he would have been handy.

Same observation on my part. Looked healthy….got a couple live reps….and was equally wondering why a Humphrey or Davis run was not called….we had played “bully ball” running all the way down the field and I guess we thought we could “outsmart em” but in hindsight Davis or Humphrey would have been better.

Nine games in and I think this is the first situation that the fans have questioned our offensive coordinator. Haha. What an incredible season.

There have been several times where Walker has gotten unecessarily cutesy, but he's been extremely consistent, which was a major HW issue. Running the ball on 4th and 1 with the best OL in the country and a chance to put the game away is a no brainer though.

[91catAlum]

That's a cool story but the game was within 7 points until the last 3 or 4 minutes.

MSU had a 75%+ win probability for 45 minutes of the game. The game was close at 28-28 for about 7 seconds with a minute left in the 3rd, after that, EWU never had the ball with a chance to take the lead for the entire 4th.

This was NOT anything resembling a 'close' game.


https://www.espn.com/college-football/g ... washington

They had the ball several times with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Not sure what you're smoking but can I have some?

Take lead if they go for 2. And Tommy ended that on 1 play.

It was tied at 28 when Tommy scored. That put us up by 7.
We didn't go up by 14 until there was under 4 minutes left in the game.

So when did they have chance to take the lead? Unless they went for 2, they never had one.

Only if they went for 2, which ewu might've done had they scored a TD later in the 4th quarter. Teams that are 2-6 that have a chance against the #2 team often do things like that.

My point is just that the game was close the whole 2nd half until we went up by 14 with under 4 minutes to go. I find it strange that everyone is arguing with me about that. When the score is 35-28 for most of the 4th quarter, that's a close game in my opinion and i think in most people's opinion.

I find it strange too. What is the point of arguing a one score game through most of the 4th isn’t close?

THANK YOU! I thought I was living in the twilight zone for a while.

The standard I use in football for a close game is "EWU has the ball with a chance to take the lead". EWU wasn't ever in that position after the Bobcats first score.

A team that is trailing for the entire game (except for 14 seconds tied in the 3rd quarter) IS NOT a close game.

I think Cat fans in in a weird world where a game that the Cats dominated, but didn't put in the 2s and 3s is all of a sudden close.

We are living in a twilight zone for sure, but its not the people who are calling this a close game.

That's the difference, I consider it a close game when a team possesses the ball with a chance to tie OR take the lead. If a team has the ball late, down 7, they have a chance to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. To me, a game that is 1 play away from being tied is a close game. But I guess some see it differently.

[TomCat88]

I saw Davis had 5 carries? How did he look? Why only 5? I hope he did not get dinged up again.

Similar to when Ifanse came back in 2019 (under Choate) and 2022. He played but didn’t take a heavy load (8-10 carries) as he worked his way back.

[BobcatDel]

I saw Davis had 5 carries? How did he look? Why only 5? I hope he did not get dinged up again.

He did fairly well considering the times he was in everyone and their dog new he was going to get it. I imagine it was more so, get him live reps and build. Although I can think of a certain 4th and 1 where he would have been handy.

Same observation on my part. Looked healthy….got a couple live reps….and was equally wondering why a Humphrey or Davis run was not called….we had played “bully ball” running all the way down the field and I guess we thought we could “outsmart em” but in hindsight Davis or Humphrey would have been better.

Nine games in and I think this is the first situation that the fans have questioned our offensive coordinator. Haha. What an incredible season.

Ha! You got that right CC…used to shake my head often last year. I haven’t watched the replay to fully understand what the play was designed to do so will look for that. I think even Tommy in the post game interview said he didn’t like what he saw at the line (I’m pretty sure he was referring to that play because he was asked the question) so maybe would have been a good time for someone…Tommy or sideline to call a TO. Which leads to a question….can Tommy call a TO on the field or are all TOs to be called from the sidelines……I have seen coaches that do it both ways…some only want the call from the sideline.

[Long Time Cat]

I saw Davis had 5 carries? How did he look? Why only 5? I hope he did not get dinged up again.

Similar to when Ifanse came back in 2019 (under Choate) and 2022. He played but didn’t take a heavy load (8-10 carries) as he worked his way back.

I agree with Tom. He was working his way back. Also Adam looked much more like his old self after a couple weeks of rest.

[onceacat]

MSU had a 75%+ win probability for 45 minutes of the game. The game was close at 28-28 for about 7 seconds with a minute left in the 3rd, after that, EWU never had the ball with a chance to take the lead for the entire 4th.

This was NOT anything resembling a 'close' game.


https://www.espn.com/college-football/g ... washington

They had the ball several times with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Not sure what you're smoking but can I have some?

Take lead if they go for 2. And Tommy ended that on 1 play.

It was tied at 28 when Tommy scored. That put us up by 7.
We didn't go up by 14 until there was under 4 minutes left in the game.

So when did they have chance to take the lead? Unless they went for 2, they never had one.

Only if they went for 2, which ewu might've done had they scored a TD later in the 4th quarter. Teams that are 2-6 that have a chance against the #2 team often do things like that.

My point is just that the game was close the whole 2nd half until we went up by 14 with under 4 minutes to go. I find it strange that everyone is arguing with me about that. When the score is 35-28 for most of the 4th quarter, that's a close game in my opinion and i think in most people's opinion.

I find it strange too. What is the point of arguing a one score game through most of the 4th isn’t close?

THANK YOU! I thought I was living in the twilight zone for a while.

The standard I use in football for a close game is "EWU has the ball with a chance to take the lead". EWU wasn't ever in that position after the Bobcats first score.

A team that is trailing for the entire game (except for 14 seconds tied in the 3rd quarter) IS NOT a close game.

I think Cat fans in in a weird world where a game that the Cats dominated, but didn't put in the 2s and 3s is all of a sudden close.

We are living in a twilight zone for sure, but its not the people who are calling this a close game.

That's the difference, I consider it a close game when a team possesses the ball with a chance to tie OR take the lead. If a team has the ball late, down 7, they have a chance to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. To me, a game that is 1 play away from being tied is a close game. But I guess some see it differently.

The team behind only manages to tie it up about 25% of the time. I guess thats the difference. In my mind, they actually need to tie it up (or maybe get it within a FG) in order to make it close.

[catatac]

MSU had a 75%+ win probability for 45 minutes of the game. The game was close at 28-28 for about 7 seconds with a minute left in the 3rd, after that, EWU never had the ball with a chance to take the lead for the entire 4th.

This was NOT anything resembling a 'close' game.


https://www.espn.com/college-football/g ... washington

They had the ball several times with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Not sure what you're smoking but can I have some?

Take lead if they go for 2. And Tommy ended that on 1 play.

It was tied at 28 when Tommy scored. That put us up by 7.
We didn't go up by 14 until there was under 4 minutes left in the game.

So when did they have chance to take the lead? Unless they went for 2, they never had one.

Only if they went for 2, which ewu might've done had they scored a TD later in the 4th quarter. Teams that are 2-6 that have a chance against the #2 team often do things like that.

My point is just that the game was close the whole 2nd half until we went up by 14 with under 4 minutes to go. I find it strange that everyone is arguing with me about that. When the score is 35-28 for most of the 4th quarter, that's a close game in my opinion and i think in most people's opinion.

I find it strange too. What is the point of arguing a one score game through most of the 4th isn’t close?

THANK YOU! I thought I was living in the twilight zone for a while.

The standard I use in football for a close game is "EWU has the ball with a chance to take the lead". EWU wasn't ever in that position after the Bobcats first score.

A team that is trailing for the entire game (except for 14 seconds tied in the 3rd quarter) IS NOT a close game.

I think Cat fans in in a weird world where a game that the Cats dominated, but didn't put in the 2s and 3s is all of a sudden close.

We are living in a twilight zone for sure, but its not the people who are calling this a close game.

That's the difference, I consider it a close game when a team possesses the ball with a chance to tie OR take the lead. If a team has the ball late, down 7, they have a chance to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. To me, a game that is 1 play away from being tied is a close game. But I guess some see it differently.

100% agree with you here. That was a close game. Let's say Tommy's int was a pick 6 (as it easily could have been), and then we turn the ball over again, or they get another fluke TD... suddenly EWU has a shot to win it at the end. Tied up in the 3rd Q and only up 7 in the 4th... that was very uncomfortable for a while. And no, it's not because I have some Bobcat inferiority complex. I still FELT the Cats were going to win, but I also know the ball bounces funny sometimes. Last year at the end of the ID game I FELT the Cats were going to win too.

[technoCat]

So am I crazy? Tommy is 4th in rushing, right? Cody Kirk?

[onceacat]

They had the ball several times with a chance to tie or take the lead.
Not sure what you're smoking but can I have some?

Take lead if they go for 2. And Tommy ended that on 1 play.

It was tied at 28 when Tommy scored. That put us up by 7.
We didn't go up by 14 until there was under 4 minutes left in the game.

So when did they have chance to take the lead? Unless they went for 2, they never had one.

Only if they went for 2, which ewu might've done had they scored a TD later in the 4th quarter. Teams that are 2-6 that have a chance against the #2 team often do things like that.

My point is just that the game was close the whole 2nd half until we went up by 14 with under 4 minutes to go. I find it strange that everyone is arguing with me about that. When the score is 35-28 for most of the 4th quarter, that's a close game in my opinion and i think in most people's opinion.

I find it strange too. What is the point of arguing a one score game through most of the 4th isn’t close?

THANK YOU! I thought I was living in the twilight zone for a while.

The standard I use in football for a close game is "EWU has the ball with a chance to take the lead". EWU wasn't ever in that position after the Bobcats first score.

A team that is trailing for the entire game (except for 14 seconds tied in the 3rd quarter) IS NOT a close game.

I think Cat fans in in a weird world where a game that the Cats dominated, but didn't put in the 2s and 3s is all of a sudden close.

We are living in a twilight zone for sure, but its not the people who are calling this a close game.

That's the difference, I consider it a close game when a team possesses the ball with a chance to tie OR take the lead. If a team has the ball late, down 7, they have a chance to tie the game and potentially send it to overtime. To me, a game that is 1 play away from being tied is a close game. But I guess some see it differently.

100% agree with you here. That was a close game. Let's say Tommy's int was a pick 6 (as it easily could have been), and then we turn the ball over again, or they get another fluke TD... suddenly EWU has a shot to win it at the end. Tied up in the 3rd Q and only up 7 in the 4th... that was very uncomfortable for a while. And no, it's not because I have some Bobcat inferiority complex. I still FELT the Cats were going to win, but I also know the ball bounces funny sometimes. Last year at the end of the ID game I FELT the Cats were going to win too.

So after a fluke, if another fluke happened, EWU would have made it close?

Yes, flukey things happen in sports.

But if multiple flukes need to happen for EWU to win...I think you just proved the point.

[Long Time Cat]

How did Eastern fare against the best in the Big Sky?
EWU scored 49 against UM on the road lost by 3
EWU scored 38 against UCD at home lost by 10
EWU scored 28 against Idaho on the road lost by 10
EWU scored 28 against MSU at home lost by 14
Looks like they played them all tough and the Cats did better than any of the others. To me it's one more statistic that indicates the Cats are the best team in the conference.

Just a minor correction. That game against Montana was at home for Eastern.

Oops. You are correct. Thanks for keeping me honest.

[SparkCat]

There is always some click clack making a negative comment on Colter’s Cat stories, then you look at the dorks page and of course a Griz fan, commenting about the Dakotas… Alphas’s grandchild maybe?

[tetoncat]

I saw Davis had 5 carries? How did he look? Why only 5? I hope he did not get dinged up again.

He did fairly well considering the times he was in everyone and their dog new he was going to get it. I imagine it was more so, get him live reps and build. Although I can think of a certain 4th and 1 where he would have been handy.

Same observation on my part. Looked healthy….got a couple live reps….and was equally wondering why a Humphrey or Davis run was not called….we had played “bully ball” running all the way down the field and I guess we thought we could “outsmart em” but in hindsight Davis or Humphrey would have been better.

Nine games in and I think this is the first situation that the fans have questioned our offensive coordinator. Haha. What an incredible season.

There was one of the last couple games we had a strange 4th and short. I didn't like the 3rd down call yesterday. If going for it on 4th anyways there are a lot of safe pass options where if incomplete we still have 4th and 2.

[BelligerentBobcat]

I don’t think a 4th down PA is that crazy of a play call. The concept had been working multiple times before that. Probably thought they’d catch EWU off guard. Looked to me like somebody made a mistake, and EWU covered it well. Props to them, sometimes the other team makes a good play too.

You guys are calling it a bad play because of the result, when the thinking process itself was just fine.

[91catAlum]

I don’t think a 4th down PA is that crazy of a play call. The concept had been working multiple times before that. Probably thought they’d catch EWU off guard. Looked to me like somebody made a mistake, and EWU covered it well. Props to them, sometimes the other team makes a good play too.

You guys are calling it a bad play because of the result, when the thinking process itself was just fine.

You gotta play the percentages. If it's 4th and 2 or less and you're the #2 running team in the country with 2 NFL O-linemen, playing a team with a very poor run defense, the smart play is to run the ball.

I'd rather run it and fail on 4th and short than play action pass and fail on 4th and short.

[Helcat72]

I think the only two gadget plays they didn't use was a flea flicker and on-side kick.
They knew they couldn't beat us straight up so they threw caution to the wind and tried everything. They executed very well and by the time they faked the punt, you'd think we would have been waiting for it..but they added the fake punt preceded by a fake run and a pass. I'm glad the game ended because West was starting to annoy me! Jeez!

I think we started getting complacent...meaning the team AND us fans. After the interception we started screaming. It seemed to light a fire under the defense in addition to their own determination. We didn't shut up the test of the way when they were at the north end.

[Common Cat]

Maybe@Common Cat will be happy with that 10 minute, soul sucking, time of possession style drive!!

My favorite types of drives!

[tetoncat]

I don’t think a 4th down PA is that crazy of a play call. The concept had been working multiple times before that. Probably thought they’d catch EWU off guard. Looked to me like somebody made a mistake, and EWU covered it well. Props to them, sometimes the other team makes a good play too.

You guys are calling it a bad play because of the result, when the thinking process itself was just fine.

It was an odd play action, held ball away from body, RB wasnt really close, not a lot of pass options. Cats have run some great ones,that was odd as Mellot left the pocket right away.

[BelligerentBobcat]

I don’t think a 4th down PA is that crazy of a play call. The concept had been working multiple times before that. Probably thought they’d catch EWU off guard. Looked to me like somebody made a mistake, and EWU covered it well. Props to them, sometimes the other team makes a good play too.

You guys are calling it a bad play because of the result, when the thinking process itself was just fine.

It was an odd play action, held ball away from body, RB wasnt really close, not a lot of pass options. Cats have run some great ones,that was odd as Mellot left the pocket right away.

Like I said, I think somebody made a mistake.